Last week, the Helldivers 2 community banded together to help Save the Children. This was accomplished in the form of a Major Order titled Operation Trolley Problem, referencing the popular philosophical puzzle.
The Helldiver 2 community were left shocked when Meridia was destroyed after a campaign against the Terminid. All that is left of the planet is an ominous black hole which may bring an unknown number of consequences in the future.
Following the incident, Helldivers were given a new Major Order titled Operation Trolley Problem. This operation is a reference to the moral conundrum which asks the following question: would you let five strangers die to a runaway trolley, or do you pull a switch to divert the trolley and only kill one? But of course this is Helldivers 2, so the problem proposed was much more dire.
In the operation, Helldivers were given the option of liberating two planets. One is Vernen Wells, a host to Super Citizen Anne’s Hospital for Very Sick Children. The other was Marfark which held a supply of MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines.
“Only the first planet liberated is likely to be saved. The Helldivers are trusted to determine which course of action – rescuing the children, or the AT Mines – will ultimately save the most Freedom,” said the in-game Major Order text.
To outsiders, the choice of saving the children seems to be an obvious one. However, these coveted Anti-Tank Mines have twice now been dangled in front of the faces of Helldivers. The first time Helldivers had to choose between the Airburst Rocket Launcher. The second time Helldivers were ordered to scrap a minimum number of bots to acquire the mines. In both cases, the mines were not obtained.
Even though saving the children had no reward incentive, the Helldivers 2 community banded together to selflessly save the children. The community chose to forego the anti-tank mines with 99% of players choosing to liberate Vernen Wells. Leaving less than 1% choosing to liberate Marfark.
As reward for choosing to save the children, Arrowhead COO Johan Pilestedt revealed in a tweet that a donation of $4,311 to Save the Children had been made by Arrowhead.
“Since the @helldivers2 community chose to save the children, @arrowheadgs does the same. We have made a donation to, well, Save the Children. Good job Divers!” read the Tweet. In addition, a link to Save the Children’s donation page was included on the tweet.
Founded in 1919, Save the Children is an international charity organization that specializes in assisting children around the world through health care programs, education and crisis aid. The dollar amount donated represented the number of children saved during the Vernen Well operation.
While the motivation for liberating Vernen Wells ranged from genuine compassion to doing it for the memes, the fact remains that the Helldivers 2 community stepped up. Their dedication and teamwork brought about a positive impact on the real world. Some community members even made their own donations to Save the Children. The community was also treated with a special thank you from the in-game children they saved.
“Dear Helldivers, Thank you so much for saving us. They told us you made a lot of sacrifices (mines/lives) to help us. We’ll always be grateful. Now, we can grow up to become Helldivers too. With Liberty, The Very Sick Children of Super Citizen Anne’s,” read a Tweet from @helldivers2.
Even though they were lost this time, the Anti-Tank mines will most likely make a return in the future. As for now, Helldivers everywhere can rest easy knowing that their efforts were not in vain, and the Very Sick Children of Super Citizen Anne’s are safe.
