| “ | An ancient, “highly advanced” species, desperately seeking to reclaim their former galactic supremacy. These mind-controlling, xenophobic aliens cannot be reasoned with. They must all be killed. | „ |
| ~ Helldivers 2 PlayStation Store Page |
The 
Illuminate, formerly the Illuminate Empire[1], sometimes referred to as the Illuminate Cult and self-denominated as the Squ'ith race, are an advanced race of squid-like alien humanoids. According to a voiceline by the Democracy Officer, these aliens predate humanity's existence by millennia. They are a technologically advanced, mystical, and highly intelligent species, having gone down the path of electricity in the same way that humans went from rocks to bullets, according to the Ship's C.O. in Helldivers 1.
Originally, the 
Illuminate had been defeated and cast away from the Milky Way, having been made to sign a peace treaty after their final defeat at Squ'bai Shrine in the First Galactic War. However, in the century since, the few Illuminate that remained appear to have grown stronger and developed new, horrid tactics. As their numbers dwindled closer and closer towards extinction, they began to abduct and kidnap Super Earth citizens from remote colonies, turning them into the hordes of undemocratic zombies known as The Voteless.
How many Squ'ith actually remain in the Milky Way and how well they were able to repopulate in exile is currently unknown, with the leading theories being that pockets of Illuminate explorers in deep space have now returned or that a force preserved in cryostasis has now awakened.
History[ | ]
Origins[ | ]
The Squ'ith came into existence several thousands of years before Humanity evolved into the Homo sapiens, having evolved from a prior aquatic lifeform in their own home planet. From this point onward, the Squ'ith mostly dedicated themselves to their continued evolution, growing extra limbs and honing their skills in the handling of electricity and mystical space magic, slowly becoming a society of supposedly enlightened beings.
As the centuries progressed, the Illuminate eventually would come to form a sort of council, the Illuminate High Council, presumably led by the Great Eye and with Council Members to presumably vote on how they would continue progressing, much like how a tribal council or a military junta would be set up. However, the Illuminate would slowly grow into a brutal death cult, with the Great Eye using its telepathic powers to force all of the Squ'ith into subservience of its expansionist goal. The Illuminate High Council took control of running their territories and slowly steered the race towards an autocratic regime revolving around their mystical space cult and fierce xenophobia towards other species.
The Illuminate Empire[ | ]
Guided forth by the Great Eye's visions for expansion, the Illuminate began to expand their domain across most of the Milky Way almost unopposed. Captured Super Earth dissidents and brainwashed collaborators tell tales of the Illuminate coming close to "prosperity", as their supposed enlightenment brought them new colonies and, with them, ever-growing wealth and places for their wretched kind to spread, obviously at the expense of the native species of the planets they would conquer and subjugate.
For millennia, the Illuminate grew into a bloated, decadent empire that controlled vast swaths of the Milky Way through their space cult of death and their xenophobic hatred of any other species. But it would be this very hatred what paved the way for their empire's deserved downfall.
First Galactic War[ | ]
During the early 21st century, the Illuminate would send reconnaissance spacecraft over the Earth, which initially was taken by humans as a myth. However, after the Great War and the formation of Super Earth, the Illuminate would approach the Federation of Super Earth with a peace offer. While it initially seemed that the Illuminate were making a peace offering out of goodwill, in reality they possessed numerous weapons of mass destruction capable of destroying entire planets. With this information and with the inevitability of a surprise attack by the Illuminate, Super Earth would launch a preemptive strike against the Illuminate's colonies in the southern sectors of the Milky Way and forced their entry into the First Galactic War.
For forty years, the Illuminate battled against Humankind in several battles across the galaxy, with many veterans remembering their combat prowess with horror. However, no amount of space technology would allow the Illuminate to overcome the omnipotence of Liberty and, in 2084, the Helldivers would successfully defeat the Illuminate at their home world, Squ'Bai Shrine.
Banishing from the Milky Way[ | ]
The terms of the Illuminate surrender were necessarily harsh. The Squ'ith were to dissolve their military, or what little remained of it, entirely. Additionally, they were obligated to hand over any and all technologies with potential military applications, with technologies such as the Dark Fluid being surrendered to the SEAF. With the banishing of the Squ'ith also came the dissolution of the Illuminate Empire and the almost complete populational collapse of their race.
After this military surrender, the Illuminate were banished from the Milky Way, never to return. This way, Super Earth hoped that the Illuminate would be eventually driven to extinction, guaranteeing the safety of mankind. For one hundred years, the Illuminate remained a fairy tale for the citizens of Super Earth, with many treating them as boogeymen. Some citizens recall how they would be told stories about how the Illuminate would abduct misbehaving children and take their brains out.
But it would be at this very moment, when the citizens of Super Earth lowered their guards, that the unthinkable somehow came to happen:
They Returned
Resurgence of the Illuminate[ | ]
In the midst of the Second Galactic War, the Illuminate returned without any signal. The Illuminate sent ninety-six invasion fleets towards the planet Calypso on the night of December 12th, 2184. The majority of their forces consisted of kidnapped legions of Super Earth citizens who had been lobotomized and transformed into the mindless, undemocratic hordes known as the Voteless.
All Helldivers available, both in active service and the military reserve, were immediately ordered to LIBCON 1 and deployed en-masse to the urbanized settlements of Calypso, ready to take on this returning foe. Fortunately, the invasion on Calypso was repelled on December 15th after three days of grueling combat, with the Illuminate being sent on the run by the valiant Helldivers Corps.
On December 16th, 2184, Illuminate forces landed in large numbers on the planets Genesis Prime and Mog, prepared to make a permanent foothold in the Milky Way. This would mark the beginning of a series of raids throughout the southern sectors of the Milky Way, as the Illuminate would not capture a planet even if they won, as they would retreat from Mog and Genesis Prime 12 hours later. From December 16th onwards, they would raid Bellatrix, Kerth Secundus, Valmox, Andar and Achernar Secundus, among others. Despite their raids being repelled consistently, they would keep coming back afterwards, necessitating a constant Helldiver presence to at least mitigate the damage.
These raids would continuously worsen over time with Super Earth forced to contain the other two fronts of the war, particularly concerning the 
Terminids' massive offensives at the beginning of 2185. This has left the galactic south relatively undermanned for significant stretches of time while the Illuminate have continued their illegal, unjustified raids across Rirga Bay, Rasp, Stout, Baldrick Prime and countless other planets, leaving most of these planets defeated and in ruins. While the Illuminate have yet to fully capture any planets and continue their cowardly hit-and-run tactics, many believe the worst of this vile, xenophobic race is still yet to come.
The Moving of a Black Hole[ | ]
Following the brave efforts of the Helldivers to repel the continual skirmishes with the Illuminate, fluctuations of Dark Energy within the Milky Way caused universal concern. This, combined with regular fluctuations in Space-Time were finally explained by the Centre of Science to be focused towards one goal; to move the Meridian Singularity from its current location to one unspeakably important location; Super Earth herself. Their dark intentions finally revealed, the Helldivers mobilised to stop the harvesting of Dark Energy from across the galaxy. While the chances of something as unbelievable as a direct attack at the Heart of Democracy may be far greater than a million to one, still, they come. Whether or not the Illuminate plan to unleash some previously unseen-at least for one hundred years-weapon or unit from the worm hole, or if they intend to use the singularity to destroy the fountain of Liberty itself remains to be seen, but cannot be allowed to come about.
In the afternoon of February 8, 2185, following the brilliant successes of the Helldivers and the DSS out West, High Command issued an Order confirming everyone's worst fears: the Illuminate were harvesting Dark Energy in their consistent raids of the galactic south to move the Meridian Singularity. In the Order, High Command stated that the current trajectory of the wormhole indicated movement toward Angel's Venture in the Orion Sector, putting all of its noble and peace-loving citizens in extreme danger. All Helldivers were immediately ordered to deploy across the galactic south to stem the Illuminate's vile raids in the hopes that they could delay the movement of the Singularity.
List of Illuminate Units[ | ]
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List of Illuminate Structures[ | ]
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Tactics[ | ]
Infantry Gameplay[ | ]
The Illuminate behave like a blend of both the Terminids and their waves on unrelenting hordes, mostly through the various waves of Voteless, and the dynamics of units such as the Commander and Heavy Devastator from the 
Automatons.
The Voteless, being zombies who have been stripped of their Freedom, are virtually the same as any small Terminid unit. Individually, they are fairly easy to take down, if more chunky as they are still humans with some extra flesh for bullets to punch through. When in crowds, it is always best to keep a distance from them, as the Voteless can lunge at random intervals and, since their attacks deal far more damage than that of a Terminid Scavenger, can take down a player with two or three attacks.
The real challenge during fights are the Illuminate themselves. Overseers come in two different variants; the normal Overseers carry polearms which can fire a blue bolt of plasma at range or, when Helldivers get too close, can be used in a devastating melee attack. When taking too much damage, the Overseers will deploy a blue lenergy shield that can take several magazines to overpower, which can easily lead to a Helldiver firing all of their ammunition to no avail. When faced with Overseers, the best tactic is to aim for the head when they are exposed and for the legs when their shields are up in order to stagger them and create more openings for you or other teammates to shoot them, all while keeping a safe distance so as to remain able to dodge any melee charges.
The Elevated Overseers are instead equipped with a special jetpack that allows them to fly. While flying, they shoot bursts of plasma bolts (which bear an uncanny resemblance to the PLAS-1 Scorcher's own plasma bolts) and occasionally will throw Illuminate High Explosive Grenades that, much like all other grenades thrown by enemies, can be tossed right back. The best tactic to deal with these enemies is to shoot their fairly exposed backpack when possible. However, engaging them head on is still possible, as Elevated Overseers do not have the ability to project a shield.
The Watcher is an Illuminate scout unit. It projects a blue light cone as it patrols certain areas but will go into alert whenever it spots an enemy. When alerted, the Watcher's vision cone will go from blue to purple and, unless an Illuminate Warship has already been called, will immediately shoot a burst of white flares into the sky, summoning Illuminate Warships to drop in hordes of enemies. If the Watcher can not call for reinforcements, they will stalk the detected player from a distance while periodically shooting electric bolts at the player that momentarily stun them, much like how the ARC-3 Arc Thrower and A/ARC-3 Tesla Tower shoot out electric arcs.
The Harvesters are massive tripodic war machines that move slowly, but can deal devastation at a consistent pace. The Harvester moves constantly while projecting a blue shield bubble around its position, similar to how a Helldiver's own SH-32 Shield Generator Pack would encase them. Periodically, the Harvester will slow down significantly and project a blue beam from its central eye, which will very quickly kill any player it touches. If their targets are at close range, Harvesters unleash bursts of electric arcs that can deal devastating damage, much like how the ARC-12 Blitzer behaves.
To deal with Harvesters, players must first overpower its shield using their weapons or stratagems that deal a sustained burst of damage, such as the Eagle Cluster Bomb, the Orbital Airburst Strike, or the Orbital Gatling Barrage. Once the Harvester's shield is deactivated, players must then use explosive weaponry against the exposed tripods, making weapons such as the EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank or the GR-8 Recoilless Rifle crucial in taking down these walking abominations.
Objective Gameplay[ | ]
The Illuminate objectives are a departure from how most others would be done.
The Illuminate Encampments, currently available in Light, Medium, and Heavy variants, consist of arrays of parked war ships. Light Encampments will feature one saucer, Medium encampments will feature two, and Heavy Encampments can feature either three or four saucers. To destroy these ships, one must first overpower their blue bubble shields, then utilize explosive weaponry to destroy them, either by throwing a grenade into the glowing open doors or using any explosive stratagems. Certain stratagems will destroy the ships without the need to take down their shield, such as the Orbital 120mm HE Barrage, the Eagle 500kg Bomb, or the Orbital Precision Strike.
The Cognitive Disruptor is one of the most unique effects deployed by the Illuminate. While within its effect radius, the Illuminate disruptor will periodically randomize the code of every stratagem currently available at intervals of ten to fifteen seconds, with the shortest possible random code being three arrows and the longest being up to eight arrows. To disable the Cognitive Disruptor, Helldivers must either use enough explosive ordinance to destroy its power sources, or destroy the Cognitive Disruptor's four energy conversion panels that are attached to colonial power equipment. Once all four power sources have been destroyed, the Cognitive Disruptor is disabled and players will be able to use their stratagems as normal.
The Illuminate Monolith is a possible main mission objective that can appear. Whenever the Helldivers are in the map and the Monolith hasn't been destroyed, the Monolith will occasionally play a voice line for all players currently alive. The only way to destroy a Monolith is by calling down and detonating a Hellbomb within close proximity of the structure.
Illuminate Language[ | ]
The Illuminate, much like the Automatons, have developed their very own language over their thousands of years of evolution. However, unlike the Automatons, it does not consist of a hijacked language from Earth. Rather, the Illuminate seem to have developed their own alphabet and phonetics, though they are able to speak human languages, as demonstrated by their prior attempts to make peace with humanity before the First Galactic War. Additionally, the Illuminate can use their language to further confuse those who fall victim to their mind control, as Helldivers within the effect of a Cognitive Disruptor start seeing Illuminate characters in their UI instead of the normal stratagem names.
An inscription found on the legs of a downed Harvester amidst the Battle of Calypso. December 13th, 2184
The Illuminate alphabet is comprised of a series of lines and ellipses, never surpassing five strokes per character. The lines are all shaped like terrestrial cattail plants, with a thin tail and a large, elongated round cylinder head, while the ellipses are always half-circular, never surpassing one hundred eighty degrees. These characters can have a dot at any location, with the points found so far being at the center, the bottom-center and center-right, as well as a small line of even thickness striking through the thicker top of cattail lines. Additionally, some strokes feature a forking cattail line that follows its normal direction independent of its source line. It is possible that these dots and additional lines serve as accent marks, much like how tildes, carons, rings, and diaresis (among many others) are utilized in terrestrial languages.
It is not known whether these characters are to be read from left-to-right or right-to-left, nor if they are to be read from top to bottom or from the bottom to the top, as the sample of Illuminate script that can found on the Harvester's legs is written on a longer limb. Additionally, it is not known whether the Illuminate writing system is phonetic, where each character is a grapheme that represents a vocal sound like in English, or logographic, where each character represents a whole word like in Japanese.
Other pictures of downed Illuminate Harvester, collected during the Battle of Calypso, have been left below in order to aid with the deciphering of the Illuminate language. Additionally, pictures of discovered Illuminate crates, barricades, ramparts and containers, all with inscriptions in Illuminate language, have been discovered.
Another angle of the leg of a downed Illuminate Harvester, showcasing the length of the limb.
Angle of the head of a downed Illuminate Harvester. Traces of an Illuminate inscription can be seen, although they are cut short by the broken chassis. The front face of the Harvester faces to the left of the picture. December 14th, 2184
An Illuminate artifact. It appears to be a metallic energy scepter displaying a blue glyph. This might indicate the direction in which the Illuminate symbols are written. December 14th, 2184.
A Helldiver's Stratagem Menu in their Helmet Display, scrambled by an Illuminate Cognitive Disruptor. The characters will change every second in random order.
An Illuminate Container of some sort. Found close to a Cognitive Disruptor. December 15th, 2184
An Illuminate barricade found amidst the Battle of Valmox. December 17th, 2184
An Illuminate container of an unknown sort found amidst the Battle of Valmox. December 17th, 2184
An Illuminate crate of an unknown sort found amidst the Battle of Canopus. December 25th, 2184
Illuminate boxes and ramparts found amidst the Battle of Canopus. December 25th, 2184
An Illuminate crate found amidst the Battle of Canopus. December 25th, 2184
An Illuminate barricade found amidst the Battle of Canopus. December 25th, 2184
An Illuminate barricade found amidst the Battle of Canopus. December 25th, 2184
Close-up picture of an Illuminate Monolith taken during the second battle of Kraz. January 18th, 2185. Note the Illuminate characters in blue on the lateral fins, which may be blurred due to the Monolith's emissions
Close-up picture of an Illuminate Monolith taken during the second battle of Kraz. January 18th, 2185. Note the engraved Illuminate characters on the top antenna of the Monolith, which may be partially illegible due to the angle of the picture.
Illuminate Culture[ | ]
Rituals[ | ]
Being a theocratic society and a cult, the Illuminate often engage in mystical rituals with the intent of worshipping some unknown space deity. These rituals involve tall obelisks, monoliths, and tall, shining, metallic staffs and totems that are certainly used for no good purpose. They have spread the false rumor that these rituals & artifacts are actually advanced technology which simply appear mystical to Super Earth citizens due to their advanced nature, which can be dismissed as a ploy to fool potential dissidents into serving their goals and worshipping the Illuminate's barbaric gods.
Quest for Knowledge[ | ]
During the First Galactic War, it was generally agreed upon by Super Earth analysts that the Squids were ruled by an unhealthy quest for knowledge, with the social standing of an individual Squ'ith directly relating to how much knowledge they had acquired. Squids that failed to learn "fast enough" would become Outcasts and forced to fight on the frontlines against Helldivers (a death sentence), while the most knowledgeable were granted the revered rank of Illusionist or even could become a Council Member.
How much of this knowledge-based hierarchy remained intact between the two galactic wars is unknown. The Overseers & Elevated Overseers seen on Calypso appear to retain some sort of social caste system (provided the term "elevated" does not literally refer to their jetpacks) but what this ranking is remains to be seen. They may have descended into theocratic mysticism, but they still enjoy amassing knowledge.
Theories[ | ]
There is a theory as to why the Illuminate have kidnapped our freedom-loving citizens for their sinister plans. Due to their immense size and the fact that the Squ'ith most likely evolved from an aquatic species, it is safe to assume that their home world has a lower gravity and that they would find it hard to move on land. This is due to four primary conditions that cause organisms to evolve to grow to large sizes:
- Reduced Gravitational Stress - in a lower gravity environment, organisms face less gravitational stress on their bodies. This would allow the Squ'ith to grow to their large size and stature without facing the same structural limitations that appear on Super Earth.
- Easier Movement - with reduced gravity, creatures can move more easily and efficiently. This means that they can grow larger without expending as much energy on locomotion, allowing for bigger body sizes.
- Atmospheric Considerations - while lower gravity can lead to a thinner atmosphere, if a planet maintains a dense atmosphere rich in oxygen or other breathable gases, it can support larger life forms. This is similar to Super Earth's past, when higher oxygen levels allowed for giant insects to evolve and exist.
- Aquatic Advantages - in aquatic environments, the effects of lower gravity are even more pronounced. Marine life could potentially grow much larger, as water helps reduce the effect of gravitational forces, and since the Illuminate were aquatic, this further supports the theory that they would have a hard time moving on land.
With the Illuminate moving from water to land and from low-gravity worlds to high-gravity ones, it would make sense that only the largest and strongest Squ'ith would have the strength to walk normally for a brain-consuming extraterrestrial. We can see this during the First Galactic War, where the large Squ'ith would walk on their legs while the regular or small ones required anti-gravity chairs and suits to move around. We can even see this now, where the big and bulky Squ'ith are the ones who resort to walking while the slightly smaller and leaner ones use jet packs for movement. This shows one major thing: the Squ'ith race is weak enough that most of their kind need the equivalent of wheelchairs to simply move around.
Now, you might be wondering at this point: "what does this have to do with them kidnapping civilians?" Well, you might wanna sit down for this part because it is not pretty...
Humanity just so happens to naturally produce a chemical called adrenaline that can give humans (and potentially the Squ'ith) an almost superhuman level of strength, speed, and reaction time. This chemical works by triggering the body's "fight or flight response", which rapidly releases a surge of energy that lets humans achieve incredible feats such as lifting immense weights, running faster than normally possible, or dodging multiple attacks from an assailant. If the Illuminate would want to move quickly on land in a high-gravity environment or be able to use large weapons against us, they would also need to produce this super-chemical, and it seems that the Squ'ith cannot produce adrenaline, or perhaps can only produce adrenaline in very small amounts. If the Illuminate wants to accrue large amounts of this chemical, they would need to harvest it in some way, and in order to harvest adrenaline, the Illuminate would need a source that is numerous, reproduces often, and can naturally create large quantities of adrenaline. Humanity seems to be the only species that fit the needs of these despicable "adrenaline farms".
In case there are citizens who retain any doubts about this theory, you must remember that the Illuminate are willing to consume the brains of Humanity, other alien races, and even their own kind for the sole reason of increasing their own knowledge. They are even willing to mutate our innocent citizens into monstrosities so that they don't have to waste their own lives in combat. When looking at all the facts, can the theory that the Illuminate would kidnap our own citizens, mercilessly imprison them, and brutally harvest them for their adrenaline to be able to move around on their legs be dismissed so easily? Always remember, Illuminate civilization is defined by the complete and absolute genocide of humanity and other races for the sole purpose of progressing their society to even further levels of depravity, hatred, and self-enslavement.
Trivia[ | ]
- The Illuminate bear heavy resemblance to both the Combine from Half-Life 2 and the Covenant from Halo. Harvesters are likely inspired by the Martian Tripod from War of the Worlds, while the Warp Ships are likely inspired by the classic flying saucer UFOs.
- Prior to their resurgence, the Illuminate music file was leaked online. Once Meridia was destroyed and had collapsed into a black hole, players would discover that the sound coming from it was a slowed down version of the Illuminate music.
- All Illuminate units, even the Voteless, bleed blue and splatter blue blood onto surfaces when damaged or killed. This is most visible on players that survive long encounters against the Illuminate.
- Blue blood is usually produced by hemocyanin, a copper-containing protein that animals like octopuses, horseshoe crabs, and squids use and turns into a bright blue color when oxygenated.
- Both the Illuminate Overseer and Elevated Overseer have a dark blue skin underneath their armor, which gets exposed when they take enough damage.
- It has been suggested by some that the symbols that appear in the stratagem menu when under the effects of a Cognitive Disruptor could be used to translate the Squ'ith language, though this has neither been confirmed nor denied.
- Touching the monolith makes players explode due to "Unknowable Forces". However, if they wear an armor with the "Fortified" perk, they can survive.[2]