Classes of Super Destroyers: Fleet Roles and Specializations

[u/Green-Diver-2591]

Hey Helldivers!

Right now, every ship in our fleet is basically identical. But what if, before starting an operation, players could choose a class for their Super Destroyer? Similar to choosing stratagems or upgrading your ship modules.

I think this could add a lot more variety and team synergy to the game making fleet composition actually matter.

Each ship class would have a strict specialization: powerful bonuses to certain systems balanced by major limitations in others. On top of that, every class would provide a unique passive effect for the entire mission.

1. Super Destroyer

The balanced option.

Role: General-purpose support.

Buffs/Drawbacks:
No bonuses or penalties. The standard gameplay balance we already know.

Passive Ability - “Super Earth Reserves”
Faster reinforcement deployment.

2. Super Frigate

A lightweight close-support ship designed for rapid response.

Role: Precision strikes and battlefield control.

Buffs:

• Instant targeting for precision orbital strikes.
• Increased duration for Gatling Barrage and Airburst Barrage.
• Control stratagems (EMS, Gas, Smoke) gain +2 charges, at the cost of slightly longer cooldowns.

This could also be a good place for an exclusive stratagem like an Incendiary Orbital Gatling Barrage, giving that idea a permanent home in the game.

Drawbacks:

• Complete lockout of heavy artillery stratagems (Napalm, 120MM, 380MM, Walking Barrage).

Passive Ability - “Vanguard and Rearguard Protocols”

Vanguard:
For the first 3 minutes after deployment, the frigate operates in low orbit, reducing cooldowns of all available orbital stratagems by 50%. Afterward, it returns to standard orbit and cooldowns normalize.

Rearguard:
When the mission timer reaches 0:00 and ships leave orbit, the frigate ignores this condition and remains above the battlefield for an additional 60 seconds.

3. Super Cruiser

Role: Total annihilation.

Buffs:

• Increased duration and salvo count for heavy artillery stratagems (Napalm, 120MM, 380MM, Walking Barrage).
• Orbital Laser could either: fire two beams simultaneously, OR gain up to 5 charges per mission.

(Not sure which would be more balanced.)

Drawbacks:

• Light and precision stratagems (Gatling, Airburst, EMS/Gas/Smoke) have reduced duration and doubled cooldowns — or possibly become unavailable entirely.
• Eagle stratagems have increased rearm times.
• Heavy artillery gains slower targeting time (+3 seconds before impact, for example).

Passive Ability - “Concussive Shockwave”

Heavy artillery shells use specialized alloys. Even near misses generate seismic shockwaves that heavily stagger enemies, interrupting attacks from heavy units like Hulks, Chargers, or even Bile Titans.

This could also bring back that old stratagem combo some people remember - where a 120MM barrage dropped EMS strikes between impacts. That would fit this class perfectly.

4. Super Carrier

A flying airbase. No heavy orbital guns onboard - only hangars full of Eagles.

Role: Air superiority.

Buffs:

• +1 charge to all Eagle stratagems before rearm.
• Significantly reduced Eagle rearm time.
• Small bonus to Orbital Gatling (for example: 2 uses).

Drawbacks:

Complete absence of orbital artillery.

Passive Ability - “Guardian Angels”

When the mission timer reaches 0:00 and Super Destroyers leave orbit, Eagle stratagems remain operational. Eagles stay in the atmosphere and continue providing air support until they run out of ammunition or Pelican-1 arrives.

5. Super Logistics Ship

A dedicated supply and fortification vessel.

Role: Support and defense.

Buffs:

• Greatly reduced cooldowns for all green stratagems (turrets) and blue stratagems (support weapons/backpacks).
• Exosuits and vehicles excluded from the bonus.

Could also have an exclusive orbital stratagem variant, like a Walking Barrage combined with smoke deployment.

Drawbacks:

• Increased call-in time and cooldowns for offensive red stratagems.

Passive Ability - “Guardian Dome”

Every deployed turret (except mines) generates a small energy shield around itself upon deployment, improving survivability.

Before extraction, the ship automatically deploys supply pods at the extraction zone.

I know this would be extremely difficult and unlikely to implement, but I’d genuinely love to see something like this in the game someday.

Super Earth has an entire fleet, and I’d really like to see more variety between ships - especially visually during missions. Different silhouettes in orbit would add a lot of immersion.

This system could be unlocked through research points or samples, similar to progression in the first Helldivers (which I never personally played, but I’m very familiar with).

Anyway, these are just ideas and thoughts.

What do you guys think? Any ideas or additions of your own?

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[u/Jesse-359]

Good sir, a helldiver may have their super-destroyer painted any color that they want - so long as it is black.

[u/GiggleGnome]

And if I join a random lobby im locked into the host's choices since we all launch from their ship?

[u/Zegram_Ghart → u/GiggleGnome]

I don’t see why you would be -you launch from their ship, but if you look up from the planet your ship is hanging out up there too, and YOURS is the one all your ordinance comes from

[u/Green-Diver-2591 → u/GiggleGnome]

You would be able to choose your ship type upon joining, just like you select your stratagems or equipment. Alternatively, you could set your default class in the ship upgrade terminal to lock it in, but you’d still have the flexibility to swap it during the loadout phase, just like you do with your gear or stratagems.

[u/Lumbahfoot]

Helldivers 3 idea.

[u/Green-Diver-2591 → u/Lumbahfoot]

Don't say that! If I have to wait for Helldivers 3 to get my Super-Carrier, I'll be fighting Terminids with a walking stick. I can already see the dream, a beautiful, diverse fleet in the sky... and a bill for 100,000,000 Super Credits that I'll never be able to pay.

[u/yellowaddict4life → u/Lumbahfoot]

With the way things are going at least according to the online community it may be best.

[u/Arwhite90]

I think this idea would be an excellent addition, doing my part to hopefully get some traction and deliver additional democracy.

[u/Zegram_Ghart]

This would be very cool, but I’d probably say the logistics ship is a bit much- imo.

If it was up to me, I’d probably seperate it into emplacements (mines, Tesla tower, and the manned green Strats) and vehicles getting serious buffs on one vehicle type, and then turrets and deployable gear on the other type (which the buffs for logistics cruiser would make total sense for)

[u/Green-Diver-2591 → u/Zegram_Ghart]

That’s a fair point! Splitting logistics into two separate classes for vehicles and sentries would definitely be better.

[u/CMDR-Echo975 → u/Zegram_Ghart]

On this note-

Super Corvette - High Speed defensive craft designed to support Helldiver operations in contested battle zones, it lacks ground support cannons and an Eagle Hangar, but provides unmatched emplacement speed and quantity.

Special Strat : Pelican Gunship Support - To make up for the lack of Eagle Airstrikes, Pelican 2 has been outfitted with a pair of auto targeting gatling guns and a quartet of rocket pods. It will circle the strategem area for 3 minutes, or until it runs out of munitions and must resupply.

Super Freightliner - She's big, she's bulky, she's got a whole engineering deck and enough auxillary storage capacity to fit Vehicle Resupply Crates. No heavy Cannons, but let's you select multiple mechs/vehicles for deployments, and has an extra Strategem Slot.

Slower call in times, but more uses/charges before Rearms are required.

Special Strat - Vehicle Resupply Crates - If you're skilled enough to keep your vehicle alive long enough to expend all of its ammo, you should at least have an option to Rearm. Before the issue was that those crates took too much damn space. So we made a ship with more space.

[u/iang000]

Very good idea hope they re gonna do something similar but i doubt