My jaw literally dropped when I saw this. Is that *REALLY* you??? Holy shit, dude, thank you so much! And thanks to you and your entire team for making such an insanely fun game!
Mr. Pilestedt, I would just like to say that you and the people in charge of developing helldivers 2 have done such a brilliant job creating the terminds to be a fascinating species simply to theorise about, let alone fight!! I only wish to say that I noticed some of the little details that you can see in the game like how all the terminids seem to have a set of horns and that the shrieker has a set of mandibles like the pouncer and but not the hunter. Could you please give my thanks to the people responsible for all these details and could you maybe tell me if terminid eggs grow from their spores, I just noticed the fact they seem to have a root or support system after you blow them up. Again thank you for your work.😊 Also why do the stalkers have 4 wings?
Heeeeyyyyy me again! I know it's been a hot minute, but I'm currently doing research for my next Helldiver's video. I've seen a lot of repeating on the 'net that Arrowhead has said the galactic map won't reset when win/loss conditions are met (like happened in Helldivers 1). I was wondering if there was an official source out there on this, like an interview or a dev blog that I could point to. Or if you could confirm this is the case? I'm having a hard time turning up anything official because when I search I get results for players saying their map is bugged, or they don't like the speed at which planets are un-liberated during major orders. 😅 Thanks so much in advance!
Biologist here. If you wanna be the most *technically* correct, most insects aren't "bugs" either. Technically, the only "true bugs" are hemipterans, and they account for only a small portion of all insects.
@@logandarthebarbarian680wHo AsKeD? NoT tRyInG tO bE mEaN bUt ReAlLy, WhO iN tHe CoMmEnT sEcTiOn AsKeD It's almost like this is a comment section that's meant for people to leave comments instead of a question and answer section where people ask questions and get answers. But it's okay I understand that concept is too complicated for you, I mean you still don't understand when you don't want to be mean you aren't supposed to say anything at all instead you unsuccessfully tried a poor insult that wasn't even creative 50 years ago. I mean if you're going to be annoying at least use something new or creative
The savagery *eats popcorn* I had my two brain cells actually wonder about this so I was happy to see the clarification in the top comment!!! Thank you @loren
Ive always loved the thought of a helldiver who got marooned on some terminid planet, and he starts studying the bugs, not because he's curious, but because he finds all the ways to kill them in the right way by knowing their biology, how they operate, what works against them and what doesnt, i like to imagine that.
As your admirable admiral, i remind you that helldivers do not leave helldivers behind. Thusly this situation is impossible. However as this is purely non-publicized fiction there will be no consequence. I highly advize against spreading counter democracy propaganda in the future though.
Intresting points to add. 1: all termanid planets have small bugs flying around, sometimes in swarms, especially around hive structures and areas coated in hive material. 2: termanids seem to have some relation to fungus, they either cultivate or produce mushrooms and fungus, perhaps it's a symbiotic relationship.
Fungus and animal cells are very close structurally. Maybe Terminids are straight-up fungi? Who knows. Their biology is probably completely distinct from ours
One small thing: I've also found those larvae on Automaton planets, which either implies we're in for a heap of trouble or disproves them being Terminid larvae.
considering termininds are farmed for oil, and we know bots have oil and bug hole like caverns on their planets its not far fetched to say that they are on the planet, just kept inside their tunnels due to them being properly culled and farmed, unlike the bugs on the other side, which are supposidly being used to eliminate political dissidents, with helldivers just being used to cull them back down to their correct population size
Termanids are on *all* of the planets, used for oil farming, or possibly, control over local populations (the theory, being, that the outbreaks happen, to quiet local uprisings, allowing Super Earth to reclaim the territory, after everyone is dead).
Oh we're in for a heap of trouble, we're in the honeymoon, feel good portion of the story, meant to make the player feel secure, before Joel gets the real war started. If the leaks are to be believed, the Termicide will backfire spectacularly and we will then have a Terminid infestation of epic proportions and the Bots are angling for a mjor push towards Cyberstan, that will make the current assault look like a firecracker. Then there are the Illuminate, they will mess up all of Super Earth's plans and possibly can attack anywhere in the galaxy on a whim. Interesting times are ahead for the Helldivers and Super earth.
I’d say terminids aren’t *insects*. When I say “bugs”, I generally mean any creepy crawly I don’t want to touch. Ant? Bug. Spider? Bug. Centipede? Bug. Snail? Bug. I’m sure I’m not the only person who thinks that way about it lol
This was the moment for me as well, A Charger reared up to do it roar and display. “Huh.. they have individual Teeth… and both a top and lower Jaw set. Cool!-“ Proceeds to dodge for the next few minutes XD
if I remember, the engineer you talk to on the ship say that the terminids are not the same as the ones from 100 years ago, which would mean that scientists messed with their dna most likely, but I've never played the first helldivers so I don't know what they looked like in that one
everything evolves into a crab....... can't wait to see those kind of monsters in game...... thank you for the video.... i was eating while trying to watch.......
Fun fact! Chargers actually have little crab claws on their forelimbs! They’re supposed to look big and intimidating but they also have these funny little pincers!
@@sirpubert8728 To destroy your enemy, you must first know thy enemy. Pretty sure General Brasch said that and I think he invented war so its gotta be true
My biggest issue: do they "build structures" or do their nests GROW? They could be made like beehives, but to me they look like giant fungal colonies... they sprout fruiting bodies that provide light and warmth and defenses and can be collected as terminid samples. Worse yet, they seem to BREATHE. So I theorize that the largest terminid is actually the NEST
The material their structures are made of is hard. It seems to be some kind of material similar to what their exoskeleton is made from. I suspect it's that specifically that breaks down into E-710, too.
Alternatively, it's entirely possible that the Terminids have a symbiotic relationship with the Spore Spewers that make them practically inseparable and also far more viral in their spread. The common bug samples tend to be tiny fungus things that do be spewing, so it's not an impossible idea that Terminid hives may cultivate this fungus consciously or unconsciously
In helldivers 1 there is the termanid King who digs tunnels for new hives,I don't think the hives are alive. Made of termanid? Probably, gotta do something with the corpses if not eat them, but I don't think there living.
@@Rhynri Has anybody thought about the posibillity that the terminids we see are no single animals at all.. the spore thing got me thinking.. maybe this are all comglomarates of much smaller entities.. like a portuguese man-of-war?
I forget where the information came from, possibly my time spent playing Helldivers 1. But the Terminids are sentient. I love this because it means that every time I drop a hellbomb and watch a leaper desperately trying to destroy it before it explodes. I know that it understands what's about to happen to it, and it's terrified. Edit: I was just checking the wiki, if it's accurate, the old Terminids were sapient, the current ones may not be any more thanks to genetic engineering. Also, they are apparently able to change between cold and warm blooded.
At around 2:50 where she talks about the eyes and them having some other type of sensory ability, it makes a lot of sense that the terminids don't have any cause unlike the bots you can't sneak pass them and they can somehow always find and bum rush you even when in stealth do
I have a counter argument to the warm blood. We know they are filled with a blood that can be a fuel, and depending on the type gasoline and its components it freezes at a range of about -40 and -200 degrees Fahrenheit, with most of it freezing at -100 degrees. We might not see breath but fumes freezing in the air. So rather than being warm they may just be evolved in such a way that they do not freeze.
That could actually explain at least some of how they can travel to new planets without dying. That's good, that's damn good. I'm gonna have to do some looking into this.
C.S. Lewis in his autobiography talks about his arachnophobia at one point and he says the things that bothers him about them is the way they move, like "machines sprung to life".
I have been off handly working on this light lore write up for how the bugs were developed and somehow this single comment threw it all out and had me writing up little notes all over my desk. Inspiration in all angles.
Interesting fact, you find those grubs green sample on bot planets too. If we infer that your theory is correct and it is the larval stage of terminids, I fear we're in a lot of future hell.
I've had that exact same thought. Like I said, there's currently no proving or disproving this one currently. But I swear I've seen blown up charger remains on bot planets too. Rarely, but still....
Some terminids in game can actually smell you, like coded into the game smell you. Things that you expect to smell do smell, like weapon gasses. They put a lot of detail into them
@Sleeper____1472 Well, the real answer is "nothing," because they're alien and we don't have access to a dissection from them or anything from the devs. But hypothetically, they were a lot like crabs in the first Helldivers, and we know they've been genetically tampered with and that probably explains their more bug-like nature. The closest thing I can say is a new type of arthropod that regulates its own body temp. That's a huge defining feature, biologically speaking.
One theory I've heard is that the Bile Titans are actually the queens or matriarchs of their hives. They frequently show up after you destroy the eggs or blow up hives and in the opening cutscene, the Bile Titan is looming over the warrior in a way that looks like a doting parent before its head is blown off.
You really believe the Terminids have some form of parent-child compassion? That’s bordering on treason, Helldiver. But between you and me, I think it’s true!
Highly entertaining, *and* educational! I enjoyed learning so much about bugs (both real and Terminid) from someone who clearly knows a lot about them, and took the time to study them in great detail! I look forward to any future videos on the topic 👍
For the eyes bit, it reminded me of how Tyranids in Warhammer lack eyes because it's a form of weakness? There was something along those lines. I get those vibes from this and even Star Ship troopers. Those bugs did have eyes, but very very small.
Well, of course they're not bugs, they are an alien lifeform completelly separated from Earth's evolutionary chain, yet they strike a great resemblance to bugs hence the nickname.
Thanks! If you didn't see it in Memes and Shitposts, I want to try doing a bracket night where we argue about 16 of some category until we come out with a winner.
I do want to say, the Terminids do have eyes, however they don't really stand out on the model and tend to blend in, but they do exist. However, they are still very small ones.
@@Grayfox354They also spread signals using pheromones alongside some form of vocal chatter. I wonder if they even have some form of primitive language? The original Terminids were somewhat sentient, but the ones we have now seem pretty mindless
Fun fact on the invertebrate part: there’s a couple planets that have the skeletons of Hive Lords. The heads seem to be exoskeletons but they also appear to have internal spines
Maybe, but don't those remains seem a bit large to be the interior? I've always assumed it was the carapace exoskeleton like we see on the Bile Titans. It wraps around the "top" of their bodies and leaves the soft under bellies exposed.
The noises they make dont require lungs or vocal cords. The Madagascar hissing cockroach makes many different noises without the need for lungs or vocal cords. Also not every insect have eyes. Many have been discovered to possess no eyes or the eyes not functional.
True Fleas don't have eyes, which would be terrifying to think that if the Terminids are just a super type of Flea ... it means the Planets could be alive!! We're just warring through the galaxy on the Space Whale after Space Whale!!!
Animals specifically in the class Insecta have to have compound eyes. That's specifically the class we're checking against before comparing them to Arthropods in general. Terminids make guttural roaring sounds and clearly exhale from their mouths. Chances are very high they have a lung-like system and something akin to vocal cords. Especially when you consider their extreme size, and the fact that the atmosphere must be similar in composition to Earth. Since humans breathe on these planets without an oxygen supply.
I can see your point, but most insects do fit in her interpretation. Madagascar cockroaches are the exception, not the rule. They just have special spiracles which allow them to expel air tightly, leading to hisses. You could think of it this way. There could be an insect who only has five limbs instead of six. They could still fill most of the boxes and be considered an insect, but they’re the exception. Most other insects will still have six limbs.
Honestly, typically biological classifications go with one major feature everything in that class shares that other things don't have, two things in one class can be remarkably different, but if they have one gland or something, that other stuff doesn't have, they're classified together. The more specific your classification, the rarer the feature. Kingdoms it's something relatively common, like mammals it's the mammary gland, a platypus is venomous and has mammary glands spread around like sweat glands, and armadillo is closer to a turtle then a mammal at first glance, but mammary glands, so on so forth. So I would say Terminids being presumably warm blooded isn't enough to make them not an arthropod, considering all they really need are segmented bodies, jointed limbs, and a shell of chitin that is shed periodically.
but is this actually a shell made of chitin? Wouldn't they have to have that shell all around... and the spewers certainly don't have that, neither do the have guards. And for me the abdomen doesn't seem to be clearly seperated from the rest
I didn't, I just see the Bile Spewer as the most likely candidate to become the Bile Titan based on their spewing behavior (there's a sentence I never thought I'd say). The Bile Warriors are sticky, imo, as how and why they're there. Especially since there's no bile Brood Lords or Hive Guardians.
You said you've spent time with them? Does your faith waiver? I detect heresy. Wait, wrong game. I swear you were going to make a reference to locust changing under environmental stress, but axolotls are so cute.
The best part is, the Terminids from the first game were sentient beings with thoughts and language, but the genetically modified cattle we fight in 2 have kind of an Indominus complex where they don't really even know what they are. They are just angry and don't want to be scared anymore.
I think Hunters either diverge between Stalkers and Shriekers, or just become Shriekers. Stalkers have in-game lore indicating they're the result of an experiment conducted by Super Earth, so they might not fit into the typical lineup.
@@Jo.Plays.Games. I think they still have some "lobster" traits and a bit of that look still (to me at least). I'd love more videos on this though (please)
@@DHYFUGamingSimilar behavior, but Brood Commanders have a very very different body to Chargers. Chargers are visually much different to all the other bugs just due to how thick their carapace is
I hadn't considered food. We find piles of fresh corpses and human skeletons in their nests sometimes, so I assumed they were eating people. I've been wondering if the spore spewers are a kind of terraforming...
@@Jo.Plays.Games. id assume that naturally they would have to cultivate large subterranean fungal growth in addition to being predatory since I have no idea how they would sustain their size and metabolism otherwise. though that's pure speculation since at their size the biology needed for an exoskeleton capable of supporting a bile titan is beyond me. and beyond that there are types of Terminid even larger. honestly I'm not really well versed in the science pertaining to it to really make a proper hypotheses on it, and E710 being a fuel source capable of providing either the exotic matter or energy needed to travel FTL certainly leaves a lot of questions which cant really be answered with real world science.
@@Jo.Plays.Games. My own working idea is that we overworked the genetics of our oil machines to generate more and more product. In turn, something happened that was warned about but ignored. They broke past the genetic programming and became aware of our harvesting. We armed them with the ability to survive as a cash crop in any environment so farmers could handle the cattle on any planet. We built them to live and thrive anywhere we could do the same. The colony structure was suppose to be a self sufficient loop, keeping them feed and growing at a set rate. When the farms failed, it was not just an outbreak but a coordinated assault to shake us off. Now they are taking over those planets, (or maybe liberating in their non-existant eyes), They are just as much a machine threat as the bots, just in a more organic form. Maybe, just somehow, along the way they also learned from our own forces. They might have started with only a thirst to break the chains, survive, and live. Yet, now they may be finding a well of hate and taste of retalation to be a new locomotive force.
@@Epic_747 concerning the skeleton thing... on some plantes we find really big bones... and if you consider that the hive guards are only armored in the front.. maybe it's not an actual exoskeleton at all... Maybe it workes more like a tortoise shell or something like this
I had a huge list of comments to put here about bits that I'd noticed as well (which all support your point, they are not actually insects) but instead of coming across as a typical troll with the all too common " well actually..." i would rather say that i am so glad to have found someone who shares a similar interest with the obscure world of xenobiology. please keep it up.
Terminids must have really good/sensitive sensors some even in their legs or butt whiskers to be able to know where hell divers are even after getting their heads blown off. And probably a secondary brain like system
Yknow what really sets me off and just… creeps me out a little bit with the Terminids is their mouths, they resemble normal human mouths like way too much. Not to mention they breathe and you can see it in the cold, that’s not normal for bugs.
You mentioned that praying mantis legs thing and it just struck me that a stalker stood like a mantis with its front lil arms held up like a mantis before it went invisible
Calling the Terminids bugs is not a descriptor, it's a slur. :D. Also good pointing out their lack of eyes, which is logical, considering their underground habitat. I guess they use some sort of echolocation or seismological sensing to orient themselves.
I know! Obviously they're alien, and also I'm not actually so pedantic that I don't call spiders, non-insects, really anything creepy crawly a bug. I promise! The almost cilium-like threads along their exoskeletons might serve as a LOT of their sensory input, if they are naturally subterranean. I just can't understand if they do live underground naturally, WHY are their nurseries above ground....
My main question about Terminids is how they... Space travel? Bots using space ships is easy to imagine, but them bugs? Even Tyranids from 40K bio "hive ships" struggle and need the power of magic... moving thanks to psychic powers (since agitating tendrils in the void doesn't thrust very much). Terminid hive ships? Even if it doesn't make sense, I need to see that in game. It would be lame to have them just spreading through stuff like spores, or have an easy solution such as "they already have hidden eggs in every planet so they can pop up anywhere".
@@Jo.Plays.Games. From the first game, it's been thought that they rapidly evolve some microbial form and launch it into space or on an asteroid, or have their eggs do the same
I think _we_ move them around. First it was to farm them, but now I believe tiny Terminid spores/eggs get stuck on Helldivers or in containers and whatnot and are transported by our Super Destroyers.
You can hear Chargers huffing and puffing as they rush at you, as well as most larger Terminids start coughing out blood when damaged enough. Very interesting!
The 3 terminus evolutionary lines (in my opinion) are categorized by the bile line always having green parts somewhere , the hunter/stalker line always having wings (this includes Shriekers) and the other line which is the warrior line idk about
Yeah they are bugs. Like arachnids are bugs. Insects are bugs. Crustaceans are bugs. Worms are bugs. Bugs is a catch all term for anything creepy crawly. Shrimps is bugs.
A simple and comprehensive documentary to understand one of the enemies of managed democracy! Thank you fellow Helldiver/Scientist for your insight and provision of valuable knowledge for the troops of Super Earth! Keep up the good work!
Sexual dimorphism isn't going to result in the branching physiology if these creatures are eusocial. If they are (I'm fairly certain they are) and if earth organisms are anything to go off of (they may or may not be) than what we're seeing is just polymorphism. Similar to ants being able to modify larvae (maybe by overfeeding or the queen laying an altered egg) to produce nanitics workers warriors majors and super majors (all the same species, all the same gender, vastly different physical appearance)
The hive lords, which aren’t officially in the game yet, have skeletons complete with spines, ribs, and skulls . Currently you can find their skeletons lying around, usually next to destroyed mech suits. There’s also those absolutely massive bones sticking out of the ground of some planets, but I have no clue what they could be from
So some news about your work, Warriors have another form called the bile warrior and from there they move onto the Bile titan or spewer stage. you just overlooked bile warriors and wanted to add that
That sexual dimorphism point is really interesting. I just assumed there was a variety of types that grew from the little ones with some sort of queen or spore system for eggs. (They call them spores in game I think, which is definitely a Starship Troopers reference, but Arrowhead doesnt seem to do things half-asses so its probably relevant to the conversation.) Thanks for the info!
The larva samples can be found on automaton planets as well so either it’s a mistake on the devs side (but would explain why we see dead terminates on those planets as well) or this is how the bugs spread like a face hugger hiding in dead bodies or serving in Humans stomachs or something
Observation: I've noticed Terminids acting exhausted, either through heat or others. Using beam weapons especially on hot planets seems to wear out chargers.
Another proof that terminids have something similar to lungs, is the fact they can get so big. Here on earth that's the reason we don't have huge bugs. I also heard somewhere (but I forgot the reasoning) that terminids also might have a very high intellect, almost human like
I didnt know how to pronounce Chitin before this vid, i've been saying it wrong since realizing my inventory was clogged by 20 Chaurus Chitin in skyrim
I feel like they do have eyes but they are severely compact and the reason that some move after their heads being blown off could be final commands sent through their nervous system
Maybe! I don't necessarily agree with the movement being the "last command," though, because they will actively turn and follow your random movements with their heads blown off.
Idk i just saw some other guy go over it and thought that kinda made sense cause other bugs on earth like ants sometimes do that. And for the movements targeting you could just be ai i guess, but in my experience what i put down happens alot where the attacks are random @@Jo.Plays.Games.
would think they're probably eusocial and then cultivating similar to how ants cultivate some funguses to eat or if you want to go completely batshit crazy the possibility that's actually a first stage why they're so hard to get rid of
The linguist inside my head points out that "bug" is a colloquialism and can refer to any arthropod-like creature. Just throwing this out there because there are the biologists and their terminology and how they classify within their community, and then there are the _linguists_ who deal with the words themselves and how people in general understand them. So really it depends on if you are speaking technically or colloquially.
