Helldivers 2 player embraces their inner Lisan al-Gaib, discovering a way to surf on the back of the game’s giant floating Leviathans: ‘I spent longer than I would like to admit setting this up’

Helldivers 2‘s most recent update has put Super Earth in big trouble. A massive Illuminate invasion scythed straight through the outer planets belonging to humanity, striking right at the Heart of Democracy. Illuminate thralls stalk the streets while vast floating Leviathan creatures bombard brave Helldivers from below.

In these dark times, Super Earth looks for a hero, one who will unite humanity in a shared cause and liberate Super Earth from the Illuminate menace. Indeed, the Helldivers await their equivalent of Dune’s Lisan al-Gaib. And the good news is, they may just have found them.

Over on r/Helldivers, the aptly named Helldivers 2 player Beautiful-Injury7738 shared a video of themselves riding one of the aforementioned Leviathans. Titled “Leviathan Surfing”, the video depicts Beautiful-Injury standing atop a building, waving the flag of democracy as one of the giant creatures approaches, before using the game’s recently added jetpack to hover over and land on the Leviathan’s back.

Leviathan Surfing from r/Helldivers

To be clear, you’re not really supposed to do this, but Helldivers 2’s commitment to mechanical consistency (and general disregard for Helldiver safety) means that you can. “I spent longer than I would like to admit setting this up”, admits Beautiful-Injury. The video doesn’t show the setup for the ride. But it’s clear that Beautiful-Injury used the jetpack to summit one of the newly added skyscrapers that cover the surface of Super Earth. The trick appears to be finding a structure that is climbable while also being the appropriate height to safely land on the Leviathan’s back.

From there, it’s a simple case of hanging on, which Beautiful-Injury manages for a full two minutes. This is trickier than it might sound, as while Leviathans don’t actively try to throw you off, they do undulate while flying, making it easy to slide off and plummet to your death.

On Reddit, the video immediately drew comparisons to the sandworm-riding scene from last year’s Dune: Part Two, with numerous fellow redditors declaring Beautiful-Injury to be Helldivers 2’s very own Lisan al-Gaib.

Sadly, our hero and saviour wasn’t around for much longer. As the Leviathan drifted out of the combat zone, Beautiful-Injury was targeted by the anti-desertion artillery that prevents Helldivers from straying beyond the map, and ultimately blown to smithereens by the very people he was destined to lead. Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a more fitting ending, and it’s exactly what would have happened to Timothee Chalamet had Dune: Part Two been directed by Joel.

Meanwhile, the battle rumbles on. Harvey dropped in to do his part for Super Earth a few days ago, and had a blast causing millions in property damage while attending a few ad-hoc Illuminate raves. The broader HD2 community, meanwhile, has fallen head over heels for the new NPC SEAF troops. And I don’t mean they’ve had their feet blown off by Illuminate ordnance.