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The Terminids' design and gameplay features contain several nods and references to various books, films and other videogames. Below, these references have been compiled by editors of this wiki. For trivia, easter eggs and references for the Bugs from Helldivers 1, see their article.

Overview

• With the Helldivers games being heavily inspired by the Starship Troopers 1997 film adaptation, the Terminids have various similarities to the "Arachnids" from said universe.
  • They carry similar monikers, like being referred to as "bugs" and their homes as "bug holes".
  • The objectives pursued toward the elimination of the bugs are similar to those seen in Starship Troopers (destroying their nests and cleansing planets of them).
  • Similar biology can be seen between the Terminids and Arachnids as well, their forelimbs being of similar shape
  • Various units in Helldivers 2 have counterparts in Starship Troopers' arachnids:
    • Tankers (ST) being alike to the Chargers (HD2).
    • Bile Spewers (HD2) being alike to the Plasma Bugs (ST).
    • Shriekers (HD2) being similar to the Wasps (ST).
    • Both factions share similar strategies, these being: strength in numbers, melee preference strategies, swarm tactics, chemical warfare, and divide and conquer.
• The Terminids also share characteristics with the Tyranids from the Warhammer 40.000 universe:
  • They demonstrate the ability to rapidly adapt to adverse chemicals, such as when the Terminids mutated in the face of the Terminid Control System. This ability is also displayed by the Tyranids, with a recent example being how, in Spacemarine 2, the Tyranids are shown to adapt to an Imperium Virus Bomb within just 36 hours.
  • Certain Terminids, like the Brood Commander and Alpha Commander, can exert control over other Terminids like Warriors and Hive Guards, much like how the Tyranid's own Hive Tyrant. Additionally, the usage of Swarm Intelligence by the Terminids is very reminiscent of the Tyranids' own Hive Mind.
  • Both the Tyranids and the Terminids spread through the use of interstellar spores.
  • The Bile Titan shows a striking resemblance to the Tyranid Bio-Titan, especifically the Hierophant variant. Meanwhile, the Dragonroach show a resemblance to the Tyranid Harridan.
  • The Hive Lord is strikingly similar to the Tyranid Mawloc. It is worth noting that both creatures were likely inspired by the Sandworm from Dune
• Molted shells of Hive Lords from Helldivers 1 can be occasionally seen throughout Terminid planets in Helldivers 2, suggesting that a century of rapid evolution allowed them to attain even more advanced forms. Living Hive Lords would eventually be found on the Hive Worlds within The Gloom.
• Both in Helldivers 1 and Helldivers 2, the Hive Lord behaves similarly to the Sandworm from the Dune franchise.
• Terminids developed immunity to the Termicide that was previously spread by TCS Towers in the Umlaut Sector, and attacked all four of the Barrier Planets, infecting Meridia to the point of no return in the process.
• It is helpful to note that, unlike the Automatons, Terminid spawns may vary from mission to mission. These are as follows:
  • Pouncers and Bile Spitters seem to replace each other in the spawn table.
  • Nursing Spewers and Bile Spewers seem to replace each other in the spawn table.
  • Bile Warriors only appear if Bile Spewers and Bile Spitters spawn but DO NOT replace the normal Warriors.
  • As of Patch 1.000.400, Shrieker patrols now also have a chance of appearing as an operation modifier.
• Based on the results of the TCS, the Terminid research initiative as well as experimentation with collected Gloom spores, Terminids tend to mutate when put under external pressure -- whether natural or unnatural. This causes them to reproduce faster as well as produce more and higher quality E-710. However, it also causes them to adapt or even create entirely new bug subspecies (or bring back old ones thought extinct). In fact, E-710 may be the catalyst for their mutative process, though this has yet to be confirmed or denied by the Ministry of Science.
• Apart from Element-710, fallen Terminids are also confirmed to be processed as "agricultural protein rations" during the aftermath of Operation Pest Control, which was to be given out to the displaced war refugees of the Korpus Sector in their invasion's aftermath. This confirms that Terminid meat is indeed edible for humans.
• One of the Super Destroyer broadcasts states that the official term for a group of Terminids is a "Bane of Terminids", before jokingly adding that the unofficial term is "Future Element-710".^[1]

References