Meridia
“The Supercolony has been destroyed. In its place, a beautiful black hole remains, drawing in every Terminid spore within several billion kilometers.
— Super Earth Dispatch
Meridia was a Helldivers 2 Planet located in the Umlaut Sector. As one of the four Barrier Planets, it housed the Terminid Control System, which was supposed to prevent Terminids from infecting other sectors. Over the course of the game, it became an important location pertaining to the Terminid storyline, as its transformation forced Super Earth to destroy it.
Terrain
Meridia's terrain formerly consisted of vast ponds and heavily forested areas, with frequent volcanic activity resulting in volcanic debris being scattered across its surface. Later on, the Terminid Control System (also known as the TCS) would be installed planet-wide, with their large spray towers covering the entire planet. These towers would eventually lead to the formation of the Supercolony.
After transforming into a Supercolony, its terrain drastically changed, with a majority of the planet being covered in Terminid colonies. While parts of its original terrain could be seen, the vast majority of it consisted of materials typically found in Terminid Nests, with these formations towering up to several hundred meters. While small pockets of uncontaminated water could be found, most of it was contaminated and had a sickly yellow color.
Due to the actions of the Helldivers, the planet was turned into a black hole. While the location that previously held Meridia can still be visited in orbit, it is now impossible to land on it.
Lore
Meridia was an ordinary planet in the Umlaut Sector, but was designated as one of the four planets that would install the TCS (the other three being Erata Prime, Fenrir III, and Turing), which would collectively be known as the Barrier Planets. The deployment of the Termicide on the planet was a major success, however a small amount of Terminids that didn't die from it began adapting to it, dramatically increased their reproductivity and reduced generation times. These mutated Terminids grew out of control, overwhelming the planet and eventually transforming it into a Supercolony. The planet was quickly quarantined, and Super Earth's High Command prevented any attempts of liberating the planet, until they found a solution.
Eventually, Super Earth High Command determined that Meridia could not be saved, and made the decision to destroy the planet. When Helldivers returned to the planet in Operation Enduring Peace, they brought Dark Fluid with them, and began injecting large amounts of these containers into the planet's crust. These injections were designed to destabilize the entire planet, which would theoretically collapse the planet in on itself, creating a black hole. The plan succeeded, resulting in Meridia's complete destruction, and a black hole forming in its position.
Timeline
- April 29th, 2024 - High Command issued a Major Order to disable the Terminid Control System across the barrier planets. At this point, Meridia was already corrupted, which changed the Volcanic Jungle biome into the Supercolony biome.
- June 2nd, 2024 - Operation Enduring Peace was completed by the Helldivers. The Dark Fluid critical mass was reached, resulting in the planet collapsing into a black hole.
Trivia
- Meridia is the first planet in Helldivers 2 to be completely destroyed, removing the ability for Helldivers to land and play on it.
- Despite its destruction, it is still part of the Galactic Map, which means Helldivers can travel to its location and observe the black hole from orbit.
- Operation Enduring Peace is the first official mention of The Illuminate in Helldivers 2.
- According to leaks, there was a news broadcast prepared in case The Helldivers failed to liberate the planet, which described a catastrophic meltdown on Moradesh, resulting in the planet turning into a black hole. Thankfully, such an outcome never came to pass.
Gallery
Pristine
Daytime, No Effects
Daytime, Rainstorm
Daytime, Volcanic Activity
Meridia before becoming a Super Colony
Corrupted
Terminid-corrupted Meridia
The Meridia Supercolony as it appears on the surface
Orbit of the Terminid-corrupted Meridia
A corrupted TCS Tower on Meridia
Black Hole
The black hole formerly known as Meridia
The orbit of Meridia after being turned into a black hole
The black hole on the Galactic Map (with Fenrir III next to it)
