The Great Host
“The Illuminate invasion fleet, constructed in secret behind the veil of the Meridian Wormhole. It is headed for Super Earth itself.
— Galactic War Table Description
The Great Host was an Illuminate subfaction that attacked Super Earth using a massive fleet. It was whittled down, and eventually destroyed at the Battle of Super Earth.
Enemies
- The Great Host has no unique enemies, but introduced multiple:
These new enemies appear alongside standard Illuminate, and were added to their roster after the Battle of Super Earth.
Lore
The Great Host was a massive Illuminate warfleet, presumed to have been built up in secret behind the veil of the Meridian Singularity over the 100 years since the end of the First Galactic War.
After the Meridian Black Hole was stopped following the events of Major Order A2-4-5, Super Earth believed the Illuminate to be defeated. In reality, their brief period of inactivity was to prepare for a conventional invasion of Super Earth. With their arrival, the Crescent Overseers, Fleshmob, Stingray, and Leviathan were all introduced as permanent additions to the Illuminate's roster.
Initial Contact
The arrival of the Great Host was first detected by Station-81 and other Super Earth defense satelites. After exiting the Meridian wormhole, The Great Host launched an attack on Widow's Harbor, followed by Pilen V and New Haven, before finally reaching Super Earth itself. The ensuing battle spanned real life weeks over the course of 4 Major Orders.
Defense of Super Earth
The assault began with Major Order A2-5-2, where Super Earth High Command quickly deduced that it would be impossible to stop a force of such magnitude from reaching Super Earth. Nevertheless, Helldivers were ordered to whittle down The Great Host's fleet strength as much as possible while defenses were being prepared on Super Earth. The total strength of The Great Host fleet was measured as a percentage on Galactic War Tables across all Super Destroyers. Footage of this initial attack was disseminated online by Major Truth.
Several hours after the fall of New Haven, The Great Host razed Mars and began their invasion of Super Earth. By the time they had reached Super Earth, Helldiver forces had bled the fleet's strength by 21.5%. Major Order A2-5-3 marked the beginning of the Battle for Super Earth, followed by Orders A2-5-4 and A2-5-6.
As the battle went on, The Great Host was able to completely destroy the cities of Eagleopolis, Remembrance, Administrative Center 02, York Supreme, and Port Mercy. During the siege of Prosperity City, the President of Super Earth was killed in action by The Great Host's forces.
After weeks of fighting, a devastating cyberattack launched from Fort Union, and a collective defense of Equality-On-Sea and Prosperity City, the fleet´s strength was fully depleted, and the Great Host was forced to retreat.
Aftermath
Following their loss at Super Earth, the remnants of the Great Host activated their cloaking measures and fled into an unknown part of the galaxy. Super Earth scientists, using Illuminate wreckage, managed to decipher the Illuminate cloaking methods, and were able to track down the remnants of the Great Host.
Tactical Information
Trivia
- Despite the Great Host not being a permanent subfaction, such as the Jet Brigade or Predator Strain, it is considered a subfaction due to its Galactic Icon, which showcased its presence on the planet they were attacking.
- The Great Host is currently the only subfaction to cause long-term damage to planets it encountered, as multiple planets were razed after it conquered them.
- It is also the first subfaction to introduce brand new enemies, unlike other subfactions, which modifies existing enemies, giving them unique characteristics, and attack styles.
Gallery
The fleet in New Haven's orbit.
The Great Host in Super Earth's orbit.
Change History
1.003.000
2025-05-13
- Added to the game.
