EXCLUSIVE: CommissarKai Opines On Helldivers 2 Creator Controversy, Community Development & More (Part 2)

This is the second part of our exclusive interview with CommissarKai, the community-favorite YouTuber known for his humor-driven guides, tactical deep dives, and unshakable dedication to spreading Managed Democracy. (You can read Part 1 of the interview here.)

In the first half, we talked about Arrowhead’s recent bug-fixing patch, the Propaganda Commanders controversy, and Kai’s thoughts on community discourse, upcoming content, and his plans to diversify beyond Helldivers 2—to games like Deep Rock Galactic and Battlefield 6.

Now, in Part 2, the Commissar dives deeper: from his favorite loadouts and future game picks to his Warhammer roots and his unfiltered thoughts on what Arrowhead needs to fix next.

FandomWire: Talking about Deep Rock Galactic and Battlefield 6 actually leads perfectly into our next question — have you had a chance to try Battlefield 6’s new free-to-play battle royale mode, RedSec?

CommissarKai: Not yet. I just got back from a trip to Denver yesterday, so I haven’t had time. If I didn’t have to write a script and handle all the footage editing, I’d definitely be trying it out right now.

That said, I don’t know if that mode is what’s going to hook me on Battlefield forever. I think, for me personally, it’ll be something I play occasionally with friends. But it does look really cool. I’m glad they kept the spirit of Battlefield alive — there are still tanks, class gadgets, all that stuff. It doesn’t feel like a Warzone clone, which was what I was afraid of. It still feels like Battlefield, so I can’t wait to try it.

[About RedSec being free-to-play] Yeah, that’ll also be a great chance for me to reach a different audience. The people who play free battle royales aren’t usually the same ones watching Helldivers content. It’s kind of like sports games — the people who play Madden aren’t typically playing Helldivers. But I think — because it will be fun and I can play it with my friends — I can make some good content on it.

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FandomWire: And do you think your roleplay-driven Commissar style from Helldivers 2 will carry over to Battlefield, or are you planning to try something new?

CommissarKai: This is just me, dude! Like, the whole Commissar bit is basically an excuse for me to act the way I do. (Laughs.) I like having something to attach to — something to roleplay with.

In my upcoming Battlefield video, there’s a part where I yell, “I bet these guys don’t even believe in managed democracy!” while I’m holding a corner with a turret. I love having something like that I can roleplay off, but I think having, you know, the Commissar from Helldivers show up in other games — I think it’ll work! I mean, I’ll know for sure after my Battlefield video. (Laughs.)

But, yeah, you can definitely expect [the same energy] to be in Battlefield. It’s not gonna change. (Laughs.) My teammates are still my meat shield, I’m still outside the chain of command — yeah, it’s going to be the same.

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FandomWire: We can’t wait to see your Battlefield video — or whatever you do next. You’re not planning to make a separate channel for your new projects, right? Is it all staying under CommissarKai?

CommissarKai: I’ve thought about that, and honestly, I’m not sure. I haven’t really covered other games before. I made a Space Marine 2 video once, but it didn’t do very well.

My Helldivers videos take longer to make than most — about a week each — and I’ve actually considered making a second channel just for gameplay videos, because I have a lot of games with a lot of great moments that never really make it into the final videos.

I don’t know if I’ll make a different channel for other games, though. I’d like to keep it all on one, because I really believe in my message — I really want to show people that it is okay to be just enthusiastically enjoying a game, playing with random people, making new friends, and stuff.

That’s something I really want to inject into the gaming community. I came from League of Legends, where everyone seems to hate each other all the time, and I hated that. So, if I can use my brand as the “Commissar” to show people the way, I would love to do it.

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FandomWire: You mentioned Deep Rock Galactic earlier. How would you explain it to a Helldiver who hasn’t played it yet and encourage them to try it out? Also, there was a lot of speculation about a crossover between Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic when the underground caves update came out — what are your thoughts on that?

CommissarKai: The only real barrier with Deep Rock Galactic, I think, is the art style. If you can get over that — or if it appeals to you — you’ll love the game.

If we compare it to Helldivers, instead of fighting for Managed Democracy, you’re working for The Company. You’ve got all these rallying cries like “For Karl!” or “Rock and Stone!” — you have this “bonding glue” of an in-universe reason for you to care.

In Deep Rock Galactic, you’re an expendable employee, sent into incredibly dangerous situations to collect valuable resources that you’ll never see. But because you share that expendable nature with your teammates, it makes everything feel really close. Like you want to make sure every dwarf makes it out alive.

The main appeal to DRG for me is the way the class system interacts with each other. Everybody has these innate synergies that you don’t even have to try to pull off. But since everyone goes into a mission with the same goal, you’re very encouraged to stay together. And when you do, your abilities kind of compound with each other to create a really fun experience.

There are dozens of bugs charging at you, others trying to grab or string you up to the ceiling — there’s just a lot of great content to that game! And it’s kind of a shame that it doesn’t have more players. I’d love it if it had a similar player base as Helldivers. Because I think Deep Rock, on average, has only 10,000 people playing it, but it is way underrated. It’s a great game.

[As for a crossover,] Oh, that would’ve been great! I don’t know how they’d sell that, though, because you’re a dwarf — like, you’re small, you know? So if they were to do a collab, it’d have to be kinda tongue-in-cheek, because making a Helldiver that’s half the size of the other Helldivers would look kind of weird.

But if they made allusions to the mining company, or maybe had one of the gloom planets be the one that the dwarves go mine on, they could do a lot that would, I think, really encourage cooperation between the two games, because they are very similar.

Even in Deep Rock, you drop in a group “hellpod” that drills through the ground. It’s very similar. There’s even calling in resupplies. So yeah, I’d love a collaboration between them — I’m just not quite sure how they’d do it.

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FandomWire: There’s definitely a lot of potential there — maybe something beyond just a themed Legendary Warbond, like the Halo: ODST one?

CommissarKai: Yeah, yeah, they could definitely do that kind of in-universe stuff I mentioned. They could import a few of the weapons that aren’t quite as “wacky.” Because something I hate that discussions sometimes turn into is this whole realism argument. If you mention “realism” in Helldivers, you get a bunch of angry nerds immediately crawling all over you. (Laughs.)

But immersion is important. Like, if I have some kind of goofy weapon that literally throws poop at the enemy, it’s gonna feel weird in Helldivers. It kind of ruins the vibe. But if they gave us something like the laser cannon from DRG, framed as mining equipment that only the most rugged miners can handle, then that would work.

You just couldn’t have the more goofy aspects — it wouldn’t mesh with the atmosphere of Helldivers.

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FandomWire: Alright, changing gears again — talking about gaming in general, what are your current top five games across all platforms, other than Helldivers 2, of course?

CommissarKai: Okay, top five across all platforms. We’ve got Expedition 33 — that game is so good. I wanna get the soundtrack on vinyl because it’s just… oh, it’s pure ear candy!

I do think Battlefield 6, even though it just dropped, is up there because of how fun it is to play with other people. Also, Darktide has gotta be in there — I love 40K a lot, and in that game, I can play as a literal Commissar. It’s hard for me not to enjoy that.

Rogue Trader is another top game for me. It’s a CRPG that is just, I don’t know, it’s very crunchy — there’s a lot you can dig into with it. It’s got a great story, and the combat system is really fun. The only downside is that you have to read a lot in that game. (Laughs.)

And then for my last pick — and I’m excluding Helldivers here since that one feels a little too obvious — I’m really excited to play Ghost of Yotei. I haven’t had the time yet, but I’ve been watching a lot of that game, and it just looks perfect for me. I love the cinematic stuff you can do — that “ghost pose” and then the guy just falls to the ground, terrified? I would eat that up. As soon as I get the chance, I’m playing that one.

Oh, and I completely forgot Baldur’s Gate 3! My wife and I play it all the time on PlayStation. It’s amazing — I just forgot about it because it’s old.

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FandomWire: With The Game Awards coming up in December, what would be your personal pick for Game of the Year 2025?

CommissarKai: Expedition 33. And it’s for multiple reasons. The story — incredible. It’s such a gut punch throughout the whole thing. It builds up slowly with one plotline and then drops a second one on you out of nowhere. It’s just so engaging; you really want to know what happens next.

The combat is so unique — I’ve never played anything like it. It’s like Final Fantasy, but with a lot of real-time elements. You’ve got to stay locked in and focused; you’ve got to nail the parries and button combinations to get your abilities to do the most damage. It’s incredible.

And then obviously, the soundtrack — it’s so good I listen to it at the gym. It’s just amazing. If Expedition 33 doesn’t win, I’m going to be really upset. There are a lot of great candidates this year — like Silksong, maybe — but Expedition 33 just hit me, like, over and over and over again.

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FandomWire: You’ve clearly got a great eye for what makes a game stand out. Shifting focus a bit — let’s talk about your own creative process. Which streamers or other creators would you say have had the biggest influence on your style and approach to content?

CommissarKai: Well, Eravin has had quite an influence on me — but for a very funny reason. He and I are friends; we talk all the time. I actually got into Helldivers’ content because of him, and it’s because he said something that really annoyed me.

He kept repeating that the only content that mattered in Helldivers was the highest difficulty, and that bothered me. So I was like, “I’m gonna show people that it’s easy.” That’s how my first series, Anyone Can Be a Solo Helldiver, started.

As far as influences on how I present my content, I’ve taken bits and pieces from people like The Act Man and RennsReviews. I have my own style, but I look to others for things like editing techniques, how tightly they write their scripts, or what they show on screen. I don’t take much from other people’s personalities, but I do take a lot from how they produce content.

In the Helldivers space, though, nobody really does what I do. Nobody makes teamplay-focused guides with a lot of humor in them. It’s usually news updates, straight-to-the-point guides, or tier lists — and I don’t have a lot of interest in doing those. I actually really hate doing tier lists; they’re like the junk food of content to me.

There are a lot of creators I’ve looked at for editing style, script writing, or voice presentation — how you deliver your lines, for example. As far as that goes, probably The Act Man… and Brilliant Stupidity — he’s a Warhammer: Total War YouTuber, and he does some really great stuff with how he edits his videos. I really like that.

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FandomWire: Okay, let’s get back to Helldivers 2 for a bit. Could you walk us through some of your favorite loadouts? You’ve already mentioned you’re not a big fan of tier lists, so maybe there are some niche picks you prefer — certain weapons, stratagems, or even enemy types you enjoy facing the most among the three factions currently in the game.

CommissarKai: I’ll answer that in reverse order. The enemies I like fighting the most are the Devastators. I feel like they’re really well balanced — I just wish there were more of them. I’d love it if the game could spawn larger numbers or have them come in from different angles. There’s just something satisfying about fighting them — ripping their armor apart, blowing them in half, taking off their heads, or even blasting off their guns so they can’t do anything. They’re by far my favorite enemies to fight.

Next after that would probably be Tanks. I wish there were more tank encounters. They hardly ever spawn, but if the game had full-on tank columns? I’d love that.

As for loadouts, I’ve got a bunch I could talk about, but one I think is really underrated is just running the basic Liberator, EATs, and the Supply Pack.

If you run those three things, you can take on anything in the game. That setup is, in fact, so generalist that it works on any front. You can bring orbital napalm barrages, sentries, Railcannon Strikes — whatever secondary or grenade you want — and those three items alone will let you kill anything.

The Grenade Launcher is another criminally underused one, especially against Automatons and the Illuminate. I think people get so scared of Hulks or Harvesters that they forget how powerful it is to just delete stuff. The Grenade Launcher feels like a true support stratagem — it’s as strong as dropping a cluster strike, and you can just keep firing it over and over.

You can even do some weird stuff with it — like digging holes or trenches. One of my favorite ways to beat the Spread Democracy mission is to have my team bring a bunch of sentries, dig a hole, and just cover the ground in sentries while we salute the flag.

And then the last one I’ll mention is the Airburst Launcher. That thing is insanely strong, but I think people are still traumatized from when it first came out — because it used to just be the “team-wipe stick.”

You’d fire it, and it would explode instantly and kill your whole squad. It doesn’t really do that anymore, and as long as you’re a little careful with it, it can absolutely wreck every faction. It’s also the only support weapon in the game that could kill a Fleshmob in one hit before the latest update.

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FandomWire: Speaking of future content, which upcoming games are you most excited to play — and why?

CommissarKai: Oh, upcoming games? [Hmm…] what’s on people’s radars right now? Oh — there’s a game called Blight. That game looks really cool. It’s a medieval extraction shooter where you go into these tainted villages and just try to survive, collect stuff, and stab things to death. I don’t know why, but I’m really excited to play it. It’s supposed to come out later this year.

There’s also another one — I can’t remember the exact name — but it’s the one where you go back to medieval times with modern weaponry and a truck. I think it’s called Kingmaker or something like that. That game looks awesome. I can’t wait to try it.

[Furthermore,] a lot of the games I wanted to play have just recently come out, so my hype for future stuff is kind of mellow. The way I handle it is — if it’s not out yet or isn’t coming in the near future, I kinda just forget about it on purpose. Otherwise, I’ll just end up yearning to play it when I can’t.

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FandomWire: That’s a healthy way to look at it. On that note, you’re also a known Warhammer fan — your bio literally says “For the Emperor” alongside “For Democracy,” and you’ve said your roots are in Darktide content as well. What are your thoughts on Amazon and Henry Cavill’s upcoming live-action Warhammer adaptation, and what would your expectations be for a Warhammer Cinematic Universe?

CommissarKai: I’m a little nervous about it, but Henry Cavill is a massive Warhammer nerd — dude literally plays Adeptus Custodes on tabletop, and anyone who plays those is die-hard For the Emperor. So, I’ve got a lot of faith that if he’s got creative control, or at least heavy influence, it’ll turn out good.

Warhammer has only recently come into the mainstream, and Amazon has made some good stuff before, so I think I’m basically hopeful for it. But my biggest expectation is that they have to keep the grimdark part. Grimdark is so important to Warhammer.

If they try to PG-13-ify it, it’s going to suck. Like, in Warhammer, computers don’t even really exist — they’re all human beings who’ve been lobotomized and their brains are used as processors. Warhammer is not a nice place to be. They need to embrace that darkness for it to work. If they capture that essence, it’ll be really cool.

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FandomWire: We’re coming to the end of the interview — it’s been very nice to hear from you so far, Kai, but this one’s important. If you had the opportunity to sit down with Arrowhead’s leadership for a day, what would be your top three recommendations to improve Helldivers 2 as a game?

CommissarKai: Okay, well, my number one recommendation would be to stick to their guns on fixing the game. One patch was not enough. If they go right back to putting out new content, I’m gonna be incredibly mad — because until the game works well for everybody, anything you do is just gonna suck. It doesn’t matter how incredible the gameplay is or how much you fix the balance if the game itself doesn’t work.

Since they’re working on a discontinued engine, they have to master it — really make it their own. So I’m perfectly comfortable if they take another month or two of no new content just to fix the game.

[Additionally,] they need to communicate better with players in-game about how the game is supposed to work. For instance, calling primary weapons “primary weapons” is the dumbest thing they could’ve done — it makes you think you’re supposed to use your little shotgun to kill everything you see, while stratagems are just kind of… there. But that’s not how Helldivers works.

It’s like if you were playing Call of Duty and didn’t need to earn a killstreak to call in a chopper gunner — you can just do it. That’s how Helldivers is balanced. It’s built around the idea that you have these incredibly destructive stratagems. The reason this becomes such a problem is that it’s not communicated well. The training doesn’t teach players how important stratagems actually are.

I’d definitely advise them to maybe add a bestiary showing different enemy weak points, or rework the tutorial to focus on how vital stratagems are. Because your little peashooter — even if it’s the Eruptor — is nothing compared to an Eagle Cluster Strike. They’re not even comparable.

And finally, on balance, I wouldn’t worry too much about nerfs. I think Arrowhead is absolutely terrified to ever nerf anything — and while I don’t think they should be nerfing stuff now, I do think they should let us have fun with things first and then adjust from there.

Like, if you make the SMG do a hundred damage and take away the drag so it’s just a laser beam that kills everything — let us try that out, let us have fun with it, and then tune it down if it’s really too strong. The game lives and dies on variety. If one or two weapons are clearly better than everything else, the solution is not — and cannot always be — to just buff everything up to that level. That’s how you get power creep.

And then the game just falls apart at the seams because if there’s no challenge, you get bored — and boredom kills a game faster than any controversy ever could. So I hope they’ll be a little more open to letting us have some truly overpowered stuff and only nerf things if it’s actually an issue.

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FandomWire: That’s some really constructive feedback — definitely the kind of discussion that’s been missing from the Helldivers 2 subreddit lately. Finally, before we wrap up, is there anything important we didn’t cover? Anything you’d like to clarify, or a message you’d want to share with our readers and your fans?

CommissarKai: Yeah — I would say, like, try not to get too caught up in drama. Drama on YouTube is made for engagement. That’s the point of it.

We can look at things Arrowhead and the company have done wrong and criticize them — we should. But the only way you’re going to get a big company to listen is to vote with your feet. If you don’t think Helldivers is a good game to play, walk away from it. That’s what I did — I couldn’t play the game, couldn’t make footage, so I stepped back. And that’s what companies actually pay attention to — not people whining and complaining online, because that all just turns into noise.

I think we all need to remember the reason we like this game so much is not because it’s always been incredibly balanced or anything else — it’s because of the core gameplay loop and the community around it. If we lose that community to toxicity, the game will die. 

We’ve got to try to stay on the positive side of things — not overly praising everything, but if we’re able to pressure Arrowhead to get stuff done without losing our soul? Then that’s what we should strive to do.

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Few creators wear their passion as openly as CommissarKai. From the co-op chaos of Helldivers 2 to the dark tunnels of Deep Rock Galactic and even the haunting beauty of Expedition 33, everything he touches feels powered by the same thing: pure love for the game.

For Kai, games aren’t just about balance changes or frame rates. They’re about people. About those shared moments of chaos and triumph that remind you why you play in the first place. His signature blend of humor, sincerity, and tactical insight has turned him into more than a creator; he’s become a voice for players who simply love being part of something bigger.

And if his plans are any indication, this isn’t a creator slowing down anytime soon. From more Helldivers 2 guides and breakdowns to unexpected detours into new worlds and genres, the Commissar’s next mission will always be one worth tuning in for.

Keep an eye on FandomWire for more exclusive creator interviews and community deep dives—and let us know in the comments below what you’d like to ask CommissarKai next time he joins us. For Democracy!

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