Helldivers 2 Lumberer Exosuit Teased: What It Was and What to Expect

Arrowhead recently posted an image on Helldivers 2‘s official social channels with no caption: a Helldiver facing a tree stump, knife in hand, having carved what looks like a stratagem code into the wood.

That alone would have been cryptic enough; the scratched-out code above it, however, not so much:

pic.twitter.com/Jyq7SSymRk

The faded sequence vaguely reads ↓→↑←↓→, which Helldivers 1 veterans will recognize immediately as the call code for the EXO-51 ‘Lumberer’ Exosuit. Below it, freshly carved: ←↓→↑ →←↑, matching the updated input layout used for Exosuit stratagems in Helldivers 2. Given the fact that both appear on a literal wooden surface, the “Lumber” pun was also not lost on anyone.

The community response was quick. Within hours, the r/Helldivers thread connecting the dots had thousands of upvotes, and the consensus settled fast: the Lumberer is coming, and High Command is apparently done pretending otherwise.

What Was the EXO-51 Lumberer in Helldivers 1?

Two arms, two very different problems solved. | Credits: Arrowhead Game Studios

The EXO-51 ‘Lumberer’ Exosuit was a DLC stratagem from the Vehicles Pack (via Steam) in the original Helldivers, and it filled a very specific role: anti-heavy fire support with crowd control backup. It packed a 90mm cannon on one arm and a flamethrower on the other, which meant it could annihilate armored targets and torch whatever came running in behind them.

That 90mm cannon was no novelty. It shared the same gun found on the TD-110 Bastion and the M5-32 HAV, the difference being a tighter ammo count of 10 rounds base, upgradeable to 15. So, the trade-offs were fewer shots and decreased mobility, in exchange for enough raw stopping power to destroy Cyborg AA guns, Bug Nests, and Illuminate Beacons without burning a more nuclear option in your loadout.

The flamethrower arm added a secondary identity as a close-quarters mop-up tool. Helldivers would lead with the cannon on priority targets, then switch arms when smaller threats closed in.

What to Expect From the Lumberer Exosuit in Helldivers 2

Working off the existing mech/vehicles roster as a reference point can help frame expectations. The EXO-45 Patriot handles rockets and a minigun, the EXO-49 Emancipator runs dual autocannons for anti-armor work, and, more recently, the TD-220 Bastion introduced a 120mm high-velocity cannon paired with a heavy coaxial machinegun.

The Lumberer would slot in as something different from all three. If Arrowhead stays faithful to its original design, we’re looking at a cannon-and-flamethrower combo that has no direct equivalent in Helldivers 2 yet.

The flamethrower side is easier to visualize now with the B/FLAM-80 Cremator from the Entrenched Division warbond giving the community a sense of what the devs consider “heavy flamethrower” territory. That’s a solid baseline for what the mech’s fire arm could deliver.

The cannon side is where things get interesting. The Bastion has already proven that high-velocity heavy cannon gameplay translates well into the sequel, and a mech-mounted version with the same firepower but tighter ammo does sound like “well-balanced” fun. Combining that with a close-to-medium-range flamethrower arm against bugs and squids, in particular, sounds like the kind of loadout every democracy-loving Helldiver would happily lean into.

Are you hoping the Lumberer stays true to its Helldivers 1 roots, or would you rather see Arrowhead take some liberties with the design for the sequel? Let us know in the comments below!