Planet Menkent

Most Helldivers know Menkent as the "Hellmire of the West"— a blistered badland where storms, fire, and relentless Automatons forge legends and break squads.

Overview​

Scorching temperatures, high winds, and low precipitation cause a near-constant cycle of fires to sweep this planet, punctuated by short bursts of lush rebirth between infernos.

Menkent is a scorched-moor world on the Hydra Sector's rim—an FTL crossroads that became a flashpoint of the Automaton war effort. Its terrain and climate earned it the nickname "Hellmire of the West," and its proximity to Lacaille made it a natural anchor for defensive lines and supply routes.

Planetary Features​

Menkent's surface is a blistered badland: heat-warped rock, choking dust, and periodic fire tornadoes that cut visibility and incinerate careless squads. Operations often occur in intense heat and storm conditions, forcing short, deliberate pushes between cover and careful exfiltration timing. While Automatons don't burn like bugs, their internal electronics still fail under Menkent's extremes—an edge Helldivers can press with sustained explosive and thermal pressure.

Strategic Importance​

As a Hydra border world and FTL hub, Menkent links offensives east–west across the bot front. In several campaigns, it served as a gateway to Lacaille, with active supply lines tying it to Choohe and Chort Bay, holding Menkent and throttling Automaton advances deeper toward Super Earth space.

History & Lore​

The Menkent Line (2184)​

In April 2184, Super Earth ordered the establishment of the Menkent Line—a two-planet bulwark (Menkent + Lesath) built around rudimentary orbital defenses to stall the Automaton Reclamation Fleet. Helldivers liberated and defended Menkent repeatedly, but relentless bot pressure shattered the line days later when Lesath fell, leaving Menkent exposed and the western defense plan in tatters. Community debate raged over the line's value, but its delaying action still slowed the advance and bought time elsewhere on the front.

Campaign Beat: Reclamation & Counterpushes​

Bot thrusts from Valdis and adjacent sectors repeatedly made Menkent a frontline world; SEAF engineers staged forward bases and arrays in its orbit and nearby systems as the war tempo shifted between Terminid emergencies and Automaton pushes. Whenever Helldivers refocused on the west, Menkent was among the first targets to stabilize supply and restore sector mobility.

Notable Battles​

• Liberation & Defense Cycles (Apr 12–16, 2184): Menkent liberated, defended, and integrated into the provisional orbital grid before the collapse on Lesath compromised the line.
• Holding the Gate: Later orders leveraged Menkent to secure lanes toward Choohe/Chort Bay, denying bot supply while Super Earth reallocated forces.

On-Planet Combat Notes​

• Weather is the enemy: Dust squalls and heat events can mask patrols and punish overextension. Prioritize radar pings, flares, and extraction corridors with hard cover.
• Exploit thermal stress: Sustained explosives/overheat effects cripple Automaton internals even if the chassis stays intact—use volleys and overlapping fields of fire.
• Mission pacing: Short ops during storm windows, with quick redeploys between cells, outperform long slogs under stacking environmental hazards.

Legacy​

Menkent's reputation isn't just about its infernal weather; it symbolizes the community's shared effort to hold a line, lose it, and come back angrier and better coordinated. Whether as a launchpad into Lacaille or a shield for Hydra, Menkent remains a bellwether: when the planet burns, the galaxy pays attention.