Roguediver sub-factions

Roguediver AI concept

 

As mentioned previously, this elusive faction inhabits the Galaxy playing cat and mouse with Super Earth, avoiding direct conflict by remaining undetected and mobile.

Roguedivers are former Helldivers, SEAF personnel, or simply individuals capable of surviving on hostile planets far from civilization. They are typically deserters or convicts.

Due to their  complete lack of hierarchy—and in many cases, even awareness of one another’s existence—they cannot be considered a proper human faction. They are labeled as such only for the sake of categorization.

I will not describe the “average” Roguediver here, as they have already been covered earlier.

Broadly speaking, Roguedivers fall into two main sub-categories: Voyagers and Nomads plus two controversial bonus categories left as surprise in the end.

Voyagers aka "Spacedivers"

Close representation of a Spacediver Voyager
Source: Pinterest

Voyagers are pilots of small- and medium-sized shuttles who pursue various career paths, some of which involve illegal activities. For instance, they smuggle illicit goods under the radar across the galaxy, traveling from port to port. If Super Earth’s space customs officials grow suspicious, they hit the burners and disappear into safe havens.

Others engage in piracy, which allows them to acquire larger vessels—either corvettes or makeshift destroyers pieced together from Automaton and Super Earth scrap parts.

Finally, spacedivers are explorers and wanderers of deep space; they seek exotic alien substances and relics to steal and sell for a fortune.

Nomads

Sexy Roguediver "Former SEAF girl" concept in desert planet (lore unfriendly but why not)

These vagabonds are borderline non-combatants who prefer to live in close proximity with one another, forming communities and hidden settlements. For now, the only planets they inhabit are Fenrir III—a world Super Earth long ago dismissed as “strategically valueless” and abandoned. But the most daring ones, however, can be found in Tarrak’s Reach.

Necrodivers

Close representation of "Charon" aka callsign Revenant-05

These unfortunate Divers are suffering from Necrosis, an alien condition whose origins remain unknown to Super Earth scientists...

Super Earth high command treats the infected like lepers. The moment a Crew Medical Officer identifies the tell-tale signs, the afflicted Helldiver is immediately abandoned on the barren planet and left to their fate—officially out of fear that the condition might be contagious.

In some cases, however, Necrosis is deliberately weaponised as punishment. When a Democracy Officer decides that an insubordinate or rebellious individual deserves a fate worse than death, and the planet below is known to harbour necrotic symbiomes, the offender is Hellpod-launched straight into the infested wasteland to rot.

Contrary to all expectations, some survive. Far from succumbing, they adapt, overcome the disease, and learn to live with it. These rare survivors transform into Maverick Elites—exceptional Rogue Divers capable of operating on any hostile faction’s worlds, not just Terminid planets. They become completely immune to psionic influence and mind-control effects, and Automaton thermal-detection systems can no longer register their presence.

Cyberdivers

Gjorne, callsign "Creekcrawler"

As paradoxical as it may sound, this fusion of human and machine—a true “cyborg”—is not the product of materialistic or socialist ideology, but of sheer necessity.

In Gjorne’s case, the veteran Helldiver who had no choice but to adapt after Super Earth’s fleet retreated, leaving him stranded on an Automaton-infested planet. To survive, he gradually replaced his severed limbs with scavenged robotic ones and augmented his vision and hearing with custom-modified Automaton visors and enhanced hearing sensors.

In other instances, Helldivers abandoned with late-stage Necrosis deliberately turn themselves into cyborgs as a last-ditch effort to halt the disease’s progression. By replacing infected organs and limbs with mechanical substitutes, they manage to stave off the final transformation into mindless ghouls—preserving both life and (most of) their sanity.

Other sources who had similar idea:
Join the Nomads - Reddit Article

Media sources: 1. Generated with Grok 2. Pinterest, 3. unknown (possibly another game), 4. unknown from 2011 (artist signature can be seen at the bottom right), 5. Artitst friendly collaboration: @Gjorne_