Summary

• Helldivers 2 has constantly evolved since its release with a number of gameplay changes introduced through regular patches.
• Major weapon buffs and nerfs have been implemented, changing the player's experience drastically.
• Planetary environmental hazards were added, and certain mission parameters were altered.

Helldivers 2 has been a smash hit since its release in February and Arrowhead Game Studios has done all it can to keep its bug- and bot-killing title thriving. This involves a myriad of tweaks, changes, and added content, making the live-service game feel like it's actually getting some decent service. Although there are a number of fixes that just involve removing highly specific bugs, there are many that change the player's experience drastically.

Since launch, there has been a fair number of patches from Arrowhead to both address issues and add new content to Helldivers 2. Most are what could be considered fairly minor patches, even though the developer has added many features to keep the Helldiver experience fresh and bombastic. Some warrant greater notice, such as the addition of a new Warbond, while others simply focus on balancing, which has no small effect on gameplay.

10 Major Weapon Buffs & Nerfs

Keeping A Helldiver's Arsenal Balanced

Thanks to having a myriad of weapons at a Helldiver's disposal, some of these armaments need tweaking to ensure that they are balanced and as equally useful as possible. Although there have been many changes to the lighter weapons, such as mag capacity adjustments to both the Punisher and Breaker (both have been increased since launch), the Strategem tools alter the player's experience to a greater degree - the Laser Canon's damage being buffed is one such example.

In Patch 01.000.100, the Flamethrower's damage per second was increased by 50%. This made it even more effective at burning bugs to a crisp, yet that wasn't the biggest weapon change in that patch. The Railgun received a nerf to its safe mode, decreasing its armor penetration. Before, the Railgun in safe mode could kill a Bile Titan easily with a couple of shots to its armored head, but now that is no longer the case.

The Railgun can still be used to kill a Bile Titan. In its unsafe mode, a few shots to the head will kill it easily, but the risk of a Helldiver blowing themselves up is far greater.

9 Planetary Environmental Hazards

Even The Planets Are Hostile

As if Helldivers didn't have enough to contend with, now they find that the planet itself wants in on the action. In Patch 01.000.100, Arrowhead added environmental hazards, which depend on the planet the fight is being taken to. Although spectacular to view, these effects can completely change an encounter, as well as give a Helldiver something to ire while they run for their lives with Terminids and Automatons bearing down on them.

Helldivers 2's fire tornadoes are perhaps the most famous of these planet conjuring effects. Other than being luminous towers of flame, they damage everything in its area of effect, man and bug alike. If spinning torrents of blazing fire weren't deadly enough, meteor showers can strike a planet's surface, crushing any in its wake. A more utilitarian hazard, which does not directly kill, is the Ion Storm. This prevents the use of Stratagems, including calling in reinforcements, which keeps dead players out of the game for the duration.

8 Eradicate Mission Changes

More Time Equals More Bugs

Eradicate missions are Helldivers 2's simplest, involving the culling of Terminid or Automaton numbers. The maps are the smallest, since a player isn't required to go anywhere to achieve an objective, and the missions themselves are the shortest, yet they were even shorter at launch. Since Patch 01.000.100, Eradicate missions have become longer, while the spawn rate of enemies has also increased.

Due to needing to kill a set number of enemies, which increased during the patch as well, the extra time and enemy spawning means the death of more bugs. It should be noted that Eradicate missions were popular for those grinding levels, and are still likely one of the better options for this due to only taking 10 minutes at most. According to Arrowhead, the Eradicate missions were always meant to take longer, and the rectification of this means that the missions now play closer to what they were intended to be like.

7 The Exosuit Mech Has Landed

It's Time For The Big Guns

The Exosuit mech is perhaps the greatest weapon in a Helldiver's arsenal. It helps even the odds against the horde of enemies and provides the soldiers of Super Earth with an armed vehicle capable of matching the mechs and tanks of the Automatons. The Exosuit was hotly anticipated when it was announced and there is hope in the community that there will be more mechs to come.

Currently, the Patriot Exosuit is armed with a heavy machine gun and rocket launchers; however, it is rumored that this will not be the end of vehicles in Helldivers 2. Allegedly, there are more vehicles on the way, at least according to leaks, so the time of running around on foot could be coming to an end. Still, the Exosuit was the first new strategem for the game and its inclusion was a big deal, which still represents that there is a lot to look forward to.

6 Armor Value Fix

Keeping Equipment In Check

There have been plenty of armor changes to Helldivers 2 since its launch. Some involve new armors being added, providing greater customization for the players planning to launch into the front lines. Other cosmetic changes include the armor meshes no longer stretching whenever a Helldiver is dismembered in the line of duty. Although a hilarious glitch, it clearly wasn't an intended one.

Perhaps the biggest change is the fixing of armor stats. Despite being hard to notice, due to the frequency of deaths in the game, the armor rating values did not reduce damage as intended. This was stated in Patch 01.000.100 and has now been rectified, meaning that armor should now operate how Arrowhead intended for it to, although that does not seem to stop the loss of Helldiver life in the war for Super Earth.

5 Bug Holes Being Fixed

Ever Wonder Why A Grenade Just Won't Go In?

It was not uncommon for a Helldiver to struggle to toss a grenade into a Bug Hole. Although there are other ways to destroy these Terminid spawn points, such as using an Autocanon or Grenade Launcher, grenades are what a player is taught to use in the tutorial. Apparently, after launch, certain Bug Holes were far harder to destroy than intended by the developer, meaning that the wasting of precious grenades was not the fault of the player alone.

In Patch 01.000.100, this was fixed, making Bug Holes easier to destroy. This also extended to certain Stalker Nests, making missions involving their destruction far less of an ordeal. However, this does mean that a player no longer has an excuse for being unable to destroy a Bug Hole. They will simply need to improve their throwing arm, or resort to more destructive means to get the job done.

4 Cutting Edge Warbond

New Weapons, Armor, & More

About a month after the game's release, a new Warbond was added called Cutting Edge, and introduced a myriad of new items. This Warbond focused around the Super Earth R&D prototypes that use laser-, lightning-, and plasma-based weaponry. Examples include: the LAS-16 Sickle (a laser rifle), SG-8P Punisher Plasma (a plasma shotgun), ARC-12 Blitzer (a close-range arc lightning shooter), LAS-7 Dagger (a laser pistol) and the G-23 Stun grenade.

The biggest appeal of laser weapons in particular is that they do not need reloading, due to not using bullets. Instead, they require heat sinks to prevent overheating, which only need replacing if fired in long bursts. To combat the increased use of lightning, the Cutting Edge Warbond introduced three armors with a new ive that reduces lightning damage drastically. These were developed by the R&D of Super Earth, and are said to be experimental, requiring field-testing by the Helldivers.

3 Orbital Barrage Tweaks

Bombing From Above Needs Work Too

Explosions raining from the sky have become as part of Helldivers' appeal as the hordes of Terminids wanting to destroy the freedom and democracy of Super Earth. These explosions typically come from two sources, an Eagle plane or an orbital bombardment from a Super Destroyer in orbit. These orbital strikes have seen some changes of late, although it is difficult to say whether they are a buff or nerf.

The 380mm and 120mm Orbital Barrages are the two that have been tweaked. The changes came in Patch 01.000.100 and changed both their duration and effective range. While the duration has been increased, meaning more bombs are dropped during the bombardment, the spread has decreased, meaning that it is technically more precise. This does also mean that it will damage a small spread of enemies, if they aren't all in one place.

2 Shield Generator Pack Delay Tweaks

Why Won't It Charge?

Arguably, one of Helldivers 2's most effective backpacks has received quite the nerf. The Shield Generator Pack acts as a personal energy shield, which makes it especially effective against the Automatons and their laser attacks. Although it doesn't offer much in the way of added offense, unlike either of the Guard Dogs or additional Autocanon ammo, it keeps a Helldiver alive, which is a feat in and of itself.

The Shield Generator Pack requires time to charge once it has been depleted. As of Patch 01.000.100, the duration of this charging time has been increased, meaning that the time a Helldiver is vulnerable to Automaton lasers has also increased. Despite not changing the backpack's status as one of the most effective choices for a player, it does mean that it isn't as strong as before, and the extra recharge duration is something to consider when choosing strategems.

The Shield Generator Relay is an alternative should a player want a different backpack. It does not follow the player as its backpack variant would, but it can protect more than one Helldiver.

1 Friendly Fire Taken Literally

As If Teamkilling Wasn't Hard Enough To Avoid

Although many players have sworn that friendly fire and accidental team kills were hard enough to avoid, Arrowhead chose to add additional friendly fire conditions. The use of flames and gas can damage fellow Helldivers after such friendly fire was mistakenly turned off, meaning that throwing an Incendiary Grenade or calling in an Orbital Gas Strike can have fatal consequences.

Cruelly enough, the Flame Thrower was buffed in the same patch as when this friendly fire condition was added. The extra damage from the Flame Thrower was felt by not only the enemies of democracy, but its allies too. Since then, Helldivers 2 players have had to be extra careful around using the many, many fire-based weapons, including Eagle Napalm Strikes and guns using incendiary bullets. It seems the fight for freedom will be a fiery one.