New Balance-Focused Patch Arrives for Helldivers 2: Here Are the Highlights
Arrowhead Game Studios has rolled out patch 01.003.200 for the popular co-op shooter Helldivers 2, focusing on balance adjustments and bug fixes. This update addresses many community-reported issues, most notably the status effect bug—what developers called “network wonk”—which caused players to take far more damage than intended in multiplayer modes.
⚖️ General Gameplay and Balancing Changes
The patch introduces significant changes aimed at improving the overall gameplay experience:
- Status Effect Fix: A critical bug that caused status effects (like fire and stun) to apply more damage than intended in multiplayer sessions has been resolved. This was done specifically to balance the experience between solo and co-op play.
- Faster Recovery: The time it takes for a Helldiver to regain control after being ragdolled by explosions has been reduced from 0.8 to 0.5 seconds.
- More Lethal Chest Injuries: Bleed damage from chest injuries has been significantly increased. The previous value was so low it appeared to have no effect. Now, these injuries are much deadlier.
- A Pointier Flag: The beloved cosmetic, the CQC-1 One True Flag, can now be planted directly into enemies, dead or alive. For Democracy!
💥 Weapon and Equipment Updates
The main focus of this patch was weapon balancing to compensate for previous status effect fixes and to make certain equipment more viable.
Stun Weapons Get a Major Buff
- The effectiveness of stun weapons like the AR-32 Pacifier and SMG-72 Pummeler has been increased. The stun duration for these weapons has been doubled from 1.5 to 3 seconds, and the stun value they apply to enemies has been boosted. The Pacifier also gets an increased magazine capacity.
- The ARC-12 Blitzer has also seen a slight increase in the stun value it applies to enemies.
Grenades and Bayonets
- G-109 Urchin (Sticky Stun Grenade): Can now stick to and stagger large, armored enemies like the Bile Titan.
- G-10 & G-13 Incendiary Grenades: The amount of fuel has been increased, resulting in longer-lasting fire on the ground.
- Bayonets: The stagger strength of the bayonets on the R-2124 Constitution and R-2 Amendment rifles has been increased, making them more effective than a standard melee punch.
Turrets and More
- A/FLAM-40 Flame Sentry: Is now 95% more resistant to its own flames, and its cooldown has been reduced from 150 to 100 seconds.
- Hellpod Boosters: The Firebomb and Stun Pod boosters now add their effects on top of the standard Hellpod explosion, rather than replacing it, making their impact more consistent.
🐛 Enemy Changes and Bug Fixes
- Large Enemies: It’s now easier to set large enemies like Bile Titans and Hulks on fire.
- Scout Strider: The leg armor has been decreased from Medium to Light, allowing many standard weapons to damage its legs.
- The “Ssplootch” Effect: The damage threshold required for smaller enemies like Warriors to explode without leaving a corpse (what players lovingly call “splootching”) has been increased, making this a rarer occurrence.
In addition, numerous bugs have been fixed, including Stratagems not working correctly on Terminate Illegal Broadcast objectives, enemy pathing issues in certain missions, and getting stuck unarmed after exiting the chat.