Arrowhead, the developer of Helldivers 2, has launched a major update for the game. This update adjusts the balance of weapons, stratagems, enemies, and missions.
Patch 01.000.300 brings a crucial change, lowering burning damage by 15%. Previously, burning damage affected both allies and enemies significantly in the popular PlayStation 5 and PC co-op shooter, following a recent increase. Now, areas like Hellmire, known for its fire tornadoes, should be easier to handle.
In other updates, armors with a protection rating over 100 now also lessen damage from headshots.
Additionally, victory poses are now limited to those who have been successfully extracted. Arrowhead stated in the patch notes that this means “no stolen valor on my ship.”
Regarding weapons, you should read the detailed patch notes below. However, a key update is the adjustment to the new RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher.
It was creating a lot of problems. Now, it won’t explode near stratagems (like HMG turrets, Sentries, and Resupplies) or other Helldivers, and its trigger distance has been shortened.
Regarding changes to enemies in Helldivers 2, it’s good to review the patch notes for
Regarding changes to enemies in Helldivers 2, it’s good to review the patch notes for details.
Players will be pleased with the adjustment to Gunship spawners, which now have a significantly reduced limit on the number of gunships they can activate simultaneously.
Also, patrol spawning has increased for groups with less than four players. The smaller the group, the greater the change, according to Arrowhead.
For groups of four, there will be no difference from before. Solo players, especially on higher difficulties, will notice the biggest changes.
New gameplay improvements include an option to turn off automatic climbing and vaulting during sprints, which aids in movement control. Additionally, there are enjoyable updates related to “spreading democracy.”
For instance, Helldivers now give a salute when preparing to play, promoting “maximum democratic readiness.”
Also, be cautious: bullets that bounce off heavily armored enemies will now hit the Helldiver who shot them. Arrowhead advises, “It’s highly recommended to use careful trigger control.”
If you want to learn more about Helldivers 2, read IGN’s article about the game’s standout player, known as the Let Me Solo Her of Helldivers 2. This player has responded to over 100 SOS Beacons to assist others in their missions.
Since its release in February, Helldivers 2 has unexpectedly become a top seller in 2024, leading sales charts on Steam and selling about three million copies.
I bet almost 3 million 👀
— JoeyCatz33 (@Joeybatz35) February 25, 2024
Helldivers 2 update 01.000.300 patch details:
Summary
In this update, we’ve updated and enhanced the following aspects:
Adjustments to the balance of weapons, stratagems, and enemies
Modification to the Spread Democracy mission
Balancing Details
General Updates
- Armors with an armor rating over 100 now decrease damage from headshots.
- Victory poses are now exclusive to those who are extracted. (No stolen valor on my ship.)
- Burning damage has been lowered by 15%.
Weapons Specifics – CB-9 Exploding Crossbow
- Reduced explosion size.
- Enhanced staggering effect.
- Reduced maximum magazines from 12 to 8.
- Increased magazines gained from resupply from 6 to 8.
- Slight decrease in handling ease.
- Increased muzzle speed.
LAS-99 Quasar Cannon
- Increased recharge time by 5 seconds
BR-14 Adjudicator
- Full auto is now the default fire mode
- Reduced recoil
- Increased maximum mags from 6 to 8
- Increased number of magazines received from resupply from 6 to 8
- Now placed amongst assault rifles
LAS-98 Laser Cannon
- Slightly increased damage
- Slightly reduced damage versus large volume bodies
SG-8P Punisher Plasma
- Decreased maximum mags from 12 to 8
- Increased amount of magazines received from resupply from 6 to 8
- Increased projectile speed, but will still keep a similar range
- Decreased damage falloff on the explosion
- Now placed in the energy weapons category
ARC-12 Blitzer
- Increased shots per minute from 30 to 45
- Now placed in the energy weapons category
R-36 Eruptor
- Decreased number of maximum mags from 12 to 6
- Explosion damage drops off slightly faster
LAS-16 Sickle
- Decreased amount of magazines from 6 down to 3
LAS-5 Scythe
- Increased damage from 300 to 350
- Decreased max number of mags from 6 down to 4
RS-422 Railgun
- Increased armor penetration in both safe mode and unsafe mode
- Stagger force slightly reduced
MG-101 Heavy Machine Gun
- Third-person crosshair enabled
63CS Diligence Counter Sniper
- Damage increased from 128 to 140
- Ergonomics improved
R-63 Diligence
- Damage increased from 112 to 125
P-19 Redeemer
- Slight increase in recoil
P-2 Peacemaker
- Increased damage from 60 to 75
P-8 Senator
- Increased damage from 150 to 175
- Speedloader added when reloading on an empty cylinder–speeds up reload on empty considerably
LAS-7 Dagger
- Increased damage from 150 to 200
AR-19 Liberator
- Damage increased from 55 to 60
AR-23C Liberator Concussive
- Damage increased from 55 to 65
JAR-5 Dominator
- Damage decreased from 300 to 275
Guard Dog Rover
- Decreased damage by 30%
Guard Dog
- Slight increase in damage
Stratagems
A/MG-43 Machinegun Sentry
- Increased health to match other Sentries
A/ARC-3 Tesla Tower
- Increased health by 33%
FAF-14 Spear
- Added reload stage reload after the spent missile had been discarded
RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher
- Airburst Rocket Launcher will no longer detonate when shot near stratagems (HMG turret, Sentries, Resupplies) and other Helldivers.
- Reduced proximity radius
Enemies
- Bile Spewer and Nursing Spewers movespeed slightly reduced
- Hulks: Force required for them to stagger slightly increased
- Hulk Scorcher direct flamethrower damage reduced by 20%
- Devastator fire rate slightly increased (only the standard devastator)
- Gunships sideways movement slightly increased
- Scout strider Riders now less vulnerable to explosions
- Fog Generators health and armor increased
- Gunship spawners now have a much lower cap on how many gunships they can have active at the same time
Enemy Patrols
Previously, patrol spawns did not scale correctly, leading to fewer spawns than intended when there were less than four players.
Ideally, one player should encounter 1/4th the patrols of a four-player team, but it was previously 1/6th.
Now, patrol spawning has been increased for groups with fewer than four players. The smaller the team, the more significant the adjustment.
There will be no alterations for four-player missions. Solo players, especially on tougher levels, will see the most noticeable change.
Gameplay
- We’ve made slight improvements to how locations are spread across the mission map, enhancing the variability in distance between objectives. Objectives will not be as far from each other as they were previously.
- A new setting has been added to the gameplay section of the options menu that allows players to turn off automatic climbing and vaulting during sprints.
- The Spread Democracy mission, also known as “raise the flag,” is now available on higher difficulty levels for enhanced freedom spreading.
- Helldivers now salute when getting ready, ensuring they are fully prepared for democratic actions.
- We’ve enhanced the ambient sounds in the Tremor planetary hazard to highlight its intensity, helping Helldivers respond better.
- Bullets that bounce off heavily armored enemies will now hit the Helldiver who shot them. Careful trigger control is strongly advised.
Fixes and Crash Fixes
- Resolved a crash that could happen when the mission host leaves with the squad.
- Resolved a crash triggered when a player attempted to enter an already occupied EXO-45 Patriot Suit.
- Resolved crashes that could occur for all players during or after the mission results screen.
- Resolved a crash following the firing of rockets from the EXO-45 Patriot Suit.
- Resolved a crash for all players except for one who rejoined the ongoing mission with different armor and was reinforced.
- Repaired the Superior Packing Methodology ship module that was not functioning correctly.
- Corrected the Blast Absorption ship module to properly increase sentries’ resistance to explosions.
- Addressed an issue preventing players from navigating to search results in the Social Menu.
- Addressed issues where equipped items in a War Bond were not actually equipped.
- Fixed an exploit that allowed Helldivers to excessively use grenades.
- Resolved an issue where kills from orbital barrage did not count towards the Indirect Fire Exercise order.
- Resolved an issue allowing traitors to sabotage the extraction shuttle by placing sentry stratagems beneath it.
- Fixed an issue where ion storms prevented the extraction beacon from deploying.
- Corrected the color-coding of some stratagem beams.
- Fixed a problem where the left stick on a controller could not navigate the Social menu.
- Addressed display issues where various UI elements were improperly positioned on ultrawide screens.
- Fixed the Anti-Materiel Rifle positioning away from the Helldiver after deployment.
- Resolved a bug allowing players to duplicate rounds by cancelling the reload of the Anti-Materiel Rifle at a specific moment.
- Fixed a bug where the Anti-Materiel Rifle used an extra magazine after a cancelled reload.
- Resolved an issue where the Recoilless Rifle used an extra shell if the reload was cancelled right after insertion.
- Fixed the Sickle and Quasar Cannon’s inability to shoot through foliage.
- Resolved disappearing weapon thumbnails in the Armory.
- Fixed visibility issues of Automaton Gunships to the player.
- Removed incorrect collision remnants after destroying Automaton bunkers or detector towers with hellbombs.
- Resolved deployment issues of Hellbombs on certain missions.
- Addressed issues causing Helldivers to drown in deep water upon landing.
- Fixed the Hell Pod Space Optimization allowing ammo to exceed capacity.
- Improved the visibility of Stalkers in fog.
- Mines can now be pinged for improved team coordination.
- Friend requests now prompt a pop-up notification.
- Enhanced the clarity of prompts and hints in the tutorial and onboarding.
- Total experience is now visible in the career tab.
- Improved support for ultrawide monitors by fixing menu aspect ratios to 16:9 and adding HUD width control settings.
- Fixed the resetting of keybinds on the numpad upon restarting.
- Resolved inconsistent audio issues with headphones connected to the Dual Sense controller on PC.
- Playing Rock, Paper, Scissors near the ship no longer ejects players into space.
- APW-1 Anti-Material Rifle and MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun now show hitmarkers while scoped.
- Secondary weapon no longer stays in Ballistic Shield ADS position after using a stim with the Ballistic Shield Backpack.
- “Open Text Chat” can now be reassigned.
- Explosive weapons no longer pull players toward the blast.
- Disabled squad invites during the tutorial to prevent UI overlap.
- Fixed overlapping Primary and Secondary weapons on the character model in the armory.
- Addressed UI cut-off issues on 21:9 aspect ratio monitors during first boot.
- The “Report and Block Player” option is now visible in the squad menu.
- Dead Scavengers now stop calling for help if killed while summoning reinforcements.
- Fixed Anti Air cannons incorrectly labeled as “Stratagem Scramblers” in danger warnings.
What we think?
I think the update for Helldivers 2 will make the game better. The changes to weapons and enemies sound good. I like that burning damage is less now, and the rocket launcher won’t explode near friends.
Solo players will see more enemies, which makes it harder but also more fun. The new settings for climbing and vaulting will help players move better. Overall, I’m excited to see how these changes improve the game.
