Helldivers 2's latest patch introduced a new wrinkle into your average diver's shoot loop—deadlier ricochets. As the patch notes read: «Shots that ricochet from heavy armored enemies will now properly hit the Helldiver who fired them.
Trigger discipline is highly recommended.» In essence, ricochet shots didn't used to harm you—now they do. This has, naturally, led to a lot of tinfoil helmet speculation about what actually is and isn't a death by ricochet.
While some players report only one or two deaths to their own bullets over the course of thousands of fired shots, there's one common denominator featured in nearly every clip of a soldier blowing their own head off: The Eruptor.
This beastly explosive rifle debuted in the latest Warbond, and it's a bit of a monster. Its shells explode in a wide blast that not only has a concussive detonation—it spits out a ton of shrapnel, as well.
Which is what's happening in clips like these. As investigative redditor Zenbast points out in a thread: «The shrapnels probably travels way too far and it needs to be reduced, but people need to understand that's an issue with the Eruptor specifically, because of a side effect of making people vulnerable to their own rounds.» In fairness, it's not as if the ricochet changes are perfect.