Helldivers 2 Dev Reveals Plans to Make Heavy Enemies Easier to Deal With After Patch Backlash

ign.com:

It’s been a tumultuous week in the world of Helldivers 2, which saw the game’s first balance patch nerf its best loadout, an associated backlash, and, most recently, a call-to-arms to unlock mechs. Now, developer Arrowhead has addressed the backlash in particular, and signaled plans to change the game as a result.

First, some background. This week’s patch 01.000.100 nerfed the Breaker, Railgun, and Shield Generator Backpack, three items considered essential to higher difficulty play and Helldivers 2’s best loadouts. But it also buffed weaker weapons and stratagems, including the Flamethrower, Laser Cannon, Punisher, and the 380mm and 120mm Orbital Barrages.

It was the nerfs to the Breaker, Railgun, and Shield Generator Backpack that sparked the most vociferous discussion within the Helldivers 2 community, given their popularity. On higher difficulties, Helldivers 2 throws an often overwhelming number of powerful enemies at you, many of which require hard-hitting weapons and stratagems to deal with. The Railgun in particular was a popular option for taking on Helldivers 2’s toughest enemies, such as the heavily armored Bile Titan and Charger.

Since the release of the patch, players have complained about struggling to deal with these heavy enemies and their apparent increased spawn rate on harder difficulties (it’s worth noting some of Helldivers 2’s most valuable resources are locked behind the harder difficulties). Social media and the Helldivers subreddit and Discord have seen a number of screenshots and videos showing a quite ridiculous number of Titans and Chargers on-screen at once, with players expressing their disbelief.

In response, Arrowhead issued a post on the Helldivers Discord to say it plans to make heavy enemies easier to deal with, both in terms of their spawn rate and health, in a hotfix. The hope is players will be able to kill these enemies “with a single well-placed shot”, Arrowhead said.

Here’s the statement in full, from Arrowhead community manager