Helldivers 2 patch finally tackles its infamous tank infestation, tweaks chargers so players can aim for the head instead of busting kneecaps

pcgamer.com:

As promised, Helldivers 2 has finally called in pest control to take care of its tank infestation. That's via a patch that dropped this morning—which should prompt a great sigh of relief from the community.

In case you aren't acquainted with the game's creature culture, let me shed some light. At higher difficulties, Helldivers 2 has this nasty habit of spawning heavily-armoured creeps on top of you. Bile titans, chargers, hulks, annihilator tanks, the works. Because of the way armour functions, if you don't have the right equipment to deal with these guys, your only winning move is to run with your democratic tail tucked between your legs.

This was manageable initially because of the Railgun—an anti-tank gun so good it warranted a nerf. The only problem? There wasn't really anything to replace it. Its contemporaries (like the Recoilless Rifle) were all too slow to thin the herd, leading to plenty of screenshots with five-to-seven bile titans engaging in an impromptu vomit flash-mob. Mechs have been added to the game, however while they are rad as hell, their supplies of tank-busting rockets are severely limited. Budget cuts, what can you do?

This latest patch seeks to address that. «We have reduced the spawn rate of Chargers and Bile Titans on difficulties seven and up,» the patch notes read. «In addition we have reduced the risk of spawn spikes of Chargers and Bile Titans … Please note that we have changed the distribution of enemy types, not reduced difficulty. Expect other enemy types to appear in greater numbers instead.»

The notes also address the «leg meta». For most of the game's lifespan, taking out chargers involved blowing off their leg armour with an anti-tank weapon, then shredding the exposed flesh with normal bullets. The patch reads: «spending your heavy anti tank weapons on legs instead of the obvious weak point seems counter to expectation.»

You can still bust some kneecaps if you'd like, but the charger's head health should be lower: «It should