'The guns weren't doing what it says on the box': Johan Pilestedt reflects on Helldivers 2 balance changes that disrupted the positive vibes
When I think about the first year of Helldivers 2, I think about the 150+ hours of fun I had closing bug holes and scrapping Automatons with friends, and how Arrowhead put the «live» back in live service by never telling us what was coming next. But if you stuck with Helldivers 2 throughout 2024, you'll also remember a rough patch: Arrowhead implemented a streak of controversial balancing changes that ruffled the feathers of the game's loudest fans.
There was the big Railgun nerf, the unfortunate flamethrower changes, and the rework of the overtuned Eruptor. Arrowhead wanted to maintain Helldivers 2's difficulty and encourage loadout variety by dialing back overpowered guns, but some argued that «don't nerf, only buff» was the way to go in a purely PvE game.
Calm feedback was eventually outpaced by frustration, review bombing, and outright toxicity toward Arrowhead developers for not tweaking the numbers the way some players would prefer. In a recent interview with PC Gamer before the surprise Omens of Tyranny update, chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt reflected on this turbulent chapter of Helldivers' debut year.
«One of the controversies when it comes to the balancing changes we did was that players felt like this doesn't make sense anymore,» he said. «It feels like the guns aren't doing what it says on the box.»
Arrowhead's response was a 60-day make-good plan that included multiple sweeping patches that buffed pretty much everything. By the end of the plan, damage numbers had shot through the roof, enemy armor had been reduced so that more weapons could reliably kill even the biggest threats, and «overpowered» became the new baseline for support weapons and stratagems.
They're maybe not as challenging anymore, but at least they react appropriately to what it would be like to be hit by a 380-millimeter barrage.
Helldivers 2 was more fun once guns, cannons, and gargantuan airstrikes were as deadly as they always looked like they should be, but the rising power
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