The landscape of the co-op multiplayer shooter Helldivers 2 is getting changed yet again, except this time it’s arguably for the better: The game’s latest patch has applied at least one much-wanted feature as well as another massive suite of changes to weapons, strategems, and maps, all of which are aimed at making things more fun and encouraging more varied loadouts.
One of the big ticket items in the patch is the introduction of visible supply lines on the galactic map; previously this system that governed how enemy factions move to attack planets was hiding beneath the hood, but now those movements are available for all to see, making it easier for players to coordinate assaults.
Other features for overall gameplay include the option to create private lobbies, super sample currency now spawning on difficulty level six missions, a general reduction in how foggy planets are, lights becoming way less blinding, and the elimination of the modifier that reduced strategem calls to only one. Planetary hazards have also been tweaked, with fire tornadoes now chasing players less and moving more randomly, a rework of spike trap plants that simply makes them deal bursts of damage, and tremors now spawning more randomly and with a larger area of effect.
The largest portion of all is the long list of balance tweaks to the game’s weapons and strategems, most of which either fall into the buff portion of the scale or make some changes to overall behavior for new usability. CEO-turned-chief-creative-officer Johan Pilestedt provides more context on these tweaks, confirming the overall goal of strengthening weaker equipment and adding more opportunities for variety in loadouts.
Unlike the last time balance changes arrived, these adjustments appear to be widely accepted by the playerbase at large, with many players expressing their excitement at seeing things brought up instead of focused nerfs on popular weapons. As one player put it, “They cooked.”
