Helldivers 2's buff-happy patch is here, and I'm already feeling the flames of liberty burn bright once again

GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2Helldivers 2’s buff-happy patch is here, and I’m already feeling the flames of liberty burn bright once againWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2 balancing

Patch 01.001.100 for Helldivers 2—which forms part of the game’s 60 day update plan tocompletely overhaul its approach to weapon varietyand enemy heavies—is finally here, and it’s a doozy.

To keep it short, basically anything with heavy armour has been made more vulnerable, old favourites like the flamethrower and railgun can now damage them, and the strength of specialised anti-tank weapons has been upped to keep them ahead of the newly-versatile competition.

I was able to melt this charger to death without much trouble at all.(Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

Me, melting a charger to death with a flamethrower in Helldivers 2.

My primary weapons felt stronger on average, too—far more able to punch through enemy armour, which is good for the weapon you’re ostensibly meant to be using as, well, your primary. I’m not just imagining things—the patch notes have a ream of primary weapon buffs, for example, the much-maligned Counter Sniper has had its damage increased from 140 to 200 and its durable damage from 14 to 50.

All this to say, Helldivers 2 is a slightly easier game now. But it’s also a heck of a lot more fun. Instead of feeling hemmed into a set of specific stratagems and weapons, Arrowhead seems committed to letting its weapons be versatile—while specialised stuff should be, as the CCO remarked recently, a “delete key” for tanky threats. You canread the full patch notes here.

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