The winners and losers of today's Helldivers 2 patch: Snipers rule, Sluggers drool

GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2The winners and losers of today’s Helldivers 2 patch: Snipers rule, Sluggers droolWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2

Amidst all the wild stuff happening withAT-AT walkersthat spawn robots and cloaked ships hiding in plain sight, Arrowhead decided today was a good day to drop ahuge Helldivers 2 balancing patch. The changes aren’t as dramatic as last month’s divisive Railgun nerf, but for this diver, they’re already more meaningful.

Arrowhead put a few weapon types under the microscope that didn’t see any changes last time around—namely sniper rifles, heavy armor, the Arc Thrower, and the ballistic shield. We’re looking at largely buffs across the board with only one big nerf (sorry Slugger). After testing most of these changes for a few hours today, here’s what I see as the bigger winners and losers of Patch 01.000.200.

Winners

Sniper likers

The sniper rifles of Helldivers 2 have been understandably ignored up to this point, but I’m here to tell you not to sleep on them after today’s patch. Both snipers got major buffs, but I particularly want to call out the Anti-Materiel Rifle damage buff—this thing annihilates medium-sized enemies now, so much that lining up headshots is optional. Automaton Walkers? Couple pops to the body and it’s dead. Devastators? Knock off those arms in a jiffy. The AMR finally feels like it has a role next to other support weapons. It’s best used in the back of the pack to pick off patrols, but in a pinch it can blow off body parts like a mini Autocannon.

Consider the Diligence Counter Sniper the ARM’s much smaller brother. The medium armor penetration means it can now target Walker limbs and Hunter legs. It’s not a headshots-only gun anymore, which is good considering its high rapid-fire recoil.

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2 balancing

Fire enthusiasts

The flamethrower didn’t really need a buff after its triumphant damage boost in last month’s balancing pass, but the damage-over-time of burning targets is much appreciated. Before today, I would rarely ever see enemies die from lingering fire damage—only ever direct flamethrower damage—so hopefully now setting enemies on fire and then backing off until they die is a viable tactic.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Heavy armor wearers

This rules. I’ve been a heavy armor fan since Arrowhead fixed the armor values last month, but the armor bonus wasn’t really worth moving so slowly. Now, I think it is. Using heavy armor today, I could tank at least a dozen laser shots before popping a stim. Automaton rockets, which got a nerf of their own, are also way less of a threat in thick armor. It takes 4-5 to take you down (though they can still knock you over all the same).

Ballistic Shield bros

The Ballistic Shield might rank among the most ignored stratagems in Helldivers 2. After today, you should really give it a chance. That larger “collision mesh” basically means it’ll block any regular laser shot, bug spit, or melee attack from the front, and using it today, I noticed fewer instances of my legs or arms taking damage when they shouldn’t. A ballistic shield and SMG is one of my new favorite playstyles.

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

helldivers 2 balancing

Losers

Sluggers

Heavy Machine Gunners

The Heavy Machine Gun has been pretty underwhelming since itdebuted with the Quasar Cannonlast week, so today’s patch has me wondering why it got a technical nerf. The HMG eats up its ammo so quickly (on top of being so hard to control) that I tend to set its rate-of-fire to the lowest already.

(Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

An image of three helldivers, posed in heroic fashion, advertising Helldivers 2’s latest Warbond: Cutting Edge.

Jury’s out

Arc Thrower faithfuls

I love the Arc Thrower, even if the unwieldy shock gun can sometimes be more trouble than it’s worth. Today’s patch has me very curious to pick it up again—the reduced range is a bummer, but “increased stagger force” might be a big deal. Arc weapons have the unique ability to chain damage between multiple targets, so if you’re telling me a fully-charged Arc blast can momentarily stun some of the biggest enemies around, that’s huge. Reddit userBird_0f_Preyhas conducted some early tests of that stagger force and it looks impressive.

More about third person shooterMarvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the top’I created it, let me move on': Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel RivalsLatestHow to feed pegasus in Disney Dreamlight ValleySee more latest►

More about third person shooter

Marvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the top’I created it, let me move on': Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals tier list - A big group of heroes fighting

Marvel Rivals ranks: everything you need to know on your journey to the top

Hammond/Wrecking Ball shocked face

‘I created it, let me move on’: Ex-Cloud 9 player, the Overwatch team whose blunder inspired the infamous ‘C9’ slang, watches in horror as the term moves onto Marvel Rivals

LatestHow to feed pegasus in Disney Dreamlight ValleySee more latest►

Latest

How to feed pegasus in Disney Dreamlight Valley

A players character and a winged horse in Mythopia in Disney Dreamlight Valley

How to feed pegasus in Disney Dreamlight Valley

See more latest►

Most Popular

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

Five new Steam games you probably missed (January 6, 2025)

I’ve seen enough: No more forcing singleplayer studios to make mediocre live service games

6 games that could be bigger hits than you’re expecting in 2025

What are your 2025 gaming resolutions?

The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the ‘Cryptoqueen’ last year but still hasn’t found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018

The Witcher season 4: Everything we know about Hemsworth’s debut on The Continent

8 bold gaming predictions for 2025

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Winners#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Losers#

Jury’s out#

Winners

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Losers

Jury’s out