After a turbulent period marked by community outrage overbalancing issues, space third-person shooterHelldivers 2 has received the massive 1.001.100 patch.
TheHelldivers 21.001.100 updateincludesone of the game’s largest patch notes, butthe bulk of it concernsweapons and balancing.
The two most anticipated changes are majorFLAM-40 FlamethrowerandRS-422 Railgunbuffs.
Flamers now work as they did before the Escalation of Freedom patch, and railgun damage, up to 225 from 60.
Alongside this, all Stratagems deal more damage, and most enemies have had their health pools and armor nerfed.
Other noteworthy entries are laser cannons no longer having recoil, which is in tune with their energy weapon category, and theG-123 Thermite Grenadegetting a twenty-fold damage increase.
Arrowhead hopes this patch and the changes made will be a turning point for the game’s fate. As it hasn’t been the easiest ride in recent months.
Notable Helldivers 2 1.001.100 Changes
If you’re looking for a full breakdown of all the changes that were made courtesy of this patch, we have you covered:
Primary weapons
Support Weapons
The Anti-Materiel Rifle, Laser Canon, Heavy Machine Gun, Flamethrower and Autocannon can damage large enemies again.
Throwables
Stratagems
Quality of Life
Climate Modifiers
Known Issues
Arrowhead hopes to patch this and other known issues through a hotfix.
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Saving Super Earth
Patch 1.001.100 is equal partsan update and a statement from Arrowhead.Controversial balancing decisions and a ham-fisted intervention by Sony have sent Helldivers 2 into an almost unimaginable lownext to its meteoric rise upon release.
Sony set the crisis in motionby attempting to force PlayStation Network linking back in May. The decision was reversed (at the expense of some regions), but tensions remained high.
Unpopular balancing changes eventually led many loyal players to abandon the game, with some creatively resorting to industrial action, letting enemies descend upon Super Earth to protest this.
Helldivers 2has become central to the debate on live-service games and how to measure their success.Player count on patch day has passed the 50K mark for the first time since August, a far cry from the February peak of 458K.
Data fromSteamDBshows a relatively steady decline before settling around the 40K mark in July. These numbers match popular titles likeDayZ,Rainbow Six Siege, orOverwatch 2.
Helldivers 2 Saved Live-Service Games | Gaming Lit 101
Time to drop.
What makes theHelldivers 2case unique is thatnone of its peers had a peak of ten times its current player count.
Should numbers remain steady, this would keepHelldivers 2safe among the 40 most-played games on Steam at any given time, which many argue is still a successful position.
If the brief history ofHelldivers 2is of any indication, some of the changes will be overcorrections, startingyet another balancing cycle.
Arrowhead and loyal Helldivers hope this patch will stabilize the player countand pave the way topotential surgesas more content becomes available.
Helldivers 2 and the Horrors of War
Fire. Blood. Lead. Napalm. War is beautiful. But only when it’s used to remind us how horrible it truly is.
