Arrowhead Game Studios has released a new update for Helldivers 2, introducing Planetary Hazards. This patch is currently available on PC and is set to arrive on the PlayStation 5 shortly.
Helldivers 2’s Planetary Hazards will appear at random when you’re deployed on a mission and can range from fire tornadoes to meteor showers, and many more.
Helldivers 2 Minor Patch 01.000.100 introduces Planetary Hazards
Planetary Hazards will become active as soon as the patch has been downloaded, we don’t believe there’s an option to turn it off.
This patch also incorporates a series of general balance adjustments. Alex K, the lead designer of Helldivers 2, provided insights and detailed explanations regarding the changes introduced in this update.
Here’s the statement in full:
This is the first round in a never-ending series of balance changes. And we believe it’s important to be completely transparent about our approach to game balance, especially when it comes to weapons and stratagems that you have strong opinions about.
Our goal is to give you a wide range of weapon choices, where each gun has its purpose and none is strictly better than another. Sure, you will have your own favorite, but it should come from your personal preference, not from the universally agreed knowledge of which gun is the strongest. Generally, we balance each item according to its quirks, so if a weapon is very effective at what it does, it should come with significant disadvantages to balance its power.
The AC-8 Autocannon is a good example of a well-balanced weapon: it packs a powerful punch, has a very good range, but requires you to carry an ammo backpack or have a friend assist you. The GL-21 Grenade Launcher is the opposite example. It’s a good general purpose weapon that gives you so much flexibility, it obviously can’t deal too much damage without becoming overpowered.
But weapons that are both powerful and versatile become a no-brainer choiсe during the weapon selection phase. It robs you of your own agency, as stale “meta” builds force you to make an unfair choice between a fun weapon and an effective one. In short: Powerful weapons can’t be too versatile, versatile weapons can’t be too powerful.
Having said all that, after analyzing player feedback and the data we’ve collected over the past month, we found three biggest offenders of that principle
- SG-225 Breaker
- RS-422 Railgun
- SH-32 Shield Generator Backpack
All three of those were quite strong with too little downsides, overshadowing all other options on higher difficulty levels. So with this patch, they’re getting significant downsides to balance their power. However, we strongly believe that the changes won’t ruin this build, but rather help the affected items find their place among the other options and stay effective in capable hands.
On a more personal note, I know that having your favorite toy nerfed absolutely sucks. Investing countless hours into mastering a weapon is an incredible dedication from you. which is the main reason we’re making this game in the first place. And then having that weapon weakened feels like a punishment for being too good at the game.
But I implore you not to compare a changed item with its older version, but to evaluate the existing one as it is and see if it still has a place in your heart.
We thank you for your dedication and commitment to spreading Democracy in the most optimal way possible! Now it’s up to us to make it as fun and entertaining as we can
Oh and we also buffed a bunch of weapons as well!
Happy Helldiving, everyone.
- Breaker: Decreased magazine capacity from 16 to 13, increased recoil from 30 to 55.
- Railgun: Decreased armor penetration, decreased damage against durable enemy parts.
- Flamethrower: Increased damage per second by 50%.
- Laser Cannon: Increased damage against durable enemy parts, increased armor penetration, improved ergonomics.
- Punisher: Increased total ammo capacity from 40 to 60, increased stagger force, increased damage from 40 per bullet to 45 per bullet.
- Breaker Spray & Pray: Increased armor penetration, increased fire rate from 300 to 330, increased number of pellets from 12 to 16 per shot, decreased magazine size from 32 to 26.
- Energy Shield Backpack: Increased delay before recharging.
- 380mm and 120mm Orbital Barrages: Increased duration of the bombardment, decreased spread.
You can grab the full patch notes here on Steam.
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