Arrowhead Game Studios has shared an update on its 60-day plan to enhance Helldivers 2 and regain the trust of the community.
In a message on Steam posted on Thursday, the team outlined the upcoming changes in the next update scheduled for September 17, which is just a part of the overall plan to revamp the game. These improvements aim to address many of the issues raised by players in recent months.
The primary criticism revolves around the concept of “fun” and the need to make the game less challenging for the sake of difficulty and more engaging for players. One of the changes in the upcoming update focuses on making enemies more manageable by reducing armor on various enemy types and adjusting balance, such as decreasing rockets fired by the Gunship. The goal is to make enemies more rewarding to defeat using appropriate tools while still maintaining their formidable nature.
Overall, adjustments will be made to armor penetration, enemy armor and health, and anti-tank weapons. Arrowhead mentioned that they have already conducted an “initial balancing pass” on over 30 weapons and stratagems, including the autocannon, heavy machine gun, and anti-material rifle. They are also addressing issues with flamethrower weapons, which have been a major point of contention among players.
The 60-day plan was established to address player concerns regarding balance changes introduced since the launch of Helldivers 2. The culmination of these concerns was seen in the Escalation of Freedom update in August, which received criticism for unpopular balance adjustments, such as significant nerfs to incendiary weapons like flamethrowers. Players also felt that Arrowhead’s patches did not align with their experiences.
Game director Mikael Eriksson acknowledged the shortcomings in their approach to game balance and direction, stating that they were working on better feedback systems and conducting closed beta tests for new features. Arrowhead mentioned in the Steam statement that chief creative officer Johan Pilestedt is collaborating with the design team to address player feedback and data analysis to identify areas for improvement.
