Following the Escalation of Freedom update for Helldivers 2 last week, Arrowhead Game Studios has received significant backlash for its nerfs and changes. In a new letter to the community, game director Mikael Eriksson admitted that the studio “didn’t hit our target with the latest update” and there are “other more fundamental inconsistencies in our approach to game balance and game direction.”
A new 60-day plan has been announced, during which the developer aims to re-examine its balance ideals, emphasizing fun and “not ‘balanced’ for the sake of balance.” It’s also looking to update fire damage (though it can’t revert changes to make the Flamethrower the same as before) and prevent “excessive ragdolling.”
There are plans to improve game performance, re-prioritize bug fixes (including “more immediate gameplay-impacting bugs”) and rework Chargers. Perhaps the most enticing point is regarding a rethink of primary weapon design for more “engaging” combat. We’ll need to wait for an ETA on these fixes within the next 60 days, so stay tuned until then.
Helldivers 2 is available for PS5 and PC. Check out our review for the PS5 version here. Despite the current controversy and the mandatory PSN-linking for Steam players that Sony ultimately backtracked on, it sold 12 million copies as of May 5th.