A weapon has led to a lot of team kills in Helldivers 2 and disappointed players. Now it is finally fun.
Which weapon is it? In Helldivers 2, the RL-77 airburst rocket launcher made its debut back in April 2024. It was a reward for completing a general order. Players had to choose between anti-tank mines and the rocket launcher as part of the order.
However, upon its release, the airburst rocket launcher did not fare well with players and many were disappointed because the projectiles from the launcher led to numerous unintended team kills. They detonated automatically near enemies and fired additional explosive fragments in the area. Often, the projectiles launched earlier than intended, wiping out entire Helldiver teams.
As a result, players had to be careful whenever they used the rocket launcher. Even though the developers tried to fix the problem in several patches, it never really found its place in the game’s meta – even though it is actually a good choice to close bug nests.
With patch 01.002.001 on December 13th, the rocket launcher received a new firing mode. Players have been able to extensively test this in recent days and came to the conclusion: it’s finally fun!
New firing mode allows you to time projectiles better
What has been changed about the rocket launcher? The airburst rocket launcher has received an additional firing mode. You can now choose whether to fire with the old flak shells or to use new scatter rounds.
The scatter rounds are triggered by a timer, while the flak shells detonate upon approaching an enemy.
What does this change in gameplay? When using the scatter bombs, you no longer have to worry about whether an enemy is standing very close to you and could trigger the detonation when firing a projectile – and since there is almost always an enemy near you in Helldivers 2, this greatly simplifies the use of the launcher.
So now you can target a swarm in the distance at any time, fire, and watch the widespread explosion of the rocket launcher eliminate a swarm with just one projectile.
A Reddit user, MegaHunts, demonstrates what this looks like in practice in a short video:
However, keep in mind that the airburst rocket launcher is not as effective against larger, armored enemies like a acid titan.
What do players say about the change? The Reddit user Mega Hunts is definitely enjoying the rocket launcher with the change and raves: “The new scatter bomb mode of the airburst is just too much fun.”
Others are also excited about the change. Killercobra009 finds: “I originally thought the airburst would work that way, but I love that they added this.”
So the RL-77 airburst rocket launcher has now received an important buff that makes it more meaningful and easier to use for many players. Perhaps it will even make it into our tier list of the best weapons in the future: Helldivers 2: Tier List of the best weapons and grenades for every use
