One of the great joys of Helldivers 2 is crushing dozens of bugs and robots with a powerful weapon. Since the release of the co-op shooter, different firearms have stood out as particularly fun for players, but eventually, almost all have met the same fate: nerfing. Now the head of the development studio has spoken out.
What’s up with the nerfs? Helldivers 2 has already received several balancing updates since the release of the shooter. Some enemies have become stronger or weaker, some previously ignored weapons have been improved a bit, and the strong weapons have received nerfs.
The community of Helldivers 2 has reacted particularly sensitively to these nerfs, and many players felt that the developers were nerfing everything that is fun. Ultimately, one of these players contacted the head of Arrowhead Games, the developers behind the co-op shooter, on X.com and said that Helldivers 2 had become unenjoyable for him due to the recent balancing changes.
The weapons of the new warbond have not received any nerfs yet. In the trailer, you can see what the update offers:
Head of Helldivers 2 believes they are removing the fun
What did the head of Helldivers 2 say? On X.com, Johan Pilestedt, the CEO of Arrowhead and Creative Director of Helldivers 2, admitted that the development team had gone too far with the nerfs. He also announced that he would discuss the approach to balancing with the team.
I think we have gone too far in some areas. I will talk to the team about the approach to balance. It feels like every time someone finds something fun, the fun is taken away.
Johan Pilestedt, CEO of Arrowhead, on the nerfs (via X.com)
Which patches were particularly poorly received? Many players were really angry after the first major balancing changes in March 2024 hit the players’ loadouts hard: the Breaker, the Railgun, and the Shield Generator backpack became noticeably worse.
At the end of April, there was another major patch that made changes to 24 weapons. Again, popular weapons and stratagems were nerfed. This time, among others, the LAS-16-Sickle, the Quasar Cannon, and the R-36-Burster were affected.
The R-36-Burster received another “nerf” shortly thereafter, which was not supposed to make the weapon worse at all. The change is intended to prevent you from accidentally taking yourself out with the shrapnel from the projectiles. Nevertheless, the weapon’s damage suffered under the patch, frustrating the players once again: Helldivers 2: Players are frustrated because a weapon has been nerfed again – even though the change was meant to protect you
