HELLDIVERS™ 2

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Helldivers, the Festival of Reckoning is here!

It’s once again time to come a’Reckonin’ o’er the hill and vale, Helldivers–the Festival of Reckoning is upon us! This is a time to reinvigorate our hearts with a commitment to spreading peace and Managed Democracy throughout the galaxy, and we’ve got a special celebration lined up to help.

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The Festival of Reckoning is a celebration of love, family, peace and the pursuit of peace using any means necessary. The Reckoning Fund, which finances the yearly event, is bursting with credits, and so this year’s festival is even longer and more joyously explosive: The 2025 Festival of Reckoning begins on December 18th at 11 am CET and runs until December 31st 11:59 pm CET!

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We’re getting you into the spirit with holiday Major Orders that grant you limited-time access to a host of stratagems to celebrate the event in grand fashion. No stratagem is off-limits, either–meaning we will even be letting you try out some stratagems from our Premium Warbonds.

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During the festival, you will see in-game dispatches will go out to let you know which celebratory Major Order is active, and which mandatory celebration stratagems are available for temporary festive use. Let’s light up the skies with the fires of our peaceful and democratic seasonal happiness, Helldivers!

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The HELLDIVERS™ 2 x Killzone items return as a Legendary Warbond December 18th

Attention, Helldivers!

Helldivers™ 2 x Killzone is back and this time, it's back for good! It seems fitting that a year after their initial launch, we bring back this iconic content but now in a new and improved format and pricing – yes, we totally heard you all!


Along with our partners at Guerrilla, we’re pleased to announce Helldivers™ 2 x Killzone is now officially a Legendary Warbond*, costing 1500 Super Credits. We couldn’t just add the same stuff as before and leave it, where is the fun in that(?!), so we’ve even added some extra content to round out the package.

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Not only is the content returning with extra items, but we want to continue to do right by everyone who purchased Super Store content from last year, therefore a whole load of people will be able to unlock this Legendary Warbond at no extra cost. Check out if you’re eligible below.

Who gets what and how does it work:


  • Players who have previously purchased any (even one) of the Killzone items, will have the whole Helldivers™ 2 x Killzone Legendary Warbond unlocked at no extra cost! Additionally, there is no medal vacuum here! The items previously purchased (and those which were gifted last December) will be medal unlocked. So no need to spend medals on the items you already own!

  • Players who received the gifted items in December 2024 but didn’t pay for any single item, will have to pay the 1500 Super Credits to unlock the full Legendary Warbond.

  • Not to worry, if you do pay for the warbond; the gifted items will also be medal unlocked.

  • Players joining after the Helldivers™ 2 x Killzone items left the store in December 2024 can access the Warbond by unlocking it for 1500 SC, and then enjoy redeeming medals on their favorite items just as usual

Let’s recap all the items included and dig into those new items as well.

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Weapons and stratagems:
Arm yourself with some of the best weapons Stål has to offer.

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Beginning with the StA-52 Assault rifle the pride of the Stål armory, providing you with the strength to decimate your foes. It boasts a high-capacity drum mag, great for providing sustained fire.



StA-11 SMG with a helical-feed magazine, which provides a higher ammo capacity whilst making it more front heavy. This close-range weapon is the nightmare of the enemies of freedom.

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PLAS-39 Accelerator rifle, a high precision burst-fire rifle that will banish your foes after a short charging period.



Armors and capes:

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AC-1 Dutiful/ The Strength in Our Arms cape
This heavy armor boasts a breathing apparatus built in to help both soldiers and colonists thrive, even when assigned to planets with atmospheres rated "suboptimal", "extreme", and "character building".

AC-2 Obedient/ Defender of Our Dream cape

The muted colors and relaxed, high mobility fit make this light armor a favorite among long-distance snipers and hide-and-seek champions alike.


Acclimated passive
The passive of these armors provides 50% resistance to fire, gas, acid, and electrical damage.


The “Defender of Our Dream” and “Strength in Our Arms” player cards are also returning along with the Assault infantry player title

New Patterns:

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The latest additions to round out this Warbond are the Extrasolar Ash patterns for your Exosuits, FRV, Hellpods and Pelicans.



So start saving your Super Credits for December 18th at 3pm CET when Helldivers™ 2 x Killzone Legendary Warbond will be available for purchase from wherever you enjoy our game!

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*Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.

Please note you will not be able to claim the Helldivers™ 2 x Killzone Legendary Warbond with a Premium Warbond token.

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HELLDIVERS 2 Tech Blog #2

Introduction

Hey Helldivers,

This blog post is a follow up to my previous post about the installation size of the game on PC which you can find here.

Today, I will update you on our progress in reducing the installation size and how you can help.


PC Installation Size

Update

We have followed through on our plans and made small reductions in the PC installation size over the last few patches while still adding new content. While this was a good start, our short term fixes have not been enough to keep up with all of the new content in the latest patch. The longer term goal has always been to bring the PC installation size much closer in line with the console versions. We are happy to report that, thanks to our partners at Nixxes, we have reached that goal much sooner than expected. By completely de-duplicating our data, we were able to reduce the PC installation size from ~154GB to ~23GB, for a total saving of ~131GB (~85%). We have completed several rounds of internal QA and are ready to roll this out to early adopters as a public technical beta. Our testing shows that for the small percentage of players still using mechanical hard disk drives, mission loading times have only increased by a few seconds in the worst cases. This is live NOW!


Only a few seconds difference?

Further good news: the change in the file size will result in minimal changes to load times - seconds at most. “Wait a minute,” I hear you ask - “didn’t you just tell us all that you duplicate data because the loading times on HDDs could be 10 times worse?”. I am pleased to say that our worst case projections did not come to pass. These loading time projections were based on industry data - comparing the loading times between SSD and HDD users where data duplication was and was not used. In the worst cases, a 5x difference was reported between instances that used duplication and those that did not. We were being very conservative and doubled that projection again to account for unknown unknowns.


Now things are different. We have real measurements specific to our game instead of industry data. We now know that the true number of players actively playing HD2 on a mechanical HDD was around 11% during the last week (seems our estimates were not so bad after all). We now know that, contrary to most games, the majority of the loading time in HELLDIVERS 2 is due to level-generation rather than asset loading. This level generation happens in parallel with loading assets from the disk and so is the main determining factor of the loading time. We now know that this is true even for users with mechanical HDDs.

Great! When does this happen? How can I help?

Do you want to be an early adopter? You can opt-in right now and help us test the slim version! There are no functional differences between the legacy and slim versions besides the installation size. You will be connected to the same galactic war as everyone else and be using the same account you always do - so all progression, war contributions and purchases will carry over between the different versions. You will still be able to matchmake and play with all other players. You can also opt-out at any time if you experience issues. It’s a low-risk way to save ~131GB of space on your drive and help us extend our testing to real-life conditions. Full instructions for opting in and out of the technical beta can be found at the end of this blog post.

The future!

When the public technical beta confirms that there are no issues present in the slim version, it will become the default version for everyone. For a limited time, we will allow players to opt-in to the legacy version as a way to self-troubleshoot any issues that were not picked up during our internal testing or the public technical beta. Given the very minor differences in loading times between the two versions, there is no justification for us to keep supporting the legacy version long term. Maintaining the legacy version alongside the slim version would only add extra burden to our developers, build machines, QA teams and release processes. Assuming all goes smoothly, the legacy version will be discontinued some time next year.

Finally

Thank you to the community for all your support with the game as we work through these technical pieces, and thank you to our partners at Nixxes for helping us troubleshoot and implement all the above improvements.



Beta Instructions
Warning!

Modders beware! Any patch we roll out can break the game if you have mods installed and this one is no exception. We recommend that only players with a clean installation opt-in to the slim version. As always, you mod the game at your own risk.


If any of this seems a bit scary to you, we encourage you to just sit back and wait for the slim version to become the default version.


Opting in to the slim version

Step 1.

In your steam library, right click on HELLDIVERS 2 and select ‘Properties’.

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Step 2.

Next select the ‘Betas’ tab.

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Step 3.

In the Beta Participation drop down list, select “prod_slim”

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Step 4.

Finally just close the properties dialog and wait for the game to download the patch!


Opting out of the slim version

If for any reason you want to opt-out of the slim version, you can repeat the above steps and select “None” from the Beta Participation drop-down instead. If you opt-out due to experiencing problems with the slim version, please report them to our player support team.


Opting in to the legacy version

In case of emergency! Once we make the slim version the default version, you will be able to opt-in to the legacy version by selecting “prod_legacy” from the Beta Participation down-down. This will only work for a limited time, so please be sure to report any issues specific to the slim version to our player support team.

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Into the Unjust: 5.0.0

Release Captain Morris, coming to you this democratic Tuesday with an important update from High Command.

Super Earth has detected strange signals from previously unmonitored worlds on the Galactic map. The Ministry of Intelligence is investigating the source of the signals. Helldivers, be vigilant and hold the high ground.


Patch Highlights

  • For this patch, we have tackled a bunch of items from our Known Issues list, including audio issues, XP modifiers, and several crashes.


  • We have made more optimizations and improvements!


  • Balancing changes that raise weapon damage and fixes to weapon FOV.
⚖️ Balancing


General changes


Decreased ergonomics penalty on magnifying scopes weapon attachments


  • The intent is to make magnifying scopes more a matter of preference by decreasing the penalty they impose on a weapon's ergonomics (low ergonomics makes the weapons muzzle follow the crosshair slower).

Some of the Pistol ammo balance update


  • The intent with this change is to make some of the pistol rounds weapons more effective after the last pistol ammo re-balance that did make them more of a close range weapon.


  • The pistol rounds re-balance general intent is to make them more effective at close range while not more effective at long range then for example assault or marksman rifles
2x Tube Red Dot

  • Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-3) to (-1)
4x Combat Scope

  • Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-6) to (-2)
10x Sniper Scope

  • Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-9) to (-4)


  • APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle is also effected by this change so it will get an increased ergonomics from 26 to 31


Primary weapons
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SMG-37 Defender


  • Increased damage from 100 to 110


  • Increased durable damage from 20 to 22

SMG-32 Reprimand


  • Increased damage from 135 to 140

M7S SMG


  • Increased damage from 80 to 90


  • Increased durable damage from 16 to 18

VG-70 Variable


  • Increased durable damage 20 to 23

M90A Shotgun


  • Increased durable damage 15 to 20


Sidearms weapons

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P-2 Peacemaker


  • Increased damage from 95 to 100


  • Increased durable damage 30 to 32

P-113 Verdict


  • Increased damage from 135 to 140

M6C/SOCOM Pistol


  • Increased damage from 110 to 125


  • Increased durable damage from 25 to 28


Enemies

War strider



  • Decreased force strength on grenade explosion from 50 to 30

Bile Spewer


  • Decreased force strength on artillery explosion from 50 to 30


  • Decreased force impulse on artillery explosion from 60 to 40

Stalker


  • Decreased force strength from 40 to 35 when a tongue attack hits the player


(Force strength is the value that decides if a player or enemy should stagger or ragdoll.)


Gameplay


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Keybind options for quick weapon function:


  • New, unbound keybind options have been added for quickly swapping weapon functions (like changing fire modes or ammo).


  • The intent is to give players better ease of use, especially for weapons with multiple ammo types like the Halt, Autocannon, and the new "One Two" AR.

Updated First Person View (FPV)


  • We updated how First Person View (FPV) works with the intention of improving the aiming experience across different FOV settings (Field of view).


  • The intent is that the size and distance of the scope will be more consistent with different FOV settings.


  • We also updated how ergonomics works in FPV with the intent to make it more responsive.


  • Fixed instances of flickering textures in various city locations


Fixes


Crash Fixes & Softlocks




  • Fixed a rare crash that would occur when combat music would start


  • Fixed a rare crash that could occur during 'Nuke Nursery' mission


  • Fixed crash after hotjoining a game that just started where the existing players are using certain stratagems


  • Fixed a rare crash when enemies would fall through the ground


  • Fix rare crash on mission load


Weapons & Stratagem Fixes



  • Fixed an issue with the BR-14 Adjudicator, when aiming with the 10x scope on 200 m setting which would cause the model to disappear


  • Fixed a visual issue on VG-70 Variable during the reload animation when aiming down sights


  • Fixed a torso clipping issue with the CE-07 Demolition Specialist armor


  • Fixed pump-shotguns sometimes not showing a new shell being inserted on reload


  • PLAS-45 Epoch now correctly zooms in ADS mode, just like any other support weapon


  • Fixed display related to no ammo being shown for Infinite Ammo weapons


  • Fixed the VO (Voice Over) line for “no ammo” being played after pressing reload whilst using Infinite Ammo weapons


  • Fixed a small bug where supply packs were giving ammo without consuming a charge when dropped


  • Fixed a bug that locks stratagems after drowning while holding that stratagem ball


  • Fixed the red glow that would happen if the player would empty one or two magazines with MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun, M-105 Stalwart or MG-43 Machine Gun


Enemies


  • Factory Striders will no longer be launched to sky erratically when dying


  • Hellpods that hit Factory Striders will no longer remain in the air after the enemy dies


  • War Striders now detonate mines


  • Enemy presence around Cognitive Disruptor Towers is now cleared from the mini-map when the objective is completed


  • Chargers no longer speed up when exiting charge


  • Fixed Rupture Warriors getting stuck below Sentries


  • Added a medium-armored weak spot to the vents on the backside of the Bunker, AA, and Mortar emplacements. This was done so these structures behave similarly to other comparable defenses..


Miscellaneous Fixes


  • Fixed the terrain not being affected by explosions and the Entrenchment Tool (PS5 only)


  • Fixed a bug where the lights were missing/flickering on the Orbital Gatling


  • Fixed a thumbnail glitch in the Acquisition Center menu


  • Cryo-pods no longer clip into the Engineering Bay when playing the ship arrival cutscene


  • Fixed an armor gap affecting CE-27 Ground Beaker and CW-9 White Wolf whilst using the 'Draw!' emote


  • The UI will no longer show inaccurate objective info on the Mission Summary screen if the host has left the game


  • Fixed a bug whilst joining a non-host in a cross-play lobby.


  • Fixed the NPC technician’s neck sticking through their shirt


  • Mini-map fog of war effect while exploring caves no longer persists between missions


  • Soon-to-be Helldivers will no longer be stopped from progressing the tutorial if they die in the flag room


  • Fixed issue where the automaton grinder sludge would be affected by weathering even though it's sealed behind glass


  • Fixed an issue where a missile inside the Destroyer’s hangar was misaligned. This dangerous act of asymmetry has been corrected. The undemocratic ship operator responsible for this disgraceful display of inefficiency has been promptly re-educated in a high-orbit correctional facility. Glory to the Office of Corrective Deployment!


  • Helldivers will no longer be locked out of the GATER when trying to get into the driver's seat simultaneously


  • Fixed a bug with missing haptics when a controller disconnects or reconnects


  • Fixed an issue on a command bunker where there was a lack of collision


Optimizations


  • Optimized lights on Automaton VFX


  • Optimized physics of rock assets throughout the game to improve performance


  • Improved the way environmental effects such as sandstorms, blizzards, and acid storms apply their status effects for reduced impact on performance


  • Improved ADS weapon placement and behavior


  • Reduced the amount of camera clipping on weapons


  • Fixed texture details used for weapons while aiming down sights


  • Improved depth of field when ADS and whilst scopes are zoomed in


  • Fix for textures sometimes appearing low resolution even when memory is available (PC only)


Known Issues

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Python Commandos Premium Warbond airdrops into the jungle on December 2!

Helldivers, high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Defense have accused you of being the best. And if you’re the best, then you’re going to need to be outfitted with the best, which is why the Ministry has fast-tracked the deployment of the Python Commandos Premium Warbond–arriving to your Super Destroyers on December 2!

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Weapons & Stratagems

Let’s talk firepower first. Python Commandos is loaded with three brand new stratagems and a new primary.

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The Ministry of Defense received thousands of requests from squad commanders for a minigun and we’re excited to finally give our Helldivers access to the M-1000 Maxigun! Belt-fed with ultra-high ammo capacity, this one is sure to make those bugs bleed.

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This Warbond also includes another addition to the line-up of faithful sidekicks for your Helldiver: the AX/FLAM-75 “Guard Dog” Hot Dog. This drone is equipped with a flamethrower to coat your foes in the fires of freedom before returning to your backpack to refuel.

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But if you don’t want to burn the jungle down, consider doing your deforestation with the CQC-9 Defoliation Tool. If the machete doesn’t cut it–whether it’s a tree or an enemy–surely this will!

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And finally, Python Commandos has a new and unique primary weapon: a combination assault rifle and grenade launcher called the AR/GL-21 One-Two. Heavy to wield, but the damage dealt is heavy too, making your primary slot more versatile than ever with two guns in one!

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Armors & Capes

Python Commandos features two armor sets and, like Viper Commandos before it, they both let you get those guns out for some fresh air.

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First up is the RS-20 Constrictor light armor set. It’s also the official uniform for the League of Patriotic Arm Wrestlers, so it’s guaranteed to give your squad bigger and more rippling biceps to intimidate the enemy. But if you’re carrying the team, maybe you need the RS-40 Best of Prey: a heavy armor set patterned after legendary Helldiver, Ronald Mambo, and his famously powerful and burly physique.

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Both of these armors are equipped with the Rock Solid passive, which makes your Helldiver more steadfast against staggering and ragdolling attacks.


You’ll also have two capes and coordinating player cards available: Foe Rent Asunder, which is pre-tattered to give a battle-worn appearance, and Mark of the Constrictor, for Helldivers who strangle out any anti-democratic behavior they encounter.


Patterns & Emotes

Along with all this, you’ll get access to the Front-Leaning Rest Position emote–now you can drop and give ‘em 20 anytime!


Python Commandos also includes the Chameleon Camo pattern for your FRV, Exosuit, Hellpod, and Shuttle.


The finishing touch is to get the whole team coordinated with the Python Commando player title and organize a swift strike on anything that stands between you and extraction.


The Python Commandos Premium Warbond is dropping in on December 2, divers. Get ready to deliver the venom of Liberty directly into the heart of evil!

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*Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.

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Into the Unjust: 4.1.2

Freedom's greetings, Helldivers!

Release Captain Morris coming to you this democratic Tuesday with an update from High Command.

Welcome to this “mini” quality of life update.
Below you will see some of the fixes the devs have been hard at work on over the past weeks. As always, we are excited to get your thoughts and feedback on how this improves your diving!

Patch Highlights
Fixes

Crashes




  • Fixed a crash that could happen when alt+tabing or changing display related settings


  • Fixed a crash that would occur when the Hive Lord would hear noises coming from outside the map area


  • Fixed a crash that could occur when leaving or disconnecting from a game


  • Fixed a crash which could occur when changing graphics settings during some missions


  • Fixed a rare crash which could occur when launching into city missions


  • Fixed a rare crash which could occur when the Pelican lands


Miscellaneous



  • Fixed an issue where the SH-32 Shield Generator Backpack and the FX-12 Shield Generator Relay didn't shield those inside from the effects of Storms, such as Acid Storm, Sandstorm, and Blizzard


  • Fixed a rare bug where all audio could cut out after extensive playtime

Optimizations


  • Improved the way environmental effects such as Sandstorms, Blizzards, and Acid Storms apply their status effects for reduced impact on performance


  • Optimized destruction on various tree assets to maintain performance when lots of trees are being destroyed
    Fixed Sandstorms and Blizzards no longer slowing Helldivers down.


  • We have addressed a gameplay/performance issue which allowed Bile Titans to traverse through areas they should not have been able to

We also kindly ask you to put a “fiery” red circle around the date December 2nd!
As we will have some “buzzing” updates for you all!


Known Issues

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“Diving into the Development Team” part 1

While our engine team is working on both the engine and another blog related to the tech we use, our Production Director, Alex Bolle, wanted to share some of the processes the development team undergoes at Arrowhead.


Question: Alex, can you introduce the production role on Helldivers 2. Can you tell people what that role means to the game that they love?

Answer: Absolutely. I see the producer as a chaos manager. We're here to make sure that the creative direction of my fellow directors turns into something concrete, a plan basically.

What do we do with the features that they have in mind, with the improvements that we want for the game in a clear timeline with the people we need to make it happen and make sure that this is released on time, and in a state we know we need to be better at.


Question:
Timing and the cycles in the major updates are something that everybody gets excited about. How do you look at that internally?

Answer:
Preparing an arc is a recipe that we’re always trying to improve, sometimes it’s too salty, sometimes it needs more salt. We’re constantly trying to improve the live service experience.
It usually starts with a very strong fantasy: “what do we want the players to experience?”, then from that we create a list of initiatives for the game, from features, to major orders, the warbonds and so on.

In fact what’s interesting here is that for the longest time, our recipe was rather unbalanced, some would say way too spicy (but I’m from Corsica, I love spices). We were focused a lot on content. Listening to the players, we realized as a team that there is more than that. So we’re changing our approach. Some initiatives are all about cleaning our live features, introducing quality of life… We’re in the early stages of this, but so far when I look at future arcs, it’s promising and something I’m eager to let the community taste.


Question: So if we look at that, there's some progress that you and the team have been making towards the hardening, tell me more about that.

Answer: So, hardening is our last step in the development process before release, and it’s been something that we’ve pledged to take as a main priority moving forward. We are currently addressing the issues and looking for more before we release more goodness for the players.
For the longest time our features would be considered ready and implemented in the release build at the very last minute. We’re working with the teams to stop that. We use the term “functional” as a minimum standard for when features should be in the game. For example, the Hive Lord, as functional, was a very rough version of what players experienced.


Question: How is the development team structured?

Answer: We have big groups of teams that we call Areas, and I love to talk about these as the whole Helldivers’ experience.
Picture this: The first Area you experience as a player is Meta. Meta is responsible for the entire Galaxy’s systems, they define the rules of the whole game, and you’ll find your beloved Game Masters in this Area!

It’s time to Dive into the enemies lines, here comes GameWorld: they are world builders, a bunch of talented people creating new biomes like the Hive Worlds, and the missions the Helldivers will accomplish in the name of democracy. They have some of the “hottest” stuff cooking in right now, but not before we get things in order!

It’s time for combat! And we call the next Area… combat (don’t ask a producer to be too creative)! These teams are behind the mightiest enemies encountered, but you all know that you need some good firepower to stomps bugs, so yes, warbonds are done here!
There are two areas remaining, very important ones: The first one is what we call the Tech platform, they are running our game engine, and the tools that the rest of the developers will use.
Last but not least, our own Ministry Of Truth: The marketing and communication Area, it’s pretty self explanatory, this is our voice. Actually, I wouldn't write this if they weren’t here!


Thank you for diving and we'll see you next time!

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Into the Unjust: 4.1.1

Freedom's greetings, Helldivers!

Release Captain Morris here, coming to you this democratic Tuesday with a Freedom Delivery.

For this ongoing minor update, stability and balance improvements were the focus of the team.
We look forward to hearing how you feel - we're keeping the galaxy (and democracy) running smoothly.

Patch Highlights

  • Fixed crashes, including some hotjoining and stratagem-related crashes.


  • Reducing framerate stutters during drop-in sequence.


  • Fixed issues related to unused textures loaded into memory.


Fixes


Crashes




  • Fixed a crash after hotjoining a game that just started, and when the existing players use certain stratagems


  • Fixed a rare crash when enemies fall through the ground


  • Fixed a crash that occurs during missions when an encounter is triggered


  • Fix rare crash on mission load


  • Fixed crash which could occur when interacting quickly with the weapon customization menu


Miscellaneous



  • Extraction shuttle will no longer get into the landing stage when bumping into tall structures near the landing pad


  • Fix an issue with missing haptics when gamepads disconnect/reconnect


  • Fixed ragdolls falling through ground during certain sections of the Tutorial


  • Fixed issue where some unused textures were being loaded into memory accidentally on certain planet types

Optimizations


  • (PC only) Fixed for textures sometimes appearing low resolution even when memory is available


  • Reducing flashlight reaction on muzzle smoke on all weapons for a better FOV


  • Reduced frame rate stutters during the drop-in sequence


  • Optimized destruction on various tree assets to maintain performance when lots of trees are being destroyed


    Known Issues

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Into the Unjust: 4.1.0

Freedom's greetings, Helldivers!

Release Captain Morris coming to you this democratic Thursday with an update from High Command.


This update focuses on what matters most right now: making HELLDIVERS 2 feel better to play.

We’ve overhauled how we approach patching to better target the pain points you’ve shared with us. That means more focus on stability, balance, and the issues that affect your experience the most.

Over 200 bugs have been fixed, along with key balance updates and quality-of-life improvements. (For a deeper look, check out Lennart and Niklas’ video breakdown.)

While new features are coming, this patch marks a big step forward: both in the game itself and in how we work to improve it. More refinements are already underway.


⚖️ Balancing
General changes


Primaries, Sidearms, Throwables, and Stratagems


  • Improvements have been made to increase the overall effectiveness of primary weapons, sidearms, throwables, and stratagems

Light vs. Medium Penetration Weapons


  • Light and medium penetration weapons now offer more distinct advantages.

Light penetration weapons generally deal a higher percentage of their total damage against durable enemies, differentiating them more clearly from medium penetration options

SMGs and Pistols


  • SMGs and pistols have been adjusted to emphasize their role as close-quarters weapons. Close-range damage has been increased, and damage falloff has been increased to reinforce their short-range combat identity

Melee Weapons and Throwables


  • Melee weapons and throwables have been improved to make each feel more impactful and unique in their function

Resupply Rack


  • The resupply rack is not climbable anymore


Primary weapons


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SG-8P Punisher Plasma


  • Damage projectile decreased from 100 to 0


  • Damage explosion increased from 150 to 225

SG-8S Slugger


  • Damage increased from 280 to 330


  • Durable damage increased from 75 to 90

AR-23 Liberator


  • Damage increased from 80 to 90


  • Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

AR-23A Liberator Carbine


  • Damage increased from 80 to 90


  • Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

AR-23P Liberator Penetrator


  • Damage increased from 60 to 65

AR-23C Liberator Concussive


  • Damage increased from 65 to 75


  • Durable damage increased from 30 to 35

AR-61 Tenderizer


  • Durable damage increased from 22 to 30

AR-32 Pacifier


  • Damage increased from 50 to 55


  • Stun value per projectile increased from 1.5 to 2

SMG-37 Defender


  • Damage increased from 80 to 100


  • Durable damage increased from 8 to 18


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

MP-98 Knight


  • Damage increased from 70 to 90


  • Durable damage increased from 7 to 18


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

SMG-32 Reprimand


  • Damage increased from 125 to 135


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

SMG-72 Pummeler


  • Damage increased from 70 to 85


  • Durable damage increased from 7 to 18


  • Stun value per projectile increased from 1.5 to 2


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

LAS-16 Sickle


  • Damage increased from 55 to 60


  • Durable damage increased from 5 to 6

MA5C Assault Rifle


  • Damage increased from 80 to 90

M7S SMG


  • Damage increased from 70 to 80


  • Durable damage increased from 7 to 16


  • Drag increased from from 0.6 to 1.2

StA-11 SMG


  • Damage increased from 70 to 90


  • Durable damage increased from 7 to 18


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

PLAS-39 Accelerator Rifle


  • Extra spare magazines increased from 8 to 12


  • Ergonomics increased from 40 to 60



Sidearm weapons


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CQC-2 Saber


  • Damage increased from 110 to 125


  • Durable damage increased from 55 to 65

CQC-5 Combat Hatchet


  • Damage increased from 110 to 160


  • Durable damage increased from 55 to 80


  • Attack speed has been slightly reduced

CQC-42 Machete


  • Damage increased from 170 to 200


  • Durable damage increased from 80 to 100

P-2 Peacemaker


  • Damage increased from 85 to 95


  • Durable damage increased from 25 to 30


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-19 Redeemer


  • Damage increased from 60 to 70


  • Durable damage increased from 5 to 12


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-113 Verdict


  • Damage increased from 125 to 135


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

M6C/SOCOM


  • Damage increased from 100 to 110


  • Drag increased from 0.6 to 1.2

P-92 Warrant


  • Drag decreased from 0.3 to 0


  • Gravity multiplier decreased from 1 to 0.3


Throwables


TED-63 Dynamite



  • Damage increased from 700 to 1000


  • Armor penetration increased from Medium to Heavy


  • Demolition strength increased from 30 to 40


  • Stagger increased from 30 to 40


  • Uses decreased from 4 to 3

G-7 Pineapple


  • Shrapnel from main explosion increased from 7 to 18


  • Demolition strength on the main explosion increased from 20 to 30


  • Inner radius on shrapnel explosion increased from 1 to 2.5m


  • Damage on shrapnel explosion increased from 70 to 100


  • Removed lifetime on the shrapnel


  • Shrapnel from the shrapnel explosion decreased from 6 to 0

G-50 Seeker


  • Higher priority for flying enemies


  • Highest target priority for marked target


  • Damage increased from 400 to 500

G-6 Frag


  • Uses increased from 5 to 6

G-3 Smoke


  • Uses increased from 4 to 5

Throwing knifes


  • Damage increased from 250 to 300


  • Durable damage increased from 100 to 150

PLAS-1 Scorcher


  • Plasma projectiles will now pass through foliage without losing velocity



Stratagems

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PLAS-45 Epoch



  • Duration until explosion increased from 3 to 3.25 sec


  • Delayed muzzle charge VFX by 0.5 seconds so it now appears when the projectile is overcharged, improving visibility of the charge state


  • Damage on standard projectiles explosion increased from 400 to 500


  • Demolition strength on overcharged projectile increased from 10 to 30

M-105 Stalwart


  • Damage increased from 80 to 90


  • Durable damage increased from 15 to 22

FLAM-40 Flamethrower


  • Canister capacity increased from 130 to 150


  • Starting canisters increased from 2 to 3


  • Max spare canisters increased from 4 to 5

APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle


  • Durable damage increased from 180 to 225


  • Starting magazines increased from 4 to 5


  • Max spare magazines increased from 6 to 8

AC- 8 Autocannon


  • Damage increased from 260 to 325

GL-52 De-Escalator


  • Damage increased from 55 to 100


  • Durable damage increased from 55 to 70

MS-11 Solo Silo


  • Health increased from 800 to 1500


  • Enemies will not attack it


  • Increased demolition strength needed to destroy it

Orbital Railcannon Strike


  • Cooldown decreased from 210 to 180 sec

EXO-45 Patriot Exosuit


  • Missile Armor penetration in worse angles increased from 6-6-4-0 to 6-6-5-0


  • Rotary gun ammo capacity increased from 1000 to 1350



Enemies

  • The goal is to make light and medium armor-piercing weapons equally effective against certain common enemies by adjusting their durable damage and durable resistance values


Illuminates
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Fleshmob


  • Targeting the faces deals extra damage to its main health, effectively creating weak spots


  • Main health decreased from 6000 to 5000


  • Most health zones are slightly more durable


  • Slightly less vulnerable to fire to balance health decrease


Elevated Overseer


  • Main health decreased from 600 to 450


  • Head health increased from 150 to 200


  • Head zone armor decreased from 3 to 2


  • Torso health decreased from 600 to 450


  • Arms health decreased from 300 to 250


  • Slight increase on how easy it is to set on fire


Leviathan


  • Now equipped with beam-based weaponry


  • Leviathans will not show up in missions outside of cities


Terminids


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Rupture Strain enemies


  • Updated textures for all Rupture Strain enemies for better readability


Rupture Warrior


  • Movement speed when underground has been decreased


  • Needs to surface more often when moving underground


  • Its burrow attack is slightly slower and leaves more space to be dodged


  • Smaller damage boxes when attacking from below


  • Front legs armor decreased from 3 to 2


  • Will prefer to emerge before attacking turrets instead of destroying them from below ground


Rupture Spewer


  • Retuned the timing of how fast it starts to act from when it unburrows


Bile Spewer Variations


  • Increased size of its mouth weak spot


Brood Commanders


  • Slightly harder to set on fire


Warriors


  • Slightly harder to set on fire


  • Slight durable increase in head and body

Dragon roach


  • Spawn rate decreased

    • 50% lower on difficulty 5,6


    • 40% lower on difficulty 7,8,9


    • 33% lower on difficulty 10

  • Destruction of the wings results in instant termination of the Dragon

    • Wings now have their own health pool of 4000


    • Increased how much damage wings take from explosion


Bile spewers


  • Slightly harder to set on fire


  • Larger body parts are slightly more durable


Hive Lord


  • Improved performance during Hive Lord encounters.

Automatons


Base Alarming



  • Automaton troopers in bases will require better visual confirmation before calling in reinforcements, instead of calling them in immediately


Devastators


  • Slightly harder to be put on fire


  • Large body parts are slightly more durable


Command Bunker Turret


  • Removed ragdolling from its projectiles explosion


Factory Strider


  • Slightly less vulnerable to fire


War Strider


  • Shoots 2 fewer grenades per salvo


  • Shoots grenades less often


  • Removed ragdolling from its projectiles explosions


  • Added weak spots aim for the eyes and the vents on the back


Scout Striders


  • Armored top shield is more durable



Fixes


Stratagems




  • Fixed an issue where Helldivers were unable to call down stratagems in the objective area of the "Nuke Nursery" cave mission


  • Fixed an issue with the B-100 Portable Hellbomb stratagem sometimes falling on Cave roofs in the "Destroy Spore Lung" mission


  • Fixed an issue with the drill objective stratagem sometimes landing in unintended places such as on top of caves, in Nuke Nursery Hive World missions


  • Players can now stay aiming down sights when activating the LIFT-860 Hover Pack


Crashes



  • Fixed a rare crash occurring when fighting Illuminates


  • Fixed a crash when hotjoining and readying up before other hotjoiners


  • Fixed a crash occurring when a player would re-join multiple times


  • Fixed a rare crash caused by Eagle-1


  • Fixed a rare bug where the Eagle-1 would never be removed from the game session and eventually cause crashes


  • Fixed rare crash bug that could happen when spawning in groups of enemies


  • Fixed crash affecting Helldivers trying to lean out from a vehicle


  • Fixed a crash that could happen when scrolling through the weapon customization menu


  • Fixed a crash that could happen during game shutdown


Weapons



  • Fixed armor penetration values in the Stats Menu for CQC-5 Combat Hatchet, CQC-30 Stun Baton,CQC-19 Stun Lance, CQC-2 Saber, CQC-1 One True Flag and the G-7 Pineapple grenade; the armor penetration value displayed as Medium instead of Light


  • Improved initial bullet alignment while strafing and riding in vehicles


  • Moved the first person camera further away from the MS-11 Solo Silo's Target Designator scope


  • Fixed the weapon reload animations desyncing when wielding armor passives that give increased reload speed


  • The FAF-14 Spear can now lock onto Automaton AA turrets


  • Fixed projectiles hitting direct center of sights when extremely close to objects


  • Haptics feedback is now present throughout the firing of the FLAM-40 Flamethrower stratagem


Miscellaneous



  • Fixed a bug where Hive Lord body parts would not spawn properly


  • Fixed an instance where the Helldiver couldn't re-join their previous host, if said host left a joined game in progress from the loadout


  • Fixed a bug where the LIFT-182 Warp Pack would sometimes get stuck suspended in the air or crash


  • Fixed Adreno-Defibrillator armor passive animation bug


  • Fixed disconnection issues when joining a solo player with 3 cross-platform players


  • Fixed mesh clipping for the arms on some animations


  • Reduced the chance of the Extraction Shuttle clipping through terrain


  • Fixed a flickering bug on the avatar when the Helldiver gets affected by mud or snow


  • Fixed a bug hole covered by terrain in one of the CR10 Mega Nests


  • Rupture Warriors can no longer destroy deployable turrets while still underground


  • Fixed an issue where the front door of the GATER could become inaccessible


  • Fixed a rare issue where the player could be disconnected when they are a part of a mixed platform, 3 person lobby that joins a solo player under poor network conditions


  • Fixed an issue with Illuminate dropships not taking correct damage during the “Repel Invasion Fleet” missions


  • The currency symbol for Saudi riyal is now displayed correctly in the in game shop


  • The Oil Rigs reverse audio will no longer continuously play if the player attempts to reverse during oil extraction


  • Fixed Helldivers going through the floor in the tutorial mission, when diving near the barbed wires


  • Fixed a rare soft-lock in tutorial


  • Helldiver is now killed when driving into drill holes during Nuke Nursery missions


  • Fixed an issue where Helldivers could enter a vehicle even though the seat got claimed by someone else first


  • Fixed controller vibrations behaving incorrectly when connecting or disconnecting controllers on PC


  • Fixed miscellaneous threading issues in the audio system


  • Fixed minor texture clipping issues on the floor between hellpod launchers on the ship


  • Fixed an issue where voice chat could sometimes change volume unexpectedly - particularly when entering caves


Optimizations


  • Optimized status effects


  • Optimized physics by only enabling powered ragdolls when needed


  • Optimized physics body handling for damage calculations


  • Optimized Automaton units and NPC eyes, by changing them from particle effects to shaders


  • Optimized AI behaviors by analyzing and stripping out redundant code


  • Reduced stuttering during drop-in sequence for missions on Hive Worlds


  • Improved audio IO performance


  • Snow distribution and overall look has been reworked


  • Improved performance by tweaking LOD settings for characters


  • Optimized asset distribution for several planets types


  • Optimized scattered assets such as grass on various planet types


  • Optimized asset distribution in Hiveworlds and Terminid caves


  • Optimized asset setup and geometry for assets used in Hiveworlds and Terminid caves


  • Optimized status effect physics and particle systems while maintaining visual feedback and fidelity


  • Optimized various Automaton explosion VFX


  • Optimized Acid Rain effects during Acid Storms


  • Optimized Dragonroach fire attack VFX


  • Made various optimizations to the fire system, including particle and light optimization.


  • Improved performance by optimizing the rendering of several shaders

Known Issues

Continue reading...
 

HELLDIVERS 2: Tech Blog #1

Hey, Helldivers. This is the first of what we intend to become a regular series of posts where the engineering team talks about the technical health of the game and some of the technical challenges we’re working through.



Installation Size

The installation size of HELLDIVERS 2 on PC seems to be a hot topic right now so let’s start with that. The current install size on PCs is around 150 GB. This is roughly three times larger than the same game installed on consoles! Given the amount of content in the game, the size on consoles seems quite reasonable so the obvious question is - why is it so large on PC?



Data Duplication

Much of the data in the PC version of HELLDIVERS 2 is duplicated. The practice of duplicating data to reduce loading times is a game development technique that is primarily used to optimize games for older storage media, particularly mechanical Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and optical discs like DVDs.



This practice is largely unnecessary for games deployed on Solid State Drives (SSDs) which is why the console versions of HELLDIVERS 2 do not do this.



The Problem with Mechanical Hard Drives

The main issue with a mechanical HDD is seek time. An HDD stores data on a spinning platter, and a physical arm with a read head has to move across the platter to find and retrieve data. The time it takes for this arm to "seek" or move to the correct location is a significant performance bottleneck.



Imagine a large game level with various objects - trees, rocks, buildings, props. If the data for these objects is scattered all over the hard drive, the read head has to physically jump around the disk, which adds a lot of time to the loading process.



The Solution: Duplication

To solve this problem, we deliberately duplicate certain data files (like a common tree texture or a sound effect) and place copies of them in physically close proximity to where they would be needed in the game.



For example, our build system will ensure that a copy of a tree texture is stored on the same part of the disk as the level geometry data. When the game loads the level, the read head can access all the necessary information in a single, continuous sweep, without having to "seek" to a different location. This dramatically speeds up loading times.



The Modern Era: SSDs

The need for this technique has largely disappeared with the widespread adoption of SSDs. An SSD stores data on flash memory chips and has no moving parts. This means that "seek time" is virtually nonexistent. An SSD can access any piece of data on the drive almost instantly, regardless of where it is physically stored.



Increasingly, modern games are optimized for the sequential read speeds of SSDs and do not need to rely on the older method of duplicating assets. This is one of the key reasons why new games often explicitly require an SSD in their minimum system specifications.



Should HELLDIVERS 2 continue to optimize for mechanical HDDs?

This is the six-million-dollar question. On the one hand, they are a part of our minimum spec PC requirements. On the other hand - how many HELLDIVERS 2 players are still using mechanical HDDs? The truth is that we don’t currently know. Even the Steam user surveys are unable to give us data on mechanical HDD use in the overall gamer population. Our best estimates put it at around 12% of all PC gamers but the data is very unreliable and relies on a lot of extrapolations. Until we can more accurately determine the number of mechanical HDDs that HELLDIVERS 2 is installed on, it is difficult to know how many players will be impacted by reducing the amount of data duplication. Even if that number is small, keep in mind that the load time for each player dropping into a mission is determined by the slowest member of the squad.



Solutions

While we take steps to gain more clarity on the number of impacted players, we are actively exploring several different solutions in parallel and will begin rolling them out in future updates as soon as they are ready. We cannot eliminate all duplication without making loading times for mechanical HDDs 10 times slower and we do not feel that this is acceptable. There are however some compromises that we can make which will improve the installation size without blowing out the loading times too much.



Short term

We’ve made some small gains in the next update by sweeping our systems for unused assets and obvious problems, but you will not likely notice them because the new stuff we’ve added will eat those gains. It’s not a game-changer but at least the install size will stop growing.



Medium term

Beyond the next update, we’re exploring taking some of the worst offenders in terms of duplication and de-duplicating them by putting them in “very common assets” bundles which will always be loaded under set conditions (eg- specific faction/biome). This does mean that loading times will get a bit worse for players using mechanical HDDs - it is unfortunate but unavoidable. Our early testing shows we should be able to keep this in the range of “less than 30 seconds” rather than “several minutes”. It can also increase the amount of RAM used by the game by loading “common” data that is not always needed. If we don’t make “worst case” RAM usage worse, this should not be noticeable, but it is a risk we are monitoring. By doing some careful measurements and analysis, we should be able to deliver acceptable tradeoffs between RAM usage, loading times and install size.



Long term

Looking further into the future, we plan to make improvements to the engine which will ensure we never waste RAM loading common data that isn’t needed - eliminating one of the drawbacks of the above technique.



Beyond that, the remaining work is a bigger, riskier, more speculative project where we apply some kind of compression to the game data and potentially replicate some of the de-duplication we do on consoles. We don’t yet know if the impacts to load-times could make these approaches infeasible.



Optional 4k Textures?

Could we create a solution where the highest resolution textures are an optional download? Technically yes - anything is possible. It is not something that is natively supported in our engine though. It would be a substantial project to add this capability. Due to the scope and complexity of the changes we would have to make, this is not our first preference and is honestly something we would only consider if we’re unable to make a big enough impact with our other solutions. Nothing comes for free - time spent making these changes is time not spent optimizing the performance of the game or fixing stability issues.



Summary

So in summary - we’re taking your concerns very seriously but there are no easy solutions. Until we live in a world where we know that most of our PC players are using SSD drives, sacrificing some extra hard drive space is necessary to ensure we’re all able to load into missions in a reasonable amount of time. We’ve clearly reached the limits of how much duplicated data is acceptable so smarter solutions and compromises are now required. We are very carefully weighing up the costs and tradeoffs of the options we have, and we’ll be sure to find a better balance between loading times and installation size soon.



I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into our tech. If you have any questions about this topic or suggestions for future topics, please reply to this thread.

Thanks for reading, we’re always eager to hear from great engineers and gameplay coders: https://jobs.arrowheadgamestudios.com/

Continue reading...
 

State of the Game Update #1

Greetings Helldivers,


We know many of you have been experiencing issues including performance drops, stability hiccups, freezes, and the annoying audio bugs.


We’ve seen the feedback across Discord, forums, Reddit and our dashboards. You’ve been loud, clear, and absolutely right to expect better. We also recognise that our recent updates haven’t hit the mark, and our silence hasn’t helped. That’s on us. We read all of it and we are hard at work creating a roadmap to address this.


Starting with the good news: there is an incoming update (mid October-ish) where we’ll start chipping away at:


  • Some key crash fixes


  • Fixed the Primary weapon/Side-arm audio that stops during a mission


  • Minor performance improvements


  • Long overdue bug fixes, like Charger footstep sounds (pretty useful) or weapon audio stopping mid mission


  • No more landing on caves


  • A Balance Pass (we’re unleashing Niklas & Lennart)

For some of the bigger performances pieces unfortunately we can’t wave a ‘short-turnaround-magic-wand’, nor would a 60 day patch fix them fully (rather it would be duct tape where we need to solder); so we’re working on a bigger development plan as to how we can address some of the larger concerns. Short term, we think the above will make a noticeable improvement and beyond that we’ll keep working on the top issues you keep raising.


In the future, we’re planning more transparency and more talk! We’re looking to share more about the processes, performance and how we got here, plus further improvements and evolution. For starters expect another post next week to kick that off.


Between the Xbox launch, the Halo: ODST Legendary Warbond, the free Into the Unjust update, and other surprises, we’ve welcomed a ton of new players, brought back veterans, and delivered a lot of content. Now, it’s time to double down on fixes, polish, and better communication.


TL;DR

We hear you, we want things to be in a better state, we are taking it very seriously, we will continue working and sharing.

Thanks for sticking with us!

For Super Earth!


The Arrowhead Dev Team

Continue reading...
 

Patch 01.400.002

Freedoms greetings Helldivers!

Release Captain Morris here with a small update this fine Tuesday!


Overview

  • Crash fixes


  • Audio bug fixes, including cave audio


Fixes



  • Fixed a crash on cave maps, when host migrates under certain conditions


  • Fixed a crash to desktop which would occur if the oil rig was destroyed when the shuttle was on its way


  • Fixed a crash when joining someone who is using bombardment stratagems


  • Fixed a crash on game start-up


  • Fixed an issue where Helldivers were reinforcing on top of cave structures


  • The Dragonroach can now be damaged with fire and/or gas


  • Rupture Warriors now track moving clients accurately, leveling the difficulty level of attacks between client and host


  • Fixed an audio bug related to Devastator projectiles


  • Rebalanced caves audio levels


  • Fixed a rare instance where Primary Weapon audio would go missing

    Known Issues

Continue reading...
 

Hotfix 01.004.001

Release Captain Morris here, rolling out a hotfix to a Super Destroyer near you.

⚖️ Balancing


S-11 Speargun



  • Decreased reload duration 3.5 -> 2.5 sec

MS-11 Solo Silo


  • Reduced cooldown from 210 seconds to 180 seconds


Fixes

  • Fixed a crash that can happen when too many particle effects are spawned


  • Fixed a crash when Helldivers are in Hellpods after being reinforced


  • Fixed an issue where light emitted by the Hellpad could become excessively bright under certain conditions


  • General crash fix occurring during Automaton missions


  • Fixed issue in which hive world tunnels would become darker than intended in certain circumstances when a user is using lower graphics settings


  • Fixed a crash that could occur if the target of a seeking missile gets deleted before impact


  • The extraction shuttle will land in a more safe and sound manner

Weapons & Stratagem Fixes


  • Fixed the LIFT-182 Warp Pack getting stuck suspended in the air or crashing


  • Fixed a rare crash caused by multiple players having the MA5C AR equipped on the Super Destroyer


  • Fixed Displacements Backpack VFX issues whilst aiming down sights


  • Fixed a rare crash which could occur when aborting a mission while a player was wielding a turret or driving a vehicle

    Known Issues

Continue reading...
 

Patch 01.003.303

Freedoms greetings Helldivers!

Release Captain Morris here with a small update this fine Friday!


Overview

  • Warbond Token fix


  • Crash fix


Fixes



  • Fixed issue where the Halo Warbond could not be purchased if you had unlocked all Warbonds at the point of upgrading to Super Citizen Edition


  • Fixed crash that occurred when multiple helldivers equip the MA5C Assault Rifle on the ship and the host leaves

Continue reading...
 

Dust Devils Premium Warbond coming to HELLDIVERS 2 on September 4!

Uncharted territory? Unknown risks? Unimaginable threats? Sounds like our kinda expedition.

Trailer:

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We now have the technology to storm into The Gloom on a glorious voyage of virtuous vengeance with the Dust Devils Premium Warbond – deploying to the Destroyer’s Acquisition’s Panel for today, tomorrow, and all your days of Super Earth service.


The mysterious Gloom spore clouds hide the vile alien wastelands of the Terminid plague; a galaxy-wide infestation swarming across peaceful star systems, and they are now ripe for swatting and stomping into extinction.

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Explore and exterminate everything in your way in cavernous caves and underground lairs teeming with bug-eyed beasts, craven creepy crawlies, and mutated monsters. This may be their home but make it their graveyard.

Purge these planets, Helldivers, and extract every last resource to help fuel a brighter, safer tomorrow for Super Earth and all proud patriotic citizens.

d37ec097381efc003f8b5e7649bfe54678272b4a.jpg


Incinerate bugs in the heat of the AR-2 Coyote assault rifle’s incendiary rounds; skewer your target with the heavy duty S-11 Speargun; and serve our enemies their fruity five-a-day with the explosive G-7 Pineapple cluster grenade.


Launch long-range justice to the face of your freedom-hating foes with the MS-11 Solo Silo Stratagem; and set the field ablaze in the flames of liberty with the EAT-700 Expendable Napalm launcher Stratagem.

d511c8a775970c9bd4957f8db00092d8eb96e73d.jpg


Survive the brutal elements with all-new armour sets and capes; and give your Shuttle, Hellpod, FRV, and exosuit a venomous overhaul with the Rattlesnake patterns.


For some, this will be a one-way trip… but history always remembers the first.

We named you the Dust Devils for a reason. So, go raise some hell.

Warbond includes:


  • AR-2 Coyote assault rifle.


  • S-11 Speargun.


  • G-7 Pineapple.


  • MS-11 Solo Silo Stratagem.


  • EAT-700 Expendable Napalm Stratagem.


  • DS-42 Federation’s Blade, and DS-191 Scorpion armour sets with Desert Stormer passive ability.


  • Windswept Wayfinder, and Rightful Occupier capes and cards.


  • Raider’s Cheer emote.


  • Burier of Heads player title.


  • Rattlesnake patterns for the Shuttle, Hellpod, FRV, and exosuit.

The Dust Devils Premium Warbond releases on September 4!


ca858c5272ff8c2b78a94af4757d1902c9601c1c.jpg



Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.

Continue reading...
 

Helldivers 2: Into the Unjust launches September 2!

For too long, we’ve waited and watched as The Gloom expands to swallow more innocent star systems. For too long, we’ve let the Terminds wreak havoc on our colonies, our cities, our homes. The Terminids have pushed into our territory for long enough.

Now, with new recruits trained and ready, it’s time to push into unknown territory. Into the Unjust.

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Enter the Gloom
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It’s finally time to discover what lies behind the Gloom shroud enveloping these planets we call Hive Worlds. Prepare your squad to disappear into the fog and discover new dangers, from towering structures built by Terminids to what horrors lurk beneath the planet surfaces.

Into the Heart of Darkness
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Deep underground lies a labyrinth of cave tunnels that twist and turn, infested with the Hive Lung that seems to be the force that produces the thickening fog that makes up the Gloom.

Because of the nature of the caves, your Super Destroyer won’t be able to give you full support. It’ll be your team alone against the horror.

Terrors Above and Below
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What little intelligence we have on the Gloom contains information about a new subterranean species of Terminid Warriors, Bile Spewers, and Chargers that, when they detect a threat, will burrow underground and begin moving toward prey. Once close enough, they erupt from the ground and attack.

It doesn’t stop there. The Gloom has mutated the Terminids even further, into grotesque monsters like the Dragonroach: a menace in the sky that dives unsuspecting Helldivers and rains down burning bile.

Our reports indicate that there are even greater, more terrifying creatures lying in wait on Hive Worlds, Helldiver. You must find them and take them out.

Taking Back Hive Worlds
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The Helldivers will also face brand new challenges while liberating Hive Worlds, like escorting a mobile oil rig. Helldivers must defend the rig from attacks while it traverses the treacherous Hive World terrain to the next drill site, where it will extract oil.

Meanwhile in the underground, you’ll be forced to locate and destroy the Hive Lung in an effort to stem the spread of the Gloom. There are also new optional and sub-objectives available, too.

It’s going to take all your determination and teamwork to stop the infestation from spreading any further and liberate the Hive Worlds. Get ready to dive Into the Unjust on September 2, Helldivers!

Introducing the Dust Devils Premium Warbond
We’re not sending you to a Hive World without the best gear we have to offer, Helldiver. The Ministry of Defense has fast-tracked the deployment of the Dust Devils Warbond, which will ensure survival in the harshest conditions these worlds can throw your way.

Weapons & Stratagems
Dust Devils comes with a hefty offering of one primary weapon, a new throwable, and three unique stratagems that will aid in clearing the air–and all the bugs–on Hive Worlds.

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• AR-2 Coyote
You can hunt in packs or go by your lonesome with this assault rifle that features incendiary ammunition. But be warned: this coyote is wild.
• G-7 Pineapple
This cluster frag grenade might look like a cute and unassuming fruit, but it’ll have the bugs in absolute pieces.

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• S-11 Speargun
A true big game hunter’s companion. The S-11 fires heavy-duty projectiles that release a cloud of gas on impact.
• EAT-700 Expendable Napalm
Heat up the planet with this single-use missile that contains napalm cluster bombs.
• MS-11 Solo Silo
The long-range power of a missile in a new convenient package! Calls down a Hellpod-sized missile silo with a single, ultra-powerful missile and a handheld targeting remote.

Armors, Capes, and More
Whether you’re crouched behind craggy boulders, waiting for your moment to spring a trap on unsuspecting Terminids or marching in formation with your squad to intimidate them, they’ll look the part. Both feature the Desert Stormer passive, which grants resistance to fire, gas, acid, and arc, as well as providing a throw range increase to the bearer.

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You’ll also receive capes, player cards, an emote and player title, and a new pattern for your vehicles and Hellpods!

• DS-42 Federation’s Blade
Captures the essence of armies marching through the desert sands. Wear with the Rightful occupier cape and player card for a polished look.
• DS-191 Scorpion
Look like a true nomadic warrior in this desert-proof draped set, pairs perfectly with the Windswept Wayfinder cape and player card.

• Title: Burier of Heads
• Emote: Raider’s Cheer
• Pattern: “Rattlesnake” for vehicles and Hellpods

Arm your fighters against the perils that await them on Hive Worlds and beyond! The Dust Devils Premium Warbond launches on September 4.

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Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.

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Patch 01.003.302

Public Service Announcement


Release Captain´s Carlberg & Morris reporting in for this important PSA


Attention, Helldivers!

The pods are primed. Coordinates locked.

In moments, you will drop into the Galactic War’s most brutal warzones — and that’s exactly where you belong. Shoulder to shoulder with your brothers and sisters from every corner of the Galaxy, fighting as one.

We stand united in our love of Super Earth, guided by the steady hand of Managed Democracy. Like the legendary Helljumpers of another Great War, we go feet first into hell — because that’s where the fight is fiercest. There will be no rescue. No retreat. Only you, Helldivers, together against the enemy.


You are the first boots to hit the ground, the last to leave it.

And when the Galaxy sees those four blazing streaks cut through the sky, they know: Liberty has arrived, and it will not be denied.


Now suit up. Lock in. Remember your extensive training. And see you planetside!


With love from all of us at Arrowhead,

Happy Xbox launch day iO

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The long-awaited HELLDIVERS™ 2 x HALO: ODST Legendary Warbond arrives August 26

The Galactic war rages on... Countless Helldivers have laid down their lives to protect Managed Democracy. The call was put out for more recruits, and its been answered by the best of the best. Of the best.

Enter The Obedient Democracy Support Troopers (ODST), AKA The Helljumpers! This new equipment set from the Ministry of Defense will give your Helldivers the look of the fabled unit every Super Earth citizen had on their school lunch box as kids. Jam-packed with iconic weaponry, armors, patterns and more

Are you ready to jump in?

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This is the first HELLDIVERS™ 2 Legendary Warbond*;, symbolizing a new tier of Warbond. We have given meticulous attention to detail to deliver a long-requested homage to a fan-favorite series.

The HELLDIVERS™ 2 x Halo: ODST Legendary Warbond will be available in the Acquisitions Center for 1500 Super Credits –

Legendary Warbonds are not compatible with the new Premier Warbond Token.

Firepower
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MA5C Assault Rifle
An iconic rifle; the definition of reliable and having taken down countless aliens bent on wiping out humanity, it is time to turn its sights on enemies of MANAGED DEMOCRACY. It comes equipped with the convenient ammo counter and a built-in compass - let it guide you to victory.

M6C/SOCOM Pistol
They say to keep your friends close and your sidearm closer. Well, WE say that. This standard issue ODST pistol will always be your friend, with built-in laser sight, suppressor, and flashlight.

M90A Shotgun
This powerful shotgun carries a kick and has a handy flashlight mounted on it so you can see the fear in your enemies' eyes before you teach them a valuable lesson about LIBERTY.

M7S SMG
Silent and deadly, this SMG is the model ODST soldier’s primary weapon. With caseless ammo and a non-removable suppressor; this weapon is ready to spread FREEDOM to every corner of the galaxy.

Armors
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A-9 Helljumper Armor Set
Step into the armored boots of a legendary Lance Corporal who served the ODST with immense bravery and courage under fire. Passive boost – Feet First.

A-35 Recon Armour Set
Sleeker and stealthier than theA-9 Armor, this set is made to move and groove, with a helmet modeled after an iconic intelligence officer’s headgear. Passive boost – Feet First.

Feet First passive
-Make less noise from movement
-Range when finding points of interest increased by 30%
-Immune to leg injuries

Capes
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Honored Heirloom
This cape, emblazoned with the ODST logo, is passed down to a Jumper’s bravest child in the event of their untimely demise.

Eye of the Clandestine
Some soldiers fight on the front line, and some from the shadows. Wrap yourself in secrecy with this sleek, subtle cape, and slip away from the light.

You can also honor the Helljumpers with ODST-themed player cards, a new player title, and the Mean Green vehicle pattern for your hellpod, shuttle, exosuit, and FRV.

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HELLDIVERS™ 2 x HALO: ODST lands August 26th at 1pm BST.

This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Squad up, drop in, and let’s crush every enemy of Freedom and Managed Democracy TOGETHER. Move out!

*Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock.

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PATCH 01.003.202

Freedoms Greetings Citizens and Helldivers, Release Captain Carlberg here rejuvenated after a Super Earth sanctioned vacation.

Transmission from Super Earth incoming


Overview

  • Crash Fixes


  • Weapon Fixes


  • Missing DLC and Warbond fix


  • You may now laugh on the ship with full audio


Fixes

Crash fixes


  • Fix a crash caused by tinkering with weapon customization


  • Fix a crash that could occur when enemies despawned after being killed


  • Fix crash after getting killed by explosions


Weapons Stratagems & Boosters


  • PLAS-45 EPOCH: Improved spread

    • Decreased by 75% to improve the weapons accuracy

  • The Laser turret now displays correct heat build up


  • The LIFT-182 Warp Pack FX no longer shows when in first person mode


  • Disabled LIFT-182 Warp Pack fields around shuttles, preventing any Helldiver escapees. You are done, it is time to go home


  • Fix desync between clients when using the LIFT-182 Warp Pack to get out of a vehicle


  • Fixed issue with the AR-32 PACIFIER being unable to fire for a second after reloading

Enemies


  • Fixes for enemy navigation in cities where they could not traverse certain areas
Miscellaneous Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where some players were unable to access items tied to their DLC or Warbonds


  • Fix for some emotes snapping the Helldiver torso when standing near a hellpod drop


  • Fix for Manic Laughter emote not triggering sound on ship

Known Issues

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