The Helldivers 2 community seemingly cannot get itself out of engaging in toxicity or intense discourse, and this time it’s caused ex-CEO of Arrowhead Johan Pilestedt to step in and give his players a piece of his mind.
Complaints are flying around about perks not making a difference between high-level and low-level players, but Pilestedt thinks the issue doesn’t lie solely with the game.
Pilestedt’s Approach to Helldivers 2 Is Unexpected but Welcome
There’s not much connection between Helldivers and Elden Ring, aside from the difficulty ( to a certain extent) and Pilestedt mentioning in a previous interview that he wants Arrowhead to become a flagship studio like FromSoftware.
That is, until Pilestedt began to show in more than just words, how much he and Hidetaka Miyazaki (President of FromSoftware) have in common.
It all started under a tweet from the official Helldivers 2 account, showcasing the new Viper Commandos Warbond.
One of the replies completely pivoted to another topic, aggressively inquiring whether the team “addressed” how level 90 players had perks on par with level 1 players, giving people no incentive to level up.
Someone replied to that tweet asking what that even meant, and it managed to catch the eye of Pilestedt, who wasted no time in putting the first reply in their place.
He says that if a level 90 player is as powerful as a level 1 player, it’s not an issue of the game, but a skill issue. He also says the game is more about “improving yourself through experience.”
In other words, pushing on in the face of adversity till you come out victorious. It’s all about the journey, rather than the destination. And where else have we heard that before?
Miyazaki Knows All About Using Difficult as a Means to an End
FromSoftware games are known for their insane difficulty. But, they’re not impossible to beat.
The fun comes from improving with every encounter and being able to see your journey from a newbie learning the controls to a master who can confidently take down enemies with little to no fear.
Of course, steamrolling bosses is always a good feeling, but the games are much more than that. Miyazaki’s design philosophy shines beautifully through his games, and it looks like Pilestedt shares a similar sentiment.
That can only mean good things for the future of Helldivers 2, does it not? Pilestedt has shown us time and time again that he truly cares for the game, even stepping down from CEO to CCO just to get involved with the game more. If Miyazaki and Pilestedt ever came together and created a game, it would truly be something beyond our comprehension.
Assuming it ever happened, what would you want to see in it? Feel free to tell us all of your ideas in the comments below!
