Arrowhead’s Helldivers 2 has generated waves as a live-service game that offers fun gameplay and an engaging community. But recently, the game came under fire for its controversial PSN linking requirement. Thankfully, Sony backpedaled on this feature, and players were excited to return to the game.
However, things haven’t been smooth when it comes to actual gameplay and balance changes for Helldivers 2. Arrowhead’s recent nerfs to the Eruptor and other weapons in the last few weeks have frustrated much of the community. Even with Polar Patriots Warbond out now, bringing more weapons, fans have completely lost their enthusiasm. Many in the community have called out the developers for their “atrocious” weapon balancing, causing them to dread what’s coming for the game next.
Helldivers 2 Community Calls Out Arrowhead’s Weapon Balancing Problems
It’s fair to say that the last couple of weeks haven’t been the best for Arrowhead Game Studios. Sony’s decision to implement the PSN linking requirement caused an uproar in the community. While they’ve since reversed their decision, some fans are disappointed with the game’s weapon balancing issues.
In one Reddit thread, a user talked about the state of nerfing in Helldivers 2. The game has seen recent patches nerfing fan-favorite weapons to oblivion and reducing their viability. This has caused many in the community to fear the “new updates instead of being excited about them.”
It’s a very bad sign that I actually started dreading new updates instead of being excited. Arowhead’s enture balancing department needs a big course correction, it’s the worst that I’ve seen in my 25 years of gaming.
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Others who joined in the conversation echoed similar sentiments, stating Arrowhead’s approach to weapon balancing is “weird”.
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One user even felt that the game gets worse with every update, with more bugs causing issues for everyone.
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Despite being a PvE game, players feel like it gets more balance updates compared to titles such as League of Legends.
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Some users feel like Arrowhead doesn’t have a balancing department and relies entirely on players to test their changes, which ruins the experience for everyone.
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It’s clear that fans of the game aren’t happy with Arrowhead’s direction regarding weapon balance. It’s still unknown how the studio will work toward fixing these problems.
Arrowhead CEO’s Take on Helldivers 2 Weapon Balancing Patches
With the constant changes to weapons in the game, it surely can get difficult for anyone to be hyped for the new weapons added to the game. Players feel like there’s no point in spending all that time with a gun just to see it get nerfed within a few weeks. Helldivers 2 is a PvE game, and unless the weapon is completely busted, there isn’t much of a need to constantly tone down weapons in the game.
Even Arrowhead’s CEO, Johan Pilestedt, feels like the studio has taken things too far in some aspects. Replying to a fan on X who felt like the recent patches have made the game “unplayable”, Pilestedt stated that he isn’t satisfied with weapon balancing either and would talk to the team about how they can make things better for the players.
Hey, yeah i think we've gone too far in some areas. Will talk to the team about the approach to balance. It feels like every time someone finds something fun, the fun is removed.
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 8, 2024
With weapon balancing proving unpopular within the community and with the CEO himself, it’s going to be interesting to see how Arrowhead deals with the situation. There’s a chance they’ll completely switch their weapon-balancing approach and release them in a much weaker state. This will allow them to buff the weapons slowly to the point where the community feels excited about them.
