Helldivers 2 big update added “stealth nerf” unbeknownst to fans

The most recent major update for Helldivers 2 has been a massive success in bringing swarms of players back to the game. It added a huge influx of buffs, but it has also become apparent that there were changes not mentioned in the patch notes. Fans felt this was the case, and Arrowhead has now revealed a “stealth nerf” recently implemented in Helldivers 2.

In regard to the future, Arrowhead has already begun teasing the next patch. We know buffs are on the way for the jump pack and purifier, and the developer has teased they might be working on a higher difficulty setting. This follows complaints from some that the game’s highest tier has become too easy and lost a spark of challenge.

If a higher difficulty setting is implemented, the developer has assured players it will not be through nerfing everything that has been buffed. While this is good news for fans wanting a challenge without an influx of weapon decreases, a nerf was already implemented in last week’s major update without the community aware.

Helldivers 2 update 01.001.100 “stealth nerf”

On the official Helldivers subreddit, community manager, Twinbeard, has revealed a “stealth nerf” that was implemented in update 01.001.100 without any mention in the patch notes. Below is the nerf previously unbeknownst to the community along with some other undocumented changes and mistakes:

• HMG (angle and durable damage nerf 50 -> 35)
  • This one was intentional but wasn’t in the patch notes.
• Railgun (AP bonus removed from overcharging (no longer climbs to AP7 at 90 % charge)
  • This was intentional, and if so, we forgot to add it to the patch notes. The reasoning behind this was to not make the Railgun too good vs tanks and Factory Striders. However, armour on tank fronts getting changed didn’t jam with that change. We still didn’t want the Railgun to bounce off front armour, so maybe we need to take a look at this.
• AT Mines (damage reduced 1, 000 -> 800, explosion radius increased, stagger force increased 30 -> 50, demolition force increased 30 -> 40)
  • This was intended but was missing in the patch notes.
• Laser cannon (does not cool down faster despite what is stated in the patch notes)
  • This was something we were doing at first but later removed and simply missed addressing in the patch notes.
• Guard dog rover (sets targets on fire faster)
  • Also intended.
•  Fire dot damage (durable damage increased 25 -> 50)
  • Yup, you guessed it: intentional as well and missing from the patch notes. We will look at this to see if this should be kept as is or not. It did make the Incendiary Breaker and Cookout better as well, which are also two appreciated weapons.
• Hellpod impact (damage increased 200 -> 2 500; doesn’t affect the Firebomb Hellpods)
  • This is intentional and a part of the “damage scaling” that we mentioned in the patch notes. We didn’t convey this very clearly, but because we increased heavy enemies health we needed to increase the Hellpod damage so it would still be able to kill them.
• For the Fire Hellpod, we missed increasing the damage of that one.

As mentioned by Arrowhead, “all things in the game are subject to change and never set in stone”. Aspects are always missing from patch notes in other multiplayer games too, and it’s good all of the above has been revealed as it simply lets the community know.

A stealth nerf, an intended change and a a couple of mistakes went into a bar …
byu/The_Real_Twinbeard inHelldivers

For more Helldivers 2, check out our guide to the best warbonds ranked, along with the best stratagems and best throwables. We also have a guide to the best weapons, and, if you’re coming back to HD2 for the first time in a long while, we have a bunch of tips and tricks to help you get reaccustomed to the battlefield.