Gamer-weary Helldivers 2 boss says "we did" fix the railgun, and it was always meant to be "like a sniper rifle on crack" that can also kill you

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"Like it was always intended to be"

A screenshot from Helldivers 2 showing a player shooting towards a huge explosion.
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Helldivers 2 game director Johan Pilestedt is pushing back against complaints about the most recent balance patch, specifically as it relates to the RS-422 railgun.

For some context, the railgun has been one of the best Helldivers 2 weapons for taking down armored enemies, particularly the dreaded Chargers, because it penetrates their armor and also happens to be very effective at killing. However, the latest update nerfed the railgun so that it can't penetrate heavy armor when in Safe mode, which protects the user from overcharging the weapon and blowing themselves up. Unsafe mode can still blast right through armor, but it brings with it that lethal risk. Both in Safe and Unsafe modes, the railgun's damage against durable enemy parts has been decreased.

"But 4 real though, the rail gun in unsafe mode didn't change the capabilities of it as it should. The [armor penetration] of it was insanely tweaked and now goes from good to goat. Like it was always intended to be - a risk/reward weapon for high tier play. Like a sniper rifle on crack but with the risk of killing the user."

Best Helldivers 2 builds

There's a lot more out there than just the Railgun! Check out the best Helldivers 2 builds for fighting in a range of missions.

Now, the phrasing of this tweet could stand to be a little more specific, as it's easy to misinterpret it as saying armor penetration was buffed, when that's the opposite of what happened. According to Pilestedt, you need to crank the gun's charge up to "the limit" before it explodes to achieve max armor penetration, which according to anecdotal reports from players, still isn't quite as effective as pre-nerf.

With that in mind, it's a good thing Helldivers 2's annoying armored enemies are getting nerfed as Arrowhead looks to tone down "spawn rates and health pools".

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.