Helldivers 2 devs are rolling back some of Escalation of Freedom's controversial Flamethrower changes and buffing damage by 33%, putting bug barbequing back on the menu

Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead says it hears players "loud and clear" about the controversial Flamethrower changes rolled out in last month's big Escalation of Freedom update, so tweaks are being made to make cooking Chargers as fun as it once was.

As hinted in the blog post shared last week, which gave some insight into the devs' progress through their 60-day action plan, Flamethrower damage and mechanics are being reworked (or re-reworked?) in the next Helldivers 2 update launching on September 17. "We've heard you loud and clear and Flamethrower damage is increased by 33%," Arrowhead writes on Twitter.

"Flamer mechanics will be reverted to the state before the Escalation of Freedom update and flame-based weapons can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, and Hulks."

In the announcement, Arrowhead also confirms that the devs will "shed more and more light" on its upcoming alterations each day until the September 17 update, so we can expect plenty more details soon.

Previously, Arrowhead also committed to "significant changes" that will hit Armor Penetration thanks to "an initial balancing pass on over 30 weapons and stratagems." You've also got reworks to Anti-Tank weapons and enemy armor and health values, meaning some bugs and bots won't be as nasty as they once were. While today was all about the flamethrowers, expect to see what else is changing elsewhere over the coming days as we near September 17.

Helldivers 2 boss admits the team has been "off course a few times" lately, but don't expect a quicker cadence of Warbonds: "We'd love to pick up the pace again – but need to hit quality first."