Good news, patriots, Helldivers 2 has a new patch today and it adds a lot of small buffs and fixes. This is great news for me, personally, because the mines have had their cooldown reduced by 33% and their damage increased. This is terrible news for my squadmates.
First off, a fan-favorite strategy is coming back. We used to be able to emote while falling to somehow prevent all fall damage, which looked hilarious and was also incredibly helpful at times. The ability to emote while falling was taken away back in October, but now it's back. The caveat is it won't reduce the damage you take, but at least you'll look cool while falling to your death. As the patch notes explain: "You'll be able to freely express yourself as you fall to your imminent death or severe injuries - Nothing a stim can't fix!"
The changes I'm most excited about are the minefield buffs. All three mine types have had their cooldowns reduced from 180 seconds to 120 seconds, which is a huge buff. The anti-personnel and incendiary mines have also both had their damage increased substantially. Better watch where you step, teammates.
A great quality of life fix is that "The Ministry of Humanity has added a clause to its Principles of Correct Posture for Safe Lifting," so we can now jog while carrying SEAF artillery shells and barrels. No more rapidly dropping them and picking them back up to move quickly.
There are also several FRV changes. You can now throw grenades and stratagems while you're leaning out from the passenger seats, and its health and handling have been improved, too. A bug fix has also been implemented that means if you ragdoll into an FRV it will no longer be "yeeted into space," and hitting civilian cars with melee weapons shouldn't send them flying anymore.
One bug fix that I'm a bit sad about is that we'll no longer slide around on the floor after a blast or being knocked into shallow water, "despite it being the year of the snake." That bug saved my life on many a bot mission, so I'll miss it greatly.
Gas weapons have also seen several improvements made to their targeting and the gas effect duration. The guard dog should now move onto a new enemy once one has been gassed, and its range has been increased - it's one of the best stratagems to use right now.
Illuminate maps should become less crowded, too, as dropship wreckages will despawn after a set time to stop them obstructing paths. I found it fun, honestly, but I can see how it would frustrate a lot of you, so I understand why it's been patched.
Last but not least, the devs "fixed a small visual bug with the Stalker's tongue (you don't want to know what it took to fix it)." Well, now I really do want to know.
Once you've spread some managed democracy, check out some of the other best online games you can play right now.
