Helldivers 2's mega-buff patch also nerfs Rocket Devastators and Gunships: "I'm hiding behind a rock, they blow their load all over me, and then I can move out of cover"

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One of the shooter's most annoying enemies gets a nerf

Helldivers 2 Devastators
(Image credit: Sony)

Arrowhead Game Studios has been hyping up its big upcoming patch with promises of buffs to countless Helldivers 2 weapons and gadgets, but the developer has also promised that at least one annoying bot enemy is getting nerfed.

Rocket Devastators are the hulking Automatons that have, well, rocket launchers mounted on each shoulder, ready to fling Super Earth squads across the game's small maps. Their only weak points are their tiny heads and rocket shoulders, making a one-on-one fight with them hellish since you can't really flank them on your lonesome.

Leading up to Helldivers 2's September 17 update, game director Johan Pilestedt and design director Niklas Malmborg have been teasing small changes to the game in a series of short videos. Today, they announced that the pesky Rocket Launchers are having their shoulder blasters nerfed.

"The Rocket Devastators, they [now] have limited ammo," Malmborg explained. "When they fire a rocket you'll see one go away. I think they can only fire three bursts or something. Then they need to reload because they have an extra pack. They can reload once." 

Maybe they just run up to us with bare, steely fists once they're spent, but I'm sure botdivers everywhere are elated.

Not only do Rocket Devastators have less ammo, the collision of rocket is also being reduced by 80%. Similar nerfs are also affecting Gunship, so all you need to do is wait for them to empty their clip before they become basically defenceless.

Pilestedt puts it simply at the end of the clip, where he thinks deeply about a hypothetical scenario. "I'm hiding behind a rock," he says seriously. "They blow their load all over me, and then I can move out of cover... That'll be a bit of a walk of shame, but I think it'll be nice." Perfect strategy.

Arrowhead also announced that the Breaker shotgun, the Railgun, and the Flamethrower are all receiving buffs too. 

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.