As the Helldivers 2 community learns a whole new meta in the wake of a major balance patch that took a hammer to favorites like the railgun and personal shield, one balance lead from developer Arrowhead has advised players to learn to embrace nerfs rather than constantly asking exclusively for buffs.
"I have since the game released seen many who say 'Don’t Nerf, only Buff' and other similar ideas," writes head of product testing Patrik Lasota, who's responsible for feedback and game balance. "However, as a designer I can tell you this is not a great idea, but I understand where the sentiment comes from. All too often in the games industry the core fantasy, and what makes a weapon feel good and fun, is ignored for the sake of Balance.
"I believe players are scared of nerfs, because it will ruin the fantasy of a weapon, ruin their fun," Lasota adds. "It is extra important to us to tread carefully so that we don’t ruin fantasy and fun when we do nerfs. We hope you, our players, will tell us when we cross that line inadvertently."
Has this patch crossed that line? It's too early to say, but at first blush, it doesn't seem like it. A lot of the doom and gloom feels like normal knee-jerk nerf reactions, which are totally fair and expected, but I'm already seeing a lot of people eagerly embrace the new and realize that their nerfed favorites can still get the job done. In my experience weathering nerfs across many games over many years, that's a very good sign.
The good news is this patch has seen some interesting winners which have shaken up gameplay in fun ways. This patch buffed the flamethrower by a democracy-spreading 50% and now it's a monster that cooks Chargers right in their shells. The overlooked arc thrower, regarded by some as the best gun in the game, also quietly eked out a win of its own simply by not getting nerfed.
Just in case you were finding it too easy, Helldivers 2 has now added "planetary hazards", including fire tornadoes, meteor showers and "many more."
