Helldivers 2 just buffed the flamethrower by a democracy-spreading 50% and now it's a monster that cooks Chargers right in their shells

Today's Helldivers 2 update was huge, and it's a particularly exciting day for anyone who likes their Chargers extra crispy. Amongst the list of balance changes, the FLAM-40 Flamethrower has been given a significant buff, which has already proven to be highly effective against the shooter's foes. 

To be exact, the Flamethrower's damage per second has been buffed by 50%, meaning that you can unleash a much larger attack far faster than before. It's already been highlighted on Reddit just how quickly you can use the improved weapon to roast the big bad Chargers, with one clip showing one get taken down in around 10 seconds. You can take a look below.

Flamethrower can kill chargers quite fast now from r/Helldivers

It's too soon after the update at this point to determine whether the Flamethrower will lead the charge in some kind of new barbecue meta, but it's worth noting that a couple of Helldivers 2's most powerful weapons have been nerfed in the new patch, too. Specifically, the Safe Mode armor penetration of the Railgun has been reduced along with its damage against the sturdier parts of enemies, and the Breaker shotgun has had its magazine capacity lowered and recoil increased. As such, the stage is set for the Flamethrower to have its moment in the sun if it gains enough popularity. 

"Friendship ended with railgun, now Flamethrower is my best friend," one Reddit user wrote. "This is pretty much what I wanted the Flamethrower to do in the first place, so I'm happy with this," commented another.

If you're planning on spreading democracy in Helldivers 2 any time soon though, you should also be wary of the brand new "planetary hazards" that were added to the shooter earlier. From now on, "many planets" will feature random environmental hazards such as fire tornadoes and meteor showers, just to make things even harder than before. 

With the confirmation that mechs are on the way to Helldivers 2, be sure to check out our guide to everything we know about mechs so far to catch up on all the details.