Helldivers 2 Patch Buffs In-Game Stratagems But Makes Game More Difficult

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Game Studios implemented a new patch that buffs in-game stratagems but also makes the shooter more difficult across the board.

The latest update was delivered this week and makes changes to the deployable skills or equipment drops. It comes as the game's balance has been thrown out of, well, balance, by frequent patches, much to the dismay of many players.

Helldivers 2's Latest Patch

Helldivers 2 Patch Buffs In-Game Stratagems But Makes Game More Difficult — Arrowhead Game Studios drops the latest update for Helldivers that includes a variety of buffs for in-game stratagems but made the game more difficult in general.
(Photo : Arrowhead Game Studios / Screenshot taken from official website)

Now, it seems like the developer's first priority as part of its new approach to fixes in the game is making stratagems viable once more. The studio said that it wanted to "buff up some of the weaker stratagems to make them more viable."

This would also add more possibility for variety in the loadouts that players use when going into Helldivers 2.

Working with that in mind, the majority of stratagems that have fallen to the wayside in the last few months have been given some sort of buff or series of balance changes to up their usage, according to Kotaku.

One example of this is that countless sentry stratagems have received buffs for their durability, which was previously considered very bad. The issue had also prevented players from justifying bringing them into higher-level missions because they would be wiped out almost immediately.

The update also affects some Eagle stratagems in the way of damage buffs and a few mines while others also got reduced cooldown timers. Now, many weapons either do more damage, such as the Eruptor or do a much better job at their function, such as the explosive crossbow.

The developer of Helldivers 2 also noted that it was not yet done looking at stratagems to fix but the first part of this broader effort seems to focus on some underappreciated ones for now. The patch is also making some changes to make the game a bit friendlier in general.

Another thing that the update changes is the enemy spawn rate which was supposed to revert an unpopular change that was made in April earlier this year. However, it seems that this particular change is not working as intended, said GamesRadar.

Unintentionally Upping the Difficulty

Patch 01.000.300 in April increased patrol spawning when less than four Helldivers are playing together, much to the dismay of players. Instead of making the game more enjoyable, it had the opposite effect across the community.

In May, community manager Thomas "Twinbeard" Petersson said that the changes led to "more enemies rearing their ugly heads than they're supposed to." He argued that this has indirectly caused players to feel overrun.

Some players have reported that they discovered things have become a lot tougher since the latest patch dropped. Petersson said that spawns and patrols being reverted should make the game easier, noting that they will be monitoring the situation to see what exactly is going on.

Many players have already taken to Reddit to tell their own experiences of ending up being gunned down by hordes of enemies. This is while fighting both Terminds and Automatons at difficulties above five, according to VG247.