Helldivers 2’s next patch is a big one — developer Arrowhead has promised it will make over 100 changes and fixes to the game.
In a post on the Helldivers Discord, community manager Twinbeard gave fans a tease for what to expect from the update, which all being well should be released next week.
As well as the over 100 changes and fixes, the patch will revert patrols and spawn rate after feedback from the community to changes made in previous patches.
There’s also the promise of invite-only lobbies, a fix for the unlimited grenade issue, and making super samples available at level six difficulty, which should make them easier to obtain by more players. Currently, super samples are locked to Helldivers 2 difficulties seven to nine (Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive), making them out of reach to many. Super samples are used to unlock the final ship module in each section.
And here’s a really welcome change: visible supply lines and attack origins. Currently, planets viewable on the galaxy map have invisible lines between them that determine the path to liberation. To access a planet, Super Earth must have full control of a planet with a supply line connecting to it. But because Helldivers 2 does not surface this mechanic, the wider player base is most often oblivious to the focus of attention when new Major Orders come around. Hardcore Helldivers 2 players who enjoy playing the meta narrative that is the Galactic War believe this lack of information in the user interface has caused some Major Orders to fail.
The early patch news is going down well within the Helldivers community, which had called on Arrowhead to take more time with updates and Premium Warbonds after previous efforts fell flat. “It was frankly about time we offered you something,” Twinbeard said in a post on the Helldivers subreddit. “We know you've been waiting a long time. Hopefully the patch and new warbond are two steps in the right direction.”
Speaking of warbonds, Helldivers 2 gets the new jungle-themed Viper Commandos warbond on June 13. In a recent post on the PlayStation Blog, Katherine Baskin, social media and community manager at Arrowhead, said the studio had responded to feedback on Helldivers 2’s warbonds and had changed its approach as a result. For a start, Arrowhead has slowed down the pace at which it releases warbonds “to give us a little bit more time to polish these designs before they’re released.” Baskin continued: “We don’t want to rush anything out of the oven before it’s fully baked.”
So, next week is a big one for Helldivers 2, with the game-changing patch and warbond set to hit around the same time. It feels like the start of a new way of working for Arrowhead and cadence of updates for the game. Last month, Arrowhead revealed it was in the process of setting the studio up so it could “make more and better stuff” in the long-term. In an introductory post on reddit, new CEO Shams Jorjani, who recently replaced previous Arrowhead CEO and now current Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedt, said the studio has had to adjust to the enormous success Helldivers 2 has brought to the company.
PlayStation 5 and PC co-op shooter Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time, having shifted an incredible 12 million copies in just 12 weeks since going on sale earlier this year. Amid the huge revenue Helldivers 2 has generated, Arrowhead itself has suffered a number of crises, including launch server problems and, most recently, a battle with Sony itself over the console maker’s controversial attempt to force Steam players to account link to PlayStation Network.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
