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Helldivers 2 patch 1.000.100 nerfs its best weapons, adds new hazards

Helldivers 2 patch notes are here for the first major update 1.000.100, with weapon nerfs and buffs alongside new environmental hazards.

Helldivers 2 patch notes nerf the best weapons as new environmental hazards arrive - A man opens his mouth in wide-eyed horror.
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Helldivers 2 

Helldivers 2 has been one of 2024’s biggest winners so far, with millions of players lining up to join the fight against bug and robot terrors in the quest to spread liberty in the name of Super Earth. With its initial server wobbles now seemingly under control for the most part, developer Arrowhead Game Studios releases the first major update. Helldivers 2 patch 1.000.100 is out now on PC, with the PlayStation 5 update set to follow soon, and it introduces new planetary hazards along with some balance changes to some of the weapons considered to be “quite strong with too little downside.”

With the fate of humanity and liberty on the line, it’s no surprise many of us are reaching for the best Helldivers 2 weapons to ensure things go as smoothly as they possibly can in Helldivers 2. However, Arrowhead designer Alex Kravchenko notes, “Our goal is to give you a wide range of weapon choices, where each gun has its purpose and none is strictly better than another.” As such, when one choice feels too strong, it can shift the balance out of whack, especially with the pressure of performing that comes with the best co-op games.

“In short: powerful weapons can’t be too versatile, and versatile weapons can’t be too powerful,” Kravchenko says in a post on the Helldivers 2 Discord. “After analyzing player feedback and the data we’ve collected over the past month, we found the three biggest offenders of that principle: the SG-225 Breaker, the RS-422 Railgun, and the SH-32 Shield Generator Backpack.”

He explains that “all three of those were quite strong with too few downsides, overshadowing all other options on higher difficulty levels.” As such, the team is giving all three of these “significant downsides to balance their power.” The Breaker loses some magazine capacity, the railgun has had its penetration reduced, and the energy shield gets increased delay before it starts recharging. He says the team “strongly believes that the changes won’t ruin these builds,” and urges players not to feel too bad.

Helldivers 2 message from Arrowhead Game Studios: "This is the first round in a never-ending series of balance changes. And we believe it's important to be completely transparent about our approach to game balance, especially when it comes to weapons and stratagems that you have strong opinions about. Our goal is to give you a wide range of weapon choices, where each gun has its purpose and none is strictly better than another. Sure, you will have your own favorite, but it should come from your personal preference, not from the universally agreed knowledge of which gun is the strongest. Generally, we balance each item according to its quirks, so if a weapon is very effective at what it does, it should come with significant disadvantages to balance its power. The AC-8 Autocannon is a good example of a well-balanced weapon: it packs a powerful punch, has a very good range, but requires you to carry an ammo backpack or have a friend assist you. The GL-21 Grenade Launcher is the opposite example. It's a good general purpose weapon that gives you so much flexibility, it obviously can't deal too much damage without becoming overpowered. But weapons that are both powerful and versatile become a no-brainer choiсe during the weapon selection phase. It robs you of your own agency, as stale "meta" builds force you to make an unfair choice between a fun weapon and an effective one. In short: Powerful weapons can't be too versatile, versatile weapons can't be too powerful. Having said all that, after analyzing player feedback and the data we've collected over the past month, we found three biggest offenders of that principle: SG-225 Breaker RS-422 Railgun SH-32 Shield Generator Backpack All three of those were quite strong with too little downsides, overshadowing all other options on higher difficulty levels. So with this patch, they're getting significant downsides to balance their power. However, we strongly believe that the changes won't ruin this build, but rather help the affected items find their place among the other options and stay effective in capable hands. On a more personal note, I know that having your favorite toy nerfed absolutely sucks. Investing countless hours into mastering a weapon is an incredible dedication from you. which is the main reason we're making this game in the first place. And then having that weapon weakened feels like a punishment for being too good at the game. But I implore you not to compare a changed item with its older version, but to evaluate the existing one as it is and see if it still has a place in your heart. We thank you for your dedication and commitment to spreading Democracy in the most optimal way possible! Now it's up to us to make it as fun and entertaining as we can Oh and we also buffed a bunch of weapons as well!"

“I know that having your favorite toy nerfed absolutely sucks. Investing countless hours into mastering a weapon is an incredible dedication from you, which is the main reason we’re making this game in the first place,” Kravchenko continues. “And then having that weapon weakened feels like a punishment for being too good at the game. But I implore you not to compare a changed item with its older version, but to evaluate the existing one as it is and see if it still has a place in your heart.”

It’s not all bad news, of course – Kravchenko notes that the patch has also “buffed a bunch of weapons.” Among those are the flamethrower, which gets a huge 50% damage boost, and the laser cannon, which has been made better against more durable and armored enemy types. The Breaker Spray and Pray also gets a bump to its armor penetration and fire rate, albeit at the cost of some magazine size, and the two Orbital HE Barrage options have both been given longer-lasting, tighter bombardments that should result in fewer team kills.

All of that might have you reconsidering your best Helldivers 2 loadout – and you’ll need to do so, as the update also introduces planetary hazards to many of the planets, with “environmental challenges that will appear at random” including the likes of fire tornadoes and meteor showers. As a long-time fan of the original Helldivers, its lava sprays remain forcibly scorched into my psyche. Eradicate missions have also been tweaked to make them a bit tougher, so they should now take about “twice as long to complete” as before.

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Helldivers 2 patch notes 1.000.100 – Wednesday March 6, 2024

Here are the latest Helldivers 2 patch notes, courtesy of Arrowhead Game Studios:

Major Updates

  • Planetary Hazards active: Many planets now have additional environmental challenges that will appear at random while you are deployed, from fire tornadoes to meteor showers and many more.

Weapon balance changes

  • Breaker: Decreased magazine capacity from 16 to 13, increased recoil from 30 to 55.
  • Railgun: Decreased armor penetration, decreased damage against durable enemy parts.
  • Flamethrower: Increased damage per second by 50%.
  • Laser Cannon: Increased damage against durable enemy parts, increased armor penetration, improved ergonomics.
  • Punisher: Increased total ammo capacity from 40 to 60, increased stagger force, increased damage from 40 per bullet to 45 per bullet.
  • Breaker Spray & Pray: Increased armor penetration, increased fire rate from 300 to 330, increased number of pellets from 12 to 16 per shot, decreased magazine size from to 32 to 26.

Stratagem balance changes

  • Energy Shield Backpack: Increased delay before recharging.
    380mm and 120mm Orbital Barrages: Increased duration of the bombardment, decreased spread.

Mission balance changes

  • Eradicate Missions: Eradicate missions now require more kills and enemies spawn more often. The time to complete the mission was previously shorter than intended and should now usually take twice as long to complete.

You can read the full patch notes, which include additional bug fixes and notes about other known issues that have not yet been fixed but are currently being worked on, via the Helldivers 2 Discord (invite link opens in a new window).

Be sure to bring the best Helldivers 2 stratagems with you on your next mission – if you’re still grinding to unlock them, we’ve picked out the best Helldivers 2 farm for XP and medals, and we’ll keep that up to date as new changes roll out.

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Ken is a news writer for PCGamesN. He wants to play everything that comes out, but keeps finding himself back on old favorites. As such, you’ll find him covering the latest updates for FFXIV and Terraria, and diving deep into some of today’s biggest games such as Baldur’s Gate 3 and Diablo 4. He especially loves RPGs, soulslikes, and roguelikes, and just won't stop talking about the Monster Hunter and Like a Dragon games. A masters graduate in mathematics, you’ll also find Ken playing the piano, cello, and guitar in his spare time.