The Most Overpowered New Weapon In Helldivers 2 (And The Worst)
It's a busy time for "Helldivers 2" fans. Just this week, a mysterious message that developer Arrowhead Game Studios posted on social media sent gamers into a frenzy, and even though fans have decoded the text of the message, they still don't know exactly what it means. Then Arrowhead and Goodbye Kansas Studios gave us a behind-the-scenes look at how "Helldivers 2" looks before the animators get to work. Rather than slowing down, Arrowhead is pouring even more gas on the game. The devs just released the Democratic Detonation Warbond for 1,000 Super Credits, and it's packed with weapons, armor, and even new ship modules. There's a glut of content, but fans have latched onto two guns in particular that have them feeling some kind of way. This isn't like the disastrous balance patch that led to the devs apologizing to the entire community, but fans are still making their strong feelings about the new weapons known.
Arrowhead is particularly interactive with its fanbase, to the point of asking fans for help with the game. When you get people that heavily involved, you can expect tons of feedback on every new change. Luckily, "Helldivers" fans are an astute bunch, and their opinions on these new weapons hold some real weight for the game.
A Tale of Two Guns
First, the weapons in question: The Eruptor is a bolt-action rifle that fires explosive rounds, and the BR-14 Adjudicator is a rifle clearly designed for marksmen. It turns out that the guns have a real yinyang thing going on — which, in practical terms, means that players only want to use one of them. The Eruptor has been a massive hit because its explosive rounds can take out small groups of enemies in a single blast, while a couple of well-aimed shots even have the power to take down a Charger. Sure, you've got to make sure not to blast your best friend into oblivion (thanks, friendly fire), but that risk has done nothing to dampen enthusiasm for the gun. One Redditor summed up the community's feelings nicely by saying, "The new explosive bolt-action is my best friend. Yes it's impractical, but firing one shot and getting like 8 kills is dope."
The BR-14 Adjudicator is sparking a whole different kind of reaction. Let's just say players aren't thrilled to carry it into battle. The general consensus is that the Adjudicator's 80 points of damage just isn't enough to justify running with it. Some players are also having issues with the gun's absurd recoil, and that's not a great look for a weapon that really should be built on pinpoint accuracy. One fan on Reddit writes, "After three games I can say it is utterly and completely outclassed in every single regard. Feels awful to use." Others have noted that the Adjudicator's small magazine makes it basically useless against the heavily armored Automatons. The calls for a balance patch have already been made by the player community.
What's Arrowhead's next move?
The good news is that both the Eruptor and the BR-14 Adjudicator could easily be modified for balance. Arrowhead Games has already proven that it's willing to nerf overpowered weapons, so you should enjoy causing maximum chaos with the Eruptor while you still can. While the devs have been slower to buff weapons, a damage boost for the Adjudicator definitely isn't out of the question.
Back in March, Arrowhead released a blog post getting into the weeds on how it approaches weapon balance. There are two statements in the post that seem especially relevant to everyone's concerns about the Adjudicator. Head of Product Testing Patrik Lasota wrote, "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." The Adjudicator already has a great look and, despite the lack of damage, it feels good to shoot. If Arrowhead really wants to make the gun fit into our fantasy, it just needs to add a little extra damage.
Unfortunately, Lasota said something else in the blog that doesn't bode well for an Adjudicator buff. Lasota directly addressed complaints about primary weapons feeling generally weak by saying, "This is very much intentional, you need to rely on your Stratagems, and the Stratagems of your team to deal with all the enemies effectively." In other words, while some of us are hoping these new weapons will be adjusted, the actual adjustments not be what players have been wanting.