Helldivers 2’s next patch is a big one, as developer Arrowhead has promised to make over 100 changes and fixes to the game.
In a post on the Helldivers Discord, community manager Twinbeard gave fans a tease as to what to expect from the update, which should arrive next week if all goes well.
In addition to the 100+ changes and fixes, the patch will also roll back patrols and spawn rates following community feedback on 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 on difficulty six, which should make them easier for more players to obtain. Currently, supersamples are locked to Helldivers 2 difficulties seven through nine (Suicide Mission, Impossible, and Helldive), making them out of reach for many. Super monsters 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 visible on the map of galaxies have invisible lines between them that determine the path to liberation. To gain access to a planet, Super Earth must have full control of a planet with a supply line on it. But because Helldivers 2 doesn’t expose this mechanic, the broader player base is mostly unaware of the focus of attention when new Major Orders appear. Hardcore Helldivers 2 players who enjoy playing the Galactic War meta-story believe that this lack of information in the UI has caused some Major Orders to fail.
News of the early patch has gone down well with the Helldivers community, which has called on Arrowhead to take more time with updates and Premium Warbonds after previous efforts failed. “It’s honestly 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 the new warrior league are two steps in the right direction.”
Speaking of war leagues, Helldivers 2 is getting the new jungle-themed Viper Commandos war league on June 13. In a recent post on the PlayStation BlogKatherine Baskin, social media and community manager at Arrowhead, said the studio had responded to feedback about Helldivers 2’s war bonds and changed its approach as a result. For starters, Arrowhead has slowed the pace at which it is releasing war bonds “to give us a little more time to polish these designs before they are 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 week for Helldivers 2, with the game-changing patch and warbond set to release around the same time. It feels like the start of a new way of working for Arrowhead and the cadence of updates for the game. Last month, Arrowhead revealed it was setting up the studio so it could “make more and better things” in the long term. In an introductory post on redditnew CEO Shams Jorjani, who recently replaced former Arrowhead CEO and now current Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedtsaid that the studio has had to adapt to the enormous success that Helldivers 2 brought to the company.
PlayStation 5 and PC co-op shooter Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time, selling a whopping 12 million copies in just 12 weeks since it went on sale earlier this year. Amid the massive revenue that Helldivers 2 has generated, Arrowhead itself has faced a number of crises, including issues with its launch server and, most recently, a battle with Sony itself over the console maker’s controversial attempt to rip off Steam players. force them to link their account 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.