Summary
- Helldivers 2 update 1.000.302 fixes long-standing weapon issues, including a fire damage bug.
- The patch also addresses misaligned scopes, ensuring accurate shots for snipers and improving overall gameplay.
- These changes make the game less frustrating, encourage diverse loadouts, and may entice frustrated players to return.
A new Helldivers 2 patch, which did more harm than good by introducing more bugs to an already-struggling game.
As the first update since Helldivers 2's victory in the PSN catastrophe, these much-needed changes should help restore some of the game's goodwill. After developers abruptly announced Helldivers 2 would require all players to sign in with a PlayStation Network , it saw review bombs, mass refunds, and general unrest that completely tanked the game's Steam score and player count in just a matter of days. The decision was quickly reversed, but some players may yet be hesitant to return. The latest update may help Helldivers' case.
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Helldivers 2's Latest Patch Fixes Fire Damage
How Update 1.000.302 Addresses Damage Over Time
According to the patch notes, shared on Reddit by Helldivers 2's biggest issues would be addressed in future updates. The option for bug fixes was one of the frontrunners, and damage over time/fire damage bugs are among the most common complaints.
In the previous version of Helldivers 2, damage over time effects didn't work as intended. Sometimes, only a lobby's host would be able to apply them successfully. Other players would be able to do damage when hitting enemies with DoT weapons like flamethrowers, but even if they were burning, that damage would stop as soon as the player took their finger off the trigger. At other times, non-host players would only be able to deal DoT effects inconsistently - sometimes they'd work just fine, and sometimes they didn't.
The DoT issue could be incredibly frustrating, and effectively made some of the best weapons and Stratagems useless. Burning damage is incredibly powerful in Helldivers 2, especially with the right Ship Modules. It's especially useful against bugs, who are extra susceptible to fire. It poses a bit of a friendly fire risk, especially considering how quickly fire damage can take out a Helldiver. But when applied carefully, fire damage is one of the most useful tools in the Helldivers 2 arsenal.
The DoT update applies to poison damage as well, but as fire damage is more powerful and more commonly used, it's likely most players' primary concern.
Thankfully, the patch notes specifically reference the inconsistency of fire damage, and say the update should have resolved it once and for all. It's a little early to confirm or deny whether it's worked across the board. But the fact that Arrowhead Game Studios is aware of the issue, coupled with the regularity of Helldivers 2 updates, means that it shouldn't be a problem anymore.
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Helldivers 2's Update Also Fixes Misaligned Scopes
How Patch 1.000.302 Addresses Aiming
The latest Helldivers 2 update also addresses a persistent issue with inaccurate aiming. Not all players use scopes - some prefer to remain in the default third-person perspective, even when their characters are aiming down sights. The scoping animation is a little slow, and sometimes, that extra half-second can be the difference between life and death. That works fine for automatic weapons and shotguns, but some players rely more on sniper rifles. However, in previous versions of Helldivers 2, sniping was a lot harder than it had to be.
Pressing the middle mouse button or R3 on a controller switches to first-person mode while aiming. Holding down R on a keyboard or square on a controller pulls up a weapon's settings menu, which allows the player to change their scope's zoom factor.
Scopes haven't always worked in Helldivers 2, though. Simply put, scopes were misaligned, and shots wouldn't always fire accurately where the player was aiming. The new patch has addressed this issue, however, so scoped shots should now land exactly where they're aimed - with a little bit of variation determined by the weapon's accuracy, of course.
These changes make Helldivers 2 a lot less frustrating to play, and increase the viability of non-meta builds. They'll help ensure players are more willing to experiment with different loadouts, and may even lead to more varied team compositions. They should also help give players who refunded Helldivers 2 amid the PSN controversy an additional incentive to return to the game.
Helldivers 2
-
- Top Critic Avg: 83/100 Critics Rec: 90%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Engine
- bitsquid
Helldivers II is the follow-up to the 2015 multiplayer top-down single-player/co-op shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios. The sequel, which has shifted gears to a third-person shooter format, drops players into the boots of elite super-soldiers who fight to protect Super Earth from invading alien forces while taking the fight to those who threaten the "democracy of Super Earth."
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5
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