Helldivers 2 Devs Strive To Address Complaints After Freedom Escalation: ‘What Matters Most Now Is Action’

Helldivers 2 players have been left unsatisfied with the launch of its recent Freedom Escalation Updateand developer Arrowhead Studios says it wants to fix that.

The studio has released a statement on the matter on its Reddit page, outlining a 60-day plan to try to regain player trust and lost ground. It’s a message that sees Arrowhead acknowledging players’ frustrations, as it promises to focus on “action. Not words,” when it comes to the future of Helldivers 2.

“We’ve spent the last week listening to feedback, thinking about the path forward for Helldivers 2, and how we want to continue to develop the game,” said game director Mikael Eriksson. “In short, we fell short of our goal with the latest update. We simply didn’t get some things right, and there were other, more fundamental inconsistencies in our approach to balancing and the direction of the game. This is all our responsibility, and we will take responsibility for it.”

The anger among Helldivers 2 fans stems from a number of gameplay changes and additions that have arrived since launch in February. Namely, many are upset about recent weapon nerfsclaiming that Arrowhead’s balance adjustments hamper enjoyment in favor of a more consistent overall experience. It’s a conversation that has divided the community, as there are a fair share of others who prefer the feeling of barely making it out of a mission alive.

Regardless, Arrowhead feels the need to step in. In the next 60 days, Eriksson promises to reexamine how the team approaches balancing in Helldivers 2. That means tweaks to how fire damage and ragdolls work that aren’t as intrusive to the experience. Arrowhead also wants to prioritize bugs that directly impact gameplay while improving framerate in Helldivers 2. Another change promised in the first 60 days will see those relentless Chargers reworked, though no details on how they’ll be changed have been revealed.

“Our intention is for balance to be fun, not ‘balanced’ for the sake of balance,” the plan states.

Arrowhead’s plan includes a few key long-term points aimed at ensuring that Helldivers 2 remains available for a long time. This includes the priority goal of setting up an opt-in beta testing environment as well as publishing regular player surveys to streamline communication between fans and developers. This will be accompanied by even more blog posts and more detailed patch notes.

“We also want to thank you for your patience,” Eriksson continued. “We appreciate that so many of you provided us with constructive feedback and suggestions on the latest update.”

Helldivers 2 launched to unexpected success earlier this year and even managed to become The best-selling game of all time on PlayStation with 12 million copies sold in 12 weeks on PC and PlayStation 5. Its victories have been accompanied by a long list of changes, including a major change John Pilestedt transitions from CEO to CCO in order to focus more on the studio’s games and community. Its new CEO, Shams Jorjani, would later comment on the success of Helldivers 2, acknowledging that the team “knew it would be impossible to keep up with the demand and the insatiable thirst for more fun things to do in/with HD2.”

Helldivers 2 is going through a rough patch after a strong few months. We called it “incredible” in our review Review 9/10saying: “Helldivers 2’s combat is fantastic, its missions remain fresh and interesting, and its clever progression system doesn’t charge you a dime.”