Helldivers 2 Patch Notes: Weapon Balance, Crash Fixes

Helldivers 2's latest patch is out, and it brings a number of small but meaningful changes to the game. Most notably, this update removes shrapnel from the R-36 Erupter explosion in an attempt to reduce the number of player and ally one-shot deaths that it causes--however, in return, it also increased the damage of the explosion radius by 40.

The patch fixes a number of issues with the game, including one where damage-over-time effects were not being applied correctly, or where the network host could only use them. Similarly, the update fixes more than a half-dozen game crashes, including those that could happen on rejoining a mission, alt-tabbing, or exiting the game. In terms of game balance, developer Arrowhead also increased Shrieker sight and hearing range, as well as the Gunship's hearing range.

Earlier this month, Helldivers 2 was the focus of one of the biggest gaming controversies of the year so far when Sony announced that PC players would be required to link a PSN account in order to play the game starting later in the month. The platform-holder eventually reversed that decision after days of player outrage, prompting Helldivers 2 PC players to start an "operation" to reverse the wave of negative reviews that took over on platforms like Steam.