Helldivers 2 studio Arrowhead reveals 60-day plan to address player complaints
Arrowhead Game Studios has announced a new plan to address major complaints from players following the backlash over changes made during the launch of Helldivers 2’s latest content update.
The details:
Last week saw the release of Helldivers 2’s Escalation of Freedom update, which included some major additions such as new missions, enemies, and an even higher difficulty setting. However, it also introduced a number of balancing changes, particularly to the FLAM-40 flamethrower, which has become a fan favorite due to its effectiveness against chargers, causing a stir in the community.
After a number of developers publicly acknowledged the criticism, the studio has now officially released details of a 60-day plan to examine how it will approach balancing in the future. "Our intention is that balance should be fun," game director Mikael Eriksson stated, "not 'balanced' for the sake of balance."
Other issues that will be addressed include gameplay changes to prevent "excessive ragdolling," re-prioritizing bug fixes so that significant gameplay glitches can be resolved first, and general performance improvements. The flamethrower's fire damage mechanic will also be addressed, as reverting "would break other things," and Chargers will be reworked, hopefully making players less reliant on a single counter.
Arrowhead has previously faced backlash over balancing and is now considering creating an "opt-in beta-test environment" for future changes, as well as player surveys, to avoid similar situations. Eriksson also states that future patch notes will provide additional context for changes and the reasoning behind them.
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