Helldivers 2's director has acknowledged that weapons nerfs have gone "too far in some areas."
Earlier this week, Helldivers 2 director Johan Pilestedt responded to a Twitter user complaining that the shooter had become "un-fun" for them, because balance changes had come "over the priority of fun." It turns out the Helldivers 2 director and Arrowhead Game Studios CEO actually agrees.
"Yeah I think we've gone too far in some areas," Pilestedt responded in the tweet below. The game director added that he'll "talk to the team about the approach to balance," although he obviously can't make any hard promises just yet. "It feels like every time someone finds something fun, the fun is removed," Pilestedt admits.
Hey, yeah i think we've gone too far in some areas. Will talk to the team about the approach to balance. It feels like every time someone finds something fun, the fun is removed.May 8, 2024
It's a pretty frank admission from the Helldivers 2 director. Arrowhead has been near-constantly tweaking and changing numerous elements in the shooter since it launched earlier this month, and that's not even limited to weapons - we recently saw explosive shrapnel be introduced to Helldivers 2 and then rapidly be removed after it caused players to kill themselves and their teammates.
Another recent example would be the mixed messages over the Eruptor nerfs. One senior game designer said the changes to the gun were absolutely working as intended, while elsewhere, a community manager called the Eruptor changes unintended. That's one very confusing message to send to an understandably confused player base.
Balancing a live service game is obviously an incredibly difficult tightrope to walk, and it's one that Arrowhead might be changing its attitude to, depending on how conversations at the developer go.
Take a look at our Helldivers 2 Polar Patriots Warbond guide for a look over everything that just went live in the latest Warbond.