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Helldivers 2 has faced another onslaught of negative reviews following its latest Escalation of Freedom update. The game from Arrowhead received over 2,100 negative reviews, while the PSN account issue drew over 220,000.
This isn’t the first time the game has been review-bombed, however, as it previously occurred when Sony Interactive Entertainment called on players on Windows PC to have a PlayStation Network account and link it to their Steam accounts. This decision was reversed after significant player backlash.
Why is Helldivers 2 being review-bombed?
A key frustration for players is the nerfing of the game’s flamethrower, which is just one of several complaints. One Reddit user commented that the “Flamethrower is garbage now,” while another noted, “If you are nerfing weapons like this in a co-op game, you are just killing your own game.” Many players on the social media platform described the changes to the flamethrowers as overly heavy-handed.
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In addition, fans appear to be annoyed by Arrowhead’s messaging. In May, the game’s community manager told players they would “talk to the team about the approach to balance,” because “every time someone finds something fun, the fun is removed.”
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.
— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) May 8, 2024
Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani also made a note of the issues. “The Incendiary Breaker was like 30% of all Terminid sessions at some point,” Jorjani wrote on Discord. “[It is] very much a meta gun. Is that a problem? Yes. Is it a big one? I don’t know. We’ll discuss it.”
Arrowhead has nerfed other elements in the Escalation of Freedom patch. The Slugger now has an increased stagger force and spread, while the grenade pistol’s ammo capacity has been reduced. Despite some improvements, such as the Guard Dog magazines increasing from six to eight and a reduced cooldown for the HE barrage, the majority of player concerns revolve around the nerfs.
“‘It is a good update but the nerfs are dumb’. Is that the summary?” Jorjani added. “Or is there more nuance?”
That being said, the upcoming Helldivers 2 Warbond, titled Freedom’s Flame, is set to launch on Thursday, August 8. It will introduce new capes, weapons, armor, and emotes to the game.
Featured image: Arrowhead / Canva
