Helldivers 2: Armor rating, explained

If you’re uncertain what your armor stats mean and want to know what’s best for you in Helldivers 2, here is everything you need to know about that all-important Armor rating.

What is Armor rating in Helldivers 2?

Armor rating is one of three armor stats in Helldivers 2. You need to look at Armor rating, Speed, and Stamina Regen to understand how helpful your chosen armor will be on the battlefield. While Speed and Stamina are self-explanatory, Armor rating doesn’t have a definition, but Armor rating outlines the actual strength of your armor and how it handles bullets.

When choosing between the best armor in Helldivers 2, you want to make note of the armor type: light, medium, and heavy. Armor type affects the Armor rating. For example, the heavier the armor is, the higher the rating. But heavier armor equals lower Speed and Stamina Regen. If you choose a heavier armor with a higher Armor rating, you will have greater resistance against melee attacks and bullets.

Unlike Extra Padding passive, which gives you explosive damage resistance, a high Armor rating gives you a tankier build perfect for absorbing damage. To compare, a low Armor rating (typically on a light build) gives you more movability and quicker stamina regeneration but at the price of being more vulnerable. If you are too careless, a light build with a lower Armor rating than others can quickly punish you.

You don’t need a high Armor rating if your playstyle focuses on repositioning and movement and has a loadout to support this playstyle. A high Armor rating is the one for you if you want to become a tank on the battlefield and absorb damage for your teammates. Just remember to make good use of those stationary but powerful support weapons as you embark on that tank lifestyle.

Is there an Armor rating bug in Helldivers 2?

Since Helldivers 2 release on Feb. 8, players have noticed an ongoing bug around Armor rating. Some wonder if the Armor rating bug was fixed in the recent server and performance patches, while others continue to experiment with new Superstore armor.

The experiments have shown inconsistent results, making players wonder what the benefits of having a higher Armor rating are. Regardless of your armor type, you’ll likely find yourself dying to the same number of lethal damage. These inconsistencies in Armor rating make heavy armor with a higher rating feel redundant.

Arrowhead confirmed on Feb. 23 that there is an Armor rating bug concerning armor values “not functioning as intended.” Patch 01.000.100 (issued March. 6) has since corrected armor rating across the board. Most armor rating values have been adjusted. This also includes the Extra Padding passive that skyrocketed by 50 values. Examples of this are the default B-01 Tactical body armors that increased from a 100 armor rating to 150.

These changes were confirmed on the Helldivers 2 official discord server patch-notes-updates channel on March 6. The patch notes for 01.000.100 read: “Fixed armor rating values not reducing damage as intended.”

This makes previously slower body armor like the Fortified Commando more reliable as a heavy build. This patch, intended to balance weapons also looked at fixing the armor rating bug in Helldivers 2 and it appears to have worked.