Helldivers 2 dev steps in to defend unpopular nerfs as players go ballistic

The Escalation of Freedom update for Helldivers 2 nerfed flames and the SG-225IE Breaker. The community didn’t take the changes lightly, and Arrowhead Game Studios chimed in to address the feedback.

The CEO of Arrowhead Game Studios, Shams Jorjani, responded to players’ reactions to the latest Helldivers 2 patch in a series of X posts on Aug. 6. “Every new big update requires a bit of playtime before we know which direction to fine tune things. Appreciate the patience!” Jorjani wrote. There’s lots of feedback from various player groups, and the developer promises tweaks and improvements in the future.

Jorjani also explained the reason behind the SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary nerfs on Discord: “The incidendiary breaker was like 30% of all terminid sessions at some point. very much a meta gun. Is that a problem? yes. is it a big one? I don’t know. we’ll discuss it.”

This isn’t too reassuring, though. Helldivers 2 players on Reddit agreed that 30 percent isn’t high in a game with “such horrible primaries.” Others pointed out how the dev promised to change the approach to weapon balancing back in May, yet nerfs like these still happen.

The Escalation of Freedom update reduced the number of magazines for the SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary and increased its recoil, making it less effective on high-difficulty missions. At the same time, the patch changed flame behavior, preventing it from penetrating enemy armor, including the Chargers’ legs.

The update brought many players back to Helldivers 2, with concurrent peaks hitting a bit over 60,000—but it’s unclear how long this will last in light of the balance changes. The next Warbond, titled Freedom’s Flame, is set to release on Aug. 8, and it needs to do something to reignite the flame on the battlefield.