Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom patch notes: Super Helldive, new enemies, and more

The fronts of the Galactic War are getting more dangerous as Helldivers 2 launches its biggest content update, Escalation of Freedom. It features multiple new additions and balancing changes, so here’s everything you need to know about the Escalation of Freedom update for Helldivers 2.

Everything included in Helldivers 2 update 1.001.002 Escalation of Freedom

The threat is also escalating

The Escalation of Freedom brings lots of new content to Helldivers 2, but most of it is aimed at helping your enemies rather than soldiers of Super Earth. This includes new enemies, missions, environments, and a whole new difficulty level.

Here are all the main additions to Helldivers 2 in the Escalation of Freedom update:

• Super Helldive: Level 10 difficulty with more enemies and “intense challenges.”
• New side missions: Automaton operations can feature a mission to destroy Automaton human processing plants, while Terminid planets can have you extract a living larva sample.
• Larger enemy outposts: Bigger enemy outposts are available only on Super Helldive difficulty and offer greater rewards.
• New enemies: The Impaler returns alongside the Spore Charger and Alpha Commander on the Terminid front, while the Automatons have been reinforced with the new Rocket Tank and Reinforced Scout Strider.
• Swamp planet: The haunted swamp is the new “eerie and foggy” version of the swamp environment.
• Acid Storms: An environmental hazard that reduces everyone’s armor, including yourself and your enemies.

Weapon and Stratagem balancing

This wouldn’t be an update without balancing changes to weapons and Stratagems. Here are all the buffs and nerfs featured in the Escalation of Freedom update:

• SG-8S Slugger: Increased stagger force, spread, and drag.
• SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary: Decreased maximum mags from six to four and increased recoil from 28 to 41.
• GP-31 Grenade Pistol: Arrowhead decreased the ammo capacity from eight to six but increased the number of mags replenished using ammo boxes from two to four.
• CB-9 Exploding Crossbow: It’s now a one-handed weapon.
• AX/AR-23 Guard Dog: Increased mags from six to eight.
• Orbital Walking Barrage: Increased the number of salvos from three to five and decreased movement by 40 percent.
• Orbital 120mm HE Barrage: Reduced cooldown from 240 to 180 seconds and reduced time between salvos.

The Breaker Incendiary was hit pretty hard in this patch. Fortunately, if you want to burn your enemies to a crisp, the Freedom’s Flame Warbond is just a couple of days away, and it features multiple flamethrowers and explosive toys.

Gameplay changes

Arrowhead has removed the Atmospheric Interference operation modifier, but Automatons can now get the new Poor Intel modifier. Poor Intel makes objectives on the map have a search radius like the Eliminate objectives, where you have to scout a wide area to find your target.

With Escalation of Freedom, Arrowhead Game Studios also addressed griefers who kick fellow Helldivers. From now on, kicked players can continue to play in their own mission/instance and still extract all the rewards.

On top of these additions and changes, there are multiple UI, weapon, and gameplay fixes. For the full list of changes, check out the official 1.001.002 patch notes.