Helldivers 2 Update 1.000.200 patch notes: Huge weapon, mission, and armor changes

The most recent Helldivers 2 patch, 1.000.200, just crashed down in its Hellpod, and boy, are things suddenly changing. Swathes of weapons and mission types were adjusted to fit the dev’s vision—including some nerfs to a popular weapon and bug fixes for console players.

Released a week after the itty-bitty Arc Weapon patch, the April 2 Patch 1.000.200 for Helldivers 2 focuses on gigantic swathes of changes for Hell Divers everywhere. Weapons and stratagems have been once again rocked, but missions are also getting some tweaks.

Everything included in Helldivers 2’s 1.000.200 update (April 2)

Missions have changed for the better—but the planets did not

The mission type Retrieve Essential Personnel has been on the docket for Helldivers 2 fans everywhere. This update moved enemies away from your key paths while reducing civilian count requirements across the board. Thank Democracy that has changed—I was getting tired of getting to 47/50 and watching a tank land on the most recent escapees. While great for laughs, it was terrible for mission complete percentages.

If that wasn’t enough, the negative effect of the Stratagem Cooldown and Call-in Time mission modifiers have been slashed in half. By far the most annoying part of high-level missions, mods like Complex Stratagem Plotting should now be a bit more reasonable.

But don’t worry—the devs aren’t that friendly. Blizzards and Sandstorms are now a hazard option for snow- and sand-covered planets. In addition, the Destroy Command Bunker mission type is now more threatening and can spawn on lower difficulties.

Huge buffs for Divers—and nerfs for Sluggers

Overall, this patch was a huge win for many weapons. The Arc Thrower now charges more consistently and has better stagger at the cost of some range. The Anti-Material Rifle, Breaker Incendiary, and Dominator got big damage buffs—around 30 percent apiece. The Guard Dog now reloads from ammo boxes, while the Recoilless Rifle and Spear get an extra rocket from each ammo package. We will also finally be getting the correct Armor Penetration for the Slugger, Liberator Concussive, and Senator weapons—Medium, Light, and Medium, respectively.

Don’t worry, it gets better. Helldiver armors are now better at higher weight classes. Medium Armor users take five percent less damage than before, and Heavy Armor is 10 percent more effective. A huge complaint from the community is now active, and thank goodness—there was hardly a reason to wear these clunky piles of metal before.

That said, not everyone snuck away with buffs. The Slugger shotgun received a sweeping nerf bat to damage, stagger, and destructive force. The Patriot Exosuit’s missiles will also shred armor less effectively if you don’t hit dead-on. Definitely a big win for Divers everywhere, but not without casualties.

Speaking of casualties, Terminids received a few hits this patch. Chargers are less effective against Exosuits, and Spewers won’t kill you quite as fast anymore. Shriekers, the new flying enemies, are also less deadly overall. No nerfs to the Automatons, though, and Bile Titans are now unstunnable. They’re changing a lot while we’re fighting the Galactic War over at the Creek.

Bug Fixes Galore

Thankfully, those weren’t the only bugs that were fixed. PS5 users can finally rejoice because their loadouts will now save once again. We were also not supposed to take as much damage from Rockets, so now you might survive getting hit by a glancing missile. The Ballistic Shield should now be a bit better to use, thanks to a bug being fixed where it didn’t protect you. After a few patches of waiting, guiding a Hellpod to the ground is now much easier when near a large object. But the devs have warned about potential softlocks for troops putting boots on the ground. Be careful when landing near mission-critical objectives or near tall towers.

The AI of enemies was also slightly fixed to make Exosuits a higher priority target and Devastators a higher priority spawn. This is unlikely to be too big of a deal, though Exosuit-riding Divers should be more aware of their mortality while swarms of enemies are near them.

Sadly, a bug not being fixed quite yet involves throwing snowballs and grenades around the battlefield. Unfortunately, such a game-breaking glitch was left untouched, but we understand there might have been a few more pressing issues.