Helldivers 2 devs says turning off friendly fire would break the game

Helldivers 2’s dev has said that friendly fire “will never change”, refusing to turn it off and claiming that if they ever did, they’d have to turn off damage against enemies as well. 

One of the funniest, or perhaps most frustrating mechanics, in Helldivers 2 is its friendly fire, depending on which side you fall on. Becoming a talking point in the community, accidentally or “accidentally” shooting your allies leads to some hilarious but also many annoying moments. 

Arrowhead’s CEO, Johan Pilestedt, went to Twitter to address player concerns about the lack of friendly fire controls, saying that the mechanic will never be turned off. 

Oh yes. This will never change.

If we turned off friendly fire we would have to turn off bullet damage against enemies as well. It's the law.

— Pilestedt (@Pilestedt) March 22, 2024

Responding to a player pleading for it to never be turned off, he said of Helldivers 2’s friendly fire, “Oh yes. This will never change.” 

In fact, Pilestedt claims that “If we turned off friendly fire we would have to turn off bullet damage against enemies as well. It’s the law.” 

This is just part of a doubling down from Pilestedt as he has insisted that the game’s friendly fire is the “most important” element of the game as it adds to its believability. 

He previously said in an interview with PlayStation Blog, “Things should be consistent in the game world and therefore, we must have friendly fire. If your bullets can kill enemies, and the enemies can kill you, then logic dictates that your bullets must also be able to kill your friends.” 

Also it adds to the dark humor of the game he said, as “accidentally” killing your allies in a carpet bomb or shooting them behind the head is all part of the joy in Helldivers 2.