Helldivers 2 Director admits balancing has “gone too far” and wants to change it

Helldivers 2’s Director has heard the complaints about recent balance changes and is looking at ways to bring back the fun.

Helldivers 2 is currently in recovery from the recent PSN controversy that rocked the developers and its community. Unfortunately, while they’ve garnered some goodwill by reversing that decision, the team at Arrowhead lost it almost immediately with a new update.

Multiple balance changes have been called “borderline unethical” by players including a perceived nerf to the Eruptor Rifle. Helldivers 2 players have been vocal about the changes and called for buffs to “unusable” primary weapons.

Game Director Johan Pilesdedt has responded to some of the backlash regarding balancing. It turns out, he’s not particularly happy with it either.

Replying to a complaint about nerfs over the entire lifecycle of the game, Pilestedt admitted that the team may have been a little heavy-handed. “I think we’ve gone too far in some areas. Will talk to the team about the approach to balance,” he promised. “It feels like every time someone finds something fun, the fun is removed.”

It can be a difficult process balancing a PVE game like Helldivers 2 because the advantage of overpowered weapons doesn’t necessarily impact other players. Of course, part of the game’s identity is its difficulty and that does need to be maintained.

At the very least, Pilestedt appears to have a grasp on why the recent nerfs have seemingly removed some of the fun of the game. “A bit too much balancing using damage as well instead of other measures such as recoil, reload speeds, accuracy, projectile speeds, and equip speeds,” he reflected. “Just tweaking damage numbers is a blunt tool.”

It looks like future updates for Helldivers 2 may see a whole new style of balancing. Pilestedt has confirmed that they will be looking at a “fantasy first” approach to enhance the feeling of spreading Managed Democracy.