Helldivers 2’s armor system needs changes to reach its full potential

The Helldivers 2 armor system places an emphasis on utility rather than looks, and this feels like it’s the only thing not onboard with its abrasive, bombastic tone.

When choosing armor in Helldivers 2, players are forced to choose between the armor that they think looks the best, or the armor that comes with the passive ability they want to use.

While it sounds like a way to have making choices become more prominent in the game, it has also created this feeling of ideas that are at war with each other.

Because of this, the entire armor system feels flawed to the point of not fitting in with how the rest of the game feels. It’s a tonal conflict that takes away from the game’s potential.

As it currently stands, the armor system of Helldivers 2 operates in a simple way: armor is broken up into three categories: Light, Medium, and Heavy. In typical fashion, Light armor offers the least amount of defense while the top speed, and Heavy is the opposite.

But with each piece of armor, a predetermined passive ability is attached to it, adding a new layer of finding the right armor.

This thought process just doesn’t make sense when looked at how the game operates in every other facet: Helldivers 2 is absolutely geared towards giving fans the ability to go into each mission with their loadout of choice.

They can select their weapons, Stratagems, support weapons to call in, and can even decide what objectives they take on and in what order. The only thing that feels like they can’t choose is the passive ability of their armor.

This has been a problem with the game’s community and many have been asking the devs to implement some kind of transmog system to make up for this restrictive feel.

The response was less-than-optimistic, essentially boiling down to the devs wanting the pieces of armor to reflect what their passives are, rather than letting players choose how they look.

But how can people memorize what each piece of armor is and what its passive ability is? Are players going to know that and have that influence their choice?

A user on the Helldivers 2 subreddit goes so far as to say that this idea works in a “PVP shooter” but not for this one, which is a good point. When it’s people working together, why not give them full access to customizing their looks and arsenal?

It’s unfortunate, as well, as the first game did have a better system where players could choose which perk to plug into their armor slot. It really would make more sense for this to make a return to the sequel to make the entire experience better.

Helldivers 2 gets most right, and that’s why this system’s rigidness feels so glaring. In a sea of good decisions, this misstep feels bigger than it would otherwise.

It seems the devs are adamant about not introducing a transmog system or general armor rework, but that could always change. For now, the community can only do the best with what they have.