Helldivers 2 has its problems, but it's moving in the right direction. Helldivers 2's fresh take on the live service model, as well as its amazing gameplay and close-knit community, made the game a surprise hit. The game already had a small but dedicated fan base thanks to the popularity of the original Helldivers, but has since grown far beyond its original audience. It's safe to say that Helldivers 2 has found its footing and maintains a powerful grip on super-Earths everywhere.
Content
But no game is perfect, and Helldivers 2 struggles in some areas. The game still has a lot of bugs (of a different kind) that have remained since launch, and the repetition of planets and enemies is becoming a growing problem. While new content like Major Orders and surprise updates have already refreshed the Helldivers 2 experience, there are still kinks that need to be ironed out. However, recent community outreach suggests that developer Arrowhead Game Studios is thinking about its game in the right way.
Helldivers 2 developers are conducting a survey to determine what fans want in future updates
On April 15, 2024, the Helldivers 2 developers opened a poll on the game's official Discord server to collect fan feedback on what they would like to see in future updates. There are four options to choose from: more weapons and balance changes, more armor, more missions and planet types, and just bug fixes. There's no word yet on how much weight these issues will be given during development, but it's an opportunity for players to determine what comes next in the game.
Note: This is only the second in a series of surveys conducted on the official Helldivers 2 Discord server, the first of which measured player satisfaction.
At the time of writing, the option with new objectives, modifiers, planets and biomes was leading the poll, with 37% of the votes. This makes sense: this is probably the most extensive option. Players seem to be generally happy with the current state of Helldivers 2's hardware, balance, and technical issues, especially considering a previous survey in which 54% of participants rated their enjoyment of the game as "excellent" and 42% rated their enjoyment of the game as "good." This option solves the biggest problem players are currently facing, while the second most popular option solves another common problem.
Helldivers 2 has diversity problems
Helldivers 2's biggest problem by far is the lack of variety in missions. Despite repeated announcements of a third Helldivers 2 faction, there are still only two types of enemies in the game: Terminids (bugs) and Automatons (bots). Of course, every enemy has their own strengths and weaknesses, so different damage types and stratagems work better in different scenarios. And new types of enemies, such as flying Shrikers, appear from time to time to keep things interesting. But the most dedicated players of Helldivers 2 are already running out of content, and the rest of the players are not far behind.
Helldivers 2 has no problems with retaining players yet - according to Steam, at the time of writing, it ranked fifth in terms of daily games. But it may become stagnant in the near future, which is a dangerous trend for a live service game. Games like Helldivers 2 typically strive to maintain healthy player bases over long periods of time. They are not like single-player role-playing games, which are designed to be played once with a defined beginning and end. Helldivers 2's missions need to be varied, preferably with frequent content updates, to keep players engaged.
But if the results of a recent Discord poll are taken into account, future Helldivers 2 updates could address the diversity issue. New types of enemies, such as the long-awaited Illuminati or cyborgs, new types of planets that require players to rethink their thinking, or new environments that require different strategies would add more variety to the game. They will bring back old players who are tired of the content, and attract new ones who will like the new features. Not only could this reignite player interest, but it could also be a great marketing ploy for Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 also desperately needs bug fixes
Another major problem with Helldivers 2 is the dire need for bug fixes. Players are having trouble logging into servers and joining their friends in the game. Status effects, such as the recently buffed fire damage in Helldivers 2, do not cause additional damage over time as they should. Supply crates sometimes simply do not replenish weapons.
While only a few of these bugs are truly game-breaking, each one is frustrating in its own way. These issues have narrowed the pool of viable builds in the Helldivers 2 metagame. Players actively avoid weapons with bugs, even if they are otherwise satisfactory or have unique characteristics that could make them effective. This only exacerbates the variety problem, making repetitive missions even more boring when players have fewer weapons to choose from each time.
In the Helldivers 2 Discord poll, please focus solely on bug fixes are now in second place. At the time of writing, 27% voted for him. Even though it lags behind the option with new missions and planets, it was voted for by over 25 people - no small part of the server or even the entire Helldivers 000 community. As a result, although new missions and planets will likely be the top priority for future updates , bug fixes may be right behind them.
Of course, there is no reason why Arrowhead should choose just one option from the survey and focus entirely on it. These voices primarily show what is most important to players. While new missions and planets are at the top of most players' minds, the community obviously wants to see widespread bug fixes as well. Both can be developed simultaneously, with bug fixes coming in smaller, more regular updates, and content-heavy updates coming in larger, seasonal ones.
But no matter what happens as a result of the Discord poll, one thing is clear: player feedback is important to the future of Helldivers 2. Development teams take player feedback in many ways, but such direct, crowdsourced feedback is extremely rare. This demonstrates Arrowhead's true commitment to quality. Ensuring that Helldivers 2 lives up to expectations is clearly a priority.
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