Arrowhead CEO Arrowhead keeps calm as Helldivers 2 players go berserk over another unpopular nerf. "Some are going, 'Buff Everything!' Some players say 'It is too easy!' Most people are just playing.

Helldivers 2 received its biggest update in a long time today: Escalation Of Freedom. The patch adds new enemies, a biome of swamp planet, and new missions. In the Helldivers 2 Community, the discussion around the update today has been dominated mainly by two bullet points from the patch notes. The subreddit went nuclear when the fan-favorite Flamethrower was nerfed.

• Flame effects have been adjusted to work more realistically.
• It does not bounce off of armors or static objects, as would be expected.

This means that the flamethrower can no longer penetrate the thick armor plate on Chargers. It's a pity, because the flamethrower was favored for its ability to melt Chargers within seconds. Its power justified the risk that you and your teammates could be burned.

The nerf has already been very unpopular in the Helldivers 2 Subreddit as well as on Twitter where Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani is fielding feedback all day from fans.

"Words can't express the anger and disappointment I feel right now. MORE NERFS? REALLY?" Reddit user Gn0meKr wrote:

This is not what I would expect for a simple change to a weapon in a videogame. People are not just angry about it, they are furiousin an unproportional way to the offense. The flamethrower doesn't work as well anymore and I think Arrowhead needs to reverse this strange change. However, some people are using it as a launching pad to declare Arrowhead out of touch with their fans, that they don't play the game themselves, or that they just like being fun police.

This group of people isn't too upset about the flamethrower. I rarely see Divers use it in the wild. They are, however, angry that Arrowhead would consider making more nerfs following the whole controversy over balance back in June. This controversy led to a patch that was well received and boosted guns and stratagems for everyone. However, as we can see now, it has also created a sensitivity towards the idea of nerfs.

Flamethrower DOES work on chargers. It seems that you have to position yourself correctly from r/Helldivers

One particularly angry reply to Jorjani reads: "You and @Pilestedt have lied to us and promised us the moon, but NOTHING has changed. You just keep nerfing things for no reason. You shite on player feedback and don't know anything about actual balancing." "Don't be shocked if you get reviewbombed once again."

Jorjani is also keeping a cool-headed attitude. He has not made any direct statements about today's nerfs of the flamethrower or Breaker Incendiary Shotgun, but he is reminding players more generally that balance is a long-term process.

"One thing you should keep in mind is that this game is constantly evolving. Jorjani responded to a fan by saying that if you add another gun or enemy, then everything will need a tweaking pass. "Something which felt [overpowered] one week may feel nerfed another." We will continue to nerf the system.

Jorjani may be referring to the new Warbond, Freedom's Flame, which will be available on Thursday for Helldivers 2. The $10 premium bond will include two new flamethrowers, one in each slot, and armor that negates fire damage. It sounds like a primary flamethrower capable of burning through Charger armor would be so powerful that it would make all other primary weapons obsolete. I can see why Chargers have become mostly fireproof. What about the support flamethrowers? This is the most powerful weapon that you can carry. Maybe it got caught in the crossfire when changes were made to smaller flamethrower options.

Scorched Earth

Escalation of Freedom is not a series of nerfs. Arrowhead has, as usual, buffed guns and stratagems that are underperforming, such as the SG-8S Slugger and the Exploding Crossbow.

Jorjani also made a comment that I found interesting. What we see on the outside doesn't represent the entire Helldivers 2 Community, and not everyone is always asking for 'no buffs, only nerfs'.

"Some are going buff everything!" Some say 'it's just too easy! Most people are playing the game.

It's easy to join a united fandom on Reddit, or in a Discord chat room and think you represent the entire fandom. But it's not that simple. Jorjani does not say this to absolve Arrowhead from balancing decisions it may determine were to far and reverse but to gently pushback at the notion Arrowhead is intentionally making things less enjoyable.

Jorjani continues: "Every big update requires some playtime before we can know the direction to fine-tune things. We appreciate your patience!"

I tried a few missions using the new flamethrower, and, yes, fighting Chargers isn't as easy as it used to. You can't hit them from the front, but you can still do some damage to their joints by aiming carefully. Your best option is to stun and then target their big ol’ butt. The flamethrower still does a great job of dealing with each smaller Terminid. It's so good that most people who jump back into Helldivers 2 haven't noticed any difference.

I hope they let them use the flamethrower again. I've always wanted to build a fire knight where everything I touch turns to ash.