In Helldivers 2, the developers nerfed a weapon and upset quite a few players. Now a developer is defending himself against the allegations and says the damage was due to an exploit.
Which weapon was nerfed? The R-36 Eruptor was recently weakened because the weapon was responsible for many team kills and self-kills. The area damage probably caused too much frustration. To stop this, the weapon’s developers removed the shrapnel and thereby significantly weakened its damage.
As compensation, the weapon now does a constant 40 damage, but players still complain that the weapon has become too weak. A developer has now spoken out and reveals that the weapon wasn’t actually supposed to be as powerful as it was.
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An exploit made the weapon powerful
What exactly made the weapon powerful? Developer Alexus provided insight into the weapon’s changes. He wrote on Discord that when the shrapnel was removed, an exploit that many players used to cause more damage was also removed.
The exploit involved players shooting the ground in front of enemies so that the shrapnel would cause more area damage. Now that the shrapnel is gone, this no longer works and the weapon therefore appears doubly weak to the Helldivers.
What does the developer say about the current status of the weapon? The developer thinks the weapon is fine. The team is currently looking at the impact of the changes on the weak points of medium-armored opponents, as something could have changed here.
However, the developer does not want to promise a buff yet: the weapon is not too weak, but the whole thing will continue to be monitored.
How do the Helldivers react to the developer’s comments? After his statement, the developer responded to messages from users on Discord. The developer replied to a user that on average you would need the same number of shots at an opponent as before. This is probably due to the explosion damage buff.
On Reddit, users continue to think the nerfs are really stupid. Several posts with over 5,000 positive reviews complain about the nerfs of the R-36 Eruptor.
There has been frequent criticism of the balance changes in Helldivers 2. The developers also made it clear from the start that there would not only be buffs, but also nerfs. You can read more about the balance changes from the last patch here: Helldivers 2: Update 01.000.300 changes 24 weapons and stratagems – All patch notes