Helldivers 2 is the new shooter hit on Steam. Thousands of players plunge into the galactic war every day. Many people decide which weapon they use to spread democracy in the universe based on 4 values - now the boss explains why it’s not worth it.
How do weapons work in Helldivers 2? In the co-op shooter, 15 primary weapons and 3 secondary weapons can currently be unlocked. There are said to be 59 weapons in total. New players in particular may be faced with the question of which weapon is best for them to use in the galactic war.
Many Helldivers mainly focus on 4 values: the damage, the rate of fire, the ammunition capacity and the recoil of a weapon. Now studio boss Johan Pilestedt personally explains why it’s only worth it to a limited extent.
You can see what the weapons look like in action in our gameplay video here:
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Boss says: Use what you enjoy
Why not rely on 4 stats? As Pilestedt explains in a post on X/Twitter, a weapon’s visible stats are just the tip of the iceberg: In reality, each weapon would have up to 50 different stats, most of which players cannot see.
Some resourceful Helldivers had already suspected this, but now there is official confirmation. The numbers provided are a guideline, Pilestedt said, but do not paint a complete picture. “Uses [die Waffe]“The one you like best,” the studio boss advises the players.
In addition, Pilestedt shows an earlier version of a weapon’s stats page: Two pages were originally planned, with more details such as the reload time, muzzle velocity and a diagram of the expected recoil appearing on the second page.
In reality, says Pilestedt, it is the ammunition that affects most of a weapon’s stats. However, that’s not the only aspect of Helldivers 2 that isn’t immediately obvious: 9 hidden mechanics in Helldivers 2 that you probably don’t know about
Why are the stats hidden? Some of Pilestedt’s comments under his post provide information about the exact motives. This is how he responds to a user: “Looking back, it may have been a bad decision. It was deemed too complex for players.” (via X)
In other comments, the studio boss agrees with players who point out how cluttered a user interface can become if absolutely everything is shown, or who fear that more stats would just lead to an unnecessary meta.
So if your favorite weapon doesn’t appear in the upper ranks of our tier list of the best weapons in Helldivers 2, you can still use it with a clear conscience.
Players demand numbers and balancing
What do the players say? On “Please, I need the numbers, I need the information,” writes one player (via X).
In the Helldivers forum on Reddit, however, players are already speculating what the hidden stats could be. We have put together some guesses for you here:
Many players also seem to agree that there is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to weapon balancing. Hidden stats or not, most weapons just wouldn’t feel good.
how do you see it? Can you understand the studio’s decision or would you like more numbers? Feel free to tell us in the comments what your favorite weapon is in Helldivers 2 and why it is the Breaker.
For the min-maxers among you, we have the best loadout here – the strongest build for solo players