Remember Helldivers 2’s chaotic launch? The bugs, the queues, the balance nightmares? Well, it's July 2025 - and now we've got space squids, orbital flamethrowers, megacities, and also... yep, still bugs and balance nightmares.

Hey folks, I'm Ash and today I'll be checking in on one of the most chaotic co-op shooters out there. It's been about a year and a half since launch, so let's take a look at how Helldivers 2 has evolved, what's been fixed, what's still hilariously broken, and whether now's the right time to go through the rigorous five-minute training regime and dive in?

Video version of this retrospective (~15 minutes)

A rocky history

If you’re new to all this, Helldivers 2 is a third-person shooter where you and up to three friends spread democracy across the stars - mostly by bombing everything that moves... including each other. It's chaotic, slightly janky, and honestly kinda amazing. Whether you're screaming and running away from Terminators, or defending a hill against endless swarms of bugs, there's something undeniably special about it. And I should know, I've been hooked on it from the start!

But while it was a ton of fun, the launch version had some serious problems bubbling under the surface. Once the post-launch honeymoon phase ended and players stopped being dazzled by all the explosions, the cracks started to show. Technical issues, weird bugs, and a total lack of balance quickly became too much to ignore.

Just joining your friend’s game was often impossible. And even if you managed to connect, there was no guarantee you’d actually finish the mission. The game was notoriously prone to crashing and didn’t even have a reconnect button. Bugs were also everywhere, and I don't mean the six-legged kind. One especially infamous bug made your armor completely useless, yet still slowed you down if you wore the heavy stuff! So for a surprisingly long time, we were basically naked out there! And when it came to balance, Arrowhead’s philosophy seemed more focused on nerfing the fun stuff than fixing the underpowered gear. So it’s no surprise that the player population started to plummet.

And then came the wildest moment of them all. Around the launch of the fire-themed DLC, Freedom’s Flame, Arrowhead decided to nerf the flamethrower... and fire in general. That was the straw that broke, and then promptly exploded, the camel’s back.

The poor, poor flamethrower didn't deserve what hit it

Keeping with the DLC's theme, the community set social media ablaze with complaints. And surprisingly? Arrowhead listened. They paused content updates, reworked fire damage, tackled core frustrations like constant ragdolling and random off-screen deaths, and even completely overhauled their balance strategy.

Thanks to those efforts, plus a steady stream of updates that followed them, Helldivers 2 stopped bleeding players and actually started growing again. Even now, many months later, the game is still going strong. It's a real testament to what can happen when a studio stops and listens to its community.

Back in the day, every match was just 4x shield backpacks and railguns. Everything else kinda sucked.

What's it like today?

So what does Helldivers 2 actually look like today? Well, mostly good news. The biggest technical issues are gone. I haven’t had a crash in months. Joining lobbies is still a little clunky, but it usually works.

Performance has also seen a major boost. I used to get constant stutters mid-missions, but now the game runs smoothly... unless it's trying to cram half the Automaton population into one megacity. So aside from those city-sized clown cars, Helldivers 2 is now far more stable and technically sound than ever before.

Unfortunately, this golden age doesn’t extend to the... technical Terminids. Helldivers 2 still suffers from long-standing bugs. The worst one? If you crouch or ragdoll near an object the wrong way, you can get clipped straight through the map. Sometimes you can blow yourself up to...uhm, escape, while losing all of your gear and samples in the process. Other times, you're just trapped in the void until a teammate gives you a good smack on the head to set you free - assuming they even notice, which in random groups is... optimistic.

But it’s not just bugs. Nearly every patch seems to introduce some new weirdness. Even the paid DLCs isn't immune.

Take the freshly released Epoch plasma cannon as an example. It’s a high-risk anti-armor weapon that you have to charge right up to the point of self-immolation in order to penetrate armor. That alone is problematic enough, but then half the time it doesn't even shoot in the direction you're aiming. It’s such a cool concept, but it's just too slow, too risky, and too unreliable to use seriously. Why pick it over the Quasar Cannon or Recoilless Rifle?

And that’s the frustrating part. Helldivers 2 feels amazing to play, but it’s just missing that final layer of polish - the stuff that turns a good game into a truly great one.

This nonsense happens surprisingly frequently

Why is Helldivers 2 so much fun?

So what is it that makes Helldivers 2 so fun? What has convinced me, and so many others, to throw ourselves into the meatgrinder, mission after mission? I'd say it's a combination of three things: the over-the-top presentation, the completely unhinged chaos, and gunplay that just feels... right.

I don't say this lightly: the atmosphere during combat is the best I’ve ever seen in a multiplayer game. Once the bombs start falling and the smoke thickens, it really feels like a proper warzone... just one where a guy called 'sdsdsdsdsds' can accidentally call an orbital strike directly onto your head. And that’s where the magic happens. Even if a stratagem or weapon isn’t all that useful, the way it looks and sounds makes it feel incredible to use. You chuck a Pokéball at someone, there's a moment of silence, then the screen shakes from the impact... and KABOOM. It's just so, so good!

But good vibes alone wouldn’t carry the game this far. What really makes it stick is the sheer unpredictability - the beautiful, barely controlled chaos. Even after 300 hours, I never quite know how a mission or fight will actually play out. All it takes is one fumbled throw, and suddenly there's a sentry parked directly behind the team - ready and eager to mince through anything to get to its actual target. And just like that, everything's gone sideways. The enemies flood in, everyone is chain-dying, nobody can get their equipment back, and now we're stuck fighting with sticks, stones and strongly worded letters against the entire Automaton army.

And yet, that’s often when the game is at its best. You huddle up with the squad, scrape together a desperate plan, and somehow pull off a victory against all odds. Those are the moments that stick with you - not the ones where everything went smoothly and you steamroll a mission in ten minutes flat. So in a weird twist, by not obsessing over perfect balance and letting the combat be a little slapdash, Arrowhead ended up creating a far more enjoyable game.

The game can look straight up hellish at times, and I absolutely love it for that.

Balance, or a lack of it

Of course, there’s a limit to how much jank you can justify in the name of fun, and I think the weapons are where Helldivers 2 starts to cross that line. Now, you might expect me to complain about how some weapons feel awful, but... honestly? Even the bad ones are fun to shoot. They've got a nice bit of heft to them, and the enemies sell the hits well, so even simply pulling the trigger feels great.

The problem, and I brought this up with the Epoch, is the balance. The game has a ton of different weapons and stratagems that do the same thing just with a slight twist, which don't get me wrong, is awesome. Having a bunch of different options to toy around with is great for keeping things fresh.

However, those options are very rarely equal. While weapons shift up and down in terms of power with balance patches, for the most part there's very obvious winners in most categories. Compare, for example, the Eagle 500kg Airstrike and the Orbital Railcannon. They're both high-damage weapons meant to take out big, beefy targets, and they both do it well. So what's the problem?

Well, the Railcannon lets you fire one shot every three minutes or so. It auto-aims, which sounds convenient, but often just means you’re crossing your fingers and hoping it hits the thing you actually wanted to kill. Meanwhile, the 500kg bomb goes where you throw it, comes with two charges, has a shorter cooldown, and a much bigger area of effect. So not only does it take down a Bile Titan, it also wipes out everything around it too.

As a result, picking the Railcannon is basically choosing to play the game on hard mode. Which would still be fine if this was a slow-paced game, but it's not. Helldivers 2 throws a lot of enemies at you, and very quickly. You you need to clean them up fast, or you're going to be stuck running for your life.

And since each major update brings with it a bunch of new toys to play around with, this imbalance is only getting worse. Which is a real shame because even the bad stuff is fun to muck around with. So I can only hope we'll someday be able to pick whatever we want without shooting ourselves in the foot in the process.

Most importantly - the 500kg's boom just looks so much better!

Good monetization?

Let's talk about the eternal boogeyman of video games everywhere: monetization. Helldivers 2 has a lot of DLC - a genuinely staggering amount. New players get hit with a massive wall of locked content. But here’s the twist: you can earn all of it in-game.

You see, Super Credits - the premium currency - can be found in loot piles scattered throughout the game. If you're a loot-obsessed gremlin like I am, you'll usually find 20-30 per match. Each Warbond costs 1000 Super Credits, but you get some back, so the effective cost is essentially 700.

At ~30 minutes per mission, that’s a new Warbond roughly every 15 hours. Now maybe my brain has rotted away from years of World of Warcraft, but I think that’s a pretty fair grind. And if you really want to rush it? You can solo grind Super Credits on low difficulty missions. It’s dull, but it works. And that’s more than most games offer.

Don't get me wrong, the system is flawless. I’d love to see a bit more consistency in Warbond quality, since some feel like must-haves while others are just... there. But overall, I do think it’s a pretty decent compromise. Again, it’s not perfect, but I’ll happily take this over the usual "pay $20 or get nothing" nonsense that seems to affect a lot of different games.

Grab this Warbond first. It's easily my favorite out of the bunch. 

So... should you dive in?

So... is Helldivers 2 worth diving into today?

Well... it's still a bit messy. The bugs and balance issues have gotten so comfortable they’re practically putting up family photos. But it's also more chaotic, more creative, and honestly more fun than most live-service games I've played.

So yeah - whether you’re new or returning, I’d recommend it. Just brace yourself for a bit of jank, and you’ll find a ton of joy in blasting apart undemocratic aliens... and occasionally your teammates... or even just yourself!