Is Helldivers 2 a competitive game? It’s a natural question to ask about 2024’s unexpected blockbuster, but one that its burgeoning community doesn’t entirely agree on. Some dive deep into their arsenal to discover the most lethal guns, destructive strategies, and best mission types to earn medals and requests. They think Helldiver 2 is the perfect meta puzzle to solve.
Others have argued that Helldivers 2 shouldn’t be taken all that seriously and should instead focus on the simple fun of surviving, or not surviving, a war between bugs and automatons.
Of course, there’s no “right way” to play Helldiver 2, but I think that should apply to casual fun advocates as much as meta chasers. The game is an interactive slapstick comedy, but it’s also a very challenging co-op shooter. It is full of contradictions and creates the tensions we currently see between different types of players.
The entire premise of Helldivers 2 is a disingenuous satire
We’re fighting for Super Earth, but a peek into Helldiver lore leaves no doubt that we’re the bad guys. Managed Democracy, Super Earth, Free Tea — Helldivers 2 openly mocks extremist fascist ideology and expects us to laugh along with it.
…Still, Galactic War is no joke
It’s fun to be the villain, or at least roleplay them. Helldivers 2’s galactic war simulation, along with its narrative interventions, created an environment in which players memorized planet names, invested in their liberation, and mourned their loss. Our shared station as sneaky and disposable Helldivers creates a true camaraderie that is strengthened when sectors are liberated thanks to collective efforts. It’s nothing serious, but we take it seriously. For some, chasing “meta” may come from a pure desire to play their part in this war game.
Arrowhead CEO says don’t sweat gun statistics
Helldivers 2 doesn’t want you to think too much about your equipment. The only information given about the gun is damage, recoil, load capacity, and rate of fire. Arrowhead CEO Johan Pierstedt said that they intentionally hide information (actually about 47 hidden stats), and that the best guns in Helldivers 2 are “the ones you like the most.” He has commented many times that it is a “good gun”.
I like that idea. I’m not competing with anyone, and Helldivers 2 doesn’t have a leaderboard for kills. Now, it doesn’t matter how “good” the gun is or not, as long as it serves me.
…But then there are the gun stats, and part of the fun is discovering the hidden depths of Helldiver 2.
Honestly, I’d love to see all of those hidden stats. I don’t want to find the statistically strongest gun and use that as my only weapon, but I do want to learn more about Helldivers 2’s incredibly deep combat. Part of the fun is discovering hidden mechanisms, such as the day and night cycle.
However, the game also shows that information that should actually be expressed somewhere, such as how terrible the explosive bullets looked on paper until Pirestet tweeted a hidden 2x damage multiplier to weak points. is made ambiguous. The stats are there and they matter. I don’t blame players (especially those trying their luck at difficulty level 9 missions) for wanting to know more about stats.
War in Helldivers 2 is a story, not a puzzle
Arrowhead thinks of Helldiver 2 as one massive Dungeons and Dragons campaign involving millions of party members. This campaign has a dungeon master named Joel, but he doesn’t always act fairly. Like any good DM, Arrowhead can fudge the rules to tell a better story, like when he ramped up automaton reinforcements at Malebellon Creek to slow down Super Earth. , would do so again.
It was disheartening to see Super Earth lose in its first defense, but as participants in the story, we should embrace the drama that defeat creates and make the next victory even greater.
…However, players are encouraged to overcome tight deadlines and win.
When the defense campaign failed, we not only lost control of the sector, we also missed out on the resources that the players had spent over a week hard-earning. I thought it would be fun to lose, but I really wanted that XP and his 15,000 Reqs. My friends and I have been fighting more bots than we really wanted due to the Major Order, which had very harsh deadlines on some planets, and now we feel like we’ve wasted our time. I feel that.
Years of “live service” have taught us only one way to enjoy shooting games
In the age of live services, multiplayer games tend to be seen as collaborative products that can be lobbied for change. Players ask for balance updates, roadmaps, and weekly additions, and can feel cheated when they don’t get it. Being a $40 PvE game with limited content, it’s unclear whether Helldivers 2 is meant to be balanced with updates over the years, or if it’s meant to grow that big. I don’t understand.
…But Helldivers 2 is a live service shooter.
Pilestedt is hesitant to call Helldivers 2 a live-service game, but admits it is technically a live-service game. It features microtransactions, FOMO skins, and a premium battle pass that never expires. If you can consistently invest in a game, it’s natural to expect constant updates as well. Balance is a questionable concept for PvE, but the studio plans to adjust gun stats in the future.
However, Arrowhead is cautious about its future. The team recently went back to the drawing board with its roadmap following the game’s unexpected success. I’m excited for more to come, but I hope Arrowhead doesn’t announce a complete roadmap. Mysteries are fun, and I want to be surprised by his Arrowhead efforts, not compare their accomplishments to a list of outdated promises.
To me, this is a good sign that this unexpectedly popular shooter is leaving us wrestling with mixed emotions. Helldiver 2 is an interactive story with no clear ending, a stage for improvisational comedy, and a competitive shooter where you’re bound to lose from time to time. It’s a mess.
This game speaks to those who want to be the best and those who just want to ride along. There’s an originality to those contradictions that I think will keep people coming back to Helldiver 2 for a long time.
