The Polar Patriots Warbond launched in Helldivers 2 this week, bringing with it new armor, weapons, and cosmetics, though some gear is lacking a feature that many of us were hoping would make it easier to reverse icy worlds.
There are two sets of armor in the Polar Patriots Warbond in Helldivers 2 that have cleats on the boots. The CW-36 Winter Warrior, which is a lovely white number, and the CW-22 Kodiak, a much more understated gray camo affair. Unfortunately, both actively work against the idea of function over fashion, with functional footwear that’s all for show.
Helldivers 2’s Polar Patriots armor won’t stop you slipping on ice
Two armor sets from the Polar Patriots Warbond in Helldivers 2 have cleats on their boots. In real life, these are designed to help mountain climbers and those exploring icy parts of the world have sure footing by penetrating ice and holding fast when other footwear would slip. Sadly, these in-game counterparts don’t do anything, and players are still slipping and sliding across the ice as they battle Terminids and Automatons for Super Earth.
Players on the Helldivers 2 subreddit picked this up on the same day the Warbond was released. I’m really quite cross about this because when I first saw the trailer for the Warbond, I thought the armor might have a hidden perk that helps you run across the ice on worlds where you’re normally slipping around, mostly into enemies.
Sadly, I was mistaken, and it doesn’t look like I’m the only one who is disappointed. User spinyfever sums it up best: “I don’t understand why they would release a snow/ice-themed Warbond and not have the armors provide any advantages in snow/ice. Two of the new armors have crampons designed into the boots. Their literal purpose is to stop you from slipping and sliding on ice.”
Ice planets might be the worst environment to fight in because there are plants that explode and slow you down with an area of effect debuff, and enemies can rush you across lakes of frozen water while you skid into a rock and welcome them with open arms.
In fact, the Warbond doesn’t really include anything designed to help players deliver democracy on icy planets. The Booster, Motivational Shocks, is designed to negate the slow effect Terminid acid causes, not the explosions from plants on icy worlds that do the exact same thing. The armor certainly looks the part, though, and I can’t deny that I love the idea of this ice-themed Warbond packing in a new incendiary grenade.
However, these cleats not working somehow manage to fit extremely well with the game’s lore. Super Earth has a habit of throwing new tech out there without testing it and blaming others for the problems it causes. It’s also known for pulling just the right tool out of nowhere right after Helldivers have been pushed to their limit without it. If I were living in Helldivers 2, I’d expect cleats to start working after thousands of Helldivers had lost their lives to broken necks or deaths all linked to slipping on ice.
