A new patch is live, fixing some of the bugs brought by the big patch last week. But it doesn’t address everything. The Helldivers 2 developer has responded to the patrol rate concerns with no promises of a fix, and Superior Packing Methodology is still not working as intended.
That’s not to say the new Helldivers 2 update is weak by any metric, as shown by today’s patch notes. Patch 1.000.402 fixes bugs, addresses crashes, and adds some nice enhancements that should be welcomed by the community at large. One of my favorite changes? Calling in a Hellbomb should now cause it to face you instead of away. At last, no longer will divers need to try and squeeze themselves between a building and a bomb that has the power to turn everything around it to ash. That’s a good thing.
Helldivers 2 patch 1.000.402 notes cover some needed fixes
The Helldivers 2 patch 1.000.402 notes include fixes for issues brought about by last week’s massive patch. Arrowhead may have been cooking, but a few sides seem to have gotten a bit burned. One issue made it so you couldn’t stand while equipped with the Ballistic Shield Stratagem. It’s been addressed, along with a bug that slowed the reload speed of the Recoilless Rifle. The Spear’s wonky lock-on function was finally fixed last week, much to the joy of the three people still using it. But the patch still introduced a bug that kept it from targeting certain things. Today, it should work again.
There are a few quality-of-life changes introduced with today’s patch. As mentioned, having the Hellbomb’s panel face you after the drop is a “why was it like that?” kind of change we needed for a long time. The Pelican dropship should also no longer dig itself into the ground on landing. It was a rare occurrence that sparked some hilarious images on the Helldivers 2 subreddit, but it’s also pretty nice to leave with samples. You know?
With some other newly introduced issues, we’ll have to wait. One such problem makes it so a Bile Titan doesn’t take damage to its head. Oh, and here’s a new favorite: “Charger’s butt does not take damage from explosions.” I just wanted to point out that “Charger’s butt” is now officially a part of the Helldivers 2 patch notes. There are still some problems left over, such as arc weapon misfires and inaccurate crosshairs.
The patch isn’t massive, but I’ll let you check it out. Follow the link to the patch notes and give it a good read.
Arrowhead chats Helldivers 2 patrol spawn rate
Following up on the patch, Community Manager Thomas “Twinbeard” Petersson hit up the official Helldivers 2 Discord with a follow-up. He starts with a chat about Superior Packing Methodology, a Ship Module that players say was broken by the last patch.
Petersson said he let the team know about the concerns and is “awaiting clarification on what it’s supposed to do” (emphasis Twinbeard). According to the in-game text, it’s meant to give you the maximum amount of ammo for a Support Weapon when picking up a resupply box. Petersson suggests that the text and effect are at odds. More on that later, I suppose. He also mentions that the team is looking into socials not working for some divers.
Petersson doesn’t provide any hard answers for enemy patrol rate concerns, suggesting it’s more of a communication issue.
“Instead of me trying to get into the nitty gritty details, probably failing miserably, I think we should try to supply a proper explanation on how it works, what we’ve changed and how we want it to play in regards to enemy presence overall,” Petersson wrote on Discord. “We’re getting some mixed results/feedback on this.”
Petersson continues, saying the team needs time to monitor patrols and possibly change things if needed. It does sound like the patrols may be working as Arrowhead intended, and the team may return with a more detailed explanation later.
“There may very well be more tweaks going forward,” Petersson wrote. “Keep providing your thoughts on how things work or don’t! Without it, it’s hard to improve.”
