Next Helldivers 2 update will make the risk of your railgun blowing up worth it

Safety off

Arrowhead/Sony Interactive Entertainment

Railguns may no longer be pure science fiction, but this advanced type of weaponry hasn’t seen any practical use in Earth’s militaries just yet – something we cannot say about Super Earth, the very democratic government of mankind in Helldivers 2.

That government, roleplayed by game developer Arrowhead, today made a declaration that sent thousands of players straight into a state of great elation: An upcoming balance update will bring substantial buffs to the railgun, one of the more beloved weapons in the game.

“The Railgun's damage will get a boost too! Durable damage will be increased from 60 to 225 and fully overcharging damage will be increased from 150% to 250%,” Arrowhead announced through Discord.

This means that the sniper weapon won’t merely deal devastating damage to normal targets any more, but also become an immense threat to large enemy types – especially if you take the risk and turn safety mode off to overcharge it.

After this change is through – provided enemy HP stays the same as now and you land a head shot – the railgun will be able to one-shot Chargers as well as two-shot Behemoths and Bile Titans. It will also be powerful enough to two-shot Hulks by hitting their bodies and destroy the turrets of tanks in two shots.

Taking that risk of your railgun blowing up in your face is going to be really worth it – and that’s undoubtedly a good thing, because it’s fun.

Fun is what Arrowhead currently aims to bring back into Helldivers 2 after a series of balance adjustments that didn’t go down well with the community – to put it mildly. The developer has recently announced a concrete action plan to tackle the many issues players are seeing in the co-op shooter and these railgun changes are part of that charm offensive.

Other measures expected to be implemented over the coming weeks include a rework of the fire damage mechanic to give the flamethrower back some of its power, a gameplay rework to get excessive ragdolling under control, rethinking the design approach to primary weapons and making them more engaging, and reworking Chargers. Arrowhead also wants players to beta test patches before they go live on the main branch of the game to avoid future disasters.