By Helldivers 2‘s latest Fallout-level secondary weapon, allowing players to roam around enforcing controlled democracy with 4,500-damage explosions, has understandably undergone a nerf in the latest patch of the third-person shooter, making it a bit less convenient to obliterate anything in your path.
I say “a bit” because Arrowhead hasn’t significantly modified the power of the GP-31 Ultimatum at all. The explosive-launching delete button was just recently introduced in Helldivers 2’s Servants of Freedom Warbond last week, and the developers have made it clear that “it’s not our intention to launch Warbond items requiring immediate balancing, and we recognize that any adjustments can provoke strong reactions.” However, with the single-shot Ultimatum accessible to “generate additional ammo from the previously-a-bug-but-now-a-feature Siege Ready armor passive,” Arrowhead believed “this particular combination is too potent.”
In the latest patch notes, Arrowhead’s release director Max Carlberg (also known as Captain Carlberg) mentions: “We are huge fans of impressive explosions (to quote our amazing design director), so we didn’t want to diminish the weapon’s satisfaction of use – we still want it to bring democratic tears to your eyes each time you unleash it, just like it does for us. Nonetheless, we will be addressing the ease of accessing additional ammunition for it, ensuring it necessitates a bit more effort to use it effectively.”
It’s not just the Siege Ready passive that won’t function with the Ultimatum anymore – the Hellpod Optimization Booster is now ineffective, as well. Therefore, it will not be as effortless to fire off numerous shots, but it does seem like a smart approach to a nerf that allows the weapon to retain its “core identity as a powerhouse,” while facing “mixed” feedback regarding its strength.
Elsewhere, the patch resolves some crashes and a concern “where the scope aim-center was not aligned with the projectile’s fire trajectory,” as well as rebalancing the LAS-17 Double-Edge Sickle – yet another recent addition from the Servants of Freedom. “The goal is to ensure it feels like a truly strong weapon while properly balancing the self-damage mechanics to reflect its high-risk nature,” Carlberg states. “In the current live version, we felt it lacked both the influence and the level of risk we aimed for and we didn’t believe it actually fulfilled our intent.”
Now, the armor penetration of the Double-Edge Sickle only accumulates to medium level (AP3) once the weapon exceeds 25% heat, and after reaching 50%, you will deal 70 damage instead of 55. However, you will also be more susceptible to self-damage, receiving 20 damage per second instead of 10 between 51% and 90% heat. From 91% heat onwards, the damage to enemies remains 70, but you will now reach armor penetration level four. That is, provided you’re willing to endure 50 damage per second to yourself, which stays unchanged (along with the damage over time).
For fellow enthusiasts of significant explosions, you will be pleased to hear that the new Portable Hellbomb stratagem remains unchanged – except for the fact that you will no longer be able to inadvertently arm it when entering the Fast Recon Vehicle (FRV).