Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 (September 17, 2024 update) revealed

Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 contain more changes than what the Terminids have gone through since the game first launched. It is truly a democratic sight to behold; one that should bring a tear to fellow Helldivers near and far. The crux of the update encompasses major overhauls to certain aspects of the game such as armor penetration, armor value, health, and so on.

It addresses some weapon and Stratagem balancing, reworking enemies, the health of Helldivers, and tweaking damage mechanics as well. As mentioned, there are a lot of changes to go over in the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100. Here is a brief overview to understand the sheer scope of the Helldivers 2 Patch v1.001.100:

Major Overhaul of Anti-Tank, Armor Penetration, Health and Armor Values
Weapon & Stratagem Balancing
Enemy Reworks
Helldiver Health and Damage Mechanics Tweaks
Gas Gameplay Mechanic Rework
New Galactic War feature
Emote Wheel feature
Crash & Bug Fixes

Furthermore, many of the changes have been made taking into account player feedback over due course of time. As mentioned, a major talking point will be how certain weapons work against armored targets such as Bile Titans and Chargers.

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Weapons such as Autocannon, Heavy Machine Gun, Flamethrower, and Anti-Materiel Rifle will perform better against heavily armored enemies. This will allow players to experiment with weapons more freely and play around with loadouts to address different situations.

Hello, Pelican-1 (Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Coming to Automatons, those pesky Hulks have had their armor reduced. This will make them more vulnerable to a wider selection of weapons. Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 also confirm that Devastator and Gunship will now have a limited supply of rockets (thank God for that). Hopefully, when you're trying to blow up an Air Base, you will not be ragdolled into oblivion.

Moreover, Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 states that certain weapons have been buffed, improving their efficacy on fields. This will allow Helldivers to choose a larger variety of weapons during their playthrough. It should also offer more variety and flavor during your play sessions. Damage is being adjusted in certain ways to make gameplay more fair. No one wants to be one-shot in the head by an Automaton from 50 meters away.

Lastly, due to these changes mentioned in the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100, the overall difficulty may slightly reduce as well. Developers will be monitoring the situation to see what needs to be done to improve gameplay further, based on player feedback.

This article provides the complete list of changes being brought to the game. You may want to sit down, there's a whole lot to read.

Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100: The Federation of Super Earth has spoken

The official Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 (September 17, 2024 update) are as follows:

Balancing

General

Previously, partial damage dealt 50% of full damage, which we found to be overly punishing and reduced effectiveness too much, leading to excessive reliance on high armor penetration weapons. We’ve now increased partial damage to 65% of full damage to address this issue.
The Helldiver now takes less damage from headshots, which previously dealt 100% extra damage but now inflict only 50% extra damage. Damage from hits to other body parts has been slightly increased depending on the area hit. This adjustment aims to normalize overall damage while maintaining detailed damage zones, reducing spike damage.

Primary Weapons

Several Primary Weapons have been reworked as per the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100. They should feel more powerful overall, and make you feel like a true democratic patriot.

Liberator & Liberator Carbine

Damage is increased from 60 to 70
Durable damage increased from 14 to 17
Stagger force increased from 10 to 15
Max spare magazines increased from 7 to 8
Starting spare magazines increased from 5 to 6

Knight

Damage is increased from 50 to 65
Durable damage increased from 5 to 7
Magazines now fully refill when picking up resupply
Reduced recoil

Liberator Concussive

Now comes with a drum magazine which holds 60 rounds
Number of mags reduced from 10 to 6. The number of mags have been reduced due to larger magazine capacity

Tenderizer

Number of rounds in its magazine increased from 30 to 35
Starting magazines increased from 4 to 5

Breaker

Now comes with an extended magazine which holds 16 shells
Stagger force increased from 10 to 15

Spray and Pray

Now has a duckbill muzzle making its spread very horizontal but less vertical
Total Damage increased from 192 to 240

Scythe

Cooldown is faster
Adjustments to the heat VFX
Scope changed to a low powered scope
Removed recoil
Sets enemies on fire faster

Crossbow

Explosion radius increased by 50%
Explosion damage increased from 150 to 350

Eruptor

Re-introduced shrapnel
Shrapnel projectiles amount are set to 30
Shrapnel damage is set to 110
Explosion damage decreased from 340 to 225
We also increased the amount of shrapnel
Explosion radius increased by 33% (17% for inner radius and 50% for outer radius)

Defender

Damage increased from 70 to 75
Durable damage increased from 7 to 8

Liberator Penetrator

Damage increased from 45 to 60

Diligence

Damage increased from 125 to 165
Durable damage increased from 32 to 42

Counter Sniper

Damage increased from 140 to 200
Durable damage increased from 14 to 50
Stagger force increased from 15 to 20

Blitzer

Now has a weak stun effect that builds up per shot on its targets

Torcher

Damage increased by 50%
Flamer mechanics reverted to before the Escalation of Freedom update
Increased AP from 3 to 4

Sidearms

A few Sidearms have undergone changes as per the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100. This should make them more viable in the field when fighting against the enemies of Super Earth.

Peacemaker

Increased max spare magazines from 5 to 6

Dagger

Gains heat more slowly
Removed recoil
Damage increased from 200 to 250
Sets enemies on fire faster
Adjustments to the heat VFX

Crisper

Damage increased by 50%
Flamer mechanics reverted to before the Escalation of Freedom update
Increased AP from 3 to 4

Support Weapons

Dedicated anti-tank weapons have all received significant damage boosts to enhance their effectiveness. This includes the Recoilless Rifle, Quasar, Commando, Expendable Anti-Tank, SPEAR, and Patriot Exosuit rockets. These weapons fall into three categories:

Recoilless Rifle and SPEAR (Strong and Reliable)

Recoilless Rifle and SPEAR can afford to be less accurate when firing at armored targets. Most hits will eliminate enemies the size of a Charger. The SPEAR is also excellent for taking out Automatons.

Expendable Anti-Tank and Quasar (Strong)

Expendable Anti-Tank and Quasar are highly effective, often than not killing targets with a single hit to a weak spot. Two solid shots inflicted on a Charger and one for a Hulk will suffice. Going for the Charger's head will increase the chance to inflict a one-shot kill.

Commando and Patriot Exosuit Rockets (Less Strong)

Commando and Patriot Exosuit Rockets typically require one to three shots to take down a Charger or Hulk, but this is largely depending on your aim. Since they dish out less damage, accuracy will be dealt to taking out the target fast.

Grenade Launcher

Starting spare magazines increased from 1 to 2
Max spare magazines increased from 2 to 3
Explosion radius slightly increased

Laser Cannon

Cooldown is slightly faster
Removed recoil
Sets enemies on fire faster
Can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, Hulks
Adjustments to the heat VFX

Arc Thrower

Range increased from 35 to 55
Now has a moderate stun effect that builds up on its targets
Jumps additional times
Durable damage increased from 50 to 100

Railgun

Durable damage increased from 60 to 225
Fully overcharging damage increased from 150% to 250%

Stalwart

Damage is increased from 60 to 70
Durable damage increased from 14 to 17
Stagger force increased from 10 to 15

Machine Gun

Stagger force increased from 15 to 20

Anti-Materiel Rifle

Durable damage increased from 135 to 180
Can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, Hulks
Stagger force increased from 20 to 25

Heavy Machine Gun

Stagger force increased from 20 to 25
Can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, Hulks

Commando

Demolition strength against structures has been reduced; it can no longer destroy Automaton Fabricators in a single shot. However, since the fabricators now have health, it can still take them out with two shots

Flamethrower

Damage increased by 33%
Flamer mechanics reverted to before the Escalation of Freedom update
Increased armor penetration from 3 to 4
Can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, Hulks

Autocannon

Can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, Hulks

As seen from the list of changes as per the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100, Support Weapons have been given a major boost. You will be able to deliver managed democracy with more zeal than before.

Grenades

Frag Grenade

Shrapnel damage increased by roughly 50%
Max amount increased from 4 to 5
Refill increased from 2 to 3
Explosion radius increased

Thermite Grenade

Explosion damage increased from 100 to 2000
Shorter time until it ignites the thermite
Time until it explodes slightly reduced
Max number decreased from 4 to 3

Stratagems

Every Stratagem that is capable of damaging heavily armored enemies has been buffed; their damage increased to account for the increased health of heavier enemies. The goal is to have Stratagems on a similar or higher power level than before.

Eagle 500kg bomb

Explosion radius increased to match visuals better

Eagle Rockets

Damage slightly increased

Gatling Sentry

Stagger force increased from 15 to 20

Machine Gun Sentry

Stagger force increased from 15 to 20

Tesla Tower

Increased stagger force to match other Arc weapons
Now has a moderate stun effect that builds up per hit on its targets

Heavy Machine Gun Emplacement

Stagger force increased from 20 to 25
Can now damage heavier enemies like Chargers, Bile Titans, Impalers, Hulks

Patriot Exosuit

Gatling stagger force increased from 15 to 20

Emancipator Exosuit

Autocannon durable damage increased from 60 to 150
Rate of fire on its weapons increased from 125 to 175
Ammo increased from 75 to 100 per arm

Orbital Laser

Damage slightly increased

Orbital Railcannon

Damage slightly increased

Orbital Gas Strike

We are reworking the gas gameplay mechanics to become more crowd control focused in preparation for the Chemical Agents Warbond
The gas effect has been reworked to cause blindness and confuse enemies and Helldivers alike at the expense of reduced damage over time

Based on the changes made in the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100, if you have invested in good Stratagems, it is about to pay off. They will feel more powerful in certain ways and aid your teammates in their quest to spread managed democracy.

Gameplay

Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 also list changes for several aspects pertaining to gameplay. This includes things like general features, enemies, and other gameplay elements.

General

New Galactic War Feature

The Galactic War map can now display the location of strategically important assets. This will make it much easier for the Helldivers to take them into consideration when deciding on their next move.

Emote Wheel feature

Players can now equip up to four emotes in the armory and access them using the new Emote Wheel feature by holding the Emote button. Additional separate key binding options are available for the Emote Wheel in the settings.
Added Dolby Atmos support on PS5

Enemies

Based on the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100, it would appear that the enemies of Super Earth will be getting nerfed in small ways. This, in theory (and if you're not getting swarmed), should make gameplay easier even on higher difficulties.

Automaton Fabricators

Automaton Fabricators now have health and armor in addition to their existing destruction system. This means that while many high armor penetration weapons can still destroy them, it may take multiple hits to do so, depending on the weapon used
Added effects to clearer showcase their health state

Hulks (All versions)

Armor reduced from 5 to 4
Back weak spot slightly more durable
Back weak spot health decreased from 1000 to 800

Hulk Bruiser

Replaced the rocket launcher for an energy based cannon
Increased how frequently the Hulk Bruiser shoots

Tank

Front armor increased from 5 to 6

Berserker

Head health reduced from 150 to 125
Main health reduced from 1000 to 750
Abdomen is now a weak spot
Chainsaw damage increased

Devastators (All versions)

Main health reduced from 800 to 750
Devastators now flinch when hit, causing their aim to worsen, similar to the Conscripts. The intent is to make them easier to manage if you keep applying damage

Rocket Devastators

Now has a limited number of rockets, and you can see them disappear when they are spent
Added a reload mechanic from their backpack to replenish their rockets once
Rocket physics collision is smaller, making them easier to avoid

Gunships

Gunships now have a limited amount of rockets
Rocket physics collision is smaller, making them easier to avoid

Charger (All versions)

Armor reduced from 5 to 4
The butt weak spot health is decreased from 1100 to 950
The butt weak spot is slightly less durable
The belly armor reduced from 4 to 2
A damage multiplier has been added to the Charger's exposed flesh of the main body, now dealing 300% damage
Now turn slightly slower, when charging and moving normally
Now charge less often
Charge damage increased by 50%
Sideattack damage increased by 50%

Charger Behemoth

The butt weak spot health is decreased from 1200 to 950

Hunter

Health is reduced from 175 to 160

Scavengers

Health is reduced from 80 to 60

Bile Titan

Armor reduced from 5 to 4
We have reworked the Bile Titan’s belly gameplay
Belly armor reduced from 4 to 2
Introduced a separate belly health pool once the outer belly layer has been destroyed
Destroying the exposed belly health pool kills the Bile Titan

Impaler

Armor reduced from 5 to 4
Previously the Impaler could only retract its tentacles once during its entire lifetime when threatened, now it can do it several times
Its tentacles pursue you over a shorter distance from the impaler and prioritize players nearer to the impaler
If the impaler can’t see an enemy it will retract its tentacles after a brief period

Impaler Tentacles

Tentacle damage is increased
Reduced camera shake of the tentacle attack
The tentacles require less damage inflicted on them to retract

Planets and Modifiers

It is also good to know that modifiers work as intended to avoid getting into issues later. That said, Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 have introduced a few fixes for this as well.

The Intense Heat and Extreme Cold modifiers are no longer static throughout the entire mission, and may now change based on time of day or different weather conditions
Some desert planets will now only have the Intense Heat modifier active during the day. This means that during night the planet will either have no modifier, or in some cases have the Extreme Cold modifier
Arid planets (similar to the Hellmire planet) will now only have the Intense Heat modifier active during fire tornado storms

Fixes

Here is a list of fixes that the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 introduces. It is a rather long and extensive list.

Fixed per weapon aim mode not saving correctly - NOTE: This patch will clear all the saved aim modes but everything should work correctly afterwards

Crash Fixes and Soft-locks:

Fixed a crash that could occur if shutting down the game during boot
Fixed a crash caused by players with unique skins timing out
Fixed a crash when vehicle skins are not properly synced
Fixed a crash caused by players leaving the game shortly after being reinforced while using unique hellpod skins
Fixed a rare crash produced by Bile Spewers attacks
Fixed a crash when interacting with the galactic war hologram
Fixed a crash when joining another super destroyer
Fixed a crash that could happen when you were participating in a secondary objective
Fixes crash when booting the game on PS5 with an unsupported systems language (such as French-Canadian)
Fixed a potential crash when new players hotjoin
Fixed a potential crash when other players were leaving the game
Fixed a rare crash when using the Hologram map and looking at the operations
You should no longer crash when interacting with the Galactic War Map when an update is required
Fixed a rare crash which could occur when joining a game session which has cycled through at least 32 unique players
Fixed an issue where objective stratagems cannot be completed if host migration happens
Fixed an issue where already joined players would be getting kicked when other players join the game
Fixed a bug where closing Steam overlay in the middle of the super credits purchase would stay in a broken state for any purchase after that (it previously needed a game restart to work again)
Fixed inaccessible shuttles after hosts leaving the game right before its landing
Fixed soft-lock during mission summary if the host left the game
Fixed an issue where emotes would not exit properly if you canceled them using sprint

Social Menu Fixes

Fixes to PS5 friends list

Miscellaneous fixes

Miscellaneous fixes mentioned in the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 aim to address minor issues that cause the game to be buggy at times.

Evacuate High-Value Assets Objective

Fixed issue where enemies would spawn on top of the extraction
Enemies can no longer shoot generators from spawn points or from far away
Fixed enemy pathing where they would sometimes try to enter the base from the mountain on the side
Added more protection for the generators to prevent enemies shooting them from far away
Heavy and flying enemies now prioritize attacking the player before the generators and the gates
Fixed an issue where enemies would stop spawning for a period of time when the host leaves the mission

Conduct Geological Survey Objective

Fixed issue in “Conduct Geological Survey” mission in which the Seismic Probe could become inoperable if a player called it in and left the game or disconnected
Tweaked enemy spawns

Impaler

Fixed a bug where Impalers didn't receive explosive damage in their exposed weak areas
Fixed Impaler's tentacles not being pingable
Fixed a bug where standing near the Impaler's head during the tentacle retraction could cause Helldivers to be launched high into the air
Fixed a bug where tentacles spawning beneath players could occasionally launch Helldivers into the air
Fixed a bug where the Impaler’s tentacles could sometimes launch the Exosuits into the air when the player was inside
Fixed enemies not receiving damage properly when more than 10m away from the player
Fixed issue where Bile Titans may sometimes not take damage to the head
Fixed issue causing most weapons to shoot below the crosshair when using aim down sight
Fixed cases where the Hive Breaker drill might become inaccessible after being called in
Fixed issue where first-person view was misaligned with weapon sights when using the Ballistics Shield Stratagem
HMG scope is no longer misaligned
Fixed lens cutting issues in scopes
Fixed bug where multiple confidential data pickups could spawn in the same stronghold when only one is intended
Fixed two-person emotes getting players stuck in an animation lock
Fixed intro cinematic missing audio in German
Fixed an instance of Automatons shooting through walls
Fixed a bug where sometimes prerequisite objectives would be shown above the primary objective in the HUD
Fixed broken menus when opening the main menu right before entering the Hellpod (when the Loadout menu opens)
Fixed weapon preview in loadout not being visible right after inspecting armors/helmets/capes
Fixed Eagle payloads sometimes not blowing up in swamp biome
Fixed stronghold outposts giving (only visually) 0 rewards on the mission summary objectives screen
Fixed time-outed players still visible on the UI with the white player color
Fixed long player title names text now scrolling instead of overlapping with other texts
Fixed Reinforced Scout Strider showing the wrong name
Removed the deprecated Orbital Flare Stratagem from Stratagem hero
Fixed a bug where some of the stratagems did not have data being shown in the Loadout
Fixed reinforcements called and stratagems used numbers on mission end
Fixed issue of drill objective floating in air when hot joining an ongoing 'Nuke Nursery' mission
Disabled invite/join functionality when players are playing in a different game version
Fixed player names not showing on ship after a mission
Fixed a desync issue in how many civilians have been extracted in "Emergency Evacuation" mission
Fixed unexploded Hellbombs on the terrain not being pingable
Fixed not seeing teammates equipment when hot-joining a mission
Fixed 'Failed to Extract' text incorrectly shown when extracting with the shuttle scene
Solved the issue where the player will not unlock the new difficulties after fulfilling the requirements for it
Binding Stratagem inputs to other buttons should not block terminal inputs
Fixed other players helldivers showing over the weapons/armors when they are joining and the player is selecting equipment selection in Loadout
Fixed a bug when starting the mission even if exiting loadout. Going back to the briefing screen will now unready the player
Fixed the issue where the players can click on entries through the tabs on the bindings menu
Pinged enemies and objects now display correctly after changing language
Fixed stratagem canceling purchase experience where moving mouse up and releasing the mouse button would not stop filling the button and the purchase process
Fixed an issue in our ragdoll optimizations where the wrong collision filters were used for some physics actors, leading to queries hitting unintended shapes
Fixed a bug in our ragdoll optimization code which caused some explosion types to deal incorrect damage
An incorrect message about removing a friend will no longer be displayed in the player information popup
Fixed multiline text sometimes being misaligned
Fixed issue where it scrolled down/up 2 Warbonds in the Acquisitions menu when scrolling with the left controller stick
Fixed motion controls while aiming when the "Motion Sensor Enable Mode" option is set to "Aiming" regardless of Aim input type
Fixed a bug where the player can change tabs while changing the ship's name
Fixed no final ready up sound played when rejoining a mission
Map markers on objectives will follow the objective if it changes position, as in the case of SSSD drives
Fixed issue where the player can throw an unlimited amount of grenades/throwing knives after diving into shallow water while holding and then throwing the last throwable
Fixed another issue where players could be stuck holding the stratagem ball if they open the stratagem menu directly after the previous action
Now the game client displays a proper error message with useful information when the PlayFab login fails
Fixed ADS projectile misalignments
Fixed aim block raycast issues in ADS
Fixed aim position misalignments that happen from repeatedly entering and exiting ADS
Fixed displayed incendiary mines icon and anti-tank mine label when the mine racks for these stratagems were marked/pinged
Fixed issue when changing tab in Armory while scrolling clears the scroll view
Fixed a bug that allowed players to bypass heat build-up for both the Scythe and Sickle when switching weapons during their reload animations
Fixed an issue where the 500kg bomb impact explosion was not being triggered
Fixed an issue where you could find several Confidential Data assets in Fortress locations
Increased the red zone size during drop select for Fortress locations
Improved error reporting on the splash screen to provide better support
Enemies now spawn during "Spread Democracy" objectives
Added another visual effect to the orbital cannon
Fixed Automaton projectiles clipping through assets
Fixed an issue where the Combat Walker bumping into a big building would destroy it
Fixed some assets bouncing flamethrower flames back
Fixed an issue where incorrect SFX audio for weapons with custom fire modes were being played
Fixed extraction timer not showing in landing beacon when mission time is over
Fixed health not synced correctly after the duration of stim heal (especially in friendly fire situations)
Fixed audio SFX cutouts when switching between weapons

Known Issues

Here is the list of the highest-priority issues that have been introduced by this patch and are being worked on. Some are also from a previous version and have not yet been fixed. This is not a comprehensive list:

Top Priority:

Players may not receive Friend Requests sent from another platform
Large units have no audio cues, allowing them to sneak up on players
Enemies will try to shoot the generators through walls in the Rescue High-Value Assets mission
Enemies are sometimes capable of shooting through walls
Social menu is stuck on ‘Please Wait Democratically’ for some players
Dead bodies of Chargers can launch the Helldiver into the air
Stratagem balls bounce unpredictably off cliffs and some spots
Players may sometimes be unable to join specific friends, or are returned to ship when joined

Medium Priority:

Reinforcement may not be available for players who join a game in progress
Mines may become invisible or may disappear in Multiplayer lobbies
Pelican-1 may sometimes be launched away if hit with an impaler tentacle
Supply packs may be incorrectly used if pressing down on a controller while calling in a stratagem
Friends "Invite only" games can still be seen on the Galactic War Map but cannot be joined
High damage weapons will not detonate hellbombs
Some enemies that bleed out do not progress Personal Orders and Eradicate missions

In conclusion, the Helldivers 2 Patch Notes v1.001.100 prove that Helldivers is just getting started in many ways. With the number of balances and reworks introduced, players are going to have fun taking on the enemies of Super Earth.

May Liberty guide your path fellow Helldiver!

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About the author

Matthew Wilkins is one of the top writers at Sportskeeda Gaming, having crossed 16 million views in just over three years. Matthew currently writes for Fortnite, MMO, and other sections as well. Speaking with developers of the Total War franchise and reviewing numerous AAA games have been key milestones in his career so far.

Matthew is a Communicative English Major, and his skills and experience have helped him dig deep in the world of esports and gaming journalism. He prioritizes accuracy and ensures nothing is second-guessed. Being connected to the community is an important aspect of his life, as it helps him keep track of credible insiders and leakers to be among the first to report on breaking news.

Matthew grew up playing video games, with Age of Empires serving as his gateway into the world. Currently, he leans towards real-time as well as turn-based strategy games, 4x, and similar genres, and frequently binge-plays solo or multiplayer titles on PC. His love for Red Dead Redemption 2 and Stellaris are unparalleled, matched perhaps only by Fortnite. Matthew is also a vocalist and performs a variety of genres like Glam Rock, Pop, Heavy Metal, and Rock when not writing.

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