Hot on the heels of promising action and communication after players had delivered “fair” and “painful” criticism, Arrowhead has released yet another patch for Helldivers 2, this time making significant balance changes and adding two new biomes.Helldivers 2 Machinery of Oppression update 6.2.2 (patch notes, courtesy of Steam, are below), goes live alongside the new Exo Experts Warbond, which comes with new exosuit designs well-suited for close combat and fire-based offense.Patch highlights include two new biomes, one new enemy variant, a major Exo Suit rebalance, an enemy rebalance, sidearm and stratagem rebalances, and — always fitting for Helldivers 2 — bug fixes. Of the big fixes, a few stand out:Enthusiastic Mirth emote sound has been fixed, laughter is once again permitted on the battlefield.We have restocked the fireworks for the celebration when players have completed the tutorial (good job, you have earned them)One of the new biomes is a lush forest planet — a first for Helldivers 2. “The beauty of our most Democratic galaxy is truly unparalleled,” Arrowhead’s in-universe description revealed. “As we push into new territories, we have discovered planets with lush, tranquil forests with winding paths and shade from massive trees. Underneath the peaceful tree canopies, our Citizens can take time to unwind and reflect on the glory of Managed Democracy and the good, achieved by Super Earth's most illustrious heroes.“However, not everything on these planets is what it seems. We have detected several of our Un-Democratic foes on the perimeter and there have also been some alarming signals on Gloom-infested planets — larger than the typical Terminid convoys, bearing a striking resemblance to some of the Bile Titan signals detected in other regions.”Digging into the patch, Arrowhead said it agreed with the feeling that Exosuits can take too little damage and break too easily, especially against the Automatons, and so had made a bigger balance pass to increase its durability. Not only has the main health pool increased, but the Exo suit will only die if the main healthpool is depleted. Before it could die if specific healthzones were depleted.Also of note, the Heavy Devastators’ shield is now destructible and is dropped when destroyed. And, on the War Strider, leg hip joints have decreased armor from Heavy to Medium (4 to 3).These balance changes sound like they’ll make Helldivers 2 slightly easier, but there’s also an increase in durable damage for a long list of enemies — a change that has already upset some within the community who enjoy using vehicles. Explaining the decision, Arrowhead said: “we think automatons and illuminates do damage reasonably well against the vehicles especially now with the changes to the Exo suits, the Terminids however have fallen behind a bit in their ability to deal with vehicles so we have made some buffs to their damage against durable targets.”While Helldivers 2 remains one of the most-played games on Steam (Sony does not make console player numbers public), there have been a number of community complaints recently. Johan Pilestedt, who previously served as studio CEO before switching to chief creative officer in May 2024, held a Reddit AMA to address some of the growing dissatisfaction, although it didn’t seem to have a net positive effect."I did this AMA because I saw the disappointment, criticism and mistrust in this subreddit," Pilestedt explained. "And it got to me, I wanted to get a better sense and understanding of what was at the heart of it. A lot of the points that you make are fair. Some are very painful to read. But I know that it comes from a group of players that care deeply about Helldivers and wants it to remain special."He continued by acknowledging pleas for things like old systems, gear, progression, resources, and the Galactic War to receive more attention from Arrowhead. The message also highlighted those who believe Arrowhead has prioritized Warbonds instead of long-asked-for fixes to the core Helldivers 2 experience.Lots to chew on, then, as fans and Arrowhead itself ponder the future of Helldivers 2 over two years since its launch. Check out IGN’s recent interview with game director Mikael Eriksson for more on what to expect. Helldivers 2 Machinery of Oppression update 6.2.2 patch notes:Resolved known issues:Defend city events appear Super Earth controlled againDestroying the Air Base Control Tower with a portable Hellbomb no longer blocks objective progression. Enthusiastic Mirth emote sound has been fixed, laughter is once again permitted on the battlefield.Fleshmobs are no longer able to clip through various objects when charging.We have restocked the fireworks for the celebration when players have completed the tutorial (good job, you have earned them)Gunships and Shriekers are now spawning during operations with the appropriate effect present.The Double-Edged Sickle no longer emits a high-pitched drone when firing. Players will no longer be redirected to the Python Commandos Warbond instead of Redacted Regiment and vice versa when selecting 'Acquisitions' in the Ship Management menu. Sparks and bug spawner smoke now have higher material resolution. BalancingExo suits rebalanceWe agree with the community that the Exosuits can take too little damage and break too easily, especially against the Automaton faction. Therefore we have made a bigger balance pass to increase its durability.Increased main health pool from 850 to 1600 The Exo suit will only die if the main healthpool is depleted. Before it could die if specific healthzones were depleted.Increased vulnerability to acid attacks by 50%Fixed so parts of the cockpit healthzones are not blocked by the ragdoll actor. Now the cockpit zones will be damageable in the right way.Increased Exo suit arms health from 350 to 600Exo suit arms now also have a 50% explosion resistance (just like the main body)Removed constitution and bleedout on the Exo suit arms.Exo suits no longer lose all mobility when both legs are broken.Can now be staggered, have stagger strength 45. Stagger does not affect the ability to shoot.Removed most health zones that do not affect the main health and are mainly visual effects. The reason is to improve performance. For example tow cables and similar items can not be damaged or destroyed anymore.Enemy damage against vehiclesWe think automatons and illuminates do damage reasonably well against the vehicles especially now with the changes to the Exo suits, the Terminids however have fallen behind a bit in their ability to deal with vehicles so we have made some buffs to their damage against durable targets.Gas effectsNow it also slows the enemies with 25% when they are confused by the gas, the slow of course also affects you. Larger enemies like the Bile Titan and factory strider that do not become confused also are therefore not slowed.Items changesSidearms weaponsCQC-30 Stun BatonDecreased stamina cost from 5% to 3%Increased damage from 75 to 120Increased durable damage from 38 to 60CQC-19 Stun LanceDecreased stamina cost from 5% to 3%CQC-2 SaberDecreased stamina cost from 5% to 3%CQC-5 Combat HatchetDecreased stamina cost from 5% to 4%CQC-73 Entrenchment ToolDecreased stamina cost from 5% to 3%StratagemsCQC-9 Defoliation ToolIncreased and moved damage hit box to make it easier to hit the enemyLonger window for when damage hit box is activeArmor penetration increases twice as fastMoves slower when it does damage to an enemyDecreased stamina cost from 10% to 5%CQC-1 One True FlagDecreased stamina cost from 5% to 3%SH-20 Ballistic Shield BackpackIncreased health from 600 to 1000FAF-14 SpearIncreased amount of missiles in the backpack from 3 to 4A/FLAM-40 Flame SentryIncreased range from 20m to 34mIncreased damage by 50%Increased how fast it panics enemiesA/LAS-98 Laser SentryIncreased heat capacity from 200 to 250TX-41 SterilizerUpdated gas spray VFXThe Gas lingers for longer and has longer rangeEnemiesTerminidsBile Titan Spew explosions are smaller to match the visuals betterDecreased Explosion inner radius from 2.25 to 1Decreased Explosion outer radius from 3.5 to 2.2Hive guardIncreased armor on head and front legs from Medium to Heavy (3 to 4)Decreased armor on body and claws from Light to Unarmored (2 to 1)Decreased health on body from 500 to 375Bile SpewersIncreased durable damage on melee attackStalkers & ProwlersIncreased durable damageShriekersIncreased durable damageScavengersIncreased durable damageHuntersIncreased durable damageAll Warrior variantsIncreased durable damageChargerSlight increase in durable damage of its melee and charge attackHive LordIncreased durable damage on many of its physical attacksDragon RoachIncreased durable damage on its flame attackImpalerIncreased stagger force needed from 45 to 50Slight increase in durable damage on its melee attackAutomatonsRaidersincreased durable damage of the melee attacksSmall arms fire from raiders, turrets, devastators, slight increase in durable damageBerserkersincreased durable damageDevastatorsincreased durable damage on melee attackHeavy DevastatorsShield is destructible and dropped when destroyedArmor heavy (4)Health 800Durable 0.7Rocket DevastatorDecreased stagger strength on rockets projectile from 50 to 35HulkIncreased durable damage on flamer attackWar StriderLeg hip joints decreased armor from Heavy to Medium (4 to 3)All Tanks main body (bottom part)Increased health on Main health pool from 3000 to 4000Increased health on back vents from 750 to 1500Increased armor on back vents from Medium to Heavy (3 to 4)Remove tracks damage zone when the zone is deadRemoved damage cap to carry through from tracks to main health (so if you overkill it more damage goes to main health)Reduced durable resistance on tracks (1.0 to 0.8)Reduce overlap damage zones when its driving to match visuals better and do less damageShredder Tank turretReduced turn speedBarrager tank turretIncreased health on weak spot on front and back from 750 to 1500IlluminatesFleshmobsIncreased durable damageTesla towerLower destruction strength needed to destroy it from 30 to 20Added health function with 200 health and armor 2FixesCrash FixesFixed a rare AI crashFixed a crash which could occur when using under barrel firing modesFixed a rare crash that was happening whilst fighting enemies, predominantly against the IlluminatesWeapons & Stratagem FixesAdded missing haptics feedback when firing the Automaton MG EmplacementSEAF Artillery will no longer let you insert a shell and then immediately remove it, thus softlocking the gunDestroying the Air Base Control Tower with a portable Hellbomb in a multiplayer session, no longer blocks objective progressionEnemiesFleshmobs now can deal damage to vehiclesDestroying a Terminid egg while standing against it, can no longer send the Helldiver flyingShooting marks on the Exomech will now appear on the correct body part that was being shot atFixed bug where certain enemy kills would not count towards order progressionFactory Striders will no longer count as Fabricators in the Destroy Automaton Fabricators missionStratagem hellpods can no longer land on the Air Control Tower during the Evacuate Priority Citizens missionsMiscellaneous FixesFixed a bug where the Helldiver could get soft-locked in the loadout menu, if they had less than 4 total stratagems, where one or more was temporarily disabledFixed squares sometimes appearing in the minimap if Terrain Quality was set to lowExtraction shuttle now flies straight upon extracting from citiesFixed an instance where the Helldiver head twitched when leaving the HellpodFire should now more consistently scorch the terrain under it. Note: This has no changes to gameplayFixed several floating items on a magma planetFixed a gap in the terrain in the tutorial areaOptimized performance of Strafing Run particles for DSS Eagle Storm and Air Support stratagemsA message will be displayed in the stratagem HUD when stratagems fail to be called inTutorial: Flag celebration now has been fixed with proper fireworks timing and lightingPlayers can no longer fall through the ship roof in Illuminate invasion missions Fixed a bug where the Helldivers head twitched in the end screen, before and after using Victory PosesTremor ambient sound now fades out properlyThe Burier of Heads title has been thoroughly investigated, and since no signs of alleged dissident connections could be discovered, the title has been reintroduced. Helldivers who have unlocked this title through the Dust Devils Warbond should now find it among the other titles in the customization menuFixed issue where the player could interact with the Hive Core Drill terminal from behindEnemy visibility and hearing should now be affected more by different weathers. This means enemies should generally have a harder time spotting and hearing helldivers in more intense weather scenariosWesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.