Helldivers 2’s latest balance patch sees a major shakeup to durable damage, affecting the new warbond Exosuits

Arrowhead Game Studios has released a major Helldivers 2 patch, introducing two new forest biomes, a new enemy variant, and extensive balance changes across exosuits, enemies, and player equipment.

The Helldivers 2 patch is primarily a balance update, primarily focused on durable damage. This makes sense given the patch’s theme, which ties into the new exosuit Warbond.

Exosuits have received significant buffs, with their main health pool nearly doubling from 850 to 1600, and arm health increasing from 350 to 600. Alongside this, there are numerous weapon adjustments, enemy tweaks, and a wide range of bug fixes.

Fans are not happy with the latest Helldivers 2 patch notes

Despite these changes, community reception has been largely negative. Player feedback on Steam has been overwhelmingly critical, with two main concerns standing out: Hive Guards now have heavy armor on their head and front legs (up from medium), and nearly all Terminid enemies have received durable damage buffs.

Durable damage refers to damage dealt against armored targets and vehicles, meaning bugs are now significantly more dangerous to exosuits, sentries, emplacements, and other player equipment. This is notable given that Arrowhead is clearly encouraging players to experiment with exosuits through the new Warbond, alongside recent additions like tanks and other vehicles.

To be fair, not all changes favor enemies. Hive Guards have had their body and claw armor reduced from light to unarmored, and their health lowered from 500 to 375. The Bile Titan’s spew explosions have also been reduced in size, which should slightly ease how players handle different, sometimes tricky, threats.

There are also adjustments to help players deal with the increased enemy damage output. The Ballistic Shield Backpack’s health has been raised from 600 to 1000, and the Spear now carries four missiles instead of three. Gas effects now slow enemies by 25%, while the Flame Sentry has received a 50% damage boost along with extended range. The devs want you to adapt by using new tools to push through enemies that are now paradoxically weaker yet simultaneously more deadly.

Hive Guards and other bugs are deadlier

When you’re fighting bugs now, the dynamic has fundamentally shifted. Hive Guards were already among the more annoying common enemies due to their tendency to swarm and now you need to bring heavy armor penetration weapons just to deal with basic chaff. There can be less flexibility in your loadout, as you’re forced to bring anti-armor weapons to handle what used to be manageable with standard rifles, or some big bombas to blow them away.

While Hive Guards are problematic, most other bugs are now deadlier threats to armor. The Bile Spewers, Stalkers, Prowlers, Shriekers, Scavengers, Hunters, Warriors, Chargers, Hive Lords, Dragon Roaches, and Impalers all have durable damage buffs. Sentries will die faster, and emplacements won’t last as long. The exosuit buffs might help offset this, but only if you’re actually using an exosuit. For players relying on other stratagems, this is a straight nerf. Mate, even the Illuminate got more durable damage too.

One change that’s getting less attention but still raising eyebrows is that Heavy Devastator shields are now destructible. The shields have Heavy 4 armor and 800 health, meaning weapons like the HMG and Autocannon can now shoot them down.

The change conveniently arrives alongside the Exo Experts Warbond, which includes the EXO-55 Breakthrough, which strides into battle equipped with a flak cannon and a ballistic shield 

Some players also question whether Heavy 4 armor with 800 health truly makes the shields destructible for most loadouts, or if they’re still effectively indestructible unless you bring specific high-penetration weapons.

Either way, the update introduces a noticeable shift in gameplay. Arrowhead has likely anticipated how loadouts would evolve and balanced accordingly, but it’s not the first time the studio has made changes that players feel reduce build variety or increase difficulty, thereby impacting overall enjoyment.

If you’re interested, you can read the full patch notes to see what was changed. Pretty much mostar enemies, regardless of faction, alongside a lot of weapons and stratagems, were changed too. It comes as a major balance patch in the reported roadmap for Helldivers 2.

Authored by Craig Robinson

Craig Robinson is an experienced gaming and esports writer with nearly a decade of coverage experience since 2015. With a background in software engineering, he combines his journalistic expertise with a strong understanding of technical SEO and web development fundamentals. He’s passionate about covering MMO games, competitive esports, and crafting guides that help players get the most out of their favorite titles. He's been writing about gaming and esports for over 10 years, which started as for fun project during university. He has since developed his skill set, contributing to newsrooms coverage of key games and event, and blending evergreen content strategy and a solid grasp of content marketing fundamentals. His work has appeared in Esports News UK, Gamer Guides, theEscpaist, and VideoGamer, and he now contributes to Gamehub's review team. When he’s not writing, Craig can usually be found running, at the gym, or tinkering with coding projects to keep his GitHub active.

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