Major Update Enhances Helldivers 2 Gameplay

Helldivers 2's substantial 2025 update, patch 01.002.101, is now live, introducing significant gameplay adjustments and bug fixes. This over 5GB patch, released near the game's first anniversary and the introduction of the Illuminate faction, has sparked speculation about potential hidden additions beyond the documented changes.

Key improvements include extended gas durations from spray weapons and the restored ability to emote while airborne or ragdolling. A particularly intriguing fix involves a visual glitch with the Stalker's tongue (the developers remain tight-lipped on the specifics!).

Here's a breakdown of the patch notes:

Balancing:

• General: Increased spray weapon gas duration to 10 seconds (from 6). Implemented a despawn timer for Illuminate dropship wreckage to prevent path obstructions.
• Helldiver: Jogging while carrying two-handed items (barrels, SEAF Artillery Rounds) is now permitted.
• FRV: Grenade and stratagem deployment while leaning from the FRV is now allowed. FRV handling, particularly cornering, has been improved.
• Sidearms: Increased starting magazines to 3 (from 2) and spare magazines to 5 (from 4).
• Stratagem Support Weapons (TX-41 Sterilizer): Removed crosshair drift and camera climb recoil. Gas duration increased to 10 seconds.
• Armor Passives (Siege Ready): A bug granting extra ammo to all weapons (not just primaries, as intended) remains unfixed for now, pending further investigation.
• Backpacks (AX/TX-13 “Guard Dog”): Reworked for improved effectiveness, prioritizing targets unaffected by gas. Targeting logic refined, range increased to 20m (from 10m). Gas duration increased to 10 seconds.
• Stratagems (MD-6, MD-I4, MD-17): Cooldowns reduced to 120 seconds (from 180). Damage significantly increased, and mine deployment spread widened to reduce chain explosions.
• SH-20 Ballistic Shield Backpack: Now blocks melee attacks until destroyed.

Fixes:

• Top Priority: Emoting while ragdolling/falling restored (without fall damage reduction). Illuminate spawner ship shields now take impact grenade damage. Collision gaps in Illuminate ships fixed. Health packs fully restore stims. High-damage weapons now detonate Hellbombs.
• Crash Fixes: Numerous crash fixes addressing various scenarios (mission abort, hot-joining, emote switching, fire, drop-in, reloading, armor changes, tutorial completion, extraction, projectile fire, objective carrying, text language changes, SG-20 Halt reloading).
• Social & Matchmaking: Improved matchmaking for regional proximity. Matching with preferred difficulty lobbies improved. Chat history persistence fixed.
• Weapons & Stratagems: Emplacement retention while using text chat. Arc weapon accuracy against Impaler tentacles improved. E/AT-12 Anti-Tank Emplacement armor penetration tag corrected. Stratagem turrets no longer target Tesla Towers. Melee weapon physics adjusted. B-1 Supply Pack stim sharing restored. Various visual and functional weapon fixes.
• FRV: FRV reinforcement to prevent minor impact explosions. Camera improvements. Reduced rooftop drops on FRV call-in. Non-QWERTY keyboard support added. Fixes for enemy launch distance and other FRV-related issues.
• Helldiver: Fixes for ragdolling interactions with FRV, civilian cars, water, and blast effects.
• Enemies: Stalker's tongue visual bug fixed. Enemy reaction to missed shots improved.
• Miscellaneous: Various audio, civilian pathing, visual (floating heads), and damage calculation fixes.

Known Issues:

• Top Priority: Black box mission terminal clipping. Stratagem ball unpredictable bounces. DSSP balancing/functionality. Pathfinding issues in Evacuate Colonists missions. Dolby Atmos issues on PS5.
• Medium Priority: Player getting stuck on Pelican-1 ramp. Explosive ragdolling. Cape display issues. "This is Democracy" emote unintended spacewalk consequence. AX/TX-13 ammo indicator. Barrager Tank armor/weak points. LAS-5 Scythe zoom. Charge-up weapon firing rate issues.

This update addresses many player concerns and adds a layer of polish to the Helldivers 2 experience. However, the significant file size and the cryptic "Stalker's tongue" fix suggest the update may contain more than initially advertised.