Summary
In a game with as many powerful and varied loadout options asHelldivers 2, sometimes stratagems get lost in the shuffle. Though some members of the community take issue withcertainHelldivers 2balance changes Arrowhead has been pushing through, they’re meant to encourage players to try different strategies and work with new tools. Experimenting with new ways to make the enemies of democracy explode is half the fun of the game.
But some stratagems require no balance changes out of the gate. Some fill their niche so well that they stay in that perfect sweet spot between “strong” and “situational.” No stratagem fits this mold better than the recently released Commando launcher. Coming out as a part ofHelldivers 2’s Viper Commandos warbond, the Commando set a high bar for future stratagems to live up to in terms of fun and balance.
The Commando Is a Highly Effective Specialist Weapon
The Commando is Perfectly Balanced for What It’s Designed to Do
Clearly taking its name from the classic Schwarzenegger action flick, theCommando is a rocket launcher that uses laser-guided missilesfor enhanced aiming. While on paper this sounds incredibly overpowered, it’s actually balanced by its expendable nature; the Commando operates as a slightly upgraded version of the expendable anti-tank (EAT). Once all four shots are expended, the weapon is rendered useless, requiring another stratagem drop to keep using the weapon.
The Commando is a balanced weapon because of its limited use and modified damage. Each shot does less damage than an individual rocket from an EAT, but when the additional ammo is accounted for, each use of the Commando hasmore damage potential than each use of the EAT. Both weapons reward accuracy, but the additional damage potential with the Commando further incentives players to get good with their aim. The weapon even helps with that with its laser guidance systems, letting players hit more accurate shots at enemy structures at longer ranges.
Stratagems like the Commando Encourage More Strategic Loadouts
The Commando is most effective against single targets like chargers, hulks, devastators, tanks, and factory striders, but it hasn’t become anoverbearing force in the meta ofHelldivers 2. It’s not like the quasar cannon or the 500kg bomb where it’s constantly showing up in every players’ loadouts in every single match. It’s an incredibly useful stratagem designed to do one thing really well. And there should be more options like that in the game.
Certain stratagems are useful in many different situations, which makes them feel like must-haves when planning a mission. For example,the eagle airstrike can kill huge swarms of armored opponentsand eliminate enemy structures like bug holes, shrieker nests, and bot fabricators. That all comes at a very low risk to the player; just throw the beacon and watch the sparks fly. It’s undeniably fun, but it feels so all-purpose that passing it up for a more specialist option can feel like an intentional handicap.
Stratagems like the Commando are great for the long-term health of the game. Specialized use cases encourage players to actually think long and hard about what they’re taking into a match. It forces them to consider possible threats and how they’d like to deal with them specifically. Rather than just taking the four orbital/eagle strikes that cause the biggest explosions, maybe they choose a more tactical loadout: the Commando for anti-armor,the EMS mortar for point defense, the orbital walking barrage to provide covering fire, and the personal shield for some added damage resistance. All of those stratagems, like the Commando, do their one function exceptionally well, and with a full team of coordinated helldivers bringing in unique loadouts, there should not be any situation a team is ill-equipped to handle.
Helldivers 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Do you believe in freedom? Can you stand in the face of oppression – and defend the defenceless? Wage war for peace. Die for democracy.Join forces with up to three friends and wreak havoc on an alien scourge threatening the safety of your home planet, Super Earth, in this multiplayer co-op shooter for PS5 and PC from Arrowhead Game Studios.Step into the boots of the Helldivers, an elite class of soldiers whose mission is to spread peace, liberty and Managed Democracy using the biggest, baddest and most explosive tools in the galaxy.Helldivers don’t go planet side without proper backup, but it’s up to you to decide how and when to call it in. Not only do you have a host of superpowered primary weapons and customizable loadouts, you also have the ability to call on stratagems during play.Helldivers 2 features Arrowhead’s best cooperative gameplay yet. Collaboration will be vital: Teams will synergize on loadouts, strategize their approach for each mission and complete objectives together.1Enlist in Super Earth’s premier military peacekeeping force today. We are heroes… we are legends… WE ARE HELLDIVERS.
