Last week, “Helldivers 2” experienced a significant plot development as the Automaton adversary attacked the Xzar system, introducing challenging new missions. These missions, particularly the civilian extraction tasks, were so demanding that even seasoned players found them impossible to complete, sparking speculation about a potential bug or deliberate difficulty increase by Arrowhead Games.
Arrowhead Responds with a Difficulty-Tuning Patch
In response, Arrowhead released patch version 1.000.10, designed to adjust the difficulty of these extraction missions. This update arrived shortly after version 1.000.009, which already had made the defend event easier. Testing of the new patch showed a noticeable reduction in difficulty for lower-level missions, providing a more manageable challenge for players.
Server Struggles Continue Despite Fixes
The latest patch also addresses issues with the game’s online infrastructure. Fixes were implemented for matchmaking difficulties, black screen occurrences on startup, and specific login errors. Moreover, Arrowhead is actively combatting the strain placed on servers by a surge in player count, which has led to prolonged waiting times for gamers.
Even with these fixes, players should not expect immediate enhancements in login queues. Despite the fixes, delays during peak times remain, and disconnections are still frequent. Arrowhead’s updated “known issues” list indicates that slow logins will persist as the number of active players continues to exceed server capacities.
A Twitter thread from a game developer illuminated the complexities involved in scaling up server infrastructure for online games, which can be a challenging task for developers. Moreover, Arrowhead has acknowledged a discrepancy in armor attributes that may affect players’ equipment choices.
Patch 1.000.10 is now available on PC and PS5, with a comprehensive list of fixes and known issues. Among the fixes are game crashes, matchmaking problems, and improvements in client-server communication. The list of ongoing issues includes login rate limiting, disconnections, delayed rewards, and malfunctioning armor values.