Summary
Since its relatively recent release,Helldivers 2has been met with an overwhelmingly large player base of dedicated fans to support the game. Meanwhile, Arrowhead Studios is committed to supporting the live-service game with new updates to keepHelldivers 2fresh and meet the expectations of its growing player base.
One particular area that deserves to be addressed in afuture update forHelldivers 2is the downtime between Major Orders. This issue may be admittedly insignificant this early inHelldivers 2’s life cycle, though it’s slowly and steadily snowballing into a larger issue that will become highly problematic if it continues to be ignored.
QOL Fixes are just as Important as Content Updates for Helldivers 2
WhileHelldivers 2has managed to offer a variety of post-launch content so far, the game still has its fair share of bugs and glitches. Fans have recently debated whether Arrowhead Studios should prioritize bug fixes and QOL improvements, or focus on developing new content for the game.This debate has caught the attention of Helldivers 2’s Game Director, who acknowledged that the game has some rough edges to iron out, while also assuring fans that both content updates and bug fixes are being equally prioritized for the sake of the game’s longevity.
However, if there’s one update forHelldivers 2that arguably deserves to be a priority, it’s to address the downtime between players completing a Major Order and a new Major Order being issued. These in-game directives serve as the community’s active goal in the game, incentivizing specific planets andmission types inHelldivers 2that need to be completed to influence the status of the ongoing Galactic War. As is evident by the community’s coordination in completing Major Orders thus far, players are committed to winning the Galactic War, which makes the timeliness of the Major Orders especially important.
No matter how short it is, the wait for newMajor Orders inHelldivers 2inevitably causes the community’s momentum and organization to be hindered. Over time, these short minutes and hours between each new Major Order have been adding up. IfHelldivers 2continues its current course for much longer without addressing this downtime, these minutes and hours will only continue to grow, whereas this lost time could otherwise have been spent making a difference in the Galactic War.
The playerbase has attempted to declare community goals on multiple occasions through social media platforms, like theHelldivers 2Subreddit and the officialHelldivers 2Discord server. However, these initiatives rarely result in the levels of coordination that the in-game Major Orders inspire. So, by this point, it’s clear that the Major Orders are the community’s best chances at winningHelldivers 2’s Galactic War, which makes their downtime a valid concern.
How Helldivers 2 Could Improve its Major Orders
One such way thatHelldivers 2could eliminate the downtime between Major Orders is to schedule multiple at a time. There’s a running joke in the community of players being known as ‘Bugdivers’ or ‘Botdivers’ based on whether they prefer to fightHelldivers 2’s Terminids or Automatons, respectively. Yet most of the Major Orders so far tend to make players focus on only one of these two enemy factions, so it might be more efficient to give players the choice between multiple Major Orders at a time, at least one for each enemy faction in the game. While dividing the player base like this could have some negative consequences, it could also be worth experimenting with.
Otherwise, setting up Major Orders to release immediately after the previous ones get completed might be the best solution to addressing their downtime. At any rate, this problem should arguably be addressed sooner rather than later, before it reaches a problematic extreme.
