As of the newest Premium Warbond, there are 16 boosters inHelldivers 2with a maximum of four being equipped and active if four players are in a mission together. Moreover, because the same four are chosen with strikingly little variance in almost everyHelldivers 2lobby, there are about 12 boosters accumulating cobwebs at any given time that may never see the light of day unless players have some arbitrary reason for leaving themselves and their teammates at a detriment. The four that are almost always selected due to their overwhelming effectiveness and functions are:
Helldivers 2’s Experimental Infusion boosteris one that is usually swapped if any are, but it, too, is fairly essential in many scenarios due to the fact that it’s a massive buff to stims, increasing movement speed and damage reduction temporarily.
None of these booster choices are surprising and yet the booster economy needs to be shaken and stirred if it’s ever going to evolve. That’s why, if Arrowhead was willing, a futureHelldivers 2update should strongly consider an additional booster slot for each player.
Helldivers 2’s Booster Economy is Dire
Aside fromHelldivers 2’s armor passives, primary weapons, secondary weapons, and throwables that players fashion themselves with, loadouts at the inception of a mission include a series of predetermined, mission-prescribed stratagems, four stratagem slots, and one booster slot. This singular booster slot is profound as it not only applies the perk of whatever booster is equipped to the player but also to anyone else who’s present in their squad. Therefore, it’s something of a responsibility or obligation for considerate Divers to select a booster that will actually benefit the team as a whole.
Helldivers 2’s Firebomb Hellpods boosteris tragic for this reason, as it is fun under perfect circumstances, let alone when players’ squads are all agreeable and impartial to the inevitability of friendly fire, but has potentially chaotic results when players aren’t expecting to have to deal with every Hellpod called down exploding on impact.
The boosters that players have almost all unanimously decided are the best have been immovable since, and not without good reason. Vitality Enhancement, Stamina Enhancement, Hellpod Space Optimization, and Experimental Infusion are objectivelyHelldivers 2’s best boosters, and it’s not much of a competition when alternatives are largely gimmicky or purely contextual, such as Armed Resupply Pods, Dead Sprint, or Sample Extractor. But, even with boosters likeMotivational ShocksorExpert Extraction Pilot Boosterthat can be quite a boon, none have proven to be so wildly advantageous as to warrant the loss of either of the four core booster pillars, and that ought to change somehow.
If Arrowhead was willing, a futureHelldivers 2update should strongly consider an additional booster slot for each player.
Helldivers 2 Should Broaden Its Booster Horizons
Giving players two boosters to equip in theirHelldivers 2loadout could be a game-changer. This would facilitate more niche, circumstantial boosters being equipped alongside systemically inseparable ones, encouraging players to dip their toes into a deep pool of boosters, many of which are not crucial but can otherwise have decent applications.
For example,Helldivers 2’s new Masters of Ceremony Warbond booster, Sample Scanner, seems relatively serviceable as it grants a 15% chance to loot double the amount of a harvested sample.
Two boosters equipped per player could make a full squad fairly overpowered depending on what eight boosters are active. That said, allHelldivers 2would have to do to counter this is scale itsTerminid, Automaton, and Illuminate enemy factionsand difficulty levels higher to accommodate for how well-equipped players may be with a total of eight boosters active.
