No matter which side you fought for in the chatroom wars over Arrowhead's balancing choices, I hope we can all agree on one thing: Helldivers 2 air strikes can be really underwhelming. I can't tell you how many times I've called in a stratagem with an intimidating-sounding name like "500kg Bomb," "Orbital Airburst Strike," or "Walking Barrage" only for the ensuing payload to miss almost every bug in its vicinity, leave Terminid nests undisturbed, or fail to make a dent in a Charger that charged right through the blast. I'm glad to report that's finally changing.
Since its first big blowup with fans about nerfs, Arrowhead has been inconsistent with its mission to make the arsenal more powerful without sacrificing challenge. Last month's Escalation of Freedom update was a positive step with lots of buffs, but it also introduced more unpopular nerfs.
Arrowhead is gradually walking back those changes by revealing "one buff a day" until its next balancing patch releases September 17, but I'd argue we're already seeing what the future of Helldivers 2 balance looks like with a stratagem deployed by Super Earth Command today: the Orbital Napalm Barrage.
The word "indulgent" came to mind as I watched the Napalm Barrage work its magic on a Terminid bug breach. Missiles set ablaze with freedom peppered a wide area for 20 seconds, barbequing every bug that dared emerge from its hole long before it posed a threat to me or squadmates. The Napalm Barrage feels immediately more powerful than its non-fire cousin—the 380mm Barrage—and a lot of that comes down to the fire that's left behind. I threw a second Napalm Strike at a large Terminid nest and missed the mark by a solid ~15 meters, but even though the initial barrage barely destroyed anything, the aggroed bugs scurried toward the lingering fire, burning up in seconds and turning my whiffed air strike into a 25+ killstreak.
Helldivers 2 - Napalm Barrage"
Watching the Napalm Barrage do its dirty work, I realized this was the first time the visual splendor of a Helldivers 2 air strike actually matched up with its lethality. The fire plumes are enormous, plentiful, and effectively delete any and all living things in its wake. I assume larger enemies like Bile Titans and Chargers can survive the blast, but this is instantly the most effective tool for clearing nests and halting bug breaches at the pass.
I can't take any credit for unlocking this beauty. While I was away from helldiving, the community showed up in numbers to liberate planets Mastia and Tarsh for the latest Major Order, unshackling the Napalm Barrage after players failed to finish a previous kill goal. The Napalm Barrage is now available for anyone with 10,000 Req points to spend. Trust me, it's worth the scratch.
The raw power of the Napalm Barrage gets me excited for the upcoming 500kg Bomb buff, which creative director Johan Pilestedt specifically pointed out will now match the visual destruction of the explosion. That promise, plus the great first impression of the new barrage suggest to me that orbital strikes will finally be useful enough that my friends won't feel obligated to bring an Orbital Laser on every single mission just to deal with Bile Titans and Hulks. While I still believe the loudest, most-online players have gotten weirdly toxic and entitled about the design direction of Helldivers 2, Arrowhead is taking good notes.
Helldivers 2's next balancing patch releases tomorrow, September 17. The next warbond, Chemical Agents, comes a few days later on September 19.