If you’re like me, you find difficulty even moderately shuffling a decided-upon build around once you’ve nestled into a particular playstyle you enjoy. This is the case for me in basically any video game, regardless of how many times I play the same ones, with sheer curiosity sometimes being the only element that succeeds in me finally choosing variables to manipulate in an otherwise well-tailored meta or formula. Helldivers 2 is one of the only live-service games with such gameplay variables that I play at the moment, for instance, and with each new Warbond, I’m once again forced to confront a hard truth: I can’t let go of light armor, nor do I want to.
Helldivers 2 isn’t like Monster Hunter in that Monster Hunter somehow balances every weapon so that none are overpowered, despite some gear and decoration combinations being wildly powerful when meticulously calculated. Instead, it is quite clear what weapons, armor, and stratagems are better than others, yet it doesn’t matter in Helldivers 2, either, since both multiplayer games center wholly on PvE (unless Helldivers indulge in friendly fire, perhaps). Still, whether I’m playing solo or diving into an SOS lobby, which I typically do, I fear no future content will ever be able to pry me away from my precious light armor because of the insurmountable speed and stamina it provides.
Once You Wear Helldivers 2’s Light Armor, Even Medium Feels Sluggish
Because heavy armor drops speed down to 450 and stamina regeneration down to 50 from light armor’s 550 and 125, respectively, even with armor rating up to 150 from 50, I can’t see heavy armor as anything besides a thick bog I’d be wading through. It would be one thing if heavy armor truly made you a nigh-invulnerable one-person army capable of face-tanking most assaults, but it’s hilariously easy to be debilitatingly injured or instantly slain nonetheless, at least on the difficulty I stick to—Helldivers 2’s Level 10 Super Helldive. If I’m fated to ragdoll every time I’m struck by a turret’s laser or be swiftly vanquished by most enemies on Super Helldive, I feel like there’s no reason for me not to wear light armor.
Medium armor isn’t much of a balm, as it’s obvious that there’s a hindrance, as subtle as it may be in comparison to heavy armor, to speed and stamina regeneration after having worn light armor for so long.
I can see how Helldivers 2’s Stamina Enhancement booster might be more optimal when run on builds where players favor heavier armor and can therefore somewhat mitigate the ailments of being encumbered with weaker stamina/stamina recovery. However, I double down by wearing light armor and equipping the Stamina Enhancement booster, which allows me to sprint for as long and as far as possible, and that freedom of mobility, especially on maps where trekking from one side to the other can otherwise be painstaking, is glorious.
Light armor and the Stamina Enhancement booster, married to the Experimental Infusion booster, provided that another squadmate equips it, is a thing of beauty. If these stars align, which isn’t at all difficult to have occur since Stamina Enhancement and Experimental Infusion are arguably two of Helldivers 2’s best boosters, Experimental Infusion stims refill players’ stamina as well as their health, prolonging players’ marathon-sprinting while also granting a temporary speed boost.
With each new Warbond, I’m once again forced to confront a hard truth: I can’t let go of light armor, nor do I want to.
Twist My Arm—A Good Armor Passive Can Make All the Difference
Unlike stats, Helldivers 2’s armor passives are one consideration I may make, usually when a new Warbond debuts an armor set that I think looks neat but is sadly either medium or heavy. I’ll give it the ’ol college try, like I did with the terrific-looking Halo: ODST A-9 Helljumper medium armor set, which boasts the following passive:
Feet First Armor Passive
- Wearer makes 50% less noise when moving.
- Increases point-of-interest identification range by 30%.
- Provides immunity to leg injuries.
Feet First is ironically an advantageous passive for my current goals, as I’ve recently been farming Super Credits in anticipation of Helldivers 2’s Dust Devils Warbond on September 4. Even so, I guarantee it’s never long before I’m back on my Destroyer, equipping light armor—right now I’m maining Force of Law’s BP-32 Jackboot.
Indeed, I can forgive light armor for not having an excellent passive, though I wouldn’t wear medium or heavy armor unless I knew the passive was fantastic. If I can settle on a light armor’s passive, though, and am indifferent to or enjoy how it looks, you know that’s the one I’ll go with.
I Believe in the Law of ‘Fashion Souls’
In my opinion, the best aesthetic designs of Helldivers 2’s armor sets belong to medium and heavy, not light. Medium armor sets have nice ‘default’ or well-rounded appearances, such as DP-53 Savior of the Free, IE-3 Martyr, and GS-17 Frontier Marshal, for example, while bulky, heavily padded heavy armor looks phenomenal in the AD-49 Apollonian, FS-23 Battle Master, and FS-55 Devastator sets.
There is thankfully some light armor I adore, including the EX-00 Prototype X and SC-34 Infiltrator, but compared to medium and heavy, I don’t think light has as many awe-inspiring options. I’ve likely exhausted a similar number of hours actually in missions as I have in Helldivers 2’s armory customization menu, tirelessly selecting armor, helmets, and capes to pair together.
Armor sets are a little challenging to mix and match since they commonly have particular and peculiar colorway patterns that may clash with another’s, such as if you were to pair the new A-35 Recon medium armor from Helldivers 2’s Halo: ODST Warbond with, say, the UF-50 Bloodhound helmet and the Executioner’s Canopy cape (I mean no insult if that happens to be your precise gear makeover, by the way, but it is not mine). At the end of the day, I could disregard passives altogether if it means that I can look great and run better while wearing light armor.
Helldivers 2
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- February 8, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- bitsquid
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- All platforms
- Franchise
- Helldivers
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Extraction Shooter, Action, Science Fiction
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
