In Helldivers 2, players have various options when choosing and using equipment that allows them to take on the different threats to galactic freedom. Players who want to engage Terminids, Automatons, and Illuminate more directly can choose to utilize the game's melee weapons, and now is a good time for them to do so, as the specific type of equipment's list of options has been recently expanded. With Arrowhead Game Studios showing more love towards Helldivers 2's melee weapons, it may be time for the developer to consider an update that can help make them just as or perhaps even more relevant than their long-range counterparts.
On May 15, Helldivers 2 introduced the Masters of Ceremony Warbond, which in turn debuted the CQC-2 Sabre and CQC-1 One True Flag. The uniqueness of both and their addition may be Arrowhead Game Studios' way of signaling that it will give melee weapons even more love. Should that be the case, an update that involves increasing the number of attack options in the weapon type's list of choices is something that the developer should strongly consider. Such a change can be seen as long overdue, especially given its potential and the state of melee weapons, and hopefully, it will happen at some point in the future.
Helldivers 2: How to Farm Weapon XP
Here's a quick tip on how you can level up your weapons in Helldivers 2 as quickly as possible.
Why Helldivers 2 Should Expand on Its Melee Weapons’ Attack Options
Even with the increase in melee weapons in Helldivers 2, players still veer towards the game's long-range equipment, simply because of how much more effective they are. Expanding the attack options they provide can change that, as well as provide several other benefits:
- New gameplay where players can string together different attacks for powerful damage combos, making melee weapons more powerful while providing the game with more options for engagement
- New ways for players to tackle missions, which leads to more diverse loadouts in Helldivers 2 against the Terminids, Automatons, and Illuminate, helping prevent combat from feeling stale
- New unique-looking and functioning melee weapons, ones that go beyond standard equipment
Adding more attack options can change the fate of Helldivers 2's melee weapons, turning them from often-ignored to a commonly used asset, but only if Arrowhead Studios sees that it's worth doing. Given what it can do for the game and its players, it's a likely possibility, and players will have to wait and see if it's ever implemented.
How the Change Can Also Affect Another Aspect of Helldivers 2’s Melee Combat
While the recent update to Helldivers 2 has opened the opportunity to improve melee weapons in the future, that doesn't mean it's the only thing it should affect. If executed right, the change could also be extended to improve the game's close-quarter combat mechanics for other types of equipment. With how often players forget that they can initiate melee attacks with their guns, given that it's an attack option that's extremely situational and only provides little benefit, modifying it to have more strings of attacks could help ensure that its existence is recognized and used more.
Although incorporating it would be difficult, considering that it may be hard to balance how each weapon attack would affect each enemy, it would still be a worthwhile implementation.
Helldivers 2's future will always be uncertain, but there's at least a guarantee that whatever the developer does is in the best interest of the game and its players. Expanding on melee weapons is one way it shows that, and improving its attack options and the close-quarter combat system can be another. Only time will tell if the latter will happen, however, and in the meantime melee weapons are not an ideal replacement for any firearm or stratagem.
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
