Despite Normally Offering Them For Free, Arrowhead Studios Locks New ‘Helldivers 2’ Stratagems Behind A Paywall
In both making a massive departure from their previous strategy of releasing said items for free and stirring up controversy in the process, Arrowhead Studios has announced that for the first time in the history of Helldivers 2, players will have to either grind or pay real money to unlock two new stratagems.
Part of the upcoming Chemical Agents Premium Warbond set, the new stratagems (particularly strong power-ups that can be called down during a battle) include the AX/TX-13 “Guard Dog” Dog Breath, which sprays corrosive gas at enemies, and the TX-41 Sterilizer, a high-pressure sprayer that covers large areas in noxious fumes.
Priced at 1,000 Super Credits, for those who don’t want to spit out $10 USD to buy the required in-game currency outright, the Chemical Agents Warbond can also be unlocked through grind.
With every mission paying out somewhere between 20 to 50 credits apiece, players will have to play anywhere from 20 to 50 matches to accrue the Super Credits required.
But this is just the beginning of the neverending grind, as while the 1,000 Super Credits unlock the Warbond, players will then have to individually obtain each of the items inside, including the premium Stratagems.
Of course, dedicated players have probably earned enough in-game currency that the path to chemical warfare won’t feel as much of a low blow as it would to those who play more casually. On the other hand, players who are just starting the game won’t be in nearly as good of a position to earn the set via gameplay.
Making their in-game debut alongside similarly-themed new weapons, grenades, armor, and emotes, the introduction of these ‘Premium Stratagems’ has sparked concern over the fact that they represent a clear departure from the game’s original player-friendly model and a march towards one filled with microtransactions.
Admittedly, this move was not completely unforeseen, as in the FAQ to the official Helldivers 2 Discord server, Arrowhead Studios previously and explicitly noted that that “may add” Stratagems to Warbonds and the SuperStore “in the future”.
However, its being somewhat forecasted does little to cushion what many players believe is an outright betrayal of the game’s entire ethos.
In adding insult to injury, this move comes at a time when Helldivers 2 is struggling to retain its player base, with its peak player count of 450,000 concurrent Democray-spreaders having since dropped to an average of 30,000.
And unfortunately for Arrowhead, the introduction of these premium Strategems is unlikely to rekindle enthusiasm for new players.
Despite the backlash, fans are eager to set out on an extinction mission and test out the toxic Stratagems when they drop on September 19th.
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