Helldivers 2 devs weren't kidding about huge buffs coming this month – the Railgun is about to utterly destroy large enemies: "We kind of quadrupled that"

Helldivers 2
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

The latest sneak peek of the big Helldivers 2 September 17 update brings good and glorious news for all Railgun enthusiasts. Developer Arrowhead "kind of quadrupled" its heavy-slaying Durable damage and jacked up its overcharge damage bonus, potentially taking us straight back to the armor-piercing days of old. 

Helldivers 2 CCO Johan Pilestedt and design director Niklas Malmborg discussed the Railgun in a new short video previewing the upcoming update. "The Railgun's damage will get a boost too! Durable damage will be increased from 60 to 225 and fully overcharging damage will be increased from 150% to 250%," the attached written tweet explains. 

"What have we done to the railgun?" Pilestedt asks.

"We booted it up again," Malmborg answers, seemingly acknowledging that the gun had largely fallen out of fashion after some sizable, arguably not entirely undeserved nerfs. 

"The Railgun does a lot of damage to normal enemies," Malmborg continues. "It didn't do that much to very large enemies. So we kind of quadrupled that from 60 to 225 in Durable damage. Just in safe mode, it will be stronger. Normally if you charge it up close to full, you did 50% more damage. Now you deal 150% more."

Better still, Pilestedt and Malmborg confirmed the gun will still have the same charge time. It truly does seem like a massive, no-strings-attached buff – the first of many to come, if Arrowhead's increasingly unhinged rhetoric is any indication. 

The Flamethrower, which recently reignited embers of balance discourse, is due for its own massive buff come September 17. This is all positioned as part of Arrowhead's push to "make the game more fun" after a "disconnect" formed between what the devs and players were pushing for. 

Pilestedt says "the balance/realism can suck it" for one bug that's probably not "worth fixing due to how hilarious it is."

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Read more
A Helldiver holding a flag in a promotional image for Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2's Fallout-grade Ultimatum mini nuke has been nerfed, but maintains its "core identity as a powerhouse" because the devs are "huge fans of big booms booming big"
Helldivers 2 Democratic Detonation Warbond diving
Helldivers 2 update makes the shooter a "little bit harder, but hopefully in a fun way" as Automatons get smarter and weapons get buffed to help deal with them
Helldivers 2 Ultimatum
Helldivers 2's new Fallout-grade mini nuke Ultimatum is a 4,500-damage delete button that's already got the community debating whether it's OP
Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom
Helldivers 2's funniest feature was removed last year, but it's finally been reinstated – although it won't save you from certain doom anymore
Helldivers 2 Servants of Freedom Warbond
Helldivers 2 is getting a portable hellbomb that looks just as chaotic and deadly as Fallout's mini nukes
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2's Killzone-inspired sniper "could maybe use some tweaking," creative director admits, but "weapons are what weapons are" and "balance doesn't matter"
Latest in Third Person Shooter
Four Helldivers lined up on base ship
A year after Malevelon Creek became Helldivers 2's fiercest battleground, it looks like the Automatons are coming back for more
Helldivers 2 screenshot showing someone using a big gun
Helldivers 2 boss says "death and rebirth" is a natural part of the games industry, but it's "unnecessarily brutal" right now "because we don't diversify enough"
The Invisible Woman in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals devs know exactly how popular Invisible Woman is, and say that "body shape or silhouette" add to a character's popularity in a way far more innocent than the internet deserves
Helldivers 2 Warbond
Helldivers 2 players "became obsessed" with Malevolon Creek, but it was Gabe Newell who really kicked off one of Super Earth's bloodiest battles
Heroes and villains face off in Marvel Rivals key art
Marvel Rivals exec isn't afraid of roster bloat after NetEase promised new heroes every 6 weeks: "There's no limit for the sky. We just throw everything at it"
Marvel Rivals: Ignite #1
Marvel Rivals goes manga in a new comic from Peach Momoko and three other Japanese artists that reveals several new in-game costumes
Latest in News
Dune Awakening
Dune Awakening launches for $50 without a stay in early access, and while the survival MMO "will not have a monthly subscription" it will have "optional" paid DLC
Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton in Hawkeye
Linda Cardellini cast as Jason's mom, the original Friday the 13th killer, for Crystal Lake prequel series
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 studio CD Projekt Red won't make survival games just because they're popular, but Netflix's Edgerunners anime is fueling dreams bigger than RPGs
Assassin's Creed Shadows screenshot showing female protagonist Naoe
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe actor was terrified to perform until her first mocap scene earned "a standing ovation" on set: "Maybe I can do this mocap thing"
Daredevil: Born Again
Marvel may have just sneakily confirmed one of the biggest Daredevil: Born Again fan theories
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Yasuke actor says that Naoe could beat his samurai in a fight: “Especially with that big a** helmet of mine”