Helldivers 2 players are pushing back against 'meta' builds because they just want to have fun

Helldivers 2 Transporting the Hard Drive to the Communications Relay
(Image credit: Sony)

Some Helldivers 2 players are seemingly urging others to play the game with a 'competitive' nature, and a lot of players aren't having it.

If you didn't already know, 'meta' is a phrase ascribed to something that's popular in an online competitive game. This might be a particular character paired with a particular weapon, for example, like how the R-99 submachine gun was absolutely dominant in the early days of Apex Legends, and therefore deemed the 'meta' amongst competitive players.

It seems some Helldivers 2 players are trying to figure out the game's meta, much to the derision of others. The subreddit post just below, for example, is critical of players calling out their teammates weapons. The 'Breaker Shotgun' is deemed to be one of the more powerful weapons in the game right now, but the post below argues that not everyone has to use it, just because it's popular.

PSA: Don't be "that" guy. from r/Helldivers

"No one wants to play with the sweat screaming commands into their mic like they're on the front lines of 'nam in a life or death situation," the player writes. But, they add, this situation actually flips on the higher difficulties, where teamwork is required for a successful mission - if you're just fooling around with a weak weapon, then it's logical that your teammates would be slightly annoyed.

Similarly, the post below argues that streamers are damaging the team-based nature of Helldivers 2 by trying to create builds that are viable for solo play. Helldivers 2 is a game that's meant to be played as a squad, not on your own, and so YouTubers or streamers that are trying to urge others into playing solo are sort of missing the point of the co-op shooter.

I've never seen streamers do so much damage to a playerbase from r/Helldivers

A commenter even claims that they got "kicked" from a match for stealing 'Samples' from their squad mates. Samples are universally shared across an entire team, so if one person bags a Rare Sample, it's shared among all players, but apparently some people haven't worked this out yet, and are kicking their allies out of games for what they deem to be theft.

Finally, the subreddit post below claims that players are 'farming' the Defense-based missions against the Automaton armies. Completing a campaign requires players to complete several missions in a row, but according to the user below, some are quitting out as soon as they complete the Eradication-type mission, instead of seeing the entire campaign through to its end.

Farmers are ruining the defence campaigns. Every time I join a game, it's just people doing an eradication mission, then quitting and starting another one over and over. No wonder we're losing. from r/Helldivers

This can seriously hurt progress, because it drastically reduces the chance a campaign will actually be completed. If the Defense campaign isn't completed, it paves the way for the Automatons to claw back the planet, and makes other squad's hard-fought victories against the robots feel worthless. Please don't be like this, is what the user above is writing.

The good news for players it that Helldivers 2 nearly doubled its server capacity earlier today, February 23. Up to 700,000 players can now play Helldivers 2 simultaneously, which sounds like fantastic news, but one lead has warned that it still might not be enough for everyone to bag a spot this weekend.

Read up on our Helldivers 2 Stratagems guide for a look at the best gear for the right situation. 

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Helldivers 2 Ultimatum
Helldivers 2 has a Major Order problem, but the solution isn't simple because "having 100% participation means the MOs will always be won and that introduces other issues"
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
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"
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 CEO praises players for their "brilliant" DSS strategy, but follows up with a grave threat: "J.O.E.L. is out to get you now"
Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 has an endgame problem, but a developer assures us "things are coming," they just can't say what yet because otherwise our expectations will be too high
Helldivers 2 intro cutscene helldiver thumbs up
Helldivers 2's Galactic War resumes as Arrowhead fixes its broken liberation rates, and High Command insists anyone who saw anything weird "may be suffering from Illuminate mind-influence"
Latest in Action
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
Following Assassin's Creed Shadows controversy, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says "every big AAA game could be better," but players shouldn't be mad "just because some dude told you to"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Wanted Status
How to remove Wanted status in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
God of War
20 years later, God of War's original monster art has been revealed: behold this army of stick figures slapped on a whiteboard, no clue Kratos is coming for them
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"