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This is an age-old question. It doesn’t only apply to the maxed-out players of Helldivers 2, it applies to all people who have mastered any craft. Most people find the motivation in progress of any kind. When you’ve reached the peak, do you just stay there? Do you go off and chase another one? What makes us stick to something we’ve mastered?
Dedicated Fans Share Their Reasons
Most maxed-out players reported that they still played, but significantly less than before. The things that keep them going are usually new content, like Warbonds and Major Orders, or big changes to the gameplay. Some say they simply enjoy fighting the war for Super Earth.
A Redditor, GH057807, shared: “I’ve got just under 8 hours in the last two weeks, but 370 hours total. If there was something to actually work towards unlocking, I’d be playing more. I’ll play again when the new Warbond drops, clear that out, then probably stop again”. This approach is the most common one.
Some players simply enjoy the game too much to quit. Drekal reported: “Level 86 fully unlocked and still playing. The game is still very fun, I don’t need the grind to keep me interested. The only things I’m lacking are time and people to play with”. Again, many agreed, Public_Comfortable36 added: “Are you me? I am in the same exact boat as you, heck, we are even at the same level”.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of players who have lost motivation and could use some time off. One of them, AlonneHitBox, noted: “I’m level 100+ and I haven’t played in weeks and probably won’t revisit this for a long long time until some major improvements are made. I’ve got my money’s worth”.
Our favorite type of players are those who stay to help younger soldiers. A dedicated Helldiver, kchunpong, said: “I keep helping young cadets to get through their hard times”. Another veteran, rbm572, shared: “This is all I do now. Mostly help people get all trophies, and I keep meeting cool people who keep the game fun. I definitely play it too much, though… Level 150 with enough extra XP to get back up to level 118 again”.
Players Think of Ideas That Would Extend Their Stay
The most obvious idea is to add more things you can spend the medals on. TheEggEngineer suggested: “My own idea to fix this was for medals to unlock armor and helmet mods for each new armor set you buy. Add an armorer to the ship, give it a little bit of life, and allow me to use our company dollars to modify them with the passives that I like”.
Soulless_redhead had a different idea. They said: “I wish there was an alternative to that where your medals went into a “Democracy Fund”. Fundamentally you still don’t get them, but I could watch a counter go up on the ship and that would make the “number get bigger” part of my brain happy”.
Another great idea came from Vectorsxx. They explained: “They should let us be these “campaign runners” of players (meeting a prerequisite) who can dump all medals, samples, and credits into being a liberation booster for a planet”. We fully support this altruistic proposition.
Of course, all of these reasons and ideas are very subjective. Some people find motivation simply in the gameplay or the company of fellow soldiers. It’s also completely normal to take a break sometimes. Being a part of the community allows you to always return. If you are one of the active maxed-out players, what are your reasons for sticking with Helldivers 2?