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The latest Warbond, Chemical Agents, was met with solid reactions, with people mostly still on a high from the recent update. The players are still testing out all the buffs and new weapons, but they’ve noticed one glaring detail about the Warbond. For the first time ever, Helldivers 2 developers locked Stratagems in Warbonds, which didn’t sit well with some devoted players.
Putting Stratagems in Warbonds Is a “Worrying Precedent”
When the devs announced the Warbond, some players pointed out how it was unfair to have Stratagems behind a paywall. At the time, the community didn’t know what to expect from the then-upcoming update, so locked Stratagems were the least of their worries. Now, in the whirlwind of the update’s success, people started rallying against locking content in Warbonds.
One player, GoodNuy, explained what the problem was. This player noted: “Locking Stratagems behind a paywall? That is an extremely worrying precedent to set. They’ve always been free. And they absolutely should be for the game’s lifetime. If they start replacing the paid content with stuff that has been free in the past (Stratagems) we are just paying the same for less”.
Many players called this move from Arrowhead a “slap in the face”, as the community felt FOMO for the first time. Sure, Warbonds are available forever, but we understand that it’s unpleasant to sit and watch your friends play with their new toys.
Some players were worried about the future of Warbonds. Cpt_Jack_Irons stated: “Future Warbonds will most likely contain more Stratagems. Thus, locking even more of them behind Warbonds and having to grind for Super Credits each time. I feel this will only help to drive people away from playing HD2 in the long term”.
Some Helldivers Don’t Mind the Grind for Stratagems
As you may have expected, not everyone was disappointed by Arrowhead’s decision. Some Helldivers 2 players truly didn’t mind that Warbonds would contain Stratagems in the future. After all, if they contained Primary weapons, why wouldn’t they contain Stratagems?
A Redditor, jerkcore, noted: “These stratagems are so niche, they aren’t crucial. None of the contents of any Premium Warbond are crucial. And they’re available forever. Get it when you can, don’t focus on getting it upon release”.
McDonie2 added: “I wouldn’t really mind if Stratagems and stuff are in Warbonds as long as we still get a steady flow of free and interesting ones too alongside”. We’d say that this is the root of Helldivers’ dissatisfaction. But, don’t worry, so far there are no indications that the devs plan to stop releasing free content, given that the Orbital Napalm Barrage dropped recently.
We’d suggest you to enjoy the grind, especially now that the update buffed so many items. Sure, it will take a while, but it will be worth it in the end. So, pick up your weapon and go exterminate some bugs and bots, soldier! For Managed Democracy.