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One of the most popular, if not the most popular “meta” build in Helldivers 2 is having a Quasar Cannon and a Rover on your back. Even after recent patches and nerfs, players still don’t have a reason to change it.
Helldivers 2 has some great mechanics. One of the best is the ability to team-reload, ie, one player shoots, while another reloads, which almost completely removes the reload time. But, that still requires some serious teamwork and player coordination. That is well and good if you have a premade squad, but when playing with random people (as most Helldivers 2 players tend to do), it’s harder to communicate and organize. Especially at higher difficulties, where you simply don’t have the time and the opportunity to do so. That almost forces the Helldivers 2 players to default to a “meta” build.
Despite Nerfs, Popular Meta Build Just Won’t Die
Having a powerful Support Weapon and a horde-clearing Backpack is arguably the best combination in the game right now. The Quasar Cannon is one of the most powerful anti-tank weapons in the game, that only has a cooldown. One player, named LucatIel_of_M1rrah on Reddit, stated that even after the nerfs to Quasar Cannon (now needing more time to cool down) and Guard Dog Rover (reduced damage), that is still the best combination compared to others.
The reason is that other weapons have long reload times, while the Quasar can just cool down on your back while you’re on the move, and using another weapon. And the fact that it does not take up your Backpack “slot” (having no ammo) is a big deal. That slot is usually taken by the Rover, which serves to keep enemies away from you. When you think about it, the damage reduction on the Rover may be a blessing in disguise, as the Rover is famous for killing its teammates and owners.
Can Team Reload Be Viable on High Difficulties?
Team reload is a great idea, but, as mentioned before, it requires a lot to pull off. One player needs to carry the weapon while another carries the backpack. As the OP said in the post, “…no one wants to give up a backpack slot that could be used to solve the horde problem with a laser dog. Especially if that backpack slot isn’t even for their support weapon. No random is going to carry your ammo pack and load you instantly when required, it’s just not possible…”
He adds that when one of the two-man team dies, you now have to wait for them to respawn to be able to use the weapon again. Yes, another player can take up the duty, but we all know that’s highly unlikely.
Team Reload Improvements That We’d Like to See
One of the main drawbacks of team reloading is the fact that one player has to sacrifice his Backpack slot and another player his Support Weapon. Right now, it’s more effective for those two players to each have a Quasar and a free Backpack slot, for Guard Dog or Shield Generator.
As we see it, there are two options to fix this issue. You can simply have the “supporting” player take the ammo from the shooter’s backpack, thus enabling any player to come and help. Or, make those weapons that come with ammo backpacks more powerful. Sure, you can reload them on your own and that takes time, or have another player help you out instead of doing something else, but the payoff should be noticeable. Right now, heavy “backpack weapons” are nothing special (anyone seen a Recoilless Rifle lately?) compared to Quasar Cannon, and have to rely on ammo.
Moreover, we saw an instance of a clever player using two Quasar Cannons to combat the increased cooldown. He shoots with one Quasar, while another is at his feet, cooling down, enabling him to keep a constant fire rate. And even that requires no additional effort, Backpack slots, or other players.
We would love to see the return of the team reload, as at the moment, Quasar is just too good, even with the cooldown increase. We don’t think that more nerfs will fix this issue, just a slight redesign and buffs to other weapons.
For more on HD2, check out Players Urge Helldivers 2 Devs to Never Add This Game Feature, What is the Current Major Order and Reward, and Helldivers 2 Devs Finally Address Impossible High-Difficulty Missions.