Helldivers 2 balancing guru explains why 'Don't Nerf, Only Buff' is a bad idea: 'I believe players are scared of nerfs because it will ruin the fantasy of a weapon, ruin their fun'

Helldivers 2 got its first round of balancing today in a patch that buffed a handful of underperforming support weapons and significantly nerfed the Railgun—the one-shot killing machine that's enjoyed the undisputed top slot for the first month of the game.

Leading up to the patch, all eyes were on Arrowhead as vocal corners of the community lobbied for a «Don't nerf, only buff» approach to balancing the co-op PvE shooter, the idea being that a co-op shooter with no PvP doesn't need to nerf certain guns when it can just buff the underpowered ones instead.

Arrowhead explained the reasoning behind today's patch on Discord, but in a separate blog post published later, head of product testing Patrik Lasota expanded on Arrowhead's approach to balancing, gently shutting down the notion that Helldivers 2 shouldn't have nerfs and exploring how players perceive weapons versus what data actually shows. It's a great read for fans, and in this humble journalist's opinion, a masterclass in meeting the audience at eye level to say things they might not want to hear.

«I have since the game released seen many who say 'Don’t Nerf, only Buff' and other similar ideas,» Lasota writes. «However as a designer I can tell you this is not a great idea, but I understand where the sentiment comes from.»

Lasota is sympathetic to players distrustful of nerfs because he believes they're often done poorly.

«All too often in the games industry the core fantasy, and what makes a weapon feel good and fun, is ignored for the sake of balance. I believe players are scared of nerfs because it will ruin the fantasy of a weapon, ruin their fun,» he writes.

«It is extra important to us to tread carefully so that we don’t ruin fantasy and fun when we do nerfs. We hope you, our players, will tell us when we cross that line inadvertently.»

Sticking to the core fantasy of a gun is exactly why the Railgun had to be knocked down a peg, according to Lasota.

All too often in the games industry the core fantasy,