My emotions on the Helldivers 2: Omens of Tyranny replace to date could be described in bursts of “oh this automobile is superior” and “are you kidding me the Illuminate are unimaginable,” however there was one shock ready for me in Helldivers 2 this morning that I wasn’t comfortable to see: Arrowhead is not simply promoting armor in its retailer tab anymore, however weapons too.
Properly, one weapon for now. The stun baton, certainly one of two melee choices new to the shooter, can solely be unlocked by buying it straight from the Superstore for 200 Tremendous Credit. Until I have been residing below a rock, that is the primary time Arrowhead has bought a non-armor merchandise exterior of a warbond—Helldivers 2’s battle pass-like development system. I am uneasy concerning the precedent that units for the way forward for the sport.
In these first 10 months, the connection between the Superstore, warbonds, and regular level-based development in Helldivers 2 has been clear and constant: You’ll be able to unlock strategems and most weapons simply by leveling up, warbonds supply elective expansions to your arsenal, and the Superstore is a fair much less essential beauty store with extra armor units. I actually preferred that setup—I even referred to as it one of many best monetization schemes in ages—as a result of Arrowhead’s warbonds are usually a very good worth, they do not expire, and even the premium armor units have the identical perks as warbond armors and are just a few {dollars}.
However Arrowhead has slowly expanded its boundaries round what and the way it costs for non-cosmetics. The stun baton being a Superstore unique is the newest instance, however I first seen a shift within the Chemical Brokers warbond in September, which included the primary premium-only stratagem within the “Canine Breath” drone backpack. I felt my foot slipping on a doable slope on the time, and it is occurring once more in Omens of Tyranny.
It might be worse, however…
The stun baton is not price elevating any alarms over by itself. It solely prices 200 Tremendous Credit ($2 price of credit) and Helldivers 2 nonetheless doles out a good quantity of free Tremendous Credit by looting factors of curiosity on missions. There’s an argument that promoting weapons a la carte is definitely extra handy than having to purchase an entire warbond should you solely care about one factor (particularly if the a la carte costs are this small), however then there’s the truth that the Superstore inventory modifications each week. Presumably the stun baton will go away the shop in every week or month’s time after which be fully unavailable for weeks or months after.
It is a dangerous setup that is not distinctive to Helldivers—we actually have not given reside service video games sufficient grief for treating each microtransaction just like the McRib—however is uniquely upsetting when it begins to contain essentially the most coveted gadgets in Helldivers 2 that gamers are used to getting free of charge or in never-expiring warbonds. Proper now it is a stun baton, however it’d actually suck if Arrowhead surprise-dropped a brand new automobile that you might solely purchase for every week.
And that stun baton is fairly helpful, by the way in which. It offers virtually no injury, however it stuns the hell out of no matter you hit with it. In a pinch, a couple of fast swipes can get a small crowd of Voteless off your again lengthy sufficient to disengage, and it will possibly even stunlock bigger Illuminate troopers without end should you preserve whacking.
Is it higher than having a gun as your backup? Not typically. A pistol can kill your attackers earlier than they get in melee vary, however the baton has limitless ammo, and should you are inclined to ignore your sidearm till the crap has already exited the fan like I do, it makes extra sense.
Additionally related: The opposite new melee weapon, the stun lance, is on the brand new City Legends warbond. It is similar to the baton, besides it has an extended attain and its stabbing movement means you may solely hit one goal at a time. The upside is the lance offers extra injury and might even chop off the legs or heads of the Voteless with a single strike—a stable “oh crap” tactic if you have to create far. If I needed to decide one, I might in all probability take the lance proper now.
