Helldivers 2 players fed up with “absolutely horrible” armor penetration

Helldivers 2 players are feeling frustrated with the way armor penetration works, with many imploring the devs to make adjustments.

Helldivers 2 has seen soaring success since its launch on February 8, with fans praising the game’s frenetic combat and sharp satire. However, not every aspect of the game is a hit with the community. One part which players feel desperately needs attention is the way armor penetration works.

Armor penetration in Helldivers 2 is just a simple modifier. Arrowhead Games CEO, Johan Pilestedt, explained the mechanic for players in a post on X/Twitter discussing item stats in the game.

“Armor pen is a value between 0 and 10 – if the AP is equal to the enemies armor value the damage is 50% if the AP beats the armor you do 100%. If AP is less than the AV the bullet ricochets.” Pilestedt explained. Nice and simple.

Arrowhead Game Studios

Armor penetration in Helldivers 2 is a hidden mechanic that works in the background.

However, as many players were quick to point out on social media, simple doesn’t always mean best. In the case of armor penetration in Helldivers 2, players themselves have no way of viewing how effective their equipped weapon is at punching through.

One user asked why the devs were hiding these stats from players in the post’s comments. “Yeah, in retrospect it might have been a bad call,” Pilestedt said, explaining the initial reason for hiding the statistical info was because it was “deemed too complex for players”.

Fans also discussed the revelation on Reddit, expressing their frustration.

“They should just add armor pen as a stat on the gun instead of a modifier,” was one player’s suggestion.

While other users turned to sarcasm; “Ah, simplicity. That thing that just causes even more confusion in the long run for tons of people.”

Arrowhead Game Studios

Players are frustrated by the lack of clarity surrounding how effective each weapon is.

Other players were clearer about why the decision bothered them; “Withholding information isn’t simplifying anything, it complicates things. I don’t know what any stats mean or what my guns do because the stats may as well be random numbers. The only one that seems consistent is ammo count.”

“The problem is when some of those hidden stats, if shown, would obviously reveal the weapon is completely useless and you shouldn’t waste your precious medals on it,” another agreed.