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At the risk of sounding like bug sympathizer propaganda, we regret to inform our Helldiver brothers and sisters that the heavy armor in Helldivers 2 is bad for freedom, bad for democracy, and just bad in general. Despite the recent armor rating fixes, the common Helldiver sentiment is that heavy armor in Helldivers 2 might as well be the third enemy faction with how many deaths it can cause. Here’s why.
Heavy Armor is, Well, Heavy
But it’s supposed to be more protective. You’d also expect it to give you some semblance of distinct tankiness from the light and medium armor classes. Sadly, that’s not the case. Some Redditors have even crunched the numbers and come to a laughable conclusion.
Reddit user /DasBarba wrote up a popular thread where he aired his grievances. In it, the fellow Helldiver even detailed how some measly Scavenger bugs tore him apart in two hits. They even had the standard 150 Armor Rating from heavy armor. Other players chimed in and even claimed inconsistent test results. Not much has changed since then.
The game is hard as it is, but what makes it even more of an ordeal for heavy armor users is that they’re also slowed down significantly. So while you might get a buffer of two additional hits before you become bug chow, your character’s sluggishness cancels out that defense padding.
This is more noticeable in Terminid areas where you’re often surrounded and need to finesse some tactical escapes. Still, the problem is present in Automaton missions where you often need to dodge rockets, cannons, and distant laser fire.
Additionally, the lower Stamina Regen of Heavy Armor often means your lighter teammates will leave you behind. In a game like Helldivers 2 where the main mode of transportation is a marathon, slowing down to a walkathon with Heavy Armor is debilitating.
The Armor Rating Fix Seemingly Made it Worse
Before the Armor Rating fixes at the start of March, most armors used Heavy Armor values. This gave an unfair advantage to Light Armor. Heavy armor is still at a disadvantage, now that the Helldivers 2 Armor Rating fixes have been implemented.
You can blame the critical hits for that. Because it still doesn’t matter how tanky you are. A hit to the head or a lucky enemy rocket will still instantaneously free you from the burden of life. So now, there’s little to no incentive to wear heavy armor in the meta (unless you really want a chunky Mandalorian Helldiver).
Except this time, the game is even harder since light and medium armor seems less protective. But at least those armor classes can help you move around and distance yourself against enemies.
So long story short, the heavy armor won’t make you tanky, just slower. Hopefully, the Ministry of Truth hears this woe and does something about it other than kidnapping us in the middle of the night and sending us to the gulag.
