Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead has revealed the game’s next Premium Warbond, dubbed Viper Commandos and due out June 13.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Katherine Baskin, social media and community manager at Arrowhead, said the studio had responded to feedback on Helldivers 2’s Warbonds and had changed its approach as a result. For a start, Arrowhead has slowed down the pace at which it releases Warbonds “to give us a little bit more time to polish these designs before they’re released.” Baskin continued: “We don’t want to rush anything out of the oven before it’s fully baked.”
Arrowhead has also changed the arrangement of items in each Warbond to make room for new item types as well as higher quality armor and weapons. “This will prevent us from simply adding more of everything, which can lead to weapons that feel redundant and uninteresting armor,” Baskin explained. “It’s time to focus on quality over quantity.”
“When we started researching items for Viper Commandos, we wanted to be sure we answered our player calls for stronger theming that coordinates across all the items, more emotes, unique armor passives, and more thoughtful designs rather than simply giving more of the same.”
The game’s community had called on the developer to slow down when it came to significant balance changes as well as Warbond releases, feeling Arrowhead had sometimes gone too far with nerfs and failed to include meta-affecting weapons and gear in the Warbonds.
To that end, Viper Commandos revolves around an up close and personal playstyle, which for any existing Helldivers 2 player may sound a little frightening. The new primary is a new version of the Liberator called the AR-23A Liberator Carbine. It has a modified, shortened form-factor that handles differently from the original, with a bit higher recoil, but faster handling designed for spraying and praying up close.
There’s also the new SG-22 Bushwhacker triple-barrel, sawed-off shotgun with two different firing modes, including one that fires all three barrels at once. This shotgun is the first in Helldivers 2 to be classed as a secondary weapon, which should open up the loadout meta a bit.
There are two new armor items, both of which feature the Peak Physique passive, which improves melee damage and weapon handling. They both also feature bare arms, so you can really show off your guns.
Another first for the game is new skins for your hellpods, Exosuits, and Pelican-1, “inspired by the classic woodland and tiger stripe camouflage patterns.”
The new utility item is the throwing knife. “Imagine mowing down a crowd of Terminids and running out of ammo with only one bug remaining, no time to reload, so you dive backward and throw a hunting knife into its carapace right before it descends on you,” Baskin said, hyping it up.
There’s also a new booster called Experimental Infusion, which gives your stims the added bonus of boosting your movement speed and reducing the damage you take for a short time. And, as you’d expect, there are new capes, player cards, and emotes.
As with previous Premium Warbonds, expect Viper Commandos to cost 1,000 Super Credits. While you can earn Super Credits from gameplay and the Warbond itself, you can also buy them for real-world money. Via the in-game shop, 1,000 Super Credits costs $9.99. Premium Warbonds do not expire, so you can work your way through them at your own pace safe in the knowledge their items will remain available.
The announcement of Viper Commandos comes as many within the Helldivers 2 community speculate that Arrowhead is set to add a third enemy faction to the game. The suggestion is the Illuminate are set to enter the galaxy-wide war, adding a new front to the battle against the Terminids and Automatons.
Last month, Arrowhead revealed it is in the process of setting the studio up so it can “make more and better stuff” in the long-term. In an introductory post on reddit, CEO Shams Jorjani, who recently replaced previous Arrowhead CEO and current Chief Creative Officer Johan Pilestedt, said the studio has had to adjust to the enormous success Helldivers 2 has brought to the company.
PlayStation 5 and PC co-op shooter Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling PlayStation game of all time, having shifted an incredible 12 million copies in just 12 weeks since going on sale earlier this year. Amid the huge revenue Helldivers 2 has generated, Arrowhead itself has suffered a number of crises, including launch server problems and, most recently, a battle with Sony itself over the console maker’s controversial attempt to force Steam players to account link to PlayStation Network.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.