Helldivers 2’s Commando Stratagem is Perfectly Balanced, as All Things Should Be

Highlights

• The Commando launcher in Helldivers 2 is balanced for specialized use, rewarding accuracy and strategic planning.
• Stratagems like the Commando encourage more thoughtful loadouts and unique strategies amongst players.
• Specialized stratagems like the Commando contribute to the long-term health of the game by promoting teamwork and variety in gameplay.

In a game with as many powerful and varied loadout options as Helldivers 2, sometimes stratagems get lost in the shuffle. Though some members of the community take issue with certain Helldivers 2 balance changes Arrowhead has been pushing through, they’re meant to encourage players to try different strategies and work with new tools. Experimenting with new ways to make the enemies of democracy explode is half the fun of the game.

But some stratagems require no balance changes out of the gate. Some fill their niche so well that they stay in that perfect sweet spot between “strong” and “situational.” No stratagem fits this mold better than the recently released Commando launcher. Coming out as a part of Helldivers 2‘s Viper Commandos warbond, the Commando set a high bar for future stratagems to live up to in terms of fun and balance.

The Commando Is a Highly Effective Specialist Weapon

The Commando is Perfectly Balanced for What It’s Designed to Do

Clearly taking its name from the classic Schwarzenegger action flick, the Commando is a rocket launcher that uses laser-guided missiles for enhanced aiming. While on paper this sounds incredibly overpowered, it’s actually balanced by its expendable nature; the Commando operates as a slightly upgraded version of the expendable anti-tank (EAT). Once all four shots are expended, the weapon is rendered useless, requiring another stratagem drop to keep using the weapon.

The Commando is a balanced weapon because of its limited use and modified damage. Each shot does less damage than an individual rocket from an EAT, but when the additional ammo is accounted for, each use of the Commando has more damage potential than each use of the EAT. Both weapons reward accuracy, but the additional damage potential with the Commando further incentives players to get good with their aim. The weapon even helps with that with its laser guidance systems, letting players hit more accurate shots at enemy structures at longer ranges.

Stratagems like the Commando Encourage More Strategic Loadouts

The Commando is most effective against single targets like chargers, hulks, devastators, tanks, and factory striders, but it hasn’t become an overbearing force in the meta of Helldivers 2. It’s not like the quasar cannon or the 500kg bomb where it’s constantly showing up in every players’ loadouts in every single match. It’s an incredibly useful stratagem designed to do one thing really well. And there should be more options like that in the game.

Certain stratagems are useful in many different situations, which makes them feel like must-haves when planning a mission. For example, the eagle airstrike can kill huge swarms of armored opponents and eliminate enemy structures like bug holes, shrieker nests, and bot fabricators. That all comes at a very low risk to the player; just throw the beacon and watch the sparks fly. It’s undeniably fun, but it feels so all-purpose that passing it up for a more specialist option can feel like an intentional handicap.

Stratagems like the Commando are great for the long-term health of the game. Specialized use cases encourage players to actually think long and hard about what they’re taking into a match. It forces them to consider possible threats and how they’d like to deal with them specifically. Rather than just taking the four orbital/eagle strikes that cause the biggest explosions, maybe they choose a more tactical loadout: the Commando for anti-armor, the EMS mortar for point defense, the orbital walking barrage to provide covering fire, and the personal shield for some added damage resistance. All of those stratagems, like the Commando, do their one function exceptionally well, and with a full team of coordinated helldivers bringing in unique loadouts, there should not be any situation a team is ill-equipped to handle.