PSA: The Downsides of Reinforcing in Helldivers 2

Highlights

• Reinforcing in Helldivers 2 is crucial for survival, but it can lead to frustrating moments when players respawn far from their goals.
• Samples are shared amongst all players, encouraging teamwork to collect resources before the mission’s time limit expires.
• Players must rely on teammates to be Reinforced back into the game, emphasizing the importance of waiting for a safe respawn location.

Helldivers 2 is at times a rush of adrenaline racing away from insurmountable mobs and at times a quaint jaunt through a ravaged yet beautiful landscape while attempting to collect resources. But no matter what players get up to once they land, there’s sure to be a ton of inadvertently hysterical moments they experience between each mission objective. No sooner than when players drop in are the chances of termination sky-high, whether players are cut down in a hectic frenzy of friendly fire or by some mechanical or insectoid monstrosity, and calling in Helldivers 2’s Reinforce Stratagem is inevitable.

This Stratagem works like many others in Helldivers 2—players must input a directional button code and then toss an item in their hand for the player to be summoned to that drop position. This is currently the only way players can be revived during a match with others and makes relying on teammates vital for success in the Galactic War. Unfortunately, not every random queue of players may want to work together harmoniously on every task in Helldivers 2 and that’s when Reinforcing can become rather tedious for the player being revived.

Reinforce Stratagems Twist the Knife in Helldivers 2

Reinforcing Can Separate Players from Their Goals in Helldivers 2

The worst instance of Reinforcing fallen squadmates is when a player calls in their Reinforce Stratagem when they’re as far as they could be from them, particularly if that fallen player was attempting to complete an optional objective. It can be demoralizing spawning nowhere near that part of the map and deciding if it’s even worth it to trek back there or not, all while hoping to oneself that other players will eventually make their way over to it before it’s forgotten about or there’s no time left to complete it.

If someone was killed on one end of the map and is now dropped back in on the opposite end, it’s also incredibly tedious if not downright impossible to retrieve the items they had dropped. In some cases that might only be a Guard Dog or Jump Pack they can eventually summon again or a common sample someone else might retrieve elsewhere, but it is fairly detrimental if that player was holding onto a bunch of rare samples and now has to wait a while before they can accumulate those pieces of equipment and resources again elsewhere.

Sometimes Reinforcing far away means the team won’t extract with nearly as many samples as they might have, though some players may only be concerned about the medals they’re awarded for mission completion and the XP they receive afterward.

Reinforce Stratagems Encourage Constant Teamwork in Helldivers 2

All Helldivers Prosper When Spreading Democracy Together

Fortunately, samples are shared amongst all players and therefore the entire team is rewarded when everyone is inclined to explore before the mission’s time limit expires. In essence, the strict parameters of Reinforcing discourage players from drifting away on their lonesome, but a lazy or oblivious group of players might not end up getting everything done that they could have and easily lootable sample rewards in Helldivers 2 will be left abandoned. That said, players don’t have a say in the matter and must be Reinforced if they want to revive.

Because Reinforcing is the only way back, players depend wholly on others choosing to hastily punch that directional key prompt and send them diving back into play. However, doing so carelessly might mean players are landing in equally precarious areas and get eliminated as soon as they respawn, such as if they appear right as Helldivers 2’s Eagle Cluster Bomb drops or a Charger comes barreling toward them. It’s often better to wait until players are clear of a mob or have reached an objective before Reinforcing so that everyone can recuperate and resupply together.