The new Democratic Detonation warbond is here and without a word to our brave Helldivers, Arrowhead Studios added new ship upgrades. The upgrades will surely poke a massive hole in the coffers of the Super Destroyer but at least we have reason again to go back to the samples grind.
This article will inform you about these upgrades and their potential impact on our arsenal. As usual, the importance of these upgrades greatly relies on the Helldiver using them. A universally accepted “good” ship upgrade is meaningless if it isn’t used.
Helldivers 2 Tier 4 Ship Modules
I haven’t unlocked all the ship upgrades to say with certainty what they will all cost but from the one I managed to previously fully upgrade, the cost for the Tier 4 modules are in the ballpark of:
- 150 Common Samples
- 150 Rare Samples
- 15 Super Samples
- 25,000 Requisition Slips
Superior Packing Methodology
Upgrade Effect:
Resupply boxes refill Support Weapons with the maximum number of carriable magazines.
This is one of the better upgrades to have for many reasons. Usually, weapons like the Railgun only load 10 shots from resupply packages. With this upgrade, you can reload all 20 shots with one resupply pickup. More importantly, you’ll fully reload SPEAR and Recoilless Rifle backpacks with one pickup when previously you’d only regain 2 and 3 shots respectively.
Atmospheric Monitoring
Upgrade Effect:
Orbital HE barrage spread reduced by 15%.
The Orbital 120MM & 380MM HE Barrages are good for two things: destroying large Automaton bases and killing your teammates. And I can argue that it is far better at the latter than the former. I can’t say how useful this upgrade is going to be. Sure, the smaller spread is very much appreciated but isn’t the entire point of the 380MM barrage destruction over a wide area? Unless you really want to pound a small area to dust, I’d say you’re better off landing the stratagem dead center of your intended target and pray it destroys everything that needs to be destroyed.
XXL Weapons Bay
Upgrade Effect:
Eagle stratagems that drop multiple bombs will drop 1 additional bomb(s).
If you love hearing Eagle 1’s soothing voice over the radio, then you have every reason to pick up this upgrade. More bombs mean more area coverage, and in the case of the smoke strike, a wider area that’s blind to your movements. Unfortunately, this also means more cluster bombs and more reasons for your teammates to shoot you in retaliation. (Don’t shoot the messenger, please.)
Enhanced Combustion
Upgrade Effect:
Fire damage from Stratagems increased by 25%.
Fire-based weaponry has always underperformed in terms of their kill potential. Even with the recent 50% buff to all fire damage, it seems the only things that cook quickly are Helldivers who fail to stim within a split second of getting set on fire. With this upgrade, you may be able to fight more than just 1 Charger with a full canister of a flamethrower. But don’t quote me just yet. I just hate that you have to unlock Power Steering first.
This upgrade only affects the Flamethrower, Eagle Napalm Airstrike, and Incendiary Mines stratagems. It will not make your Breaker Incendiary any more OP than it already is. The same goes for the incendiary grenades.
Circuit Expansion
Upgrade Effect:
Lightning arcs, fired from weapons and turrets, jump to one additional enemy.
This upgrade is a little tough to swallow. Those of us who remember what the Arc Thrower was before its range and rate of fire were nerfed, know it can relied upon for crowd control and anti-armor alike. Nowadays, the Arc Thrower is a shadow of its former self. Hopefully, this upgrade can set it on a path toward redemption.
The Tesla Tower is cool and all but multiple friendly fire incidents have discouraged me from ever bringing it out of storage. An upgrade that increases the targets per arc is asking for trouble.
Blast Absorption
Upgrade Effect:
Sentries take 50% less damage from explosions.
I consider this a luxury upgrade in the same vein as the ‘Advanced Construction’ module. The upgrade mostly helps against the Automatons as their Rocket Devastators tend to make quick work of turrets. Another thought came to mind when I remembered that mortar sentries also destroy other turrets very quickly. This may help with that. But I doubt it.
How effective is this going to be on the Terminid side? As effective as a Charger charging into a turret upgraded with Advanced Construction.
Despite the large resource commitment, I’m quite excited to grind for samples again. I’m not looking forward to repeating lower-difficulty missions and clearing the entire map but we all have to do what we need to do for the sake of upgrades. I really do hope we get ship customization sooner or later.
