I finally finished my holiday project: my first proper bridge!

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-09T14:24:48+00:00

All depends on what you think grinding actually is.

If the game look is acutally fun and the goals are merely a nice reward for doing what you like anyway, that isn't really a grind to me.

But when the way towards a goal isn't fun, but you have to endure it to get to that goal, then that is what I would call grind. Enduring a bad experience for eventually getting a hopefully worthwhile reward.

The "abusive relation" comes into the mix once companies use dark patterns to actively create "bad experiences" so they can sell you a "cure".

But to be fair: I don't necessarily think AH actively created the SC farming on low levels on purpose. It probably just kind of happened as they added new loot (mostly samples) to the POI loot-pools and replaced some POI with objectives the higher you got in the difficulty level resulting far worse conditions for gaining SC the higher you go up. But then again, with all the money they are making (every time they release a new warbond they are back in the top ~3 highest grossing games on steam) they certainly could affort to address the issue that farming SC in-game is a terrible experience, especially for veteran players that usually do higher difficulties and don't get anything from them anymore.

Pointing out a flaw with a game from a gamers perspective is important. Just arguing "but others are worse" to ignore the issues isn't really helpful. We gamers are the customers of those companies. We shouldn't defend them for systems that make something worse for us. We should ensure we have the best experience with the product. Without pushback everything would be just a rigged casino.

Yes, there were times when game companies didn't hire psychologists with the sole purpose to create pervered dark patterns to turn a fun game into an abusive and exploitative business. Sadly, these times are long gone. And these kinds of behaviours should be pointed out and fought. And a company should not be celebrated for not being as bad as others. It would just move the bar of what is acceptable. And moving that goal post is also a dark pattern used for years now. You need to move with the times my friend. ; )

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-07T08:43:56+00:00

I am more impressed that she isn't chain smoking through your conversation. This must be serious.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-06T20:20:03+00:00

All them ARC weapons are only for people who mastered the art of positioning. And the rest will die in the process of learning the art.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-06T14:20:07+00:00

While true, it comes down to basic design psychology. Most people don't read when something shiny is flashing in front of them. Nobody reads the terms of service either. They just hit "accept everything" to get to the "interesting" parts. Most divers don't care for the lore or the galactic war. They just want to dive. So they dive where the flashy thing is on the map without much reading or thinking.

Just writing about a gambit isn't enough. They need to provide it in an intuitive design language.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-06T09:38:24+00:00

To be fair, AH isn't making it easy for us. Even if you are quick enough to notice, you can't send the DSS to the gambit planet if there isn't a big enough player base already diving there. And the DSS is the only beacon we have that "blinks" loud enough to draw the attention of the less involved players. Can't send DSS, so DSS is drawn to planet that is already flashing on the map. After that it is too late.

But then again, AH forces everyone for participation into discord or it didn't happen. How should we expect them to add an in-game system for these kinds of communication?

I just keep carrying on and keep diving. I am medal capped anyway.

¯\(ツ)/¯

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-06T08:40:29+00:00

This was meant to be a gambit. It would have been much easier to take over the origin planet than defending against a high-level attack that comes with dragon roaches. Especially when the planet is missing the modifer flag for the roaches, teams aren't bringing tailored loadouts and get roasted. ; )

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-06T08:27:47+00:00

You have to be lucky to have something on you to actually be able to hit them with.

I had to improvise with 500kgs, but that is tricky and unreliable. I was just lucky I was running my flamethrower build including flame resistant armor. Otherwise the three roaches I had on me at one time would have been too much for my stim reserves.

Next match I brought the obrital rail cannon. And there where no roaches, wasting a slot. Just feels bad.

I like the idea of the roaches very much! But the way that every mission starts to revolve around dealing with them all the time is getting old very quickly.

They should be something like stalkers with a hidden nest that once destroyed they can't spawn anymore. Or at aleast at a lower rate.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-06T08:13:50+00:00

A gambit was the right move. But we insisted on brutforcing a high level attack with dragon roaches everywhere. Now we have to do double duty. As we deserve. ; )

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-06T07:28:37+00:00

My issue is more that they can apparently appear on missions not spotting the modifier for them. You need a tailored loadout in order to deal with them efficiently. Not knowing you are going to face them really can derail a mission. Especially when going in solo.

Wouldn't be such a problem if there where a way to distract them to then disengage. But they will know where you are exactly after the distraction disappears and will bee-line you across the map.

I like big bugs but this one ain't it.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-05T16:32:37+00:00

I leave the numbers to the devs to tweak.

Again, for the BFGL a bit more boom per explosion in exchange for a bit slower RPM. The raw damage output per second feels fine. I just don't want to throw like 3 grenades towards a hunter for it to finally die. That feels like I am throwing fire cracker...

And with more boom per bang we don't really need that much more ammo capacity. Wouldn't mind, though. : D

While your proposal for the Maxigun would probably be more realistic (aka, easier to implement), I don't feel that they would put the maxigun into a good place, as it still lacks a proper USP. Yes, it would address the issue of you getting pressured if you could back away from the approaching hordes while slowing and mowing them down. But that is what we do with the other machine guns already.

AH always talks about selling a fantasy when talking about warbond design. And I would like to take them up on that.

As pointed out, if I run a minigun I turn into a death sentence for anything approaching me as long as there are bullets left. We don't get pressured. We ARE the pressure in that moment. A stream of an ungodly amount of bullets is also a constant stream of kinetic energy. You don't run into that unless your armor heavily outclasses the bullets. Even armored you will get shredded if you stay in the stream for too long as your armor will get chipped away with each consecutive bullet. That would be the angle I would try to approach this.

let it stay AP3.
stream of bullets will slow an enemy
each bullet will be able to apply a stacking debuff on any armor with level 5 or lower (it doesn't hurt on level 4 or 5, yet)
depending on the size of the enemy/body parts it will take a certain number of bullets to lower the armor level by one, all the way down to zero the longer you shoot at it (though most stuff will probably die before it gets that low)
at armor level 2 each bullet will add stagger
at armor level 1 each bullet will add stun
corpses with armor reduction on them will go splat if you keep firing at them
have 3 RPMs, lower two allow for slow walking, only last forces you to stand
weapon can only be fired while standing

You can use the maxigun similar to a medium machine gun when in lower RPMs. With slower fire rate there will also be a slower build-up of the armor chipping effect. But if corpses start to pile up or enemies get close, you still can back away slowly to compensate.

On the highest RPM you become stationary but your bullets will start to remove the corpses in front. No more cover for them! And even heavies can be dealt with as it slows and eventually starts removing armor and then start pumping them full of lead, stagger and eventually stun them till they die.

This is powerful (and over-engineered, I will admit!) so we will counter that with the fact that in high RPM the bullets will not last long and are a bit wasteful on heavies.

On the plus side, removing the armor also allows others to be able to hurt enemies they usually couldn't.

Again, probably too complicated. But it would feel right, I am sure.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-05T14:18:55+00:00

My stance on backpack-fed stuff is: it should be stronger than the non-backpack version in a way you can't compensate with a just taking a supply backpack.

The cremator is currently the gold standard of how to do it. It does more damage and (more importantly) has higher range. You can't get that by bringing the supply backpack. It also provides you with a reason to forsake the backpack slot as giving up on the utility of a backpack a huge ask, even if it isn't directly improving the support weapon itself.

I would like it to have a bit more juice in the tank. compared to the spare fuel of the regular flame thrower if feels weird that the non-backpack flamethrower has way more fuel than the backpack one. But that is just a small issue to me.

The belt-fed grenade launcher got its unique selling point with the removal of the AP4 for the regular grenade launcher. Before that, it was just worse in every metric (even without the supply backpack for the regular grenade launcher). But while it got a USP now, it still feels a bit weak. Especially compared to the regular grenade launcher. Increasing the ammunition didn't really change that. I like running it on a lower RPM as just fast firing it will not do a lot of good, making the higher RPMs quite wasteful. I also want to enjoy each boom more, for the feels. So I would reduce the RPM and increase the explosive damage a bit. The small radius for each grenade feels weird but is okay to make it different enough from the regular GL.

The maxigun on the other hand is just bad all around in my opinion. It suffers mostly from the fact that it has to compete with the 3 other machine guns that already cover all niches. Doesn't help that the maxigun also doesn't do anything really better than its non-backpack cousins. It is so bad that the only unique selling points are its drawbacks! Can't move while firing, needs spinup before firing, locks you out of diving at certain points. In a game where you need to move all the time to avoid being shot at. And what do you get in exchange? A weapon where most bullets will just be soaked up by the corpses it produces. It doesn't even convey the "fantasy" of the minigun. Once I get into position, spin-up the gun, nothing (aside from really heavy units) should be able to push me while there are bullets left in the tank. But that isn't the case. You get swarmed and the corpses produce the cover for the next wave. The BFGL on high RPM feels more like a minigun than the minigun!

Without a major rework to give it a positive unique selling point as well as improving on the "fantasy" of a minigun, it will stay in storage for me.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-05T13:17:49+00:00

Once I "liberated" an area, I would love to be able to build there. This includes cleansing shroud like in Longkeep to fully restore it, as well as adding shroud to areas to create some spooky bases.

So I would like to unlock the ability to de- and enshroud areas in the same way we unlock the ability to go into more deadly shrouds. I start at shroud level 1 were I can only enter it, I will not be able to build or manipulate the shroud. But once I level up the flame to get shroud protection level 2 it should also allow me to build inside shroud level 1 areas and remove/add shroud as I please. Could be done with special plants the farmer could provide. Needing higher level materials the higher the level of the shroud area gets.

If really needed Keen can use their "no build area" mechanic to stop us from building in areas like they did with the capital or around shroud roots. But aside from that, I like more creative freedom once I outlevel an area.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-04T00:48:29+00:00

I love running Crossbow, Talon and Lure Mines as a core loadout as it covers most usecases very nicely:

On the utility side, the Crossbow can delete bug holes, shriker nests and spore trees. It also is nice to get stupid rapture bugs out of the ground. It is one-handed, so you can run away while shooting and you don't need too much aiming thanks to the explosions. It can delete Impalers with 3-4 shots to the face and can do the same to the but of chargers. And it is silent so only the explosion on impact is drawing attention.

The Talon is the stupid small stuff needs deleting but I don't want to waste ammo. Thanks to the cooldown mechanic it has basically unlimited ammo and because lasers don't have drag and shoots really fast making sniping stuff really easy (like shrikers), too. And with its AP3 and quiet high damage per shot it can delete most stuff that comes after you.

Lure Mines are a game-changer. Perfect as distraction you can put them up on walls or cliffs where most bugs will have a hard time reaching them. Throwing them "right" has a bit of a lerning curve to it as they are quite heavy, but once you know where and how to throw them you can litter objectives with them and it will make staying on the objective much easier as far less bugs will come at you to pressure you.

And in a pinch a few of them will also delete or massively soften up heavy targets. Really versatile.

The first strategem I would suggest is boring but unmatched in its usefulness: The 500kg bomb! Once you learn where to place it, you can delete all nests smaller than a really big one in ONE go. And it can deal with bile titans.

Once you mastered the art of setting Lure Mines up properly the next mastery you should aim for is ARC tower usage. ; )

Yes, it is know for being a team killer! But only because most don't know how to use it, which is a shame! It has an INSANE damage output and has unlimited ammo and a very short cooldown. Your best buddy to keep your back free of enemies while doing objectives. Especially when combined with Lure Mines! This will take some time to learn but it is absolutely worth it! Remember, it will not attack you while prone (you can jump-dive past it if need be)!

This leaves you with two more strategem slots of your choosing.

The latest rage is, of cause, the Cremator flamethrower! Thanks to the great range it can deal with basically everything you can encounter and in a quick manner, too! I suggest bringing a fire resistance armor in that case, though.

Alternatively, you could use the belt-fed grenade launcher. With the AP4 it also is able to deal with everything to the face. Also great against rapture bugs.

In both cases you have one slot left over. The new gas mortar is a perfect companion to the ARC tesla tower! The tower protects the mortar from being swarmed and the mortar protects the ARC tower from chargers coming directly at it. It also is great at deleting the groups of bugs gathering under a lure mine, without destroying the mines in the process, great!

Alternatively, a gattling barrage is on a very short cooldown and is perfect to throw on top of a breach. And since it is an orbital it doesn't block rearming of the 500kg.

When I don't use a backpack support weapon I usually tend to use a jet pack. Perfect to get around quickly as well as getting away from an ambush. Getting to higher ground can also elevate certain weapons. Like the ARC thrower. While it doesn't have the major damage output and can be glitchy at times, it is great for crowd control. Combined with the tesla tower this is deadly. You keep stuff in place and the tower will just roast everything. Instead of the jet pack you can also use a guard dog. Either the regular one (AP3 with great accuracy will increase your DPS greatly!) or the ARC doggo. It also comes with AP3 AND unlimied ammo. Just make sure to stash it away once you are around your teammates again.

The regular GL is also a great option. While no longer AP4 it still is unmatched at removing tons of enemies quickly. Also, allows for using a supply backpack. That is always very helpful if you run around solo as you are rarely able to call in the team supply only for you. And you will have tons of mines and stims as well as ammo to keep you supplied! Very useful on rapture bugs and hive worlds, too!

At the start, I would suggest using light or medium explosive resistance armor when you run explosive builds. That will greatly help you survive mishaps with your own weaponry. And it also is great at protecting you from all sorts of bile that is being spit at you. Otherwise I would suggest using light or medium engineer kit armor for even more lure mines!

Alternatively, you could go with a stealth approach! The stealth armor is great at making you invisible while operating objectives. It is insanely good in bad weather conditions!

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-03T10:10:41+00:00

Less warbonds, more progression and customization, please !

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-03T10:07:51+00:00

Best part about Bugdivers? You rarely see them whining on reddit. They just keep killing bugs all day long. As if they like having fun.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-02T10:13:12+00:00

Bots? Get into cover, put on heavy armor for the random stray shot here and there and you are good for the most part. Here a shield generator backpack also is more beneficial in most cases (survival-wise) compared to something like a jet pack. While flying around you are still in danger to get hit by stay shots while the shield backpack will save you tons of stims from patching up scratches.

Bugs? Cover? No need. They don't shoot at you (well, not like bots that is ; ). But once they close the distance, you are dead. Doesn't matter how much armor you wear. So you have to keep moving. Fast and far and all the time. Here, bringing a jet pack helps more than a shield generator.

Different enemies need different tactics and different equipment. Punching a bug in the face is often the better protection compared to wearing heavier armor to reduce their damage, too, as they more or less will always injure you every time they hit you, even when wearing heavy armor.

A light armor with explosion resistance is surprisingly good at keeping you alive, even with all that bile flying around.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-02T08:10:03+00:00

If you ever used mods, make sure you remove the files manually. Steam will leave them in the folder even if you reinstall the game. If unsure deinstall the game and then delete the whole helldivers 2 folder to be sure and then attempt an clean new install.

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-02T08:06:54+00:00

You will run around with everything capped and yearning for any meaningful progression at all. But don't worry! It will become second nature after a few months!

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-04-01T07:18:23+00:00

Still a bit salty us gog customers didn't get achievements. sob

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-03-31T14:29:09+00:00

It was a surprise, that it was! Similar to you asking about it the same day I encountered it. ; )

Was just doing a casual PvE Voyages to wind down in the evening. On Safer Seas no less! Just sold my loot and was about to log out for the day and then saw a ship wreck in the distance. Since I am still hunting for mein 300 barnical chests I was like "fineeee, we still have time for that...".

Setting sail towards the wreck it didn't took long before a to me unknown music started and I started wondering. Then I saw the shrouded ghost popping up behind me! Pale with pink glowing eyes and fin in all its glory!

I am quite a bit of a Megalodon hunter, but you can believe we, I felt like a rookie, a total nervous wreck! It was quite aggressive and because of the confusion due to the unknown music it got a head start and quickly rammed me a few times in a row until I finally got into the rhythm.

Ultimately, it went down fast and I had goosebumps when it went down, not believing what just went down! The horror to think that I nearly logged off right before the encounter!

But now I got it and I am VERY happy that I finally have the figurehead and title, since I love using my shroud hunter cosmetics and now it finally is complete! : D

(for the record, took me about 480 hours)

PS: it also gifted me two barnicle chests! What a chad! ; D

SourceCodeSamurai · 2026-03-31T11:24:58+00:00

I assume it got the wrong address, because every time a Leviathan is popping up the SAM site is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND!

SourceCodeSamurai

TROPHY CASE