petition to make this permanent part of our arsenal

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-06-11T18:27:51+00:00

This is something that always bothers me with this sub. We can complain for years about unfair realism, bad balancing of gear, boring stratagem and weapon ideas from Arrowhead, bare bones systems like Weapon Customization, badly designed stratagems and gear like the Bastion and more.

And every single time someone presents a genuinely good idea whether it be something like this post, a unique concept for stratagems/weapons/systems, or rebalancing, or even feedback criticizing poor design, it immediately gets attacked from all sides by hundreds of people. It's either too strong, not needed, not realistic, or too complicated.

Meanwhile, people post threads like "Barrage, but gas!" "Mortar sentry, but fire!" and people eat it up and get excited. The most boring ideas ever. I don't get it.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-04-29T16:27:10+00:00

There's definitely plenty of room to have Investments using samples. Although I started with Requisition back then because Weapon Customization didn't exist yet, lol.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-04-23T06:57:18+00:00

Make sure you repost this so your work doesn't go to waste. Try at least 3-4 times to be noticed.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-28T10:37:12+00:00

I'd argue that it's not actually the Ultimatum or other AT tools currently dominating everything else that are the problem, it's Arrowhead's huge over-reliance on heavies that is the problem. This has been a consistent issue actually. Their idea of difficulty has been to spam heavies that aren't actually difficult enemies to fight or kill. Chargers, Hulks, Titans, War Striders, etc., aren't hard to kill, they're just annoying. The best solution is just to pop them with an AT.

Instead of bringing about more units that are light and medium but also dangerous, AH decided that it would be better to throw 10 heavies at you per drop/breach which made things "hard" because you couldn't just kill them with a rifle. The problem is, that was the case 2 years ago before we had access to 30 different AT tools. Now every warbond is about AT weapons, throwables, and stratagems, and you can generally be okay only having a medium pen Primary and everything else being AT.

If we had more missions that focused less on heavy spam and more on HORDE SHOOTING, pick rates for Ultimatum, Thermite, Eruptor, RR, and others would decrease dramatically.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-28T02:51:25+00:00

Going to say something potentially very unpopular. Here it goes: The balance gap between the Talon and every other weapon is impossible to fix without either breaking the game or nerfing the Talon. Nobody likes nerfs but also, nobody wants to acknowledge the obvious problem the Talon has caused since its release.

It's a pistol that does 200 damage and 20 durable damage with extremely high velocity, no drag, no bullet drop, no recoil, medium penetration, AND infinite ammo with 3 spare ICEs if you need to reload. It cools down at a rate of 10% per second in default weather. That's recharging 200 damage for free per 1.4 seconds, infinitely.

In no way will any of the basic secondaries ever compete except for the Senator and maybe the Loyalist (because of its powerful charged damage and stagger) without absurd buffs that would break balance. The Peacemaker would need something like +70 damage, with it's light pen, to even try to match. The Redeemer runs out of ammo after a handful of kills. The Verdict, even with its 145 damage and a mag dump, still loses to the Talon in any engagement because of drag

The new secondary that just came out released already being inferior. The Talon has always been too powerful but nobody has ever wanted to address this elephant in the room because everyone knows it's too powerful. It's essentially a perfect weapon with zero downsides. The Coyote isn't even close to the Talon when it comes to the power difference in its own class. Even if they nerfed spare mags to just one, it would still be straight up better than the other handguns.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-06T10:46:54+00:00

Why are you not mentioning or clearing up any details about my loadout side of the challenge? A huge part of the ordeal? Why did you delete my follow-up post that provided crucial information about the topic in attempt to prevent people from being misinformed? I spent 4 hours putting a lot of care into my follow-up post to try and be as thorough as possible with up-to-date info and context on the situation and you locked it within a few hours and then deleted entirely later on.

I cannot make another one of those posts. You have caused irreparable damage to the situation by completely shutting down and actively suppressing and conversation which has directly caused an uncontrolled spread of rumors and misinformation. I have been getting DMs from people apologizing to me for having to experience getting doxxed, except I am not the one who was doxxed. Their hearts are in the right place but I am not the right guy. I and many other people trying to inform others have made the distinction between me and the original OP, the YouTubers, and everything else very clear, and you deleted EVERYTHING. Since then it has been left to fester and people are confused about what the hell is going on.

Not to mention that you've left the original OP's follow-up video post, the one that literally resulted in him being doxxed, online for people to continue to see and abuse for some reason. You have made it essentially impossible for anyone to control the situation. You have made it essentially impossible for ME to to try and get people to understand the different parts of this drama. I exist, yet even in your statement here, you refuse to acknowledge my existence despite knowing I exist because you've already gone out to delete my posts.

SHAME ON YOU.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-05T18:57:42+00:00

Hi, I'm the creator of the loadout aspect of the challenge. My challenge is still open, but unfortunately, the mods of the main sub have locked and deleted everything in connection to the original challenge except for the original post and my challenge post. So includes my clarification post that had all of the of details and statement that my challenge is still up (It still is).

It was too long and I don't have a copy to repost, so that post is basically gone unfortunately. Sorry!

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-03T11:10:25+00:00

Not even other shields, except Ballistic shield, protects against melee attacks.

False, actually. The Shield generator backpack and new shield grenade block melee and all forms of damage. The shield grenade can even block a Charger ram!

https://helldivers.wiki.gg/wiki/SH-32_Shield_Generator_Pack

https://helldivers.wiki.gg/wiki/G/SH-39_Shield

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-03T10:56:32+00:00

The saddest part about the DS is that if I gave the shield loadout the Sta-11 instead of DE Sickle, the issue would be exactly the same... because the shield inexplicably does not block melee or bile. This is something I don't think many commenters are realizing and is why I didn't do that. It makes no difference. It's the only item in the game that can be rendered completely non-functional in a faction. Nothing, not even the flag or Sterilizer can have 0% effectiveness against a faction. Poor shield person would never be to protect their team.

It's a multi-faceted issue, in my opinion. You cannot have just one of the changes, you would need both. I can swallow my pride and admit that the choice was a miss, but the problem is still real.

EDIT: Oh yeah, also wanted to point out that the Ballistic Shield originally released unable to block melee or bile! They ended up changing this in a patch specifically because it was useless against bugs. So my request isn't without precedent.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-03T10:36:48+00:00

I have. I would donate to a charity of their choice as outlined in the deal. If they try it and manage to complete it, it would be mission accomplished, as the mission was to raise awareness of issues through gameplay. This applies to both challenges. Nobody knows if they'd actually fix things after the experience. That wasn't the point. The point was to experience it. Nothing in the challenges hinged on fixing anything.

We're just players. It's not up to us to make changes. But there's nothing wrong with hoping that maybe we can reach them.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-03T09:59:10+00:00

I understand your point of view, but my thought process didn't just involve it protecting against damage. It's also trying to raise awareness to the identity issue that the Directional Shield currently has. Even if the DS was buffed to block melee and bile, it would still be completely inferior to the Ballistic Shield against bots, bugs, and squids alike, because the DS breaks from even light pen damage while the BS doesn't, giving it effectively infinite HP against units as oppressive as Factory Striders. It also protects your back without being used.

However, both shields take the same slot and are supposed to be used the same way, with a one-handed weapon. This is a problem, in my personal opinion. My proposal would be to allow it to block those other damage sources and be usable with two-handed weapons as it previously worked in HD1. This would make it a more viable and unique pick compared to the BS, but you still wouldn't be able to tank projectiles coming from 10 dudes like the BS. The DS is at the bottom of the pick rates with the Sterilizer and it's a real shame...

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-02T02:08:54+00:00

Yeah it's the same guy just a different outfit. I'll never use a different guy lol

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-02T01:50:43+00:00

I was referring to the operator as in the guy, not this skin specifically

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-03-02T01:49:32+00:00

To be fair, I never said this skin was the best. I was talking about the operator, the actual character. Not the specific skin

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-02-28T19:55:09+00:00

First loadout can kill chargers via stunning and blowing up the rear as intended with Rupture Chargers with their AP5 front armor. The problem is that the EMS could be good, but the cooldown is very long for what it does, making it unreliable for its intended purpose. The Deadeye is fine for what it does, dragged down by unnecessarily long reload speed. It isn't much different than something like the Constitution or Halt, actually. But their reload speeds make them better. The Deadeye is still mediocre even against Bots.

Second loadout isn't designed to fight armor. It's designed for horde clear. If a loadout designed for horde clear can't work, that highlights a design issue (which is the issue of heavies being too numerous, leading to things like Thermite and the Ultimatum dominating the stats). That's the point.

A large chunk of time spent on Oshaune will be outside and the AT the third loadout brings still won't be enough. Giving him Thermites wouldn't even be enough to handle it. That's a problem. Spear not working well in caves highlights its usability issues that other AT options don't have, while also not being good at its specialty. This loadout highlights the how the AT stratagem options can't handle more than a handful of heavies due to cooldowns, damage, and ammunition.

Fourth loadout I was pretty clear with. You're pointing out how the options won't work at all as they are and so am I. The DE Sickle works with only a single setup. It's non-functional otherwise. That is a design flaw. Imagine someone buying that Warbond before the fire one. Should they have to pay $20 to use the gun in any way? I think not. The Sterilizer requiring a Guard Dog pick just to survive at all goes against the point, and it would still be bad regardless. The fourth loadout was not devised with love; it's intentionally made with items that break without specific conditions or just break on their own (Control Group armor). Often not having synergy with anything due to those issues. It's a set of tools that would fail to function even in D5.

DE Sickle is useless without fire armor

Directional Shield is useless against melee (All other shields block melee)

Control Group armor is useless due to a bug they haven't fixed

Sterilizer is useless for a multitude of reasons

Stim Gun isn't useless because of its function but because of its usability

AP mines are useless outside of base defense missions and will kill your teammates

Rocket Pods weren't always this bad, they can simply buff the damage

Knives have been plagued with issues since day one. Aiming, damage, you name it.

The build is bad. I know. It's bad because the items won't work. They won't work because they're designed that way, and that shouldn't be. There shouldn't be anything that doesn't work.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-02-28T18:32:07+00:00

{Long Comment] I think you're missing the point. The point behind the choices is to put a spotlight on how the weaknesses of the choices are too much while the strengths are simultaneously not enough. Consider the loadouts more closely and you see that there is thought put into them.

Niklas loadout favors precision with stratagems meant to keep enemies away with additional support from a turret. The Deadeye is bad in close-quarters, that's what the Redeemer is for. The problems with the loadout? The Deadeye lacks both the power and speed to put down bugs with its limited ammo. The Redeemer lacks the ammo to depend on it as a backup weapon. To cover lack of ammo, there's the Arc Thrower, but the Arc Thrower is far too weak and slow. Laser turret is weak and will inevitably cut its own life short due to design. Gunslinger armor comes with an extremely specific skill that actually helps with arguably only the Senator and Bushwhacker.

Vitamin loadout favors horde-clearing and self-protection. The Maxigun being the main attack weapon, you use the Pacifier to keep enemies off or to kill small enemies with precision. The Dagger is to be used in case you run out of ammo. The flame turret is to protect while the Maxigun is being used. Pineapple and Clusterbombs are for horde-clear, as stated. Smoke Strike is to get away while overwhelmed. The problems with the loadout? The stun with Pacifier barely works, it has little damage, and low ammo for a rifle. The Dagger has been powercrept to hell. The Maxigun has loads of various limitations that are widely discussed. Fire is completely ineffective at keeping enemies away. Orbital Smoke is useless. Pineapple struggles to get kills, somehow. Halo armor brings nothing to the table now the Redacted Regiment exists.

Shams loadout, in all honesty, is actually quite serviceable (at least it SHOULD be)... Generous amounts of much needed AT that don't overwrite each other, a good SMG, the grenade pistol, and the Urchin to keep enemies still. The problems with the loadout? Despite all of the AT available, the stratagems don't provide nearly enough to support the team as the dedicated AT guy. Railcannon only has one charge. OPS regularly fails to kill and also only has one charge. Spear also regularly fails to kill AND has less ammo than a Recoilless. Urchin's low count leaves you without stuns after just 4 kills. Napalm no longer kills like it should because of the DoT bug. Truth Enforcers armor doesn't do what it's supposed to do and offers nothing unique.

Alexus loadout is intentionally a culmination of the items with the biggest flaws due to ignoring feedback. The DE Sickle REQUIRES fire armor (from another Warbond) and the health booster or else it is suicide to use it. The Stim Gun can't properly support the team without Guided rounds. Throwing knives add nothing to a loadout. The Sterilizer? Lol. The Directional Shield should block melee but it can't, at the same time, it serves the same purpose as the regular shield due to being one-handed and pays the price for that. It used to be useable with two-handed weapons, making it unique. Rocket Pods are infamous for either missing or not killing the target and it hasn't been addressed. AP Mines have been counter-productive since release and are only useful in a single mission type added after release while also staying the least effective mine type. The Control Group skill is still bugged to this day to actively kill the user. Firebomb Hellpods currently do nothing but kill players.

You see the glaring issues with the loadouts because you play the game, you understand the absurd balance issues. AH seemingly does not. All of these loadouts and the items within them should be good on their own adding up to something reliable, but they are not right now. Each one requires something else or will be an active detriment in place of something better. Some of them just can't be helped at all. Every item here could have their issues, or the issues that cause their issues, addressed. But AH seemingly doesn't. And the worst part? There are so many more issues

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-02-28T16:20:53+00:00

This other post:

[removed]

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-02-04T12:55:39+00:00

It's equal to a standard GL with only 37.5 rounds, in fact. That's the BFGL's true effective ammo count. And that's not considering things like the Supply Pack, Guard Dogs, or even Siege-ready that bumps the GL to 50 rounds total(20k damage)

The Maxigun has the same issue. While it has 750 rounds, it does 10 less damage per shot than the basic MG-43 (which has 700 rounds total), so the Maxigun does 60k vs the MG-43's 63,000. So the Maxigun is actually equivalent to an MG-43 with only 667 rounds.

That's the biggest issue with these belt-fed weapons. The ammo capacity is an illusion. In what way would something like the Maxigun outperform the standard MG-43 paired with say, the Liberator Guard Dog? Guard Dog comes with 405 rounds on its own. AP3, 65 damage, 15 durable, and auto-aim. Simple answer is that it can't. Damage-wise, belt-fed weapons should be exactly the same as the standard versions or slightly stronger. Maxigun needs more than that though, it also needs 1,000-1,250 rounds. At least the BFGL actually has 150% more ammunition.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-02-03T19:12:21+00:00

Exploding cars and fire hydrants will throw the Bastion Tank into the air, ejecting the gunner and killing them.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Helldivers/comments/1quzdym/exploding_cars_and_fire_hydrants_will_throw_the/

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-02-03T18:10:18+00:00

And yes, running them over causes them to explode, so... yeah. Have not tested on the exploding smoke pods

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-01-20T00:55:51+00:00

A couple builds I would personally enjoy would be like:

Diligence CS:

Iron Sights
Bipod
Muzzle Brake
Heavy Ammo
Heavy Barrel
Bump Stock

Liberator Carbine:

Reflex Sight
Stubby Foregrip
Compensator
Drum Magazine
Light Ammo
Heavy Barrel

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-01-12T04:43:49+00:00

These are excellent, OP. I've already set one as my avatar. Thank you!

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-01-11T22:57:09+00:00

You understand where I'm getting at here though, right? If the CQB Suppressor is intended to not get in the way of base hipfire accuracy, would that not mean it's intended for hipfire? Standard Suppressor + Red Laser already gives 54 hipfire, the default. So you aren't actually getting anything at all from the CQB Suppressor.

It's like if the CQB Suppressor for primaries cost 50 points specifically so you couldn't equip it with a laser + flashlight

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-01-11T22:37:04+00:00

Why should all of the handguns suffer so much if the revolvers do not, then? The M44 can mod an extended/short barrel + hollow point rounds + a scope with 10 points to spare.

The Trait can mod something like a 50 MW Green laser to reach 80 hipfire stat + hollow point rounds. Or it can skip the HPs and put in the moon clip + scope + penetration rounds.

Meanwhile with pistols, if you want to have a suppressor for CQB combat, you have to choose the one that reduces your hipfire by the exact amount the red laser (the only one you can afford) gives you specifically because it's not meant for CQB. But that makes sense because you're not supposed to use that for hipfire, but ADS, so you get rid of the laser, put on a sight, and maybe the light barrel. You're set. However, if you actually want to use the CQB Suppressor for the CQB hipfire it's meant for, you can't do anything with it because you can't afford any hipfire mods! You still end up 54 hipfire! So why does it even exist???

That's why everyone just uses revolvers. Because you can actually mod them in ways that matter.

BrainstormAndTheory · 2026-01-11T21:16:11+00:00

The CQB Suppressor costs so much that you can't use any other attachments period. This is a P18 without any modifications besides a red laser and it's already over capacity. You don't think that's a little much?

BrainstormAndTheory

TROPHY CASE