2 December 2025

Helldivers 2 Reveals Patch Notes for December 2025 Update

By newsgame

Arrowhead Game Studios has officially launched Helldivers 2‘s 5.0.0 update, revealing numerous bug fixes, balance changes, and the new Python Commandos premium warbond. The update continues to build upon Helldivers 2‘s Into the Unjust content, which added Terminid hive worlds to the title in September 2025. Helldivers 2 was originally released on February 8, 2024, and is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

In recent months, Arrowhead Game Studios has been on a mission to improve the performance, optimization, and stability of Helldivers 2. At one point, Game Director Mikael Eriksson acknowledged that the popular third-person shooter was “starting to break at the seams” after continually prioritizing new content during development. While many players want to see fresh content added to their favorite live-service titles on a regular basis, a large portion of Helldivers 2‘s community had grown frustrated with the state of the game. On PC, the title’s file size expanded dramatically after launch and performance issues began to frustrate many players, some of whom claimed that they would be setting the game aside until major improvements were made. Fortunately, Arrowhead Game Studios seems to have heard its community and has taken a different approach to releasing updates in the last few months.

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Helldivers 2 Dev Comments on Next Game

A prominent Helldivers 2 developer comments on Arrowhead Game Studios’ next game.

Helldivers 2 Releases 5.0.0 Update

With the launch of Helldivers 2‘s December 2 update, Arrowhead Game Studios has released a new set of patch notes designed to give gamers a look at what they can expect to see when they boot up the popular shooter. Fans hoping to see some weapon improvements will likely be happy, as the SMG-37 Defender, SMG-32 Reprimand, M7S SMG, VG-70 Variable, M90A Shotgun, P-2 Peacemaker, P113-Verdict, and M6C/SOCOM Pistol have all received buffs to improve their overall damage output. The patch has also continued to address the numerous crashing issues Helldivers 2 players have been experiencing. The full patch notes, which will be listed below, also mention that the developers have fixed a humorous glitch that could cause Factory Striders to wildly fly into the air once defeated. Likewise, Hellpods that hit Factory Striders will no longer be stuck in the air once they are defeated.

The patch notes also mention that “Super Earth has detected strange signals from previously unmonitored worlds on the Galactic map,” which has many fans wondering what Arrowhead Game Studios could be hinting at. While this could be teasing something as simple as a new Major Order or fresh enemy units for one of the game’s existing factions, some players believe the developers could be preparing to release a whole new threat. With The Game Awards coming up on December 11, many fans have high hopes that Arrowhead Game Studios has something special planned. In 2024, Helldivers 2 shadow dropped its Omens of Tyranny update at The Game Awards, introducing the Illuminate faction to the popular shooter for the first time.

While the patch notes themselves don’t make any mention of it, the 5.0.0 update also includes Helldivers 2‘s Python Commandos premium warbond. Gamers who purchase Python Commandos for 1,000 Super Credits will gain access to some inventive new gear, including the M-1000 Maxigun, a belt-fed minigun with a very high ammo capacity. Fans of the shooter’s Guard Dogs may be pleased to learn that Arrowhead Game Studios is putting a new twist on the stratagem with the AX/FLAM-75 “Guard Dog” Hot Dog. This Guard Dog will follow the player around while torching any enemies who dare to get too close. Meanwhile, the CQC-9 Defoliation Tool is a fresh melee weapon that gives gamers the ability to cut down foes with a chainsaw.

In a recent Tech Blog, Arrowhead Game Studios shared some good news with PC players, as gamers can now participate in a beta meant to reduce the overall file size of Helldivers 2 on the platform. In the post, the developer stated that they “were able to reduce the PC installation size from ~154GB to ~23GB, for a total saving of ~131GB (~85%).” While this slimmer version of the popular shooter is currently only available to those who choose to participate in the beta, the developers have claimed that this will eventually become the default version of the game. Quite a few fans expressed excitement about the new version of the title, as it had taken up quite a bit of memory previously. With so much content to enjoy and even more on the way, many gamers are feeling optimistic about the future of Helldivers 2.

Into the Unjust: 5.0.0 Patch Notes

Release Captain Morris, coming to you this democratic Tuesday with an important update from High Command.

Super Earth has detected strange signals from previously unmonitored worlds on the Galactic map. The Ministry of Intelligence is investigating the source of the signals. Helldivers, be vigilant and hold the high ground.

Patch Highlights

For this patch, we have tackled a bunch of items from our Known Issues list, including audio issues, XP modifiers, and several crashes.
We have made more optimizations and improvements!
Balancing changes that raise weapon damage and fixes to weapon FOV.

Balancing

General changes

Decreased ergonomics penalty on magnifying scopes weapon attachments

The intent is to make magnifying scopes more a matter of preference by decreasing the penalty they impose on a weapon’s ergonomics (low ergonomics makes the weapons muzzle follow the crosshair slower).

Some of the Pistol ammo balance update

The intent with this change is to make some of the pistol rounds weapons more effective after the last pistol ammo re-balance that did make them more of a close range weapon.
The pistol rounds re-balance general intent is to make them more effective at close range while not more effective at long range then for example assault or marksman rifles

2x Tube Red Dot

Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-3) to (-1)

4x Combat Scope

Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-6) to (-2)

10x Sniper Scope

Decreased ergonomic modifier from (-9) to (-4)
APW-1 Anti-Materiel Rifle is also effected by this change so it will get an increased ergonomics from 26 to 31

Primary weapons

SMG-37 Defender

Increased damage from 100 to 110
Increased durable damage from 20 to 22

SMG-32 Reprimand

Increased damage from 135 to 140

M7S SMG

Increased damage from 80 to 90
Increased durable damage from 16 to 18

VG-70 Variable

Increased durable damage 20 to 23

M90A Shotgun

Increased durable damage 15 to 20

Sidearms weapons

P-2 Peacemaker

Increased damage from 95 to 100
Increased durable damage 30 to 32

P-113 Verdict

Increased damage from 135 to 140

M6C/SOCOM Pistol

Increased damage from 110 to 125
Increased durable damage from 25 to 28

Enemies

War strider

Decreased force strength on grenade explosion from 50 to 30

Bile Spewer

Decreased force strength on artillery explosion from 50 to 30
Decreased force impulse on artillery explosion from 60 to 40

Stalker

Decreased force strength from 40 to 35 when a tongue attack hits the player

(Force strength is the value that decides if a player or enemy should stagger or ragdoll.)

Gameplay

Keybind options for quick weapon function:

New, unbound keybind options have been added for quickly swapping weapon functions (like changing fire modes or ammo).
The intent is to give players better ease of use, especially for weapons with multiple ammo types like the Halt, Autocannon, and the new “One Two” AR.

Updated First Person View (FPV)

We updated how First Person View (FPV) works with the intention of improving the aiming experience across different FOV settings (Field of view).
The intent is that the size and distance of the scope will be more consistent with different FOV settings.
We also updated how ergonomics works in FPV with the intent to make it more responsive.
Fixed instances of flickering textures in various city locations

Fixes

Crash Fixes & Softlocks

Fixed a rare crash that would occur when combat music would start
Fixed a rare crash that could occur during ‘Nuke Nursery’ mission
Fixed crash after hotjoining a game that just started where the existing players are using certain stratagems
Fixed a rare crash when enemies would fall through the ground
Fix rare crash on mission load

Weapons & Stratagem Fixes

Fixed an issue with the BR-14 Adjudicator, when aiming with the 10x scope on 200 m setting which would cause the model to disappear
Fixed a visual issue on VG-70 Variable during the reload animation when aiming down sights
Fixed a torso clipping issue with the CE-07 Demolition Specialist armor
Fixed pump-shotguns sometimes not showing a new shell being inserted on reload
PLAS-45 Epoch now correctly zooms in ADS mode, just like any other support weapon
Fixed display related to no ammo being shown for Infinite Ammo weapons
Fixed the VO (Voice Over) line for “no ammo” being played after pressing reload whilst using Infinite Ammo weapons
Fixed a small bug where supply packs were giving ammo without consuming a charge when dropped
Fixed a bug that locks stratagems after drowning while holding that stratagem ball
Fixed the red glow that would happen if the player would empty one or two magazines with MG-206 Heavy Machine Gun, M-105 Stalwart or MG-43 Machine Gun

Enemies

Factory Striders will no longer be launched to sky erratically when dying
Hellpods that hit Factory Striders will no longer remain in the air after the enemy dies
War Striders now detonate mines
Enemy presence around Cognitive Disruptor Towers is now cleared from the mini-map when the objective is completed
Chargers no longer speed up when exiting charge
Fixed Rupture Warriors getting stuck below Sentries
Added a medium-armored weak spot to the vents on the backside of the Bunker, AA, and Mortar emplacements. This was done so these structures behave similarly to other comparable defenses.

Miscellaneous Fixes

Fixed the terrain not being affected by explosions and the Entrenchment Tool (PS5 only)
Fixed a bug where the lights were missing/flickering on the Orbital Gatling
Fixed a thumbnail glitch in the Acquisition Center menu
Cryo-pods no longer clip into the Engineering Bay when playing the ship arrival cutscene
Fixed an armor gap affecting CE-27 Ground Beaker and CW-9 White Wolf whilst using the ‘Draw!’ emote
The UI will no longer show inaccurate objective info on the Mission Summary screen if the host has left the game
Fixed a bug whilst joining a non-host in a cross-play lobby.
Fixed the NPC technician’s neck sticking through their shirt
Mini-map fog of war effect while exploring caves no longer persists between missions
Soon-to-be Helldivers will no longer be stopped from progressing the tutorial if they die in the flag room
Fixed issue where the automaton grinder sludge would be affected by weathering even though it’s sealed behind glass
Fixed an issue where a missile inside the Destroyer’s hangar was misaligned. This dangerous act of asymmetry has been corrected. The undemocratic ship operator responsible for this disgraceful display of inefficiency has been promptly re-educated in a high-orbit correctional facility. Glory to the Office of Corrective Deployment!
Helldivers will no longer be locked out of the GATER when trying to get into the driver’s seat simultaneously
Fixed a bug with missing haptics when a controller disconnects or reconnects
Fixed an issue on a command bunker where there was a lack of collision

Optimizations

Optimized lights on Automaton VFX
Optimized physics of rock assets throughout the game to improve performance
Improved the way environmental effects such as sandstorms, blizzards, and acid storms apply their status effects for reduced impact on performance
Improved ADS weapon placement and behavior
Reduced the amount of camera clipping on weapons
Fixed texture details used for weapons while aiming down sights
Improved depth of field when ADS and whilst scopes are zoomed in
Fix for textures sometimes appearing low resolution even when memory is available (PC only)

Released: February 8, 2024
ESRB: Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
Developer(s): Arrowhead Game Studios, Nixxes
Publisher(s): Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation Publishing