Helldivers 2’s First Big Update of 2025 Lets You Emote While Ragdolling Once Again, Tweaks Balance, and More

Arrowhead has released the first major update for Helldivers 2 in 2025, bringing significant changes to the gameplay experience.

Patch 01.002.101, available now, extends the duration of the gas status effect from spray weapons, restores the ability to emote while airborne or ragdolling, and includes numerous balance adjustments and bug fixes.

As Helldivers 2 approaches its first anniversary, and with the introduction of the Illuminate enemy faction revitalizing the game, players are eagerly anticipating the next chapter in the ongoing Galactic War narrative. The update's substantial size (over 5GB) has fueled speculation among fans about the inclusion of new content beyond the stated balance changes and fixes.

One particularly noteworthy fix deserves special mention:

Fixed a small visual bug with the Stalker’s tongue (you don’t want to know what it took to fix it).

Helldivers 2 Update 01.002.101 Patch Notes:

Balancing

General Changes:

• Increased the duration of the gas status effect from spray weapons from 6 to 10 seconds.
• Implemented a timer for Illuminate dropship wreckages to despawn, preventing path obstructions in colonies.

Helldiver:

• The Ministry of Humanity has amended its Principles of Correct Posture for Safe Lifting, allowing Helldivers to jog while carrying two-handed items (barrels, SEAF Artillery Rounds).

FRV:

• Helldivers are now authorized to deploy grenades and stratagems while leaning from the FRV.
• FRV handling has been tuned for improved cornering.

Sidearms:

• Increased starting magazines from 2 to 3.
• Increased spare magazines from 4 to 5.

Stratagem Support Weapons:

• TX-41 Sterilizer:
  • Removed crosshair drift recoil.
  • Decreased camera climb recoil.
  • Increased the duration of the gas status effect from spray weapons from 6 to 10 seconds.

Armor Passives:

• Following player feedback, the bug with the Siege Ready Armor Passive (granting extra ammo to all magazine-based weapons, not just primaries) remains unfixed. The Armory description will be updated later; further evaluation is underway.

Backpacks:

• AX/TX-13 “Guard Dog” Dog Breath: Reworked to improve effectiveness and maintain its unique gas-based mechanics.
  • Preserves ammo by prioritizing enemies unaffected by gas.
  • Targeting logic improved to prevent excessive roaming; targeting originates from the Helldiver's position.
  • Increased targeting range from 10 to 20 meters.
  • Increased the duration of the gas status effect from spray weapons from 6 to 10 seconds.

Stratagems:

• MD-6 Anti-Personnel Minefield:
  • Decreased cooldown from 180 to 120 seconds.
  • Increased damage from 350 to 700.
  • Increased mine deployment spread by 20% to reduce chain explosions.
• MD-I4 Incendiary Mines:
  • Decreased cooldown from 180 to 120 seconds.
  • Increased damage from 210 to 300.
  • Increased mine deployment spread by 20% to reduce chain explosions.
• MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines:
  • Decreased cooldown from 180 to 120 seconds.
• SH-20 Ballistic Shield Backpack: Now blocks melee attacks until destroyed.

Fixes

Resolved Top Priority Issues:

• Emoting is again possible while falling or ragdolling (fall damage remains unchanged).
• Illuminate spawner ship shields now take impact grenade damage.
• Collision gaps within the Illuminate spawner ship are fixed, allowing grenades to destroy the ship.
• Health packs fully restore Helldiver stims.
• High-damage weapons now detonate spawned Hellbombs.

Crash Fixes, Hangs, and Soft-Locks:

• Fixed various crashes related to missions, hot-joining, emotes, fires, drop-in sequences, reloading, armor changes, and the tutorial.
• Addressed soft-locks during drop-in and while using the E/AT-12 Anti-Tank Emplacement.
• Reduced the likelihood of crashes caused by fires.

Social Issues & Matchmaking:

• Improved matchmaking logic for better regional player matching.
• Players are now more likely to be matched with lobbies of their selected difficulty.
• Fixed an issue where chat history was cleared after returning from a mission.

Weapons and Stratagems:

• Players can now remain in emplacements while using text chat.
• Arc weapons reliably hit Impaler tentacles.
• The E/AT-12 Anti-Tank Emplacement now has the correct armor penetration tag.
• Stratagem turrets no longer target Illuminate Tesla Towers.
• Fixed a visual bug with heat weapon progress bar numbers.
• Melee weapons no longer send objects flying excessive distances.
• The B-1 Supply Pack again provides stims to other players.
• Fixed a bug where players could get stuck in the E/AT-12 Anti-Tank Emplacement.

FRV:

• FRVs are reinforced following impact testing; minor collisions no longer cause explosions.
• FRV camera improvements for visual appeal and to prevent underground sticking.
• Reduced the chance of FRVs spawning on rooftops.
• FRV movement keybindings now support non-QWERTY keyboards.
• Fixed a bug where enemies were launched too far by the FRV.

Helldiver:

• Fixed issues with ragdolling into the FRV, climbing over cars, sliding after blasts, and stuck prone gliding animations.
• Helldivers now play correct pick-up animations.

Enemies:

• Fixed a visual bug with the Stalker’s tongue.
• Enemies now react to missed shots.

Miscellaneous Fixes:

• Fixed audio issues, issues with Helldivers exiting the hellpod, civilian pathfinding, and the “floating head” syndrome.
• Addressed a bug where weapons with lower armor penetration than the target's armor dealt 1 damage instead of 0.
• Enemies now sink into the ground when killed near terminals or the extraction point.
• Reduced occurrences of purple question marks in Illuminate missions.

Known Issues

Top Priority:

• Black box mission terminal may be unusable if clipped into the ground.
• Balancing and functionality adjustments for DSS.
• Pathfinding issues in Evacuate Colonists Illuminate missions.
• Dolby Atmos does not work on PS5.

Medium Priority:

• Players can get stuck on Pelican-1’s ramp.
• Explosives can cause ragdolling of hidden Helldivers.
• Capes do not display correctly in the Armory.
• The “This is Democracy” emote may unintentionally send players on spacewalks.
• AX/TX-13 “Guard Dog” Dog Breath does not show when out of ammo.
• The Barrager Tank turret has incorrect armor values.
• Higher zoom functions do not work correctly with the LAS-5 Scythe.
• Weapons with a Charge-up mechanic may exhibit unintended behavior.