u/Blackinkwolfy

I think Helldivers 2 does not use its difficulty levels as well as it could.
I do not think high difficulties should be nerfed. The game needs brutal levels for players who want that kind of challenge. But the progression should be clearer about what each difficulty is supposed to represent.

Difficulties 1-2 is an introduction.
Difficulties 3-4 add a bit more pressure and variety and heavy unit.
Difficulties 5-6 are a good middle ground, especially because from 6 onward you can start getting Super Samples.

The problem, in my opinion, comes after that. Difficulty 7 should be the first “complete” version of Helldivers 2. I mean that at difficulty 7 you should see the full language of the game, all enemy types (Which already exists, if I’m not mistaken), all nest/base types, all secondary objectives and mega bases.
The difference between 7, 8, 9 and 10 should be pressure, enemy density, required coordination and rewards.

In short:
Difficulty 7 should teach you the whole game.
Difficulty 8-10 should test if you can survive the game at its most extreme.

This way, players who want to play more casually, with randoms, or without treating the game like a competitive job can still experience the full game. Players who want the maximum challenge still have the higher difficulties, with more chaos and better rewards for samples, XP, requisition, medals and mission completion bonuses.

The game should also communicate better when you can still play solo, when you need a squad, and when you need a competitive level team.
1-6: playable in solo, chill, meme and roleplay.
7-9: recommended for squads, even random squads.
10: recommended for coordinated squads.

Could this be a solution to make all players happy and allow for a better gameplay experience without taking anything away from anyone?

People often ask for an endgame, but the real question is: what kind of endgame should it be?

Ship upgrades are not the definitive solution to the endgame. Sooner or later, they reach a final point. For new players, there are a lot of them, but for long time players, new upgrades are unlocked almost immediately, and shortly after that we’re back to square one. On top of that, constantly adding permanent upgrades could also create balance problems in the long run.

In my opinion, AH should focus more on systems that continuously consume resources, medals, samples, and requisition credits.

For me, there should be one more reason to drop into missions, beyond liberating planets, simply supporting the galactic war, and helping other players. Not something you unlock once and then forget about, but something that makes you use your resources even after completing the main upgrades.
We’ve already seen several interesting projects in the field, napalm enhanced orbital Gatlings, EMP barrages, the DSS's Peace Star, and other similar ideas. I think AH could use systems like these to make us spend resources and contribute to temporary upgrades, events, or bonuses tied to the Galactic War.

Boosts should also be reworked. Right now, people almost always use the same four, hellpod ammo, stamina, health, and enhanced stims. Simply giving everyone two Boosts each doesn’t seem like a good idea to me, because it would risk breaking the balance.
However, there could be a system where the host can spend requisition credits, medals, or samples to activate an extra Boost, valid only for that mission. This way, resources would have more value, less used Boosts could become more interesting, and there would be a concrete reason to keep collecting materials even after unlocking everything, as well as donating them to the DSS.
The same idea could apply to temporarily enhanced stratagems. I’m not talking about permanent buffs, but variants tied to resource consumption, napalm Gatlings, barrages with EMP effects, limited upgrades, and so on.

Obviously, this would need to be done carefully, because the game already has delicate balance and not everything can be enhanced without consequences. Still, I believe an endgame based only on new permanent ship upgrades cannot last forever.

In my opinion, the best direction would be to make resources more important and give more value to Boosts and other events that players themselves can activate.
This way, we would have one more reason to play, collect resources, and contribute, without always having to wait for the next batch of ship upgrades.

Of course, I haven’t forgotten that additional stratagems and variants were probably also designed to make the GW itself more interesting through events and other systems. The main point of this post is to give an idea, but also to say that we need to be careful with that idea, so it doesn’t damage the developers’ vision or the way they want to move the project and story forward.

What do you think?