As Helldivers 2 continues on its second year of content, Arrowhead Game Studios is working on a lot behind-the-scenes. After spending most of last year improving the technical state of the game, the team working on the bombastic co-op shooter wants to add more ways for players to progress in the game.
Right now, there are a few progression routes within Helldivers 2: character level, ship upgrades, weapon levels, and unlocking warbonds and stratagems. However, Arrowhead still wants to add new systemic ways to progress that feel satisfying without forcing players to just grind XP.
In a lengthy discussion on the game’s Discord server, Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani explained that he wants to bring “deeper systems/progression” to Helldivers 2, calling the addition of more progression options “a bit of a nobrainer”. Jorjani explained that the team is “slowly getting there”, but introducing brand-new systemic features is a very time-consuming process.
Some fans explained that they want to see Helldivers 2 receive a larger level cap, allowing players to get above level 200. However, Jorjani explained that increasing the max level doesn’t improve progression, it just extends it. “It’s not just about increasing the cap – we want to add some meaningful progression beyond just grinding for XP,” the CEO said.
Jorjani explained that Arrowhead has specifically hiring developers who know how to build deep systemic game systems to improve the progression of the co-op game. While Arrowhead has added systems such as the weapon progression systems—which sadly does not effect all guns in the game—they also recognise the need to hire developers who know how to design deep systems.
“Building good systemic gameplay requires a specific design skillset,” the CEO said. “As a whole our studio has been a bit more focused on content over systems. So hiring for that skillset is something we’ve been doing but it takes time.”
Some fans also brought up the idea of Call of Duty’s Prestige system to the CEO, suggesting that players could reset their levels and start unlocks again for some minor rewards and a lot of reputation. While the CEO did not agree with the idea for Helldivers 2, they did say they “think its good if you have a fun progression system”. Judging by their comments on the current HD2 progression, that likely means we won’t see a prestige mechanic anytime soon.
These huge systemic changes that Arrowhead wants to bring to Helldivers 2 are not very surprising. While the core gameplay is fantastic, the studio has been adamant that this is a game they want to last for a very long time, and a deep progression system is what keeps players tied to MMOs, open-world games, and others for so long. Right now, HD2 survives as fans grind from warbond to warbond, but it’s clear that Arrowhead wants more.
In the past, Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt has explained that the goal with the game is to add “sequel-level features” to turn the game into an eventual Helldivers 3, although Arrowhead does already have ideas for what a true sequel would add.
Pilestedt explained that sequel-level features are anything “that really accentuates the Galactic War and the scale of the conflict that the players are in”. Does that include a deeper progression system? Yes.
