Helldivers 2 is buffing the iconic Eagle 500KG Bomb to the level it was "supposed to be" at all along: "Big booms should boom big"

Helldivers 2 intro cutscene helldiver thumbs up
(Image credit: Sony)

Arrowhead has revealed another of the incoming changes we can expect to roll out in Helldivers 2 tomorrow as part of its upcoming buff-heavy patch, and this one is set to make the iconic Eagle 500KG Bomb Stratagem even more deadly. 

In a short video shared to Twitter today, creative director Johan Pilestedt and design director Niklas Malmborg reveal that the radius of the big ol' bomb is getting larger, with Malmborg saying: "It is now what it's supposed to be." What do the devs mean by this? Pilestedt explains that the damage radius should match what "the visual explosion says that it should be," so if you ever felt like enemies were inexplicably avoiding damage from big blasts that they definitely should have been caught in, then you might have been right. 

With that in mind, you can expect the improved bomb to "blow up a lot of enemies," Pilestedt says. Malmborg adds: "Big booms should boom big," and I think many loyal Super Earth citizens would argue that that's what Helldivers 2 is all about. 

This is far from the only buff that'll be introduced in tomorrow's patch, with bug barbecuing officially back on the menu thanks to incoming Flamethrower improvements. But, while the update is the first step in Arrowhead's 60-day action plan to improve the game, community manager Thomas 'Twinbeard' Petersson previously said it won't be "the biggest patch of all time," even if it will push the game in "the right direction." The onslaught of buffs doesn't mean that there'll be no more nerfs, either – "of course there will" – but the upcoming update should make weapons feel "more viable."

Against all odds, Helldivers 2 players only just secure the fan-favorite Orbital Napalm Barrage Stratagem we missed out on earlier this month.

Catherine Lewis
News Writer

I'm one of 12DOVE's news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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