While speculation about Helldivers 2 content is often sourced from little more than leaks and datamining, it’s rare to see Arrowhead Studios dropping so many hints. Yet, when it comes to slapping bugs with greatswords, these devs seem as eager to see it happen as we are.
One member of the Arrowhead team, community manager Twinbeard, really likes the idea of melee. Responding to speculation online as early as late February—a mere two weeks after the release of Helldivers 2—Twinbeard responded to a Diver excited about what is next to come in the newly-released game: “If you or I could look into the.. heads of our devs, I’m sure we’d find dozens of ideas. More melee? Who knows?!”
On April 15, Twinbeard talked about the Warhammer series’ Bolters not likely to make it into the game, but “Bolters or IRL-equivalent in general” could be on the docket, and “Melee weapons” were “plausible!”
As expected from a community manager on such an audience-driven game, Twinbeard has commented quite a bit on this topic—no less than five times—in response to Divers’ speculation. For example, he posted a relatively recent comment in the Galactic War chat: “Melee weapons could be plausible” but “Lightsabers from Star Wars would not.” And another mentioning he likes the “melee touch” of a bayonet-mounted weapon. If that wasn’t enough, on April 6, he posted that “Melee is still branded plausible” in a response to a Diver asking about melee weapons and armor dying—with a winking emoji. Other community managers in the Helldivers 2 Discord don’t tease as often as Twinbeard, but nobody has shot down the idea.
One community manager mentioned the biggest problem with slapping bugs with swords: “Hard to last long enough to use a melee weapon [in Helldivers 2].” It’s going to be a difficult balancing decision since the game’s enemies are universally high damage. Buffing defense while holding a melee option could lead to further armor disasters, like the recently fixed Armor Value bug. But without a defense buff, melee weapons would probably not feel incredible—as you walk into a Bile Spewer’s embrace and disappear from the planet instantly.
That fact isn’t enough to stop the waves of support for melee flooding in from the community. From Discord users begging for Warhammer Chainswords to enthusiastic posters getting kill streaks with gun-butts in protest, many Divers are looking forward to these little hints becoming reality.
