The developers at Arrowhead Game Studios are working hard at chipping away at the long list of known issues in Helldivers 2 and Patch 01.002.101 from Feb.4 brings major changes to the game, greatly reducing that list.
Main changes with Helldivers 2 patch 01.002.101

The main changes to Helldivers 2 with patch 01.002.101 involve gas weapons, the AX/TX-13 “Guard Dog” Dog Breath backpack, the MD-6 Anti-Personnel Minefield, the SH-20 Ballistic Shield, FVR, and the Siege-Ready Armor Passive.
Spray weapons and the TX-41 Sterilizer
All spray weapons had their status effect time increased from six to 10 seconds, but the Support Weapon TX-41 Sterilizer received some special attention from the devs since, aside from greatly benefiting from the adjustment, it also had the crosshair drift recoil removed and had the camera climb recoil decreased.
Guard Dog Backpack
Five backpacks were buffed, but the AX/TX-13 “Guard Dog” Dog Breath was completely reworked. It will now move on to other enemies after affecting a target with the gas. It will be much more effective by “only prioritizing enemies unaffected by the gas status effect.” Before the patch, it would focus all its gas ammunition on one enemy, making it basically useless.
Here are some other changes to the AX/TX-13 “Guard Dog” Dog Breath:
- The targeting logic has been reworked to prevent the drone from roaming too far.
- The origin of the targeting will be from the Helldiver’s position rather than the drone itself.
- The targeting range has been increased from 10 to 20m.
- The duration of the gas status effect from spray weapons has been increased from six to 10 seconds.
Stratagems
The MD-6 Anti-Personnel Minefield, MD-I4 Incendiary Mines, and MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines had their cooldown decreased from 180 to 120 seconds, but the MD-6 Anti-Personnel Minefield had its damage doubled from 350 to 700 and the MD-I4 Incendiary Mines damage increased from 210 to 300 and had the deployment spread of mines has been increased by 20 percent to minimize the risk of chain explosions.
The SH-20 Ballistic Shield Backpack also received some changes and will also block melee attacks aside from the usual weapon fire and it will break after taking enough damage. This can affect some builds, but they’re still best used against ranged enemies.
FRV
Helldivers will now be able to deploy grenades and stratagems while leaning out from the Fast Reconnaissance Vehicle (FRV) and driving them will be much easier when cornering. The devs tuned the FRV “for a better driving experience,” making it easier to control and with less drifting.
Siege-Ready Armor Passive
The devs also said they decided not to fix a bug with the Siege-Ready Armor Passive. The passive was supposed to give a 30 percent increase to reload speed and increase ammo capacity by 20 percent for primary weapons, but the bug would also apply the passive to all magazine-based weapons instead of just primary weapons.
Many players expressed on forums how the bug should remain as part of the passive, and the devs listened. The Armory description will eventually be updated to include the bug, but they are “evaluating if it’s causing any other additional unforeseen bugs.”
Minor changes and fixes

There were also some minor changes worth looking at such as players being able to jog while carrying two-handed items such as barrels and SEAF Artillery Rounds, and the return of the ability to emote while flying and ragdolling.
Sidearms received a boost with starting magazines increased from two to three, spare magazines were increased from four to five, and health packs will now fully restore all of the player’s stims. Here are some other minor changes and fixes from the Helldivers 2 patch 01.002.101:
- High-damage weapons will now detonate spawned Hellbombs on the map.
- Helldivers should no longer slide around on the ground after ragdolling from a blast.
- Melee weapons should no longer send civilian cars and other objects in the world flying long distances.
- Minor parking mishaps will no longer result in catastrophic FRV explosions.
- Fixed Illuminate spawner ship shields not taking impact grenade damage.
- Fixed an issue with collision gaps inside the Illuminate spawner ship, preventing grenades thrown in close proximity to the door from destroying the ships.
This patch balances out some combat aspects and encourages players to try using some weapons and backpacks again for their loadout. You can check the full patch notes to see all the changes in detail and the list of other issues they are aware of and are working on.