Looks like we may soon be getting more things to buy using samples and requisition slips. The Catalog Expansion has no cost, and buying it does nothing. The Upgrade Effect text must be null for Catalog Expansion, that field just shows the effect for whichever upgrade was previously selected.
Edit: It’s been acknowledged on the official Discord, looks like it’s unintended:
ALERT: ROGUE ITEM DETECTED. The Ministry of Truth has confirmation that a rogue item called the “catalog expansion” is temporarily visible in the Ship Management menu and, in accordance with regulations, we instruct all Helldivers to avoid this rogue item until further notice. The Ministry of Truth cannot confirm the reliability or safety of this item, nor can they confirm its origin.
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I attempted to buy it, but it wouldn’t let me.
Well, there certainly ain’t much from levels 16+, so I fuckin’ hope so. 😅
There’s the mech at 25, which I always forget I have.
Mech seems like a waste unless it’s an extermination mission. The cooldown just feels too long to be useful.
The mech can be really good for any mission type where you need to spend an extended period of time on an objective. Off the top of my head I’d say that includes civilian rescue (all variants except the 15-minute bot one) and geological survey, in addition to the eradication mission type you mentioned. You’re going to spend a significant amount of time on the extraction / main survey site, with multiple patrols / dropships / breaches. You can get a lot of value out of a mech call-in during that time.
If it were up to me I’d change the mech strat to work like the orbital laser. Shorten the cooldown but cap the number of mechs you can deploy during a mission. The 10-minute cooldown feels overly punishing if you do the main objective shortly before extraction.
In my humble opinion the mech should have unlimited deployments because it’s entirely possible to get completely fucking cucked on your strategums in this game, teammate steals it, you get merked before you can claim it, etc.
I think the meta for skilled teams was two mechs and two quasars, but I am not even lvl 20 yet so not totally sure.
I’m at level 65 and I’d say the whole notion of a single loadout meta died with the OG Railgun. We might have been on the cusp of a Slugger meta when that got nerfed (RIP my beloved, that stagger was so good), but it wasn’t as prevalent as the Railgun. I don’t see much mech strat usage now, the 10-minute cooldown just feels too long. The mech is less fragile now than it was initially, but the rocket aiming is a lot worse after the most recent changes so it’s a real mixed bag. Still potentially worth taking on any mission where you’re going to spend a long time on an objective (e.g. civilian extraction, geological survey).
I see a fair amount of variety in loadouts, it’s more like there’s a range of preferences that end up dictating each player’s loadout:
- Backpack choice. Personal Shield is still good even after the nerf (nothing else prevents Hunter slows), but the Autocannon is extremely versatile and effective. These are the two most common backpack choices I see, but there’s a fair amount of laser drone too vs. bugs, sometimes Recoilless Rifle backpack.
- Heavy clear tool. Some people bring 500kg, some bring Quasar, some like EATs, or the aforementioned RR. Orbital Rail also appears in this role, though the cooldown is very punishing at higher difficulties. Personally I like the Quasar, but some people really dislike the cooldown between shots and that gets worse on a hot planet.
- Chafe clear tool. The vanilla Eagle strike is my personal preference because it can destroy objectives, but the Eagle cluster strike gets one extra usage and a wider area of effect. Sometimes I’ll see Gas Strike or Napalm in this role, but I think the damage over time is currently bugged if you’re not the host. Hopefully that bug gets fixed so we’ve got a wider range of effective options. Don’t sleep on turrets either, they can really shine in this role, especially after all the upgrades are in place. It requires that they be placed in a good spot to succeed, but if they are then they can absolutely carry. EMS Mortar, regular Mortar and Autocannon turret seem to be the standouts. On small maps like eradication missions, mass mortars will do a ridiculous amount of work as long as they’re placed somewhere that they won’t get immediately smashed. Most of the eradication maps have a couple spots that work well for this. Friendly fire can be a concern with non-EMS turrets, but it doesn’t take many missions to learn how to pay attention to where the AC turret is placed or listen for the sound of the mortar turret firing.
- Oh-shit button. Orbital Laser seems like the standout by a wide margin. Even with the long cooldown and max 3 shots per mission, it seems to do more work than any other Orbital. I have seen Orbital Walking Barrage used to good effect though, it’s the one Orbital artillery strike that seems consistent enough to make it worth taking. 120mm and 380mm still need more help in this regard.
That’s really cool in my opinion. A single load out meta will get boring. I love the autocannon but the backpack is so restricting. I kind of hate the quasar but I have been trying to get better at it because meta. Suppose I’ll try more out.
I hope we get in the future a messhall for our super destroyer.
