As fickle as any content- and update-dependent live-service game can be,Helldivers 2is on its most recent upswing after having been transparent with its development and buffing out a lot of its controversial nerfs. TheG-123 Thermite Grenadeis now exponentially more effective and will surely become part of the meta considering how swiftly it cuts down titans and tanks, for instance, while theEagle 500Kg Bombnow has an appropriate AoE to match its enormous explosion. These are the improvements players have been wanting to see most out of gameplay, butHelldivers 2has also made some fun changes to its social systems.
Helldivers 2has voice comms and that may suffice for anyone who doesn’t mind speaking with strangers casually or engaging in cooperative play with their friends. That said, emotes have always been an equally sufficient way for players to engage with others beyond objective-based pings. Before the recent patch,Helldivers 2had players select only one emote to equip. It’s not a monumental change in the grand scheme—and arguably could’ve been in the game at launch—but players now have an emote wheel with four slots to choose from.
Helldivers 2’s Emotes Illustrate the Joy in Spreading Democracy
Helldivers 2’s emotes are special in the way that some stratagems are: they allow players to interact with one another by having someone else complete a two-person gesture. Many emotes exist now in the game, such as Rock Paper Scissors or Thoracic Collision Exultation Maneuver, and are meant to solidify the bond between Helldivers even if they’re never again in the same lobby thereafter.
The newest emote, Natural Gas Extraction, arrived as part ofHelldivers 2’s Chemical Agents Premium Warbondand is a play on the immature “pull my finger” prank.
Only having one equipped emote wasn’t detrimental at all. In fact, it was probably a firmer representation of a player’s preferences because they couldn’t diversify their options. Emotes are less contextual and more of an excuse to pose or interact with players, so this never had a profound hindrance on social encounters. Indeed, some players simply enjoy standing before an Orbital Napalm Barrage with arms spread out in an embracing co-emote gesture to relish the destruction they’ve wreaked on a planet’s invaders.
Helldivers 2’s Emote Wheel Means More Ways to Interact with Players
Either way,an emote wheel has been added toHelldivers 2. This ensures that players can have an emote for several different personal circumstances and, if nothing else, makes use of all the emotesHelldivers 2has added since launch that have gone unused due to previously only being able to equip one. It’s great to see an emphasis on social content inHelldivers 2, and with more slots it seems as if Arrowhead could be planning to expand emotes or double down on them further.
They may notcontribute as much to player personalization asHelldivers 2’s victory posesat the moment, though future emotes could adopt a different gesturing animation aside from the hand- or embrace-oriented interactions emotes are presently composed of. In the meantime, it’s always terrific to see players waiting patiently at the foot of the Pelican in an emote stance for others to come and interact with them.
Regardless of thetoxicity that sometimes plaguesHelldivers 2—with noxious fumes as well as players demonstrating bad manners—it is great that emotes can reel players back and give them a fun reason to be social, congratulatory, or hysterical in nearly any situationHelldivers 2throws at them. Plus, that should now be even more pronounced with 16 possible emotes passed around and participated in.
