Helldivers 2 surprise unlocks new Stratagem upgrade tier

Helldivers 2‘s legendarily exciting undocumented patch notes strike anew, with a whole new tier of Ship Modules and Stratagem upgrades for players to pursue. While none of these include the much-needed shooting range onboard your Super Destroyer, they sound extremely handy all the same.

More specifically, Arrowhead has managed to secretly release six all-new Ship Module upgrades, each of which substantially improves a particular Stratagem type. These popped up out of nowhere without an update needing to be downloaded, which suggests the upgrades (and the all-new Democratic Detonation Warbond) were stealth-dropped as part of the recent bug-fixing update, which massively improved the game’s stability across the board. Whatever the case may be, the new Ship Modules are now in, and you’re free to unlock them. Provided you’ve got the resources to do so, naturally.

Helldivers 2’s unexpected new Stratagem upgrades

As you’d expect, all six of the new Ship Modules slot neatly at the top of the power curve of your Helldiver’s Super Destroyer, and if you’re only just getting started with Stratagem upgrades, you’d do well to prepare for a heck of a grind. Here’s the full list of the new Ship Module upgrades:

• Superior Packing Methodology: Resupply boxes max out your Support Weapons’ ammunition stack.
• Atmospheric Monitoring: 15% reduction in the HE Orbital weapons’ spread and deployment area.
• XXL Weapons Bay: Eagle stratagems drop one additional bomb/projectile.
• Enhanced Combustion: 25% damage increase to all Stratagems that deploy fire.
• Circuit Expansion: All lightning arcs (Stratagems and small arms included) jump to one additional enemy.
• Blast Absorption: All Sentry Stratagems take 50% less explosive damage from all sources.

Some of these are, obviously, just a statistics bump that might not sound all that exciting on paper, but they’re substantial upgrades all the same. The Superior Packing Methodology, for one, will make it so that particularly ammo-hungry Support Weapons don’t force you to pick up multiple resupply boxes just to fill out your stock, which is a huge boon in long-lasting engagements. Similarly, boosting Napalm’s damage output by an additional 25% is going to make it indispensable for some missions. And, heck, reducing the HE Orbital Stratagems’ spread might actually make them worth taking onto a mission!

The issue, as it were, is that each of these upgrades is a significant resource investment. Tricky business, too, as you can only hold up to 250 of the rarest Sample types, while each new Ship Module will eat 150 of them (as well as a hefty chunk of your other resources). A steep grind, but one that’s bound to pay off.