New Helldivers 2 Ship Module Makes One Of The Best Stratagems Even Better

Summary Ship Modules in Helldivers 2 enhance Stratagems, improving cooldowns and increasing uses, making them crucial for mission success.

The Enhanced Combustion Ship Module boosts fire damage by 25%, making thee Flamethrower Stratagem even deadlier.

Increased fire damage from the latest updates may make Flamethrowers stronger, but may also lead to more friendly fire incidents, challenging players strategically.

The latest Helldivers 2 Ship Module adds another buff to what's already one of its most powerful Stratagems. Together, Ship Modules and Stratagems make up the build customization options in Helldivers 2. Stratagems refer to any number of special abilities players can call in during a mission. They range from powerful weapons to defensive fortifications to orbital strikes, and can turn the tide of battle in a wide variety of ways. However, Stratagems usually have lengthy cooldowns, and some of them only have a limited number of uses. It's important to know when and where to call them in.

By contrast, Ship Modules are persistent, passive upgrades players apply to the in-game hub area. The best Helldivers 2 Ship Modules can decrease cooldown times, increase uses per Stratagem, and even improve ammo capacity. Their uses may not be as varied as Stratagems, but they're a vital component of Helldivers 2 progression, and every bit as important to mission success. That goes double with the introduction of the latest and greatest Ship Module, which makes what was already one of Helldivers 2's best Stratagems infinitely better.

Related Helldivers 2 Surprise Update Adds Six New Ship Upgrades That Could Change The Meta An update for Helldivers 2 adds in six new upgrades for players' ships and while they're expensive, they may significantly alter the game's meta.

Helldivers 2's Enhanced Combustion Ship Module Makes Fire Damage Even Better

Buffing The Flamethrower Stratagem

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One of Helldivers 2's latest Ship Modules, Enhanced Combustion, makes the Flamethrower Stratagem even better. It's one of six new Modules added in a surprise Helldivers 2 update on April 11, 2024. While all of them are pretty good, the Enhanced Combustion Module charges to the front of the pack. It increases all fire damage from Stratagems by 25%, which is a significant bump. Most Helldivers 2 Ship Modules don't increase damage at all; they're usually more focused on decreasing cooldown or deployment times, so players can call in Stratagems more often. Straight damage increases like this one are rare.

Combine that with another recent update to Helldivers 2, which increased the potency of fire damage across the board. In conjunction with the new Enhanced Combustion Ship Module, fire damage is better than ever. In the past, the sheer killing power of fire damage made the Flamethrower one of Helldivers 2's strongest Stratagems. And, to make matters even worse for enemies of Super Earth, Terminids are already vulnerable to fire damage. The Flamethrower has long been considered one of the best Stratagems to use against bugs, and with the new Ship Module installed, it's even better.

The previous update increased fire damage to both players and enemies by 50%. With the Enhanced Combustion Ship Module stacked on top of that, the total fire damage increase comes in at 87.5%, almost double what it was before.

However, the current Helldivers 2 Major Order is focused on Automatons, against whom fire damage is little help. Even so, whenever they come up against bugs, the Flamethrower Stratagem is even more necessary for Terminid extermination.

Helldivers 2's New Ship Modules Have One Major Downside

Friendly Fire & Meta Changes

But it's not all Flamethrowers and roses. There's one major problem with the overall increase in fire damage, and that's the increased risk of friendly fire incidents. Friendly fire has always been a factor in Helldivers 2; avoiding accidentally dropping Stratagems on top of teammates is part of the challenge. And one of the worst offenders when it comes to friendly fire is the Flamethrower Stratagem. It casts a wide net, and it's especially easy to get caught in the crossfire. As a result, players need to make sure they're close enough to enemies - and there are no fellow Helldivers in the line of fire - when using the Flamethrower Stratagem.

There's no way to turn off friendly fire in Helldivers 2, and the developers say there'll never be; it's an integral part of the game, and is incorporated directly into its systems.

And that across-the-board fire damage buff includes players, too - fire damage to Helldivers appears to have been increased dramatically since the most recent updates, with some players reporting that catching fire is basically an instant death sentence. That'll only be worse with the increased fire damage caused by the Enhanced Combustion Ship Module. This may lead some players to avoid it unless they're confident in their experience with the Flamethrower, which could actually discourage the use of fire damage in the Helldivers 2 meta.

Still, the double increase in fire damage can prove a major boon. It's that much better during Terminid missions, when almost every enemy that players will encounter has some kind of weakness to fire damage. But with the benefits of the Enhanced Compustion Ship Module applying to all enemies, fire damage is more viable than ever, even against Automatons. As a result, the Flamethrower is among the best Stratagems in Helldivers 2 - as long as players are careful where they point it.