Helldivers 2's latest patch makes raising flags less terrifying, and cheeky mid-air medical care could be part of Arrowhead's solution to ragdolling "helplessness"

It's Helldivers 2 patch time, and right off the bat, I'm sad to reveal that this latest one - unlike last week's update - doesn't include a fish being sent to the great beyond. Feel free to vent your disappoinment for a couple of minutes before reading on.

Done? Good. Now, what does this patch do? Well, it's a relatively small one with a few key tweaks that help in certain scenarios where divers needed help - or couldn't call for help. Handy stuff given that we're all hard at work right now trying to fill a space station with poor disenfranchised families.

As outlined in the notes for Patch 1.001.202, Arrowhead's "decreased enemy spawn rate while progressing the Raise Flag objective in Spread Democracy missions". That sound you can hear is a mixture of folks who'd been getting totally overwhelmed by enemies while trying to erect a stick with some cloth on either breathing a sigh of relief, or gently going 'aww', depending on whether they're a sicko or not.

There are also a heap of fixes aimed at getting SOS beacons to behave properly. Basically, less scarios should see them just decide to shut down totally once your squad's initially filled up with additional players, instead the beacon will deactivate so it can come back on if needs be. Though, having a host migrate will still shut it down, just so the new host can decide if they want to deploy a fresh call for help.

You also shopuldn't encounter issues where the beacon either does the opposite of what it's supposed to and stops your session being made so other folks can join and, you know, save your bum, or randomly won't deploy in follow-up missions after it's been deployed in one.

In addition to those and a host of other minor fixes and tweaks, these notes have seen Arrowhead outline some of the stuff it's testing in its ongoing efforts to stop excessivve ragdolling causing "helplessness and frustration". "We recognize that changes in this area could have a significant impact on the player experience, both positively and negatively, so we are moving forward cautiously," it writes, "While we are more certain about some changes, others require further thought."

As for what it's testing out or investigating right now in this regard, the studio provided a nice list which reads as follows:

• Allowing players to remain prone after ragdolling when there’s no directional movement input.

• Enabling the use of stims while ragdolling.

• Addressing situations where explosions ragdoll players from behind cover.

• Further adjustments to enemy behavior and projectiles.

• Being considered prone when ragdolling on the ground.

• Players are unable to emote when flying through the air.

• Stratagem balls bounce unpredictably off cliffs and some spots.

• The Reinforced Scout Strider does not telegraph its rocket attacks. We are investigating how we can further improve the play experience against this enemy.

I'll be honest, any solution that involves being able to do some mid-fall wound patching like you're an anti-gravity hospital, or helps facilitate more of the fun flying emote hijinks that're always good for hilarious clips - even if they don't end up saving lives like they used to - sound good to me.