Helldivers 2 has a new patch that makes key balance changes and bug fixes to Sony's third-person co-op shooter.Patch 01.002.200 tweaks the balance on a number of weapons and stratagems. Developer Arrowhead also increased the number of AI calculations the game can perform, which primarily impacts scenarios with a high number of spawned enemies, improving their response times in those situations. However, this comes with a slight trade-off in game performance, Arrowhead said.And heres a useful improvement: the stratagem loadout menu has undergone an updated categorization of the different stratagem groupings.Meanwhile, publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment announced Helldivers 2s next Warbond, called Borderline Justice. The theme this time is 'space cowboy,' and in keeping with that theme there are new weapons including the R-6 Deadeye lever-action hunting rifle, the LAS-58 Talon "revolver" secondary, and the TED-63 Dynamite.The GS-17 Frontier Marshal is a medium Helldiver set in keeping with the space cowboy theme, as is the GS-66 Lawmaker heavy armor, complete with cowboy holster and bandolier. The Gunslinger armor passive gives your secondary increased reload speed, increased draw/holster speed, and reduced recoil. The warbond launches March 20.Helldivers 2's next warbond adds a space cowboy theme. Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment.Helldivers 2s ongoing Galactic War is currently focusing on the Illuminate alien faction, which is slowly pushing a black hole towards Super Earth. Where this is going is anyones guess, but speculation points to potentially taking the fight to the Illuminates home world, or maybe finally fighting back on Super Earth itself.Helldivers 2 update 01.002.200 patch notes:BalancingPrimary weaponsSMG-32 ReprimandSpread decreased from 50 to 40SG-8S SluggerSpread decreased from 20 to 6Damage increased from 250 to 280AR-23C Liberator ConcussiveFire rate increased from 320 to 400R-63 DiligenceMagazine capacity increased from 20 to 25MP-98 KnightDamage increased from 65 to 70STA-11 SMGDamage increased from 65 to 70SMG-37 DefenderDamage increased from 75 to 80SMG-72 PummelerDamage increased from 65 to 70Now requires less shots to apply stun on applicable targets, stun value increased from 1.0 to 1.25 per bulletAR-23 LiberatorDamage increased from 70 to 80STA-52 Assault RifleDamage increased from 70 to 80BR-14 AdjudicatorDamage increased from 90 to 95AR-61 TenderizerDamage increased from 95 to 105R-36 EruptorProjectile armor penetration increased from Medium (3) to Heavy (4)Projectile lifetime increased from 0.7 to 1 secStratagemsEagle 110MM Rocket PodsUses increased from 2 to 3EXO-45 Patriot ExosuitUses increased from 2 to 3EXO-49 Emancipator ExosuitUses increased from 2 to 3TX-41 SterilizerErgonomics increased from 5 to 20M-105 StalwartDamage increased from 70 to 80MG-206 Heavy Machine GunImproved armor penetration across a wider range of angles before transitioning to glancing shotsEnemies:A recent software autopsy has revealed an update to the Automatons' situational awareness protocol. They are now less distracted by each other, increasing their reaction speed in large groups.Weve increased the number of AI calculations the game can perform. This primarily impacts scenarios with a high number of spawned enemies, improving their response times in those situations. However, this comes with a slight trade-off in game performance.According to recent intel, the enemies of Freedom are attempting to counter the Helldivers' anti-air capabilities. Newly-produced Automaton dropships show clear signs of hull reinforcement, allowing the main body to absorb significantly more damage.Illuminate Warp Ships have been observed deploying their shields mid-flight.Automaton Dropships: Main body health increased from 2500 to 3500Illuminate Dropships: Utilizes the same shield as the ones that have landedBarrager Tank TurretResolved an issue introduced recently where the armor value was incorrectly set to 0. Now has the correct armor value of 5Additionally, the turret now features weak spots at the front and back, each with 750 HP and an armor value of 3GameplaySettings:Added new separate settings for inverting the gyro input instead of using the Invert Look settingsThe Stratagem loadout menu has undergone an updated categorization of the different stratagem groupingsFixesResolved Top Priority issues:Fixed an issue with the extraction beacon sometimes being unreachable when landing on top of enemiesGeneral optimization improvements in the colonies environmentsCrash Fixes, Hangs and Soft-locks:Fixed a crash when playing against Terminids in poor network scenariosFixed a rare crash that happened during game shut down on PCFixed a crash that could occur when there was a high amount of particles on the screen at onceFixed an issue where players could be blocked from completing objectives requiring called-down equipment due to the required stratagem being unavailableWeapons and StratagemsFixed the G-123 Thermite Grenade sometimes not armingFixed a rare crash when using the LAS-17 Double-Edge SickleFixed a bug where switching weapons while reloading the CB-9 Exploding Crossbow would sometimes discard an entire magazine without actually reloadingSocial & Multiplayer FixesFixed an issue causing players in low-activity regions to see fewer lobbies on the planet hologram than expectedFixed an issue in low-activity regions where lobbies were not seeing players join as frequently or quickly as beforeFixed an issue on low-activity planets where Quickplay would always join your friends game, even if they were not playing on the same difficultyFixed a disconnection issue that could happen when playing Gloom missions with poor connection to the hostFixed some interactions not working properly after canceling the Raise Weapon emoteFixed an issue where adding, removing, blocking, or unblocking friends caused player cards in the friend list to display with white text and missing information until you close and open the panel againFixed an issue that made it impossible to mute or kick players who were in the loadout when joining a squadFixed an issue that caused some new Steam players' latest profile names to not display correctly in-gameMiscellaneous FixesFixed some memory leaks to improve performanceFixed old text chat messages from re-appearingFixed an issue with the Democracy Space Station progress bars being unintentionally curved in appearanceFixed a bug that prevented progression through the menus when the initial language selection was set to English (US)Fixed the raise weapon emote to properly fire projectiles in the direction of the weaponFixed Helldivers sliding around on the ground after exiting the ragdoll state (despite it being the year of the snake and despite us trying to fix this previously)Known IssuesTop Priority:Black box mission terminal may be unusable if it spawns clipped into the groundStratagem balls bounce unpredictably off cliffs and some spotsBalancing and functionality adjustments for DSSPathfinding issues in Evacuate Colonists Illuminate missionsDolby Atmos does not work on PS5Medium Priority:Players can get stuck on Pelican-1s ramp during extractionCurrently equipped capes don't display properly and show a blank grey cape in Armory tabPlayers who use the This is Democracy emote on their ship might unintentionally send their fellow Helldivers on unauthorized unscheduled spacewalksAX/TX-13 Guard Dog Dog Breath does not show when it is out of ammoHigher zoom functions do not zoom the camera in through the scope on the LAS-5 ScytheWeapons with a Charge-up mechanic can exhibit unintended behavior when firing faster than the RPM (Rounds Per Minute) limit