GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 tackles “grief kicking” in its massive August update: if you get kicked, you’ll be the host of a new session with “all of the team’s loot” intactWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesThird Person ShooterHelldivers 2Helldivers 2 tackles “grief kicking” in its massive August update: if you get kicked, you’ll be the host of a new session with “all of the team’s loot” intactWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

A newHelldivers 2update is making changes to counteract the ongoing issue of “grief kicking” in the third-person shooter.
Arrowhead just announced theHelldivers 2 Escalation of Freedomupdate, boasting new enemies, mission objectives, a higher difficulty level, and more, and it’s out next month on August 6. Alongside that update is a quality-of-life change specifically intended to counter “grief kicking.”
Katherine Baskin, social media and community manager at Arrowhead, writes on thePlayStation Blogthat the Helldivers 2 dev knows “some players are using the team kicking to grief others.” To counteract this, Arrowhead will introduce a feature where, if a player is kicked, they’ll spawn into a new game session as a host, with “all of the team’s loot” from the previous session they were kicked from, most importantly Samples.
Kicking has been an issue since shortly after Helldivers 2 launched earlier this year. If you played the shooter’s higher difficulty levels with a group of strangers online, it wasn’t uncommon to find yourself kicked if you weren’t using weapons and stratagems designated as meta, like the Breaker Shotgun was at the time. Clearly this is an issue Arrowhead sees as ongoing, even if most players have calmed down regarding this harsh and arbitrary requirement.
As Helldivers 2 grunts are tasked with squashing 1 billion bugs, High Command not-so-subtly hints that “Terminid aggression and expansion may increase in response.”
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3
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4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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2Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
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2
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3Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3
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4
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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5Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”