'Seems the Spear is cursed': Even in an otherwise good Helldivers 2 patch, the FAF-14 Spear can't catch a break as it starts crashing games

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Why do I feel sympathy for a rocket launcher.

The Super Earth Spokesperson in Helldivers 2 looks very confused as a massive explosion rocks the earth behind him.
(Image credit: Arrowhead Games)

All being said, Helldivers 2's latest patch appears to have been a solid hit with players, which is a relief. While the game's never going to claw its way back to its stratospheric 400,000 player peak—a normal thing for most live-service phenomena—it's nestled into a very respectable 50,000-player average. Doubly so considering everyone and their Mohg is playing a little game called Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, right now.

Well, there is one exception—it's a good patch for everyone but the Spear—a rocket launcher I am about to humanise to a weird degree, because for some reason I just feel so bad for the little guy. In case you don't know your history, the FAF-14 Spear has been a bit of an underdog since launch. Chiefly, because its targeting system was utterly busted.

Intended to be a long-range solution to all your unexploded problems, the Spear's meant to fire a guided missile into liberty's enemies. Only, it rarely did that, because the targeting computer was incredibly unhelpful—it would rarely lock on to what you wanted, and even when it did, it had a propensity to whiff for no discernable reason.

(Image credit: Twinbeard on the Helldivers 2 Discord.)

In a later message, Twinbeard added that players experiencing trouble should "pray to the diver gods, perform a Spear exorcism, [and] say 100 hail Liberty" but, most importantly, "hope that High Command and Ministry of Defence manage to produce a hotfix. (Maybe even next week)."

So pour one out for the spear, the rocket launcher that really, really couldn't. I'm hoping it'll finally claim its rightful place as "a weapon you want to use, sometimes" because it's a killer concept on paper. In the meantime, you might have another rocket launcher to try out soon.

Harvey Randall
Harvey Randall
Staff Writer

Harvey's history with games started when he first begged his parents for a World of Warcraft subscription aged 12, though he's since been cursed with Final Fantasy 14-brain and a huge crush on G'raha Tia. He made his start as a freelancer, writing for websites like Techradar, The Escapist, Dicebreaker, The Gamer, Into the Spine—and of course, PC Gamer. He'll sink his teeth into anything that looks interesting, though he has a soft spot for RPGs, soulslikes, roguelikes, deckbuilders, MMOs, and weird indie titles. He also plays a shelf load of TTRPGs in his offline time. Don't ask him what his favourite system is, he has too many.