Helldivers 2 Items

The evolution of the gaming industry means that both developers and players are no longer satisfied with simple content, but are pursuing richer gameplay and storylines. However, this also means that games require increasingly more memory.

The principle that larger games require more storage space is essentially correct. The problem lies in the fact that some game files seem excessively large, severely impacting your ability to play other games or the normal operation of your device.

Take Helldivers 2 as an example. This third-person shooter, released in 2024, received considerable attention from players before its release as a sequel. Although some issues arose afterward, they were all fixed, except for the excessive memory requirements.

From its initial 70GB release, Helldivers 2 now occupies over 150GB of space on your PC! Many players have been criticizing this, saying they simply don't understand what the developers have been doing.

Fortunately, as 2025 draws to a close, Helldivers 2 has finally addressed this issue, reducing the game's size by an astonishing 85%! In other words, Helldivers 2 now only requires 23GB of free space to play!

So what are the details, and will the streamlined version run normally? We'll provide a detailed explanation below.

When Does This Change Be Available?

After the release of Python Commandos Warbond on December 2nd, the game received the good news of a size reduction through a concurrent patch.

However, it's currently still in the testing phase and not a default installation option. This means you'll need to decide whether to enable the streamlined version based on your needs, or continue playing as before.

Of course, if the streamlined version of Helldivers 2 runs smoothly for a period and player feedback is positive, the development team may later make it the standard version for new players to install directly, since everyone wants to save storage space.

How To Get The Streamlined Version Of Helldivers 2?

If you want to experience what the 23GB PC version of Helldivers 2 is like right now, follow these steps:

• 1. Open your Steam, find and right-click Helldivers 2 in Library.
• 2. Select Properties from the pop-up menu, then click Betas tab in the pop-up window.
• 3. In Beta Participation dropdown, select prod_slim to download and install the streamlined patch, allowing you to enjoy the game while freeing up your storage space.

Note that this operation method and file size change are only for PC players, as Helldivers 2 only requires approximately 35-40GB of storage space on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 platforms. This is likely the main reason for the constant complaints from PC players.

If you experience a poor experience or encounter frequent bugs after downloading the streamlined version, you can return and select prod_legacy to revert to the older version.

How Was This Change Implemented?

Since it's possible to streamline the files, it suggests that the development team was either too lazy to implement it before, or they were constantly searching for the best way to reduce the file size without affecting the game's performance on PC.

In short, this plan succeeded because previously, after each update, the developers would copy all game resource files and then gradually de-duplicate them. However, they now realized this was unnecessary.

The original intention was to ensure faster loading times for players using older hard drives, aiming to keep pace with players using high-speed SSDs. However, this consideration was based on general industry data.

Therefore, after internal testing at Helldivers 2, the developers found that, at least for their own game, the reduction in file size had at most a few extra seconds on loading time, making reducing storage space usage relatively straightforward.

While it's regrettable that the development team didn't discover this sooner, forcing most players to endure overly bloated game files for so long, it's good that the problem is solved.

Is The Streamlined Version Reliable?

Since the download option for this version has only been available for a short time, there are currently no objective and comprehensive reviews from the player community. However, most players at least welcome the initiative itself.

Frankly, the possibility of bugs appearing after streamlining cannot be ruled out, but no game, even the original Helldivers 2, is immune to problems. As long as the frequency of bugs isn't too high and they can be fixed promptly, it's all worthwhile.

If you don't only like Helldivers 2, you'll inevitably want to try new games, but limited storage space means you have to temporarily uninstall older games while downloading new ones - the changes in Helldivers 2 suggest this situation is likely to disappear.

This not only makes you more willing to try Helldivers 2 but also helps expand the audience for other games from another perspective, because the extra space means you can download as many games as you previously couldn't fit.

Can Other Games Do This?

Since Helldivers 2 has set a precedent, if subsequent player testing proves that the streamlined version isn't too problematic, then other large games on the market, at least those similar to Helldivers 2, could try to follow suit.

Although this might mean developers need to invest more time and effort, making games better serve you is what they should be doing. While more memory for players may bring more competition, healthy competition is essential.

In short, this approach demonstrates that Helldivers 2 consistently prioritizes player experience and feedback, striving to attract and retain players through game optimization. This can only benefit the game's long-term development.

Every game has its own settings system. However, for some games, settings are simply menus for adjusting graphics or sound effects, while for others - especially shooters - they have a significant impact on the overall gameplay experience.

Helldivers 2, a third-person shooter incorporating popular alien invasion elements, also has many options in its settings system that are closely related to your shooting accuracy, movement, and other aspects.

Some of these options are readily visible and adjustable, but others are hidden and difficult for the average player to discover or understand, yet they are crucial to your Helldivers 2 experience. We'll introduce them to you below.

Visual Display

To ensure proper game operation and allow you to move and perform other actions normally, Helldivers 2 uses medium to high motion blur. However, this can sometimes make it difficult to find or see targets when rotating rapidly.

Therefore, it's recommended that you either set this parameter to zero in the graphics settings or keep only a slight effect, such as setting it to 25 or lower according to your preference.

Additionally, Helldivers 2 adds scene effects such as fog or rain clouds based on the current battlefield environment or map. If you want them to look more realistic and clear, you can adjust the settings under the graphics tab to change the resolution.

If your device has average performance, you can choose medium settings to maintain the best balance between realistic effects and reducing system load. After all, ensuring the game runs smoothly is more important.

It's worth mentioning that Helldivers 2 also has an advanced depth-of-field feature. You can choose to keep the entire game screen in sharp focus, or only keep your character and nearby environment sharp, while distant objects will be blurred.

You can turn off depth of field in the graphics menu, which by default makes distant enemies and buildings clearer, but this may affect device performance, especially when related to field of view.

Icon Display

This type of content can also be considered part of the visual display, but it focuses more on details. For example, there are actually four subtitle settings: off, only in the game world, only on screen, and full-screen. You can adjust these settings in the accessibility menu.

Furthermore, the crosshair color can be changed from the default white to other colors you prefer, or colors that better match the current combat atmosphere, including yellow, green, or red. This setting can also be found in the accessibility menu.

If you want your crosshair to be clearer when aiming, you can create an outline around the crosshair through the additional settings below the color options. This way, even if your white crosshair appears blurry in the background explosion, the outline will help you find your target.

Sound Settings

For the same reason as designing camera shake, the game includes a midnight mode in its sound design, allowing you to play the game at a lower overall volume, but primarily reducing other noises while amplifying important ambient sound effects.

This means you can play the game without being disturbed by noise, while still not missing important sound effects such as enemy invasions, allowing you to use sound to locate various objects and enemies.

Movement And Aiming

In Helldivers 2, the way you move and its consequences depend not only on your actions but also on the settings. Sometimes, improper settings can even lead to death.

For example, if you don't change the settings, you'll automatically climb buildings while sprinting by default, making you an easy target for enemy fire - even though your intention was just to sprint!

To solve this, you must go into the game settings and turn off the automatic climbing option while sprinting. Afterward, you can decide whether to climb buildings or terrain that requires climbing. Sometimes manual control isn't necessarily unintelligent.

Regarding shooting and aiming, although Helldivers 2 is essentially a third-person shooter, it allows you to quickly switch between third-person and first-person perspectives while aiming because the target's attack distance changes rapidly.

Usually, for a smoother switch, you need to enable dynamic aiming mode, but this mode only works when the aiming trigger type is set to "hold" and no controller is being used.

For example, if you hold down the right mouse button to aim in third-person view, you then need to press another button to switch to first-person view. This allows you to choose the control method as needed for faster perspective switching.

Furthermore, to enhance the game's cinematic feel and player immersion, Helldivers 2 incorporates camera shake in its shooting system. However, if your aiming skill isn't high, this so-called realism can actually hinder your gameplay.

Therefore, if you feel the upcoming combat requires calm shooting, or if a large-scale explosion scene is about to occur, you can open the display menu and turn off or reduce the camera shake.

On the other hand, the game's crosshair is also set to dynamic by default, meaning that the crosshair won't be visible when you're moving and not attempting to raise your weapon unless you hold down the aim button.

This setting is primarily suitable for tactics like heavy machine guns and anti-tank guns, but if you don't like it, open HUD menu, find the crosshair visibility setting, and change it from dynamic to visible.

This setup not only makes your weapon's crosshair visible while moving, but it also displays the crosshair when placing anti-tank guns, allowing you to aim only after the turret has finished rotating, thus gaining a better field of view on the battlefield.

However, for the core gameplay of "shooting," changing the settings is only one aspect; your final combat win rate mainly depends on your weapon's performance. Therefore, we recommend that you buy Helldivers 2 items in advance to arm your character.

Item Throwing Settings

Besides using guns to aim at enemies, throwing small melee weapons or grenades is also an important way to engage enemies in Helldivers 2.

You can remap items to the quick throw button via the throwable button, or if you have enough key space, you can map both simultaneously in the key binding settings, as quick throws save all the extra time of preparing throwables, speeding up the throwing process.

If you want to try this setting, please check Key Binding Combat tab and find the throwable and quick throw buttons.

These are some important Helldivers 2 settings and their impact on the actual gameplay. You can adjust them according to your personal needs and habits to create the perfect Helldivers 2 experience for you. Have fun!