Throwing A Snowball Can Crash The Game

Helldivers 2 is a very good third-person online co-op sci-fi shooter. Like, really good. But, it’s not the most stable game, with many players (myself included) failing missions simply because the game has crashed. And now, players are learning that snowballs can lead to some of these far-too-frequent crashes.

Helldivers 2 launched in February to rave reviews and has quickly become one of the biggest success stories of 2024. So many people were trying to play it at launch that the servers kept collapsing on PS5 and PC. It’s easily one of 2024’s best games so far thanks to its dedication to making combat feel both satisfying and dangerous. You never feel truly safe in Helldivers 2, no matter how many big guns you have or how many players there are in your squad. However, the biggest threat in the game might not be a giant bug or swarm of robots, but instead a snowball.

As spotted by IGN, in a March 28 post on the official Helldivers 2 Discord server, Arrowhead Games’ community lead—known as Baskinator in the server—told players to avoid picking up and throwing snowballs in the co-op shooter. This playful option has been a feature since launch on snowy planets, and while the balls don’t do much damage, it is fun to toss them at pals or enemies. But, for now, players should avoid tossing snowballs because they can cause crashes.

“We’re aware of a crash caused by picking up and throwing snowballs,” said Baskinator. “We hope to have this fixed in the near future, but until then, we advise against snowball throwing!”

No more information was shared in the message warning players to avoid snowballs.

Since launch, Helldivers 2 has struggled with technical errors. As previously mentioned, the game’s servers were crushed by thousands of people trying to play the game all at the same time. There was also an annoying black screen issue that plagued some players. And as IGN reported, some arc weapons and stratagems were causing crashes earlier this month, leading to a similar warning from the devs to avoid them—like the snowballs—until they were fixed in a patch.

It’s a testament to how good Helldivers 2 is that I keep trying to play it despite all these crashes and other issues. Hopefully, with more patches and time, Helldivers 2 will become a more reliable, solid experience.

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