There are plenty of operation modifiers in Helldivers 2 that spice up the game. But while some modifiers are genuinely fun and add something unique, others make the game more frustrating than it should be.
Helldivers 2 players agree AA Defenses is the worst operation modifier in the game, and often a reason to immediately leave the mission and do something else. “I do not understand why you would add this effect and arbitrarily force players to disengage with a core mechanic,” a Helldivers 2 fan wrote in a Reddit thread on May 12. The modifier reduces your total Stratagem slots by one, which is never fun, especially on high-difficulty missions.
With only three Stratagem slots per player, you have significantly less firepower to deal with enemies, and there’s no way around it. Players suggested if the developer wants to limit our Stratagem choices, the modifier should target a group of Strategems instead, and be potentially tied to the planet’s weather conditions. “Can’t take eagle strikes due to lightning storms, or can’t take orbital strikes due to targeting interference,” a fan wrote in the comments.
Another comment proposed tying the AA Defenses modifier to the AA objective you can encounter on the mission. Destroying the objective could grant access to the fourth Stratagem, which could be something you choose in advance or even something random.
The AA Defenses modifier doesn’t make the game more fun or offer an engaging challenge, unlike modifiers like Electronic Countermeasures. It’s an “annoying frustration at best.” As Helldivers pointed out, in the current meta where multiple primary weapons are getting nerfed, using Stratagems is as important as ever, and this modifier only makes things worse.
