The early hero of Helldivers 2’s big September 17 update is the Thermite Grenade, which Arrowhead buffed from 100 to 2,000 democracy-delivering explosion damage

Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead shared several incoming weapon changes ahead of today’s big update (500KG Bomb, my beloved), but it kept the largest numerical buff a secret until the full patch notes arrived: the largely overlooked Thermite Grenade got an honest-to-goodness 20x buff from 100 to 2,000 explosive damage, making the Democractic Detonation Warbond even more enticing. 

Here’s the full list of Thermite Grenade changes: 

Explosion damage increased from 100 to 2000Shorter time until it ignites the thermiteTime until it explodes slightly reducedMax number decreased from 4 to 3

A big part of the Thermite’s value is in the fiery buildup to the actual bang, but the fact that the explosive damage on this thing was ever as low as 100 is kind of wild in retrospect. That said, today’s massive boost has more than made up for it. As Helldivers 2 players were quick to discover, the Thermite Grenade is now a force to be reckoned with. Anti-armor weapons and Stratagems have been mega-buffed across the board, but the Thermite is an especially big winner. No wonder they tuned the capacity down to three. 

New Thermite grenade from r/Helldivers

Clips of Thermites making short work of big enemies like Bile Titans are already coming in. As the above footage demonstrates, there is still a decent delay on the detonation, and you also have to be careful about where you stick targets, but the reward for patience and precision is a dead armored enemy. Not bad for a basic part of your loadout – not even a fancy Stratagem. 

The Helldivers 2 community is back in a honeymoon state after today’s patch, gushing over their newly buffed weapons and praising every other gun as the new hotness. But even on a long list of new-again gear, the Thermite is a clear standout rapidly gaining fans. Now we just wait and see how much of this buff sticks. 

Post-patch mood so far from r/Helldivers
From F tier to SSS tier from r/Helldivers

Here are all the biggest changes in the latest Helldivers 2 patch notes.