Broad systems
Mechanics that affect multiple parts of a mission.
Lab activity
Recent
investigations
New findings and revisions, newest first. Major reports cover systems with broad battlefield effects; investigations answer narrower questions.
Focused findings
Specific questions, comparisons, edge cases, and smaller discoveries.
Newest first
Research log
Full reports are linked where available; smaller findings remain concise here.
Spawns & encounters
Open related research → Heavy SEAF Presence and enemy spawn timers
An active SEAF contingent sets a 1.60× minimum on ordinary Patrol and enemy reinforcement countdown speeds. The minimum ends when SEAF activity resets, including after sufficient losses under a conditional survivor-count rule.
Combat & damage
Open related research → Explosive multipart damage and line of sight
One explosion can damage several body parts on the same enemy, and each accepted part can independently contribute to main health through its own multiplier. Current heavy-enemy data also confirms that explosion verification is configured per body part.
World & generation
Open related research → Optional objective generation
Current mission-generation data confirms that the possible tactical objectives depend on the selected mission setup. Difficulty changes the number of draws, while map conditions and weighted selection change individual objective odds such as LiDAR Station.
Detection & AI
Open related research → Objective machinery can generate AI-hearing noise
Some active objective terminals emit ordinary AI-hearing events from the objective itself. The common profile has an 80 m base range and score 30, and Launch ICBM mission data contains the same objective-noise system. This can make nearby enemies react without giving them a Helldiver's exact position.
Combat & damage
Open related research → Projectile damage falloff
Current-build code confirms that ordinary direct projectile damage scales with retained projectile speed rather than distance itself. The multiplier is 0.25 + 0.75 × speed-ratio², is not capped at 1.0, and leaves armor penetration on a separate path.
World & generation
Open related research → 7.1.0 mission-generation changes
Build comparison identifies three changed Hive World mission profiles, broader faction-specific optional-objective changes, and the new Horde Defend generation profile.
Combat & damage
Open related research → Weapon recoil
Current-build code confirms separate drift and camera-climb states, a shared stance recoil scalar, directional horizontal persistence, fixed-step recovery, and point shooting's third-person stance branch. The current recoil record also gained active fields, so the older universal vertical-randomness formula was retired.
Detection & AI
Open related research → Danger and suppression
Current-build verification confirms the projectile near-miss Danger calculation and unchanged separation between Danger sensing and target-specific aim flinch. Danger also feeds broader AI behavior outside aiming.
Combat & damage
Open related research → Explosion falloff and demolition force
Current-build code shows two primary explosion curves: standard falloff uses 1 − √x while wide-blast falloff uses 1 − x². Demolition Force follows the primary curve, and blast AP loses one point as soon as falloff begins.
Spawns & encounters
Open related research → Enemy constellations and force composition
Constellation research now includes broad composition-tag odds, a faction/difficulty/squad-size composition explorer for Patrols, guard forces, Encounters, and travelers, plus all mapped direct specialist replacements.
Spawns & encounters
Open related research → Localization Confusion and scripted wave timing
Current-build code confirms that Localization Confusion stretches scripted-wave intervals by about 11.11% while leaving the configured wave count unchanged. External mission cutoffs remain a separate question.
Combat & damage
Open related research → Damage resolution, fractional carry, and projectile penetration
Current-build damage research confirms 65% ordinary damage when selected AP equals AV, per-status fractional damage carry between periodic ticks, and a projectile penetration cost that rises with both armor and target durability before pass-through.
Combat & damage
Permalink → Enhanced Combustion and flame damage-over-time
Enhanced Combustion applies its 25% fire-damage bonus to both direct flame damage and the lingering burn from the Flamethrower and Cremator. Both weapons still apply the same burn damage-over-time; the Cremator's higher direct particle damage does not create a stronger burn.
Spawns & encounters
Open related research → Patrol generation system
Patrol research now shows how multiple timers run at once, what changes countdown speed, where Patrols approach from, and why a timer can expire before a group appears.
Combat & damage
Permalink → Cremator and Flamethrower heavy-target damage
A focused comparison found that the Cremator and Flamethrower can resolve to the same damage against heavy targets even though their broader damage models differ.
Detection & AI
Open related research → Enemy eye models and sentry vision
Non-standard vision geometries and friendly automated sensors were separated from the ordinary forward-facing enemy sight model.
Detection & AI
Open related research → Target retention after losing visibility
Target-selection research examined how existing targets retain priority after sight is lost and when enemies can switch to another known target.
Spawns & encounters
Open related research → Variable encounter timing
Encounter research shows why ordinary reinforcement timing can change during a mission and why objective encounters, waves, and Patrols use separate timing systems.