For those unaware, patrols spawn on a timer, and the amount of patrols that spawn on that timer is based on a few factors, one of which being the number of groups (or formations, as I’ve been referring to them) of Helldivers active on the map. These formations are defined by any groups of players that are within 75m of another player. You don’t have to all be within the same 75m radius, but as long as there’s fewer than 75m between any two players, they’re considered one formation.
I don’t know if it was this video or one very similar, but it greatly improved my squad’s ability to do harder missions. Knowing what causes more enemies to spawn is super helpful. Key points that suck with me:
Completing the main objectives are the biggest drivers to increased enemies. After the last main objective is completed, you get something like 4x the amount of enemy patrols spawning.
Being close to objectives, bug holes, bot factories, and the extact point spawn in enemy patrols. Completing the objective or destroying the hole/factory makes it stop spawning patrols.
Closing holes/factories and completing side objectives gradually ramps up the number of enemy patrols, which is totally counter intuitive to me. You can destroy like half the holes/factories before it starts making a difference though and even then it’s a subtle difference compared to completing the main objective.
Finally, what this post mentions, is that each “group” of Helldivers increases enemy patrols. So if you split up into 2 groups of 2, you’ll get 2x the number of patrols.
A solo player >75m from everyone is a separate group. So if the other 3 were within 75m of each other, that is 2 groups with 2x the spawns of 4 people closer together.
For those unaware, patrols spawn on a timer, and the amount of patrols that spawn on that timer is based on a few factors, one of which being the number of groups (or formations, as I’ve been referring to them) of Helldivers active on the map. These formations are defined by any groups of players that are within 75m of another player. You don’t have to all be within the same 75m radius, but as long as there’s fewer than 75m between any two players, they’re considered one formation.
There’s a LOT more detail in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp8xuf_dLDw
I don’t know if it was this video or one very similar, but it greatly improved my squad’s ability to do harder missions. Knowing what causes more enemies to spawn is super helpful. Key points that suck with me:
So does it count a solo player >75m from everyone else as not a group? Like, a 3+1 split around the map would have the same patrols as a 4-man?
A solo player >75m from everyone is a separate group. So if the other 3 were within 75m of each other, that is 2 groups with 2x the spawns of 4 people closer together.