Helldivers 2 doesn't feature any PvP components, and thus no actual competition, but that hasn't stopped some players from attempting to hack and cheat their way to better gear by earning massive amounts of Samples.
The news has spread like wildfire via the official Helldivers 2 subreddit. A Reddit thread made by user ForeverDesperate5855 has garnered over 6k upvotes. In it, they explain that after joining a random group of players, they ended up getting over 6k samples despite the game showing only 700+ as a reward for an extraction.
The user added: "Seems kinda scummy but they can do whatever they want with their game and face the consequences, it's just a bit upsetting that I also got those samples and ruined 80% the grind," and that's because the spoils are shared among every player in the party, regardless if they're cheating or not.
Samples in Helldivers 2 are some of the most important currency in the game, as they allow players to purchase powerful ship modules that grant unique passive buffs. Many players see this grind as the endgame of Helldivers 2, so getting it unintentionally ruined by hackers has soured their experience.
Arrowhead Studios developers responded to the thread, confirming they're looking into the issue. Sadly, the Sample hack is far from the only one that's out in the wild, as Helldivers 2 players are also sharing clips of people with infinite ammo and even an unlimited Stratagem glitch.
It's clear Arrowhead has a lot on its plate as they're continuously trying to alleviate issues with Helldivers 2, including continuous matchmaking and log-in issues. Fortunately, these have been less frequent with patch 1.000.10.