Tactical Combat Overhaul
Stamina, movement and positioning.
In base Helldivers 2, stamina barely matters: it refills almost instantly, hills don't slow you down, and you can vault anything at any time. This mod makes how you engage a real decision. Every feature has its own switch and sliders in the in-game MODS menu, with four presets to start from.
This is also designed to pair with another mod I made on making ricochet more challenging, although I am choosing to keep them separate (for now) as they have different dependencies.
There are six fully-customizable subsets of the mod:
Each of these has a section below in the spoilers, so decide which components are right for you! Make sure you have the dependencies for the components you want to run.
CORE AND STAMINA
Make your stand — wisely.
RUN-N-GUN
Shoot on the move. Keep your momentum.
MELEE OVERHAUL
Momentum is a weapon too.
SHELLSHOCK
When the blast doesn't kill you, it should still leave you seeing stars.
SLIPPERY WHEN WET
When your legs are gone, sometimes the rest of you follows.
GHOSTS AND GOLIATH
Pack light and stay low.
COMPONENT DEPENDENCIES
Each Tactical Combat Overhaul component is independently deployable. You only need the dependencies used by the components you actually install.
Quick version:
Hellsliders remains optional but strongly recommended alongside Core / Stamina.
Stamina, movement and positioning.
In base Helldivers 2, stamina barely matters: it refills almost instantly, hills don't slow you down, and you can vault anything at any time. This mod makes how you engage a real decision. Every feature has its own switch and sliders in the in-game MODS menu, with four presets to start from.
This is also designed to pair with another mod I made on making ricochet more challenging, although I am choosing to keep them separate (for now) as they have different dependencies.
There are six fully-customizable subsets of the mod:
- Core / Stamina — Adds stance and terrain based movement modifiers, reload modifiers, and sway modifiers, as well as stamina for mantling.
- Run-n-Gun — Adds firing while running, including bayonet/lance charge. Video showcase one and two.
- Melee Overhaul — Adds momentum based damage / AP, controls over stamina / exhaustion.
- Shellshock — Explosions can now cause adjustable shellshock. Video showcase.
- Slippery When Wet — Adjustable stamina threshold for collapsing from exhaustion.
- Ghosts and Goliath — NEW: your loadout sets how far away enemies can detect you and how long you can swim before drowning. Pack light and stay low.
Each of these has a section below in the spoilers, so decide which components are right for you! Make sure you have the dependencies for the components you want to run.
CORE AND STAMINA
Make your stand — wisely.
Features
Stance-based stamina
Slopes
Momentum melee
Mantling
Exhaustion
Running dry has a cost: the game already makes a winded diver less steady, and this strengthens that effect (up to 4x) to make stamina impactful for ranged combat instead of just melee.
Presets
Requirements
Installation
Compatibility
Known issues
Diagnostics
%LOCALAPPDATA%\CowboyBingus\Helldivers2\Logs\TacticalCombatOverhaul.log shows every changed value, your measured speed and slope, live stamina status and melee signals. Include it with any bug report.
Credits
==================== VERSION NOTE (v1.6.1) ====================
First public release. Stance-based stamina recovery and delay, slope speed and stamina, mantling cost and exhaustion lock, momentum melee (damage, stagger/push, armor pen, melee weapons), melee stamina cost, exhaustion sway, four presets.
Stance-based stamina
- Recovery delay: the wait before stamina refills is adjustable per stance, rather than having one value for all three. Take a knee after a sprint and catch your breath!
- Change stance mid-wait and the shorter wait applies immediately.
- Recovery speed: stamina refills slower standing and faster crouched or prone. This occurs in base game already, but each value can now be adjusted to make stance more important.
Slopes
- Uphill speed penalty: set a higher penalty to make slopes slow you down harder.
- Uphill stamina drain: sprinting up a hill drains stamina faster (scales with steepness).
- Downhill: sprinting downhill drains less stamina, plus an experimental downhill speed bonus that makes charging into combat key.
Momentum melee
- Melee hits harder the faster you were moving: up to double damage, stagger and push at full sprint.
- Momentum armor pen: optional +1 armor penetration while sprinting, sliding or diving.
- Works on the default melee and, optionally, on melee weapons.
Mantling
- Vaults and ledge climbs cost stamina (free in the base game).
- No mantling when exhausted: run dry and you can't vault or climb until you recover. Small steps and curbs still work.
Exhaustion
Running dry has a cost: the game already makes a winded diver less steady, and this strengthens that effect (up to 4x) to make stamina impactful for ranged combat instead of just melee.
Presets
- Vanilla: no changes.
- Light: a gentle nudge toward cover, crouching and high ground.
- Tactical: the intended experience (default).
- Hardcore: hills hurt, stamina is precious, crouching is how you recover.
- Custom: edit any setting and you're here.
Requirements
- Helldivers 2, Windows PC, Steam build 25480438 (EXE 1.8.46015.0). The mod checks the game version and switches itself off on any other build.
- Bingus Shared Loader v18+
- Mod Options Menu
- A mod manager (HD2 Arsenal recommended). Install through the manager: the patch file shares its name with other Lua mods.
- Not required, strongly recommended: Hellsliders movement mod makes the high ground rewarding.
Installation
- Close the game.
- Import the ZIP into HD2 Arsenal and enable it.
- Keep Bingus Shared Loader and Mod Options Menu enabled (loader at the bottom of the load order).
- Purge / Deploy, then start the game.
Compatibility
- Works alongside HELLSLIDERS and SHODAN Stat Editor (no shared settings; uses SHODAN's existing table scan when installed).
- Changes only your own diver's movement and stamina settings, plus the melee damage values. Every value is restored when you leave a mission, switch a feature off or quit.
- Multiplayer: movement and stamina are your own. Melee damage values are shared, so other divers' melee may get the same bonus while you move fast. Not tested as a client.
Known issues
- Melee-weapon swings with the Attack button are not charged stamina yet (the Melee button is). Fix in progress.
- Downhill speed bonus is experimental. If downhill never feels faster, set it to 0.
- Momentum counts speed in any direction, not only forward.
Diagnostics
%LOCALAPPDATA%\CowboyBingus\Helldivers2\Logs\TacticalCombatOverhaul.log shows every changed value, your measured speed and slope, live stamina status and melee signals. Include it with any bug report.
Credits
- CowboyBingus: Bingus Shared Loader, Mod Options Menu, and the avatar/stance/movement research behind Shallow Water Diving and Consistent Vaulting.
- SHODAN: SHODAN Stat Editor and its shared table scan.
- xypwn: Filediver and its game data layouts.
- Claude by Anthropic, which co-wrote the code, tests, images and this page.
- Akaya Mods user "Ammo875" for the idea to run-while-gunning. Thanks for the feedback!
==================== VERSION NOTE (v1.6.1) ====================
First public release. Stance-based stamina recovery and delay, slope speed and stamina, mantling cost and exhaustion lock, momentum melee (damage, stagger/push, armor pen, melee weapons), melee stamina cost, exhaustion sway, four presets.
RUN-N-GUN
Shoot on the move. Keep your momentum.
What is Run-N-Gun?
Normally, firing a weapon in Helldivers 2 immediately knocks your movement down to aiming speed. Run-N-Gun lets you sprint into a firefight and keep your running speed while shooting, instead of slowing to a walk the moment you pull the trigger.
It activates only when you go directly from sprinting into firing or aiming. Keep moving and shooting and it stays active; stop moving or stop firing and normal movement takes over. It does not simply make aiming faster all the time.
Directional Run-N-Gun
You can charge forward while laying down fire, but you can't sprint sideways at full speed while mag-dumping at something 90 degrees away (the game has no sprint-strafe animation, so it looks very janky). One-handed weapons are exempt, and melee works fine while sprinting. Directional restriction can be switched off in the menu.
Settings
ESC → MODS → RUN-N-GUN
Without Mod Options Menu, the defaults above are used. Changes apply in-game without a restart.
Requirements
Compatibility: works alongside other movement mods (it adjusts firing movement around the speed your diver already uses). Movement is applied locally to your diver. Do not run the old standalone Run-N-Gun mod alongside the TCO component.
Diagnostics:
Shows startup/version checks, whether the movement controller was found, Run-N-Gun state, direction detection and menu registration.
Credits: CowboyBingus (Bingus Shared Loader, Mod Options Menu); Akaya Mods user "Ammo875" for the idea; ChatGPT by OpenAI co-wrote the original implementation, validation and packaging.
Don't stop shooting just because you're moving. Don't stop moving just because you're shooting.
Normally, firing a weapon in Helldivers 2 immediately knocks your movement down to aiming speed. Run-N-Gun lets you sprint into a firefight and keep your running speed while shooting, instead of slowing to a walk the moment you pull the trigger.
It activates only when you go directly from sprinting into firing or aiming. Keep moving and shooting and it stays active; stop moving or stop firing and normal movement takes over. It does not simply make aiming faster all the time.
Directional Run-N-Gun
- 0–30° from forward: full Run-N-Gun benefit
- 30–55°: benefit gradually tapers off
- More than 55°: normal firing movement speed
You can charge forward while laying down fire, but you can't sprint sideways at full speed while mag-dumping at something 90 degrees away (the game has no sprint-strafe animation, so it looks very janky). One-handed weapons are exempt, and melee works fine while sprinting. Directional restriction can be switched off in the menu.
Settings
ESC → MODS → RUN-N-GUN
| Setting | Default | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Run-N-Gun | On | On / Off |
| Directional Run-N-Gun | On | On / Off |
| One-Handed Direction Bypass | On | On / Off |
| Hipfire Linger | 50% | 10–200% |
| Run-N-Gun Sway | 200% extra | 0–900% |
- Hipfire Linger: how much of the normal post-shot delay remains before you can sprint again (100% = vanilla, lower = sooner).
- Run-N-Gun Sway: extra instability while firing on the move (0% = none, 200% ≈ triple). It keeps Run-N-Gun a mobility option rather than free accuracy at a sprint.
Without Mod Options Menu, the defaults above are used. Changes apply in-game without a restart.
Requirements
- Helldivers 2 on Windows PC, Steam build 25480438 / executable 1.8.46015.0
- Bingus Shared Loader — API 1
- Mod Options Menu — optional, but recommended
- A mod manager such as HD2 Arsenal or HD2MM
Compatibility: works alongside other movement mods (it adjusts firing movement around the speed your diver already uses). Movement is applied locally to your diver. Do not run the old standalone Run-N-Gun mod alongside the TCO component.
Diagnostics:
Code:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\CowboyBingus\Helldivers2\Logs\TCO-RunNGun.logCredits: CowboyBingus (Bingus Shared Loader, Mod Options Menu); Akaya Mods user "Ammo875" for the idea; ChatGPT by OpenAI co-wrote the original implementation, validation and packaging.
Don't stop shooting just because you're moving. Don't stop moving just because you're shooting.
MELEE OVERHAUL
Momentum is a weapon too.
What is Melee Overhaul?
Melee Overhaul turns the melee attack from a fixed emergency shove into a system that responds to momentum, stamina and exhaustion. A diver charging into an enemy should hit differently from one standing still, and an exhausted diver shouldn't be able to throw the same punch forever.
Momentum Melee
The faster you are moving when you attack, the harder you hit. At the default maximum, a full-speed charge reaches about 2× damage, 2× stagger and 2× push. It scales with your actual movement speed: standing still is normal melee, jogging is a partial bonus, a full charge is the full effect.
Stamina and Exhaustion
Melee costs 10% stamina per attack by default (adjustable). Do you spend stamina closing the distance, or save enough to fight when you get there?
Settings
ESC → MODS → MELEE OVERHAUL: Melee Overhaul On/Off, Maximum Momentum Damage Bonus, Momentum Force Effects, Momentum Armor Penetration, Melee Weapon Support, Melee Stamina Cost, No Melee When Exhausted, Weaken Melee When Exhausted, Exhausted Melee Damage Reduction. Without Mod Options Menu, the defaults are used.
Core / Stamina is not required. If Core is installed with a verified exhaustion state, Melee Overhaul uses it; otherwise it verifies stamina itself.
Requirements
Compatibility: works alongside Core / Stamina, Run-N-Gun and Shellshock. Melee values are leased and restored, never permanently replaced. Momentum counts speed in any direction.
Diagnostics:
Records settings, swing signals, stamina/exhaustion state, blocked swings, momentum multipliers, melee weapon rows found, and every value written and restored.
Charge harder. Hit harder. Don't gas yourself before you get there.
Momentum is a weapon. Stamina is the ammunition.
Melee Overhaul turns the melee attack from a fixed emergency shove into a system that responds to momentum, stamina and exhaustion. A diver charging into an enemy should hit differently from one standing still, and an exhausted diver shouldn't be able to throw the same punch forever.
Momentum Melee
The faster you are moving when you attack, the harder you hit. At the default maximum, a full-speed charge reaches about 2× damage, 2× stagger and 2× push. It scales with your actual movement speed: standing still is normal melee, jogging is a partial bonus, a full charge is the full effect.
- Momentum Armor Penetration (optional): committed sprinting, sliding or diving strikes get +1 AP.
- Force effects (optional): stagger and push can be switched off independently, so you keep harder-hitting charges without launching everything across the battlefield.
- Melee weapons (optional): recognized melee weapons use the same momentum scaling; off restricts the overhaul to the standard melee attack.
Stamina and Exhaustion
Melee costs 10% stamina per attack by default (adjustable). Do you spend stamina closing the distance, or save enough to fight when you get there?
| Option | Effect |
|---|---|
| No Melee When Exhausted | Melee is blocked while fully exhausted. Takes precedence; a damage-side fail-safe also zeros damage, durable damage, demolition, stagger and push if an attack slips through. |
| Weaken Melee When Exhausted | Melee still works but is reduced by 0–100% (default 50%). Off by default. |
Settings
ESC → MODS → MELEE OVERHAUL: Melee Overhaul On/Off, Maximum Momentum Damage Bonus, Momentum Force Effects, Momentum Armor Penetration, Melee Weapon Support, Melee Stamina Cost, No Melee When Exhausted, Weaken Melee When Exhausted, Exhausted Melee Damage Reduction. Without Mod Options Menu, the defaults are used.
Core / Stamina is not required. If Core is installed with a verified exhaustion state, Melee Overhaul uses it; otherwise it verifies stamina itself.
Requirements
- Helldivers 2 on Windows PC
- Bingus Shared Loader — API 1
- Mod Options Menu — optional, recommended
- SHODAN Stat Editor — optional; its shared table scan is used when available
- A mod manager such as HD2 Arsenal or HD2MM
Compatibility: works alongside Core / Stamina, Run-N-Gun and Shellshock. Melee values are leased and restored, never permanently replaced. Momentum counts speed in any direction.
Diagnostics:
Code:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\CowboyBingus\Helldivers2\Logs\TCO-MeleeOverhaul.logCharge harder. Hit harder. Don't gas yourself before you get there.
Momentum is a weapon. Stamina is the ammunition.
SHELLSHOCK
When the blast doesn't kill you, it should still leave you seeing stars.
What is Shellshock?
Shellshock adds concussive blasts to nearby explosions. In the base game, if you survive a blast your senses are instantly fine. With Shellshock, qualifying explosions leave you disoriented, visually distorted and concussed for a while, using the game's own status effects rather than a screen overlay.
Settings
ESC → MODS → SHELLSHOCK: Shellshock On/Off, Effect Duration, Concussion Strength, Minimum Explosion Radius, Normal Explosion Concussion. Changes apply in-game.
Requirements
Shellshock is independently deployable; no other TCO component is required. It changes explosion, damage and status definitions through SHODAN's shared scan.
Diagnostics:
Records whether the explosion, damage and status tables were found, how many explosions qualify and received concussion, current strength and duration, and any guarded patch that was refused.
Surviving a blast shouldn't mean instantly returning accurate fire. Shellshock fills the gap between "that missed me" and "I died".
SHELLSHOCK: Surviving the explosion was only the first problem.
Shellshock adds concussive blasts to nearby explosions. In the base game, if you survive a blast your senses are instantly fine. With Shellshock, qualifying explosions leave you disoriented, visually distorted and concussed for a while, using the game's own status effects rather than a screen overlay.
- Normal explosions count: grenades, rockets and other ordinary blasts, not only stun weapons. A short-lived concussion volume is added at the detonation point.
- Gas, smoke, EMS and other persistent fields are preserved, not overwritten.
- Minimum explosion radius: choose whether only big artillery, also grenades and rockets, or nearly every explosion can concuss you. The blast still decides whether you are close enough.
- Strength: 1.0 ≈ native effect, 2–3 pronounced, 4–5 severe, 10 = you have made a terrible tactical decision.
- Duration is set separately from strength.
Settings
ESC → MODS → SHELLSHOCK: Shellshock On/Off, Effect Duration, Concussion Strength, Minimum Explosion Radius, Normal Explosion Concussion. Changes apply in-game.
Requirements
- Helldivers 2 on Windows PC
- Bingus Shared Loader v19+
- SHODAN Stat Editor v2.3.1+
- Mod Options Menu — optional, recommended
- A mod manager such as HD2 Arsenal or HD2MM
Shellshock is independently deployable; no other TCO component is required. It changes explosion, damage and status definitions through SHODAN's shared scan.
Diagnostics:
Code:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\CowboyBingus\Helldivers2\Logs\TCO-Shellshock.logSurviving a blast shouldn't mean instantly returning accurate fire. Shellshock fills the gap between "that missed me" and "I died".
SHELLSHOCK: Surviving the explosion was only the first problem.
SLIPPERY WHEN WET
When your legs are gone, sometimes the rest of you follows.
What is Slippery When Wet?
Slippery When Wet makes low stamina physically dangerous. Keep sprinting, vaulting or otherwise exerting yourself while your stamina bar is nearly empty and there is a configurable chance you lose your footing and ragdoll. It is not a random-trip simulator: only exertion while fatigued counts. You can push your luck. Sometimes your luck pushes back.
Settings
ESC → MODS → TCO - SLIPPERY WHEN WET
At the defaults, only the bottom quarter of the bar is dangerous, and most exertion there is still safe. At 100% / 100%, every eligible event is a guaranteed chance to discover the ground.
How it decides
Core / Stamina is not required. If Core has a verified stamina value it is used; otherwise Slippery When Wet verifies stamina itself, read-only. It never writes your stamina.
Requirements
Do not install the old standalone Slippery When Wet alongside the TCO version.
Diagnostics:
Records stamina and its source, requested and measured speed, running state, exertion events, rolls, slips and ignored melee events.
Sometimes the desperate sprint works. Sometimes your exhausted Helldiver plants a boot badly and becomes a physics object.
SLIPPERY WHEN WET: Fatigue is temporary. The ground is permanent.
Slippery When Wet makes low stamina physically dangerous. Keep sprinting, vaulting or otherwise exerting yourself while your stamina bar is nearly empty and there is a configurable chance you lose your footing and ragdoll. It is not a random-trip simulator: only exertion while fatigued counts. You can push your luck. Sometimes your luck pushes back.
Settings
ESC → MODS → TCO - SLIPPERY WHEN WET
| Setting | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Slippery When Wet | On | On / Off |
| Stamina Threshold | 25% | How low stamina must be before exertion can cause a slip (0–100%). |
| Ragdoll Chance | 20% | Chance that an eligible exertion event ragdolls you (0–100%). |
At the defaults, only the bottom quarter of the bar is dangerous, and most exertion there is still safe. At 100% / 100%, every eligible event is a guaranteed chance to discover the ground.
How it decides
- One roll per exertion, not per frame. Starting a run below the threshold is one roll; a long sprint that crosses the threshold gets one roll as it crosses.
- Run-N-Gun aware: firing changes the movement state the game reports, so the mod also checks your measured speed. Running while firing still counts as running.
- Other exertion: drops in stamina from climbing or mantling count as one event per action (sprinting uphill doesn't roll dozens of times a second).
- Melee is excluded: with Melee Overhaul installed, swing telemetry identifies melee stamina costs (a 180 ms window lets both components see the same event). Actual running is never classified as melee.
- Native ragdoll: a slip requests the game's normal living ragdoll through RAGDOLLDIVERS. It is refused when you are already ragdolling, Play Dead holds the ragdoll, a menu has focus, or the game says the state isn't safe.
Core / Stamina is not required. If Core has a verified stamina value it is used; otherwise Slippery When Wet verifies stamina itself, read-only. It never writes your stamina.
Requirements
- Helldivers 2 on Windows PC
- Bingus Shared Loader — API 1 / v18+
- RAGDOLLDIVERS v1.1.1+
- Mod Options Menu — optional, recommended
- A mod manager such as HD2 Arsenal or HD2MM
Do not install the old standalone Slippery When Wet alongside the TCO version.
Diagnostics:
Code:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\CowboyBingus\Helldivers2\Logs\TCO-SlipperyWhenWet.logSometimes the desperate sprint works. Sometimes your exhausted Helldiver plants a boot badly and becomes a physics object.
SLIPPERY WHEN WET: Fatigue is temporary. The ground is permanent.
GHOSTS AND GOLIATH
Pack light and stay low.
⚠ HOST ONLY — BE CONSIDERATE IN PUBLIC LOBBIES
What is Ghosts and Goliath?
Ghosts and Goliath ties how far away enemies can spot you to how much you are carrying. A diver in light armor with a carbine and a sidearm slips past patrols that would never miss a heavy-armor machine gunner with a backpack. Heavy kit still has a job: a lumbering Goliath draws attention to a position, freeing the Ghosts on the team to flank.
Your Load
Grenades and stratagem beacons don't count. Clumsy weapons are heavy: a 15-ergonomics machine gun adds 85 × 2 = 170; a 100-ergonomics pistol adds nothing.
Presets
Settings
ESC → MODS → TCO - GHOSTS AND GOLIATH — Preset, On/Off, Stealth Passives Stack (on), Full Stealth Bonus At Load (100, 0–600), Min Detection Range (80%, 50–500%), Full Penalty At Load (500, 50–1000), Max Detection Range (125%, 50–500%), Primary / Secondary / Support Weight (100 / 50 / 200%, 0–400%), Backpack Load (100, 0–300), Missing Ergonomics (50, 0–100). Changes apply on APPLY, even mid-mission. Without Mod Options Menu, Standard is used.
How it works: it uses the game's own "reduces range at which enemies can detect the wearer" modifier (the one Scout armor uses) on your armor passive, editing it if the passive has one and adding it if not.
Requirements
Select TCO - Ghosts and Goliath in Arsenal; TCO's Shared Runtime is included automatically. Remove the old standalone Ghosts and Goliath and the Stealth Probe test mod first.
Known limitations: weapon attachments are not counted yet (base ergonomics only); weapons without an ergonomics value use the Missing Ergonomics setting.
Diagnostics:
Shows your armor and rating, every equipped item and its load, missing ergonomics, total load, detection range, and each edit/add of the detection modifier.
Credits: HD2 Transmog (armor customization and catalog layout, code signatures, armor passive data); SHODAN (Stat Editor and shared table scan); CowboyBingus (Bingus Shared Loader, Mod Options Menu); Claude by Anthropic co-wrote the code, tests, images and this page.
The heavy machine gun, the backpack and the heavy armor make you hard to kill. They should also make you hard to miss.
GHOSTS AND GOLIATH: Pack light and stay low. Or don't, and give your squad something to flank behind.
==================== VERSION NOTE (v2.7.0) ====================
First release as a TCO component: load from armor and equipped primary, secondary, support and backpack; smooth detection scaling; five presets; stealth passive stacking; full restore.
- Enemy AI runs on the host, so Ghosts and Goliath only works when you host (or play solo). As a client it does nothing.
- The detection value is stored on the armor passive. While you host, everyone in your lobby wearing the same armor passive as you gets your detection range, whether or not they have the mod or agreed to it.
- Aggressive presets (Hardcore, Ghosts and Goliath) noticeably change how a mission plays for the whole squad. Don't host public lobbies on extreme settings without telling people; Subtle or Standard is the polite choice, or turn it off.
- Everything is restored when you turn it off, change armor or quit. Nothing is saved to your game files.
What is Ghosts and Goliath?
Ghosts and Goliath ties how far away enemies can spot you to how much you are carrying. A diver in light armor with a carbine and a sidearm slips past patrols that would never miss a heavy-armor machine gunner with a backpack. Heavy kit still has a job: a lumbering Goliath draws attention to a position, freeing the Ghosts on the team to flank.
Your Load
| Item | Counts as | Default weight |
|---|---|---|
| Armor | Armor rating (50 light, 100 medium, 150 heavy; mixed sets in between) | ×1 |
| Primary | 100 − ergonomics | ×1 |
| Secondary | 100 − ergonomics | ×0.5 |
| Support weapon | 100 − ergonomics | ×2 |
| Backpack | Any backpack | +100 |
Grenades and stratagem beacons don't count. Clumsy weapons are heavy: a 15-ergonomics machine gun adds 85 × 2 = 170; a 100-ergonomics pistol adds nothing.
Code:
Standard preset:
Light armor 50 + Liberator 35 + Peacemaker 0 = 85 -> 80% detection range
Medium 100 + Liberator 35 + Peacemaker 0 + MG-43 170 + jump pack 100 = 405 -> 114% detection range- Smooth scaling: at or below Full Stealth Bonus At Load you get your Min Detection Range; at or above Full Penalty At Load, your Max Detection Range; in between it moves with every point of load.
- Equipped, not just in hand: your secondary counts from drop-in; a support weapon counts when picked up and stops when dropped or used up; a backpack counts while worn; your loadout is kept while you're dead.
- Stealth passives stack: Scout (×0.7) and Reduced Signature (×0.6) still apply on top (toggle).
Presets
| Preset | Detection range | Full penalty at load | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subtle | 90–115% | 500 | A gentle nudge. |
| Standard | 80–125% | 500 | Default. |
| Tactical | 70–175% | 450 | Loadout clearly matters. |
| Hardcore | 60–300% | 400 | Support ×3, backpack 150. |
| Ghosts and Goliath | 50–500% | 400 | Primary ×1.25, support ×3, backpack 200. |
Settings
ESC → MODS → TCO - GHOSTS AND GOLIATH — Preset, On/Off, Stealth Passives Stack (on), Full Stealth Bonus At Load (100, 0–600), Min Detection Range (80%, 50–500%), Full Penalty At Load (500, 50–1000), Max Detection Range (125%, 50–500%), Primary / Secondary / Support Weight (100 / 50 / 200%, 0–400%), Backpack Load (100, 0–300), Missing Ergonomics (50, 0–100). Changes apply on APPLY, even mid-mission. Without Mod Options Menu, Standard is used.
How it works: it uses the game's own "reduces range at which enemies can detect the wearer" modifier (the one Scout armor uses) on your armor passive, editing it if the passive has one and adding it if not.
Requirements
- Helldivers 2 on Windows PC, Steam build 25480438 / executable 1.8.46015.0
- Bingus Shared Loader — v18+ / API 1
- Mod Options Menu — optional, recommended
- SHODAN Stat Editor — optional, recommended (weapon ergonomics; without it every weapon counts as 50)
- A mod manager such as HD2 Arsenal or HD2MM
Select TCO - Ghosts and Goliath in Arsenal; TCO's Shared Runtime is included automatically. Remove the old standalone Ghosts and Goliath and the Stealth Probe test mod first.
Known limitations: weapon attachments are not counted yet (base ergonomics only); weapons without an ergonomics value use the Missing Ergonomics setting.
Diagnostics:
Code:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\CowboyBingus\Helldivers2\Logs\TCO-GhostsAndGoliath.logCredits: HD2 Transmog (armor customization and catalog layout, code signatures, armor passive data); SHODAN (Stat Editor and shared table scan); CowboyBingus (Bingus Shared Loader, Mod Options Menu); Claude by Anthropic co-wrote the code, tests, images and this page.
The heavy machine gun, the backpack and the heavy armor make you hard to kill. They should also make you hard to miss.
GHOSTS AND GOLIATH: Pack light and stay low. Or don't, and give your squad something to flank behind.
==================== VERSION NOTE (v2.7.0) ====================
First release as a TCO component: load from armor and equipped primary, secondary, support and backpack; smooth detection scaling; five presets; stealth passive stacking; full restore.
COMPONENT DEPENDENCIES
Each Tactical Combat Overhaul component is independently deployable. You only need the dependencies used by the components you actually install.
| Component | Bingus Shared Loader | Mod Options Menu | SHODAN Stat Editor | RAGDOLLDIVERS | Other TCO Components |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core / Stamina | Required — v18+ / API 1 | Required | Optional — uses SHODAN's shared scan when available | Not required | None |
| Run-N-Gun | Required — API 1 | Optional / Recommended | Not required | Not required | None |
| Melee Overhaul | Required — API 1 | Optional / Recommended | Optional | Not required | None |
| Shellshock | Required — v19+ / API 1 | Optional / Recommended | Required — v2.3.1+ | Not required | None |
| Slippery When Wet | Required — v18+ / API 1 | Optional / Recommended | Not required | Required — v1.1.1+ | None — Core and Melee provide optional integration only |
| Ghosts and Goliath | Required — v18+ / API 1 | Optional / Recommended | Optional / Recommended — supplies weapon ergonomics | Not required | None |
Quick version:
- Installing Core / Stamina? Get Bingus Shared Loader + Mod Options Menu.
- Installing Run-N-Gun? Bingus Shared Loader is the only hard dependency.
- Installing Melee Overhaul? Bingus Shared Loader is the only hard dependency; SHODAN and Mod Options add integration/configuration.
- Installing Shellshock? You need Bingus Shared Loader + SHODAN Stat Editor.
- Installing Slippery When Wet? You need Bingus Shared Loader + RAGDOLLDIVERS; Core, Melee and Mod Options are optional integrations.
- Installing Ghosts and Goliath? Bingus Shared Loader is the only hard dependency; SHODAN Stat Editor (weapon ergonomics) and Mod Options Menu are recommended.
- No component requires another TCO component.
Hellsliders remains optional but strongly recommended alongside Core / Stamina.
