(20/06/2025)
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UPDATE NOTICE
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Version 2.4.0 is now available!
This release contains changes and new additions based on recent feedback.
Read about the details on the 'POSTS' tab 'Version 2.4.0' sticky comment. 

Overview

 

The design and customisation of the tethered reticle and crosshair reticle in Helldivers 2 suffer from some significant flaws. The shape and grey colour of the tethered reticle make it hard to track during the game's extremely varied colour and lighting conditions, whilst the crosshair designs are overly large and have unnecessary animations, causing them to partially obscure targets or distract the player. Collectively, these problems negatively impact the experience for many players.

Better Aim Reticles ('BAR') was created to improve these aspects, aiding player targeting and enjoyment.



Features List

Tethered reticles

• Better Aim Reticles provides 24 custom-made tethered reticles to facilitate easier targeting and increase precision.
  

Author note: Unfortunately it is not currently possible to mod the grey colour of the tethered reticle.

Right-click on the image below and Open Image in New Tab to enlarge: 

Author note: It is recommended to try every tethered reticle design and see which one gives you the best results, rather than choosing a reticle purely on its aesthetics.


Line and Box Crosshairs

• Redesigned line and box crosshairs no longer hinder player targeting while preserving the charge-up indicator functionality for weapons such as the RS-422 Railgun, PLAS-101 Purifier etc.
• There is also an option to turn off the line and box crosshairs.
  




Triangle Crosshair

• Redesigned triangle crosshair no longer hinders player targeting with weapons such as the LAS-5 Scythe, LAS-16 Sickle etc., while preserving the targeting functionality for lock-on weapons such as the FAF-14 Spear and StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher.
• There is also an option to turn off the triangle crosshair.
  




Redesigned Hitmarker

• Modified to be less intrusive while still providing damage feedback.
• There is also an option to turn off the hitmarker.
  


 
 
Crosshair Dot

• Contains size customisation options for the crosshair dot.
• All options are available with and without Better Pings.
  



Better Pings

• Reduces the size of 'danger' and 'interest' ping icons to be less obtrusive.
• Removes obsolete downward ping pointer to reduce clutter.
• Removes ping UI corners to reduce clutter (ping UI corners on pinged map POIs are preserved).
  






Recommended Sister Mod

Lastly, Better Aim Reticles has a sister mod: Better Map Markers which offers further improvements and customisations.
 


 
(Click the icon to go to the mod download page.) 



Features List

Redesigned Map Markers

• Better Map Markers provides 16 custom-made map markers designed to provide clarity and enable accurate marking. 
  

Circle Crosshair

• If you wish to remove the circle crosshair (used by weapons such as the LAS-98 Laser Cannon, LAS-99 Quasar Cannon etc.), the option is included in Better Map Markers due to it altering the same game asset file.
  



Nameplate Boxes

• Better Map Markers also provides the option to remove player nameplate boxes, reducing HUD clutter, which is especially useful in situations when squadmates are positioned behind your target.
  



Mod Configuration Examples

You can see previews of some of the possible configurations in the image below.

Right-click on the image below and Open Image in New Tab to enlarge:



NOTE (1): Line crosshair modifications affect both the horizontal line crosshairs (used by weapons such as the AC-8 Autocannon, MG-206 Heavy Machine etc.) and '3-sided box' crosshair (used by weapons such as the RS-422 Railgun, PLAS-101 Purifier etc.) due the game sharing the same asset for both crosshairs.

NOTE (2): The triangle crosshair game asset is shared by numerous weapons (such as the P-4 Senator, LAS-5 Scythe, LAS-16 Sickle, FAF-14 Spear, StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher etc.), meaning that modifications to the crosshair affect them all. This limitation means that weapon crosshairs cannot be modded on a per-weapon basis.

NOTE (3): Following from NOTE (2), if you select a configuration which disables the triangle crosshair, it will also disable the triangular lock-on targeting indicator used by weapons such as the FAF-14 Spear and StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher due the game sharing the same asset for those weapons. If you want to keep the triangular lock-on targeting indicator, please ensure that you choose a configuration with the triangle crosshair enabled.

 


Crosshair Colour Customisation

You can choose from 4 colours using the in-game options (see image below). The game currently supports white, yellow, green and red.
I also recommend you enable Reticle Outline underneath the Reticle Colour setting (this only applies to crosshairs).



 

Installation Instructions

This mod requires HD2 Mod Manager v1.2.1.0.
Simply download BAR and add the zipped folder in HD2 Mod Manager, then choose a configuration from the list of options.

Author note: If you like this mod, I'd appreciate it if you took some time to give it an endorsement and post your favorite BAR configuration in the comments.

Donations are greatly appreciated and help me to continue maintaining BAR in my free time. You can donate via my profile page or in the donation box that appears directly after you download the mod file.

Constructive feedback welcome.

Thanks. o7

FAQ

Q: Can I change the colour/opacity of my tethered reticle?
A: Unfortunately there is currently no way to do this. Any colour changes made to the tethered reticle asset file are processed and interpreted by the game as shades of white. If you'd like this functionality, I recommend you submit the request to the Arrowhead developers here.

Q: Can I change the colour/opacity of my crosshair?
A: You can change the colour of your crosshair. Please refer to the Crosshair Colour Customisation section. The game only supports white, yellow, green and red.

Q: I can't see the targeting indicator when using lock-on weapons. Is this a bug?
A: The triangle crosshair game asset is shared by numerous weapons (such as the P-4 Senator, LAS-5 Scythe, LAS-16 Sickle, FAF-14 Spear, StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher etc.), meaning that modifications to the crosshair affect them all. This limitation means that weapon crosshairs cannot be modded on a per-weapon basis.
Due to this, if you select a configuration which disables the triangle crosshair, it will also disable the triangular lock-on targeting indicator used by weapons such as the FAF-14 Spear and StA-X3 W.A.S.P. Launcher due the game sharing the same asset for those weapons. If you want to keep the triangular lock-on targeting indicator, please ensure that you choose a configuration with the triangle crosshair enabled.

Q: My chosen BAR configuration isn't working or is only partially working. Why?
A: This is usually caused by a conflict with another mod which alters the same game asset files. To confirm this, first purge and disable all mods, then enable only BAR and check if your configuration is now working. You can then re-enable your other mods one-by-one until you identify which one is causing the conflict. Unfortunately I cannot provide compatibility support for other mods.

Q: Does BAR work with version 2 of HD2MM ?
A: The mod UI and scaling in the v2 preview build of HD2MM does not allow for the information of each configuration to be displayed clearly. For this reason, version 2 of HD2MM is not currently supported. HD2MM v1.2.1.0 is recommended.



Troubleshooting

If you experience issues adding BAR to your HD2MM, your HD2MM may have entered a 'bad state'.

Please try the following:

• Remove all mods in HD2MM then purge.
• Open your Helldivers 2 data folder and confirm that there are no .patch files remaining there. 
• Open Settings in HD2MM and copy and paste the 'Storage Directory' path (its the second one listed) into the address bar of your file explorer.
• Close HD2MM.
• Delete the contents of the Helldivers2ModManager folder (the one you opened in step 3).
• Open HD2MM, add the BAR .zip package in HD2MM and deploy it.
  

To avoid this issue repeating when updating to a newer version, always purge and remove the old versions of BAR from your HD2MM, then restart HD2MM and add the new version.



Updates


20/06/2025
Better Aim Reticles 2.4.0 release
Two builds are now available: BAR and BAR (EXPERIMENTAL).
- BAR This is the standard version of BAR and contains the slim 'X' hitmarker design. New tethered reticle designs will be added, however it will not undergo major changes to its existing core features (the design of its crosshairs, crosshair dots, hitmarker) unless there is unanimous feedback to implement a feature from the 'BAR (EXPERIMENTAL)' version. 
- BAR (EXPERIMENTAL) This is the new 'testing' version of BAR and will be used to trial new designs/ideas. Currently testing the discreet hitmarker design. 
- New configuration options: Line Crosshairs: ON, Triangle Crosshairs: ON, Hitmarker: OFF (requested by users) (contained in both BAR versions).
- New tethered reticle: Ring (Quartered, Center Dot) (requested by users) (contained in both BAR versions).

11/06/2025
Better Aim Reticles 2.3.0 release
-Rebuilt mod to be compatible with game patch 01.003.100.
-Added new tethered reticle design (see image of available tethered reticles in mod description): "Diamond Cross (Thick)" (User requested).
-Added new hitmarker-only configuration option (no tethered reticle, no line+box crosshairs, no triangle crosshair) (User requested).
-New hitmarker design (see image under the relevant section in the mod description): The hitmarker has been further improved to be less distracting and obtrusive during sustained fire. The new design is more compact and discreet while still clearly conveying the same damage feedback to the player. I believe the new design to be a significant improvement over the designs in both the original game and previous BAR versions, however I'll be monitoring user feedback on it. The plan is to proceed with the new hitmarker design in all future versions of BAR as I can only realistically support one hitmarker design (supporting more than one hitmarker design would require an separate build of BAR to be built and maintained, effectively doubling the work and time required). 
-Removed some unpopular reticle designs. After reviewing the results from the poll of users' preferred tethered reticles, the following two unpopular tethered reticles were removed to make mod maintenance more manageable: "Box (Outer), Box (Inner)", "Box (inner), Cross (Short).
-BAR v2.3.0 is now supported in the HD2 Arsenal mod manager and should now display correct formatting for all configuration options. HD2MM v2 is still not supported due to it having no way to properly display the various configuration options. HD2MM v1.2.1.0 is recommended if you do not wish to use HD2 Arsenal.

07/06/2025
-Updated FAQ with mod conflict troubleshooting.

25/05/25
Better Aim Reticles 2.2.1 release
-Fixed Fine Cross tethered reticle variants not working with 'Line+box crosshairs: OFF, Triangle Crosshair: ON, Hitmarker: ON' configuration.

15/05/2025
-Added FAQ section to mod description documentation.

13/05/2025
Better Aim Reticles 2.2.0 release
-Rebuilt mod to be compatible with game patch 01.003.000.

See LOGS->Changelogs for older updates.


Check out my other mod: