Helldivers 2 is a third-person co-op squad-based shooter developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It serves as a sequel to Helldivers (2015), expanding its vision of a militaristic dystopia where players serve the fictional authoritarian regime known as Super Earth.



Unlike its predecessor’s top-down view, Helldivers 2 employs a third-person perspective, enhancing the tactical nature of its cooperative gameplay. The core objective is to fight in the Galactic War, pushing back alien threats across various planetary battlefields. Missions focus on completing objectives such as exterminations, sabotage, extraction, and territory control, emphasizing teamwork, coordination, and strategic planning.

The Galactic War is the overarching, persistent conflict that defines the player-driven narrative of Helldivers 2. It represents the Helldivers’ collective effort to spread “Managed Democracy” across the galaxy, fighting against hostile factions that threaten Super Earth’s dominance and security.

Unlike isolated missions, the Galactic War is a dynamic, community-wide campaign. Every mission completed by players around the world contributes to the evolving state of the war, with systems gained or lost depending on collective success or failure.


The galaxy is divided into Sectors, each containing multiple Planets. Each planet serves as a strategic objective that must be either defended from enemy assaults or liberated from enemy control. The overarching goal is to push enemy factions back to their home systems or repel invasions to safeguard Super Earth’s interests.

Progress across the map is determined by Major Orders, which are global community objectives set periodically by Super Earth Command. Completing these Major Orders often results in unlocking currency, new stratagems / weapons or cosmetics.

Every player participates in the Galactic War simply by playing missions. Successful completion of missions on contested planets contributes Liberation Progress, visibly tracked by all players engaged in the war effort. Planetary liberation is achieved once enough progress is made, securing the location for Super Earth.

Personal Orders are orders specific to each player that rotate every 24-hours. These are optional orders that will give 15 medals when completed.

Potential Orders:

Major Orders are large-scale, time-limited directives issued by Super Earth Command to the Helldivers community. They represent key moments in the Galactic War, often determining the direction of the campaign and serving as focal points for community coordination.

Unlike standard missions, Major Orders provide structured, overarching objectives that require global player participation to accomplish. Completion of these orders can unlock currency, new stratagems / weapons or cosmetics, shape the campaign map, and advance the Galactic War.

Even if a Helldiver does not participate in the Major Order, they will still get the reward, provided it was successful.

So far, the following tasks have been observed from a Major Order:

• Liberate a planet.
  
• Hold a planet until the Major Order expires.
  
• Exterminate a certain amount of enemy forces.
  
• Successfully defend a certain amount of planets.
  
• Gather a certain amount of samples.
  
• Liberate more planets that are lost to an enemy faction.
  
• Complete a given number of operations.

The tools of war in Helldivers 2 are divided primarily into Armor and Weapons, both of which play critical roles in defining a player’s capabilities on the battlefield. Understanding their properties, categories, and appropriate use is essential for operational efficiency and survivability.

Armor in Helldivers 2 is more than simple damage reduction; it is a strategic choice that significantly affects your Gameplay. Each armor set belongs to a weight class, impacting Armor Rating (Protection), Speed and Stamina Regeneration.


Armor passives in Helldivers 2 are intrinsic modifiers that enhance a Helldiver's performance in various aspects. These passives are tied to specific armor sets and can significantly influence your Gameplay. Below are a few notable Passives.


Weapons are your primary means of engaging hostile forces. Each weapon has distinct characteristics related to Damage Output, Ammo Capacity, Recoil, Rate of Fire (RoF) and Armor Penetration (More on that later).

There are three Weapon Types:

• Primary Weapons: Your main offensive tool
  
• Secondary Weapons: Your Backup Pistol or your Melee Weapon
  
• Throwables: Things like frag grenades or stun grenades

Primary Weapons
Primary Weapons serve as a Helldiver’s main offensive tool in combat. They are versatile, cover various engagement ranges, and are tailored to specific combat styles.


Secondary Weapons
Secondary Weapons are compact sidearms designed as a backup when the primary weapon is unavailable or have another purpose like the P-11 Stim Pistol. Although generally less powerful than primary weapons, they are invaluable in emergencies, tight quarters, or as a fallback during reloads.


Throwables
Throwables provide supplementary offensive or tactical capabilities like blowing um a swarm of Bugs, destroying a Bot fabricator or stunning a squad of Squids.


Since the "Heart of Democracy" Update you can customize the Attachments and appearance of your weapons.
Customizable Attachments include:

• Optics
  
• Underbarrel
  
• Muzzle
  
• Magazine

Changing these Attachments may affect the following stats:

In Helldivers 2, players utilize four destinct currencies to unlock new items for their Helldiver.
The four Currencies are:

• Requisition Slips (Hereby referred to as 'Req')
  
• Medals
  
• Super Credits ("Cryptocurrency") (Hereby referred to as 'SC')
  
• Samples (Common, Rare, Super)

Here are the icons of the different currencies:

Stratagems are one of the most important tools at the disposal of the Helldivers. Without them most of the missions would not be possible.

There are four types of Stratagems the Helldiver can use:

• Mission Specific
  
• Offensive
  
• Supply
  
• Defensive

Mission Specific Stratagems (yellow)
Includes Stratagems like Reinforce, Resupply, SoS Beacon, etc.

Offensive Stratagems (red)
Includes Stratagems like Orbital Precision Strike, Eagle Airstrike, etc.

Supply Stratagems (blue)
Includes Stratagems like Machine Gun, Stalwart, Expendable Anti-Tank, etc.

Defensive Stratagems (green)
Includes Stratagems like Gatling Sentry, Mortar Sentry, Anti-Personnel Minefield, etc.

Stratagems can be acquired by two means:

• Purchased at the "Ship Management" Terminal to the left of the Main Hall for Requisition Slips (If sufficient level is reached)
  
• Purchased in Premium Warbonds for Medals

Hold down [CTRL] (Keyboard) or L1 (PlayStation) and enter the Code with the [WASD] (Keyboard) or the D-Pad (PlayStation)

Also please let your teammates know when you throw a Stratagem to avoid Friendly Fire!

Progression in Helldivers 2 is designed to reward dedicated participation in the Galactic War by providing players with new equipment, customization, and strategic tools as they complete missions and contribute to Major Orders.

Progressing through the Ranks in Helldivers 2 is actually quite simple.
You start a Mission, complete that mission and (hopefully) extract.

The higher the Mission difficulty the more rewards you'll get out of it (i.e. Req, Medals, Samples and XP)

If you have enough XP, you'll level up.

If you reach a high enough Level you will be granted a new title (Cadet -> Space Cadet -> Sergeant etc.) and will be able to buy more advanced Stratagems like the Expendalbe Anti-Tank or the Recoilless Rifle.

The max Level you can currently get is 150 (Super Private) even though you only need to get to Rank 25 (Space Chief Prime) to unlock all Stratagems.

Levelling up your weapons is really the same as as Helldiver Levelling.
You start a Mission, complete that mission and (hopefully) extract.

The higher the Mission difficulty the more Weapon XP you'll get out of it.

If you reach a high enough Weapon Level you will be able to buy new attachments or colors.

The max Level a weapon can currently have is 25.

Note: You will have to level each weapon individually

Warbonds are the primary system for unlocking cosmetics, weapons, and utility gear in Helldivers 2. They function similarly to a battle pass system but with important distinctions:

• Non-Linear Progression: Players can choose what to unlock within a Warbond, rather than progressing strictly tier by tier.
  
• No Time Limit: Warbonds will never not be availlable. Take your time, there's no rush.

• There is currently only one free Warbond ("Helldivers Mobilize")
  
• There are currently 13 Extra (Premium) Warbonds which can be unlocked through the Acquisition Center by paying 1000 Super Credits each (the "Cryptocurrency").

Here's a list of all Warbonds:

Now I know what you might be thinking. Paying Money for Warbonds isn't really nice.
However you can get Super Credits by simply playing the game and finding them at Minor Places of Interest (POI). (More on that later)

Super Credits are the in-game "Cryptocurrency".
They are used to access Premium Warbonds and the Super Store in the Acquisition Center.

Super Credits are earned by either buying them through the Acquisition Center or by finding them near Minor Places of Interest (POI).

Once you have collected a few you can buy a Premium Warbond for 1000 SC which will grant you 300 SC in exchange for medals or you can buy Equipment in the Super Store for a few hundred SC.

As per the latest version (Patch 1.003.102, released on 2025-06-12), you will need to spend 24,240 SC to unlock all Premium Warbonds and every item in the Superstore.

Super Credits can be found near POIs in containers or pods.
Super Loot containers are more likely to appear in missions on easier difficulties (Trivial - Medium), making them a good way to farm Super Credits early on.

In Helldivers 2, the enemies of Super Earth are divided into distinct factions, each with its own strengths, weaknesses, behaviors, and combat philosophies. Understanding enemy factions and their unit compositions is essential to mission success, particularly on higher difficulties where their specialized units and coordinated attacks present severe challenges to unprepared Helldivers.

Currently, four major factions have been identified in the Galactic War, with others potentially emerging in future updates or expansions.

• The Federation of Super Earth
  
• The Terminids
  
• The Automatons
  
• The Illuminate

The Federation of Super Earth consists of the Super Earth Armed Forces (SEAF) and the Helldivers.
We are all one Super Earth.

SEAF Soldiers and Civilians are only encountered in Mega Cities.

The Terminids are the successors of the bugs of the First Galactic War. After years of selective breeding changed their physiology, they have escaped their Element-710 farms and now spread unchecked.

You should start with this Faction.

The Automatons are the children of the Cyborgs, sharing their goal of declaring independence from Super Earth. They attack with heavily armored but slow moving infantry and vehicles, supported by fragile light infantry. They also make use of numerous support structures, such as mortars and scanning towers.

You should start with this Faction.

The Illuminate are an ancient race from the First Galactic War, once thought completely decimated after their defeat in the First Galactic War. Now, they have returned to avenge Super Earths genocide of their ancestors. They make significant use of their ancient technology, employing energy shields, jet-packs, laser weapons and drones.

You should not start with this Faction.

Now that you’ve chosen where to fight, it’s time to prepare for deployment. Helldiving is not simply about dropping into combat—it’s about preparation, execution, and survival. This quick guide will help you organize before each mission to maximize your effectiveness on the battlefield.

But before that you will have to choose a Difficulty (For beginners it will be 1 - Trivial / For veteran players it will be up to 10 - Super Helldive), which faction you want to fight and an Operation with the right Missions and Modifiers (Modifiers only on higher difficulties)

The Hellpod is the device used to transport Helldivers, Equipment, and Stratagems from the Super Destroyer down onto the specified Planet.

Once you enter your Hellpods, the host will be able to choose a landing position anywhere on the map (except in water, on mountains and in the void).

Location matters!
You should first plan out your movement:
You should always go in a circle around the map (if possible). For example you could land next to the Extraction Zone and then go left on the map, complete every objective on your way and return to Extraction.
It is also highly recommended that you choose a location outside of Enemy Outposts (marked red on the map).

Once a location has been chosen you can select your Stratagem Loadout.

Before deployment, you can equip up to four Stratagems per mission. Choosing the right combination is essential for survival and mission success.

In the beginning you'll only be able to take two Stratagems with you:

• MG-43 Machine Gun
  
• Orbital Precision Strike

But later you will be able to bring up to four with you.
I personally recommend you take Stratagems following this structure:

• 2 Offensive (red) Stratagems
  
• 2 Supply (blue) Stratagems
  
• Or: 1 Supply + 1 Defensive (green) Stratagem

But really, the choice is up to you. I won't judge you. But your teammates might.

Boosters are passive squad-wide bonuses selected before mission launch. Boosters can be unlocked through Warbonds for medals.

Examples of Boosters:


These 4 boosters, I strongly recommend every Team to carry (If availlable).

Mission Planning:
Review the mission objectives and side objectives before launching. Plan routes that efficiently clear the map while avoiding unnecessary risks.

Pre-Mission Checklist:

1. Make sure that you are not deploying straight into enemy territory (red zones on the map)
   
2. Make sure that everyone has an appropriate Loadout for selected Faction
   
3. Make sure that you have enough water nearby (so that you don't have to get some mid-mission)

After you have democratically done your duty you may extract from the mission.

The mission ends in two ways:

1. Helldivers activate the Extraction Beacon (marked with a blue laser) at the Extraction Zone
   
2. The Mission Timer runs out (40min on most missions, 15min on "Eradicate" missions, 12min on "Blitz" missions)

After activating the Extraction Beacon, Helldivers have to wait 2 Minutes (3 Minutes with the "Complex Stratagem Plotting" Operation Modifier, 30% less with the "Expert Extraction Pilot"
booster) for Pelican-1 (The Extraction Shuttle) to arrive at the Extraction Zone.
After the Timer runs out, the Emergency Extraction Shuttle will be immediately dispatched to the Extraction Zone.

After Pelican-1 arrives at the Extraction Zone all Helldivers must enter the back of the shuttle.
Note: Once the first Helldiver has entered the shuttle, all Helldivers have 20 Seconds to enter before Pelican-1 leaves. This timer will start on landing if the Mission Timer has run out.

After Pelican-1 takes off, all Helldivers outside the shuttle will be left behind. Once in Orbit, you will be awarded Req and XP depending on your performance during the Mission (Mission Objectives completed + Optional Objectives completed + How many Helldivers were extracted + Outposts cleared) and Medals depending on your selected Difficulty.

Friendly Fire is enabled at all times, so watch out so that you don't accidentally shoot a fellow Helldiver!
Note: Turrets of all kinds do not differentiate between friend and foe, so watch out to not accidentally step into their line of fire.


Also: Please let your fellow Helldivers know when you are throwing a Stratagem (especially if its a red one) to avoid them accidentally getting caught in the blast.

The fight for Super Earth is relentless, demanding not just courage but discipline, precision, and unity. Every Helldiver contributes to a greater cause—liberating the galaxy from chaos and securing a future for humanity. Master your weapons, study your enemies, coordinate with your squad, and adapt to every battlefield challenge.

Victory is not given. It is earned—through sacrifice, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to the cause.

See you on the frontlines, Helldiver. For Democracy and Super Earth.





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