Helldivers 2 is one of the most successful game releases of 2024 and it is by far one of the best live service models in the games industry. The game does have its fair share of bugs and performance issues which can sometimes mar the experience but it is one of those games that the community is willing to be lenient towards because of how fun the overall package is. If you are planning to get Helldivers 2, here are ten beginner tips that will help you out.
Plan Out Your Warbonds
Warbonds are Helldivers 2’s iteration of battle passes. I have just over seventy hours of playtime and have unlocked all three “premium” Warbonds that are currently available. You don’t need to spend any extra money to get these Warbonds if you don’t want to and the in-game premium currency (Supercredits) is farmable.
This advice will become more relevant the later we get into the game’s life cycle. You should plan out which Warbonds you want to target first. It takes a few days of playtime to unlock all of the weapons from each warbond. My recommendation would be to go for the Cutting Edge warbond to unlock the Sickle, which is one of the best primaries in the game right now.
Embrace The Live Service
Think of how many live service games there are out there that want you to log in as much as possible. There is always something to chase that you might miss out on if you skip a week of playing. From limited-time cosmetics to even gear, a lot of live service titles end up feeling like chores. Arrowhead Studios does none of that and takes a completely different approach.
The community is one of the best parts of the Helldivers live service experience. We have developers introducing new content in random lobbies and gaslighting us into believing that none of it is real. The “live” part of the game is the ongoing war against the Terminids and Automatons which is constantly changing. It feels like the community is working together to spread “managed democracy” instead of constantly filling up checklists of mundane quests and it is a breath of fresh air. You can choose your difficulty levels and play at your own pace. The game can be just as enjoyable at lower difficulties as it is in Helldive.
FOMO, What’s That?
One of the best things about the game is there is virtually no FOMO when it comes to account progression and loot. Anything that is earnable today will be earnable in the future and you are not timegated by how much you can progress. Even if you don’t have access to some of the cooler stratagem weapons in the early game, other players can just give them to you as long as they’re off cooldown. You can also find weapons and gear in the maps and use them during missions without actually owning them.
So far, there have been no limited-time events or any gameplay items that you can no longer get. There is no constant power grind and everything you get is usable right off the bat. You can hop in any time you want and expect to have a good time.
Sometimes Violence is NOT The Answer
As fun as it is to spread managed democracy throughout the cosmos, sometimes it is not worth it to engage every patrol that you see on the map. At least at high difficulty (Suicide or higher), it is better to avoid patrols. You can go prone and avoid patrols while moving from one objective to another. The game also allows you to unlock armor that reduces enemy awareness and lets you sneak past them. Whether you want to engage a patrol or not is entirely up to you but if things get too hairy, you can always dip and break enemy aggro before returning to the fray.
Don’t Miss Out On Supercredits
If you roam around the map during missions, you will notice faint beams of light and a beeping noise coming from various directions. Head towards these spots and you might find breakable doors and interactable objects that grant you warbond medals, requisition slips, and Supercredits. You need Supercredits to purchase warbonds and other “premium” items and you should always keep an eye out for them. If you want to “farm” Supercredits, you can run low-difficulty missions as the maps tend to be smaller and there are fewer objectives in the map, allowing you to find the Supercredit drops easily.
There’s More Than One Way to Skin A Cat
There are plenty of creative ways to take out enemies or complete objectives in the game. Explosive damage from the Eruptor or the Autocannon can take out Fabricators and Bug Holes. You can use your hellpod to directly land on enemies and squish them. You can break off the limbs of various enemies and render them useless against your squad. I could go on with these tips and I strongly recommend experimenting with various weapons to see what works best for you. You can be the guy who takes out fabricators and annoying enemies at a distance or be the one who dispenses supplies for the rest of the team to ensure everyone is topped up. While there are no “builds” per se, you can choose to fulfill certain roles and build your loadout around them.
Learn to Use The Minimap
Unlike a lot of other games, you don’t get a full-fledged map in Helldivers 2. There is a minimap that you can zoom into and tag various locations. You can find objectives using the map and also spot enemies. You can use the map to spot enemy patrols that are headed your way even if you cannot directly see them due to weather conditions or structures. You should use the minimap to your advantage and ping important locations to ensure your squad knows where to head.
Understanding Enemy Armor
Your Helldiver armor is available in three variants - light, medium, and heavy. Armor can also have various perks so you can opt for a high-mobility playstyle or focus on tanking damage. Unlike your character's armor, enemy armor ratings aren't explicitly shown in Helldivers 2. There is currently no in-game codex or stat sheet that details enemy armor values. If you want to counter enemy armor types, use weapons with "armor penetration" perks to deal more damage to heavily armored enemies.
Some enemies have weak points you can exploit for extra damage, regardless of their overall armor class. Some stratagems can also bypass armor so you should see what works best for you based on the difficulty of content and enemies you are going up against.
Focus on Side Objectives
Completing a mission and extracting might sound like the most efficient way to complete missions but you lose out on a lot of rewards by skipping side objectives. Unless you are specifically farming Warbond medals or are short on time, it is best to focus on side objectives as long as you have time available. The higher the difficulty, the more side objectives there are in each mission. Some objectives can also offer mission advantages. For example, completing SEAF Artilerry side objectives grants access to additional stratagems.
Support Other Helldivers
It is important to help other Helldivers spread managed democracy. If you have players in your squad who are new to the game, feel free to toss them a shield regenerator or a weapon that can help them out. There is no “right” way to play the game and the very nature of the game is highly casual. It values fun over anything else and in the true spirit of democracy you should be respectful to other Helldivers and work together.
The community is one of the best things about Helldivers 2 and the game might retain its impressive player count for years if Arrowhead Studios continues to deliver a fun experience through regular updates.
