Helldivers 2 Beginners Guide

Helldivers 2 Beginners Guide is something any new Helldiver should read. Its a part of Helldivers 2 Guide Series, so check it out for more tips. Right after learning the basics in the ingame tutorial players are being thrown into the combat and even first missions might prove hard for the new players. We will go step by step, explaining important game mechanics, recommended Weapons and best ways to kill Enemies.
Side note: This guide is made by a PC player, so console experience might be a bit different. Most of the points in this guide will apply to overall gameplay, so should be useful on any platform where you play Helldivers2.

First Steps[edit source]

First of all Helldivers 2 is a team based coop shooter. So its not tuned to be played alone. Of course some helldivers would like to spread democracy on their own, but that often leads to mission failures and early demise. So do not be afraid to team up.
Make sure that Matchmaking Privacy is set to Public in the settings, this way other helldivers can join your squad.

Another thing new player might want to do is change settings for Stratagems call-ins. By default they are set to wasd movement keys, so you wont be able to run and call-in Stratagems. Its totally ok for a new player, but this change will have to be made in the future, so its better to get used to it straight away. The common recommendation is assigning Stratagems call-ins on the arrow keys. This will make inputs intuitive and fast.

With this out of the way lets move on to the actual gameplay.

Operation and Mission Selection[edit source]

Helldivers Galactic Map

Time to get to action, helldiver! Get your hands on the Galactic War interface and select where and how you want to fight. Its important to remember how everything is structured in Helldivers 2:

Top down view on the Galaxy with Super Earth in the Center. Thats your Galaxy map and here you select where to fight.
- On the right side we have Terminids, deadly and annoying bugs. Its a good idea to start with missions in their area, since they are the easiest faction to fight, have lower amount of ranged attacks and overall more predictive.
- On the left we have Automatons, heartless killing machines. Its totally ok to start with that area as well, but most of them have powerful ranged weapons that can one-shot helldivers and new player experience might be frustrating.
Galaxy Map is divided in 'Sectors. Helldivers will have just a handful of playable sectors, which are changed as the Galaxy War wages.

Helldivers can also see special marks in the sectors, symbolizing the Orders in the sector. Those are the missions, that will reward helldiver with extra Medals if completed. There is a Major order, which is a overall quest for all the helldivers out there and a personal order, which is something like a daily quest. Both orders have time remaining and its advisable to finish personal order if possible for faster equipment unlocks.

Each Sector have several Planets in it, once again, depending on the situation some planets might be locked. Each planet have its own special effects, that should be taken into account, especially at harder difficulties.
Planet will have Operations. Operations are set of missions that helldiver squad will have to complete in order to get some planet Liberation progress and each next Mission in the Operation will have a bit higher Medals reward. Depending on the difficulty Operation might have different amount of missions:

Amount of missions per operation
Difficulty	# of Missions
1-2	1
3-4	2
5-9	3

Difficulty also governs the amount, type and interval of spawning enemies in the Mission. Patrol Spawn Mechanics guide will have more info about that, but we can just ignore it for now.
Missions completed in current operation are being saved only for helldiver host. If host will leave the game session, no operation progress will be saved for other helldivers, although they will get all the rewards from any completed missions.

Now when you know how mission mechanics works lets talk about Mission difficulty

Mission Difficulty[edit source]

There are 9 mission difficulties in Helldivers 2 from Trivial to Helldive. The main difference between the difficulties other than the amount of missions is the enemy patrol spawn rates and the variety of Enemies. There is a list with spawn difficulty on the Enemies page, but to make it easy for now - the harder it is - more tough enemies will spawn.

But going on the higher mission difficulty rewards helldivers with higher amount of Exp, Requisition Slips, Medals and higher number and rarity of Samples per mission.

Hellpod Mission Loadout[edit source]

Helldivers Player Loadout

Depending on the mission you are might want to have different stratagems and right weapon. As a new player you wont get much of a choice and we will talk about unlock progression a bit later.
Here are some good early game Stratagems that might prove useful for most of the missions:

Stalwart or Machine Gun is a good early game support weapon with good rate of fire and damage
Expendable Anti-Tank is amazing anti-armor weapon. Must have on difficulty 4+
Orbital Precision Strike is a good early game option, but its call-in time makes it really hard to aim at the mobile enemies. Not optimal late-game.
Machine Gun Sentry and Gatling Sentry are great turret options early game and will prove useful until harder difficulties and in situations where helldiver squad isnt full
Guard Dog Rover is a great backpack when helldiver reached lvl 10.
Eagle Airstrike is a good option against enemy camps and tougher enemies, while Eagle Cluster Bomb will help to get rid of enemy crowds (and some fellow unlucky helldivers).

Those are not the only good stratagems, but the ones that most new players will find useful. Best stuff unlocks closer to lvl 20 though, but at that moment you are no longer a beginner and can bring Eagle 500KG Bomb, Orbital Laser on enemy heads, while rocking Railgun and Shield Generator Pack on yourself.

As for the Weapons pick the one you like, most of the primary weapons are great and all-purpose. Get used to them, since in different missions you might need different weapons. Secondary weapon should be replaced to P-19 Redeemer when its unlocked since it provides higher rate of fire with same other stats. For the Grenades use any of them before G-16 Impact is unlocked, afterwards it might be a good option to go for.

When selecting the Armor set dont think too hard. Helldivers usually aim for its passive stats, when selecting armor. As for light-medium-heavy it totally depends on the playstyle, you can try them all and see the one that fits you well. Going for heavier armor early game will allow to take more damage, while light armor will allow to kite Enemies easier.

Understanding Misson Map[edit source]

It wouldnt hurt looking at the map prior to dropping to the planet. Learning the map and planning squad route will allow better organization on the run.

Red areas are enemy camps, the bigger the glow - bigger the camp. Bigger the camp - tougher it will be.

Selecting right and safe drop zone will allow to call in all the support equipment and group up. Right path from the hellpad drop zone to the secondary objective to the main objective to the landing area would be the best option, although secondary objectives (colored blue) are optional.
Its a good idea to finish main objective last, since it will increase enemy patrol spawn rate.

Overall Helldivers 2 Field Tactics[edit source]

Finally its time for some action, helldiver! After landing call in the support equipment you decided to take with you. Wait for the rest of the team to do the same. If you want to have more helldivers joining in to fill the squad call in SOS Beacon.

Start moving towards the objective. At this point depending on how tough the things are going squad can do following on the map, lets list it based on the priorities:

1. Finishing Primary Objective.
If primary objective is finished and all helldivers die, wasting all Reinforce mission will still be completed and team will get Medals, Exp and Requisition Slips.

2. Finishing Secondary Objective
This will award with extra Exp and Requisition Slips.

3. Clearing points of interest
Those are randomly scattered around the map and can contain variety of things: Weapons, Samples, Requisition Slips, but most importantly Super Credits. Yes, you can farm premium currency by opening those point of interest vaults.

4. Harvesting AND Extracting Samples
Samples are great and they will help to upgrade Ship Modules making some Stratagems better and making your Super Destroyer look cool.
Samples are shared for the entire squad. So do not kill your fellow helldivers for that. Its only important that the person who is carrying Samples board Pelican on the extraction. Working together is a key.

5. Clearing enemy camps
Clearing enemy camps in Helldivers 2 will give a bit of a boost in Exp and Requisition Slips. But outside of that, camps usually have some Samples in them as well. Clear the ones that are in the way. Maybe a little more but remember that each camp cleared after you clear 50% of them on the map will add to the patrol spawn frequency.

Of course, every mission is situational, and team should adjust as they go, but this is the most common priority list. Some players prefer samples, while other go straight for objectives. Some teams prefer to clear map entirely. You can play Helldivers 2 any way you want!

Mission Extraction and Mission Timer[edit source]

If helldiver team will not extract from the mission, they can still finish it successfully, but they will not get the samples that are collected on the mission.

In order to extract team will need to get to extraction point after finishing all the objectives or when the mission timer will run out.

If the mission is successful players can call for extraction and it will arrive in 2 minutes. During that time at least 1 player should be in the landing pad radius in order for timer to tick. When the Pelican extraction transport has arrived it will stay there until the mission timer will expire. If at least 1 player will get in the transport 20 sec countdown will start after which transport will depart leaving other helldivers behind. It can be really painful when one member of the team with a lot of Samples is running towards the landing pod and doesn't make it in time because of someone who hurried to board and extract.

If the mission timer runs out pelican will be automatically called to the landing pad even without anyone using the terminal. Moreover when the mission timer will run out all the stratagems will stop working, including Reinforce and Resupply, so make sure to call everything you need prior to that.

Helldivers 2 Combat[edit source]

New helldivers might feel they need to kill every little bug and tiny automaton they meet, but in reality, Helldivers are a special force, that is being sent on the planet to complete objectives and they have limited time for it. So make it count.

Usually, its better to avoid the combat if possible, picking your fights wisely and neutralizing most deadly threats on the way. Fighting the enemies on the move is the best decision to avoid being swarmed as well.

Fighting enemies takes a lot of time, accidental deaths and supplies, so its better to avoid them if possible, focusing on samples and objectives.

Although there are some exceptions to this. Those are the Missions that require team to defend the objective or stay somewhere for the prolonged period of time. In those scenarios call-in equipment Stratagems, Resupply, and get ready to fight the Enemies off.

Most weapons have different fire modes, that can be selected by hold down R and clicking the mouse button or holding down square button on PS5. This can help you adjust fire mode and rate of fire for some weapons.

Although just shooting mindlessly will get you nowhere, you need to shoot smart.

Enemy Priorities in Helldivers 2[edit source]

Picking the right Enemies to take out first is a key to survival in Helldivers 2. You can read about each enemy on its own page, we will cover the basics here. Most of the time you would like to take out the enemies that can one-shot the helldivers. And there are many of them.

Terminid Enemy Priorities[edit source]

When Fighting Terminids its important to stay out of their melee range. Most enemies have dangerous claws that will take out helldiver in a couple of hits. Usually Terminid enemies spawn in big numbers which might lead to being swarmed and death. Try to keep your distance, be aware of the surroundings and your teammates.

Which enemies to take out first? Here is a priority list for the Terminid Enemies: 1. Enemies that are fast and are close to the helldiver. Most dangerous of them all are Stalker and Hunter. Those guys can take out even heavily armored helldiver in seconds if they get close. 2. Bile Titan is very dangerous opponent, even though mostly encountered on the harder difficulties. They can oneshot helldivers and should be taken out when aggroed fast. Early on there are not that many options against this tough bug, but Expendable Anti-Tank can two-shot it in its head, or can uncover armor weakness. 3. Charger is easily manageable if helldiver know how to handle them, but in chaotic combat situations they can cause a lot of trouble with their stuns and ragdolling the helldivers. Heavy armor makes them tough opponent, unless Expendable Anti-Tank is being shot in their face. Shooting it in its leg usually removes its armor there and they can be taken out easily. Using normal weapons against their back will work too, but it will take a lot of time. 4. Bile Spewer/Nursing Spewer can be lethal, but with enough experience can be avoided easily. Just run sideways from them when they try to spit at you and you will be ok. Couple of shots to their face or a well placed grenade to their back will solve the problem with those pests. 5. The rest of the Terminids. Most of them are not so dangerous and can be ignored or left for finishing off later.

Automaton Enemy Priorities[edit source]

Automatons is a totally different story. Most of them have guns. Some of them have sharp blades, they have robots, but the worst thing is that they have rockets. Rocket Automatons can do insane damage to helldivers oneshotting them most of the time. Using cover is essential with them, just as using weapon with medium-long range and proper aim. Their usual weak spot is their head, start practicing your head shots.

Which enemies to take out first? Here is a priority list for the Automaton Enemies: 1. Rocket enemies. Problem is they have a lot of rocket troops: Rocket Raider, Rocket Devastator and Hulk Obliterator. When you see any of those bots kill them or shoot off their rocket weapons, it will save your or your team mates lives. While Raiders and Devastators can be taken down by shooting their head with any weapons, Hulks like Hulk Obliterator need Expendable Anti-Tank or any other rocket weapon in its face. Alternatively helldivers can use Anti-Materiel Rifle and aim at the red eye, taking it out in 2 shots. Heat sink in the back is always an option and its susceptible to explosive and heat weapons. 2. Fast melee units when close-range. Those can do decent damage fast and take out helldivers in a couple of hits. Enemies like Brawler, and Berserker should be higher priority when they get close to the helldiver. Shooting them in a head fixes the problem, but they take quite a lot of damage before going down. 3. Annihilator Tank and other Hulk variations. They are deadly at any range and dont die fast. Using offensive Stratagems and armor-piercing weapons like Expendable Anti-Tank should help. For Tank one should aim at its turret or back heat sink, and for the hulks its either its head or heat sink in the back.

Weapons and Stratagem Progression[edit source]

Helldivers Progression

At this point you are no longer a beginner helldiver. You know your enemies, priorities and ready to spread the Managed Democracy. But in order to make it more efficient here are the unlocks that you would like to take ASAP. Keep in mind its a personal favorite and helldivers should find their own favorite list:

As for the Weapons R-63 Diligence will work really well in Automaton Missions, while SG-225 Breaker is great for Terminid missions. Other weapons are nice, but those should be a good start.

Overall for Warbond progression take all the Boosters, Grenades and Weapons available, spending the rest of the points on Body Armor pieces, since only those give you different stats. The rest is cosmetics.

Lastly, for Ship Modules upgrades its recommended to start with Hangar Upgrades, that will allow Eagle stratagems to be more effective and then moving on to things that you use the most.

With that, helldiver, Liberty bless you and go spread Democracy throughout the Galaxy! Dont forget to share this with fellow helldivers.