Helldivers 2might be a sequel, but that doesn’t mean it’s only for fans of the firstHelldiverstitle. This game has picked up a plethora of new players due to its quirky style and clean mechanics. However, several things in your average play session can be tricky to figure out for newcomers.
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The game’s tutorial covers the basics, but there are so many systems and subsystems — ones both carried over from the original and ones introduced fresh in this sequel — that aren’t explained too clearly to the player. If you are looking to save Super Earth with style and finesse, then here are ten tips to help you smash that learning curve.
Updated by Abigail Angell on July 12, 2025:To enhance the user experience, we have inserted a clip demonstrating what is meant in tip number one, “Utilize Terrain When Landing.” This is part of a new effort to use videos to clarify instructions or tips that can benefit from additional visual aid.
Helldivers 2
10Use Waypoints & Pings To Help Navigate The Map
Sometimes Those Who Wander Really Are Lost
The missions you’ll be going on as a Helldiver take you to alien planets which are procedurally generated. This means it can be difficult to orient yourself just with your sightlines alone. As a result, the best way to navigate is using the Waypoint system in your Minimap, and the ping system for multiplayer. This lets you navigate efficiently to POIs and mission objectives, and efficiency is key (more on that later).
You can set a Waypoint by opening the Minimap, navigating to the location on it, and then dropping a marker.This will cause the location to show up on your compass at the top of the screen, which makes it much easier to find. The controls for setting Waypoints are:
To ping, you may hit Q on the PC, or R1+ up on the D-pad on the PS5.This causes the thing you are looking at to be highlighted for 6 seconds, with an accompanying sound effect. If you hold down the ping button, a menu will come up with more specific commands, such as “Follow Me.”
9Use Your Stratagems Liberally
They Aren’t As Limited As You Would Think
In addition to the in-game marker system, theStratagems are probably the most important game mechanics to master for new players. Stratagems do a variety of things, from calling in air support, to new weaponry or ammunition. You get to see three Stratagems in the tutorial: one that calls for another Helldiver, an Orbital Strike, and one that gives you a Machine Gun. These will be your bread and butter at early levels and areequipped and switched out at the computer on the ship when launching a mission.
You’ll often be using Stratagems in the heat of combat, so get quick at using them!
While Stratagems can seem like “ultimate abilities” due to their power, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The game is designed for you to utilize these abilities whenever they make sense, and many have unlimited uses. If a Stratagem has a cooldown or limited usage, you’ll be able to see that in the menu where you select the Stratagems to take on missions. To unlock more Stratagems, you’ll need to level up and/or buy them, but they are well worth the cost.To practice calling in Stratagems, you can play the minigame located on the ship called Stratagem Hero.
This Game Will Take Away Your Ammunition
This is one game wherereloading too frequently is discouraged, because it will lead to wasting bullets. Helldivers 2 is by no means the first game to discard leftover ammunition when you reload, but it’s also not a given in a shooter. Manypopular games in the shooter genre, such asRemnant 2andBack 4 Blood, let the ammunition from the previous clip roll over into the new one, letting you reload whenever you like without consequences.
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While the design choice to discard unused ammo in a reload gives the gunplay an additional tactical element and increased realism, it’s a bit of a head scratcher why this isn’t explained during the tutorial.If you notice that you’re constantly running out of ammunition or having to call in supplies, check to make sure you aren’t reloading too often.
7Keep An Eye Out For Samples
A Key Currency The Tutorial Neglects To Mention
Helldivers 2 has four key currencies that are used to upgrade your ship and loadout. This is the only way to increase your power, and thus keep up with the escalating threat of later missions. These are:
Most of these currencies are naturally earned while completing missions, but Samples are not. Instead,Samples are found on mission planets at Points of Interest. Because many are off the beaten path from the mission objectives, it can be a long time before you encounter one naturally. When many players realize they’ve been leaving behind loot out of ignorance, they are understandably frustrated.
6Upgrade Your Ship As Often As You Can
This Is The Main Way To Level Up
The previous Helldivers game relied on dropped weapons and upgrades to increase the power level of your Helldivers. However, this new game focuses much more on the ship. Upgrading your ship will increase the types of Stratagems you have available, as well as their power. Thus,upgrading your ship should be prioritized as much as possible.
To upgrade your ship’s modules, or see what you’ll need for the next level, go to the ship’s computer. Here you may not only select your Stratagems for each mission, but you can examine your available weapons and your ship’s modules. These upgrades are for your account only and will not affect other players in multiplayer. Instead, they get to keep their own upgrades.
5Don’t Move While Shooting
The Accuracy Loss Is Wild In This Game
While many games have some loss of accuracy if you attempt to move while shooting, few have as much as Helldivers 2. The wild firing that occurs even if you only walk makes hitting the broadside of a barn tough — it’s much better to stand stock still. Luckily, enemies seem to enjoy leisurely strolling up to you, so you’ll have plenty of time to shoot them before they get within biting distance.
If you need to reposition, the best time to do so is during a reload. Running while reloading doesn’t appear to slow down the animation, and it’s good to have something else to do while your character switches out magazines. You can also run while calling in a Stratagem, and even call in a Stratagem mid-reload.
The Stratagem animation pauses the reload animation but does not cause it to restart from the beginning.
4You Are On A Timer
You’d Think They’d Mention That Earlier
Surprisingly, one thing not mentioned in the tutorial is thateach mission is timed.Apparently, it becomes unsafe for your ship to stay in orbit too long, and they leave you behind when the timer expires. The first thing many players hear of this is when they get their first timer warning in-mission. While this timer is generous enough to complete most missions without strain, it does meanyou’ll want to be as efficient as possibleto complete the mission and pick up important loot.
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Any time spent waiting for Stratagems or respawning teammates really chips into the timer, so doing other things while waiting for those to happen is ideal. For instance, clearing a location of enemies or waiting for the Super Earth flag to be raised. You’ll also want to factor in the travel time to the extraction point.
As long as you complete the main mission objectives, you’ll still earn a successful mission even if you don’t make it to extraction. Prioritize the main objectives first!
3Exploring Will Net You Loot
Samples & Super Credits Off The Beaten Path
While the game only marks the mission objectives on your map, there are a number of other POIs on every mission planet. These locationsappear as question marks on your compasswhen you get close, and they can sometimes be seen on the Minimap, because artificial structures stand out from the natural terrain. Most POIs can be accessed by a lone player, but some, such as bunkers, require multiple players to open.
Samples are most commonly found in POIs, but you’re able to occasionally find Super Credits as well!
Heading off to these locations is worth the effort, even though you have limited time to complete each mission. This is because thesePOIs often have helpful loot to complete the Mission Objectives(extra ammunition, Stims, or Grenades are common),or special currencyto upgrade your ship.
2Prioritize Key Targets
Not All Enemies Are Created Equal
While the tutorial essentially teaches you to shoot any bug you see, you’ll quickly learn that the two main enemy factions (Terminids and Automatons) have several enemy types in them, each with a different threat level. As a result, you’ll want toprioritize taking out the most dangerous enemies first. This mental danger ranking will vary slightly based on your playstyle and personal preference, but a couple of enemies should always be top priority. Unfortunately, there isn’t currently an in-game bestiary, but you can find most enemy types in a gallery on thePlayStaton Store Page.
High-Priority Targets:
For both factions, you’ll want tofocus on enemies that are tanky and/or highly mobile. Tanky enemies will win a fight if they can get into range, simply because of how long it takes to kill them. Mobile enemies can close gaps surprisingly quickly and completely wipe out your squad. You’ll also want to close up their spawn point, which can be done prior to starting mission objectives to lessen the spawn rate of enemies during key points.
1Utilize The Terrain When Landing
You Can Steer Your Pod To Silly Locations
Every mission or respawn in Helldivers 2 begins similarly — a pod is dropped down to the planet at high speed. At the beginning of the mission, the drop location is chosen by the player via a map, while in the case of a respawn, they drop close to their previous body. In both instances, the pod is steerable during its descent, meaning you can choose your exact landing spot for a tactical advantage.
In many locations, this can have silly consequences. Players can use Drop Pods to reach the top of mountains and cliffs their characters could otherwise not scale, giving them a clear tactical advantage. Many enemy types in the game have similar movement capabilities to the player, making these locations similarly unreachable for them, andmaking you nigh untouchable. Try this hack on tougher missions, and enjoy raining down freedom from on high.
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