Helldivers 2 Beginner’s Guide: Tips Every New Recruit Must Know

So, you’ve decided to spread managed democracy in Helldivers 2. Good choice, recruit. This chaotic co-op shooter is packed with bugs, robots, and alien threats—all waiting to end your mission in seconds. The good news? With the right preparation, you’ll not only survive but thrive. This guide covers everything you need to know as a new player: from community objectives to strategems, currencies, and the best upgrades to chase first.

Understanding Major Orders

When aboard your ship, you’ll notice an Orders tab in the top-right corner of your screen. Orders come in two forms:

Personal Orders – objectives just for you (extra medals and XP).
Major Orders – large-scale missions for the entire Helldivers 2 community.

For example, a Major Order might task all players with eliminating 6 billion Terminids in nine days. If the community succeeds, everyone receives rewards—often medals or sometimes new strategems. Even if you never fired a shot, you’ll still get the prize upon logging in.

💡 Pro tip: Contribute when you can. Major Orders often dictate which enemies to prioritize and can have lasting consequences. Failures may strengthen enemy factions or push them closer to Super Earth.

Picking the Right Difficulty

When selecting a planet, the first big choice is difficulty. Ranks range from Trivial (1) to Super Hell Dive (10). Higher levels bring tougher enemies but bigger rewards.

Trivial (1): Single mission, reward = 1 medal, only common samples.
Challenging (5–6): Multiple missions, higher medal payouts, common + rare samples.
Super Hell Dive (10): Three missions in a row, huge medal haul (up to 36), common + rare + super samples.

Rule of thumb: harder missions = better loot. Start small, then gradually push upward as your squad gets comfortable.

Mission Basics

Once you deploy in your Hell Pod, here’s what to expect:

Call in strategems – teammates usually start by summoning weapons, ammo, or support packs.
Stick together – new squads should move as one. Veteran groups sometimes split 2–2.
Enemy camps (red zones): Clearing them increases mission rewards. Bug nests can be destroyed with grenades or heavy firepower.
Side objectives (blue icons): Optional tasks like activating artillery cannons. Completing them boosts XP and often grants helpful tools.

At extraction, look for the blue beam of light in the sky. Activate the console, hold your ground, and survive until the dropship arrives.

⚠️ Important: Any samples you collect must be carried onto the ship to count. But don’t stress about who holds them—samples are shared with the whole squad.

Strategems: Your Best Friends in Combat

Strategems are what make Helldivers 2 shine. From orbital strikes to turrets and heavy weapons, these tools can change the tide of battle instantly. You can bring four per mission.

Recommended early strategems:

Backpacks: Jump Pack (mobility), Shield Generator Pack (defense), Warp Pack (mobility + utility).
Heavy Weapons: Expendable Anti-Tank, Laser Cannon, Quasar Cannon—great against armored enemies.
Explosives: Eagle Air Strike for crowd control and destroying bug nests.
“Big Guns”: Orbital Laser or Rail Cannon for boss-tier enemies.

💡 Always spend Requisition Slips (currency used for unlocking strategems). There’s a cap, and hitting it means wasted rewards.

Boosters: Squad-Wide Buffs

Boosters are yellow hexagon-shaped perks chosen before missions. Their effects apply to the entire team, making them incredibly valuable.

Best boosters for beginners:

Hellpod Space Optimization – extra ammo, grenades, and stims (a near-mandatory pick).
Experimental Infusion – boosts stim healing power.
Vitality Enhancement – increases health.
Stamina Enhancement – improves running distance.
Muscle Enhancement – useful on big maps with lots of travel.

Pro squads almost always bring Hellpod Space Optimization on high difficulties.

War Bonds: Unlocking Gear

War Bonds are Helldivers 2’s version of content packs. They contain new weapons, strategems, boosters, armor, and cosmetics.

They’re unlocked with Super Credits, a rare currency you can:

Find in missions (bunkers, pods, hidden areas).
Purchase with real money (optional).

Once you buy a War Bond, you still need medals to unlock each individual item inside. That’s why completing missions and Major Orders is so important—medals fuel your progress.

Best starting point:

Helldivers Mobilize – the first and largest War Bond, loaded with strong items still relevant in today’s meta (including Hellpod Space Optimization).

Weapons: Choosing the Right Tools

Weapon choice depends heavily on enemy faction:

Terminids (Bugs): Weak to explosives, flamethrowers, and the CB9 Exploding Crossbow.
Automatons (Robots): Go for plasma, lasers, and anti-tank weapons like the PLAS-10 Purifier.
Illuminate (Aliens): Trickier foes; experiment to find what works best.

Pay attention to armor penetration levels:

Light: small enemies.
Medium: enemies with shields or tough plating (e.g., Terminid heads).
Heavy: tanks and elite enemies.

As you use weapons, they level up, unlocking attachments like better scopes, larger mags, or recoil control.

All In-Game Currencies Explained

Here’s your quick reference:

Requisition Slips: Common. Earned by completing missions. Spent on strategems.
Super Credits: Rare. Found in missions or bought with money. Used to unlock War Bonds or cosmetics.
Medals: Earned from missions and Major Orders. Used to unlock War Bond items.
Samples (Common, Rare, Super): Found on the ground in missions. Used for ship upgrades (permanent combat buffs like faster reloads).

💡 Always extract with samples—they’re critical for long-term power growth.

Teamwork Makes the Democracy Work

At its core, Helldivers 2 is about coordination. No single player can solo the galaxy. Work with your squad, divide roles (heavy weapons, support, explosives), and communicate. A well-organized team is the difference between chaotic failure and glorious victory.

If you’re just starting out:

Stick with your squad.
Learn to call in reinforcements effectively.
Experiment with different strategems and weapons.
Don’t hoard resources—samples and boosters benefit everyone.

Final Thoughts

Helldivers 2 is brutal, chaotic, and hilarious. But once you understand Major Orders, master your strategems, and start climbing difficulty levels, it becomes one of the most rewarding co-op experiences out there.

Contribute to community goals, extract with samples whenever possible, and experiment with different builds until you find what feels right. And remember: managed democracy is best spread together.

Veteran divers—drop your best tips in the comments for new recruits. Every bit of advice counts in the fight for Super Earth.