Battling bugs and robots in Helldivers 2 can be tough when you first start if you don’t know the right tips and tricks. After putting in over 70 hours and reaching level 34, I’ve gotten a good grasp of the game. Here are some of the best tips and tricks for beginners and experienced helldivers!
Tip 1 – The Difficulty Gets Harder Over Time
You may not realize at first but the difficulty continues to get tougher the longer you’re in a mission. Therefore, the beginning of a mission will always be easier and feel doable compared to when you’re at the end. And once the timer runs out, you’ll lose access to all your stratagems.
That means you’ll no longer be able to call for reinforcements when a teammate goes down. Or even that airstrike you need when desperately trying to extract. So make sure you keep an eye on that timer and move as quickly as you can. It’s nice to complete all the objectives, but sometimes you have to leave early.
Tip 2 – Don’t Underestimate Dodging
Dodging away from enemies can frequently save your life, especially against bugs. There are times when I dive repeatedly until I can get a moment to fire back at a bug. Or at least a chance for one of my teammates to help while I’m flailing around.
Learning the timing for special enemies like Bile Spewers and Chargers can be a little harder. However, dodging in general is still extremely helpful in Helldivers 2 even for smaller bugs. Just make sure you don’t get swarmed by the little ones while laying down!
Tip 3 – Many Weapons Have Alternative Settings
In the many hours I’ve spent playing Helldivers 2 I’ve noticed there’s a decent amount of information the game doesn’t tell you. Unless you see a commercial in-game, you won’t know about the alternative weapon settings.
For example, you can change the Machine Gun’s rate of fire. You can change the aim down sight scope magnification for almost all weapons. And even stratagems like the Railgun have a completely different setting. You can remove the safety settings allowing you to overcharge it but this can end poorly too. For those on PC, hold the R button to tweak your weapon.
Tip 4 – How to Beat Chargers Easily
As you increase the Helldivers 2 difficulty, you’ll start to encounter heavily armored Chargers. The best strategy to deal with these behemoths is to destroy their leg armor and then target that weak point.
This creates a huge Charger vulnerability where you can defeat them easily. However, you will need something to destroy their leg armor. I’m partial to the Expendable Anti-Tank stratagem which breaks their leg armor in one hit. Afterward, this Charger weakness shouldn’t take much more to beat them.
Tip 5 – Using Your Stims For Stamina
The Helldivers 2 training teaches you to use stims for healing your health back, but they also give you stamina. This can be a fun little trick to take advantage of if you don’t find yourself using them often. Or if you’re in a rush running a long distance and need the help.
With that said, you can’t use stims unless you’re at least a little hurt. So you may need to ask a friend to hit you a little bit or try to take some fall damage.
Tip 6 – How to Unlock Weapons in Helldivers 2
Before you can unlock new weapons, you’ll need to complete missions and gather each of the different currencies. The two we’ll focus on are Requisition Slips and Medals. First, you can get Requisition Slips by completing missions, daily orders, and finding them during missions. They’re often hidden behind doors that require two people to unlock.
Requisition Slips are the yellow symbol with a large R on your UI. Similarly, you can get Medals by completing missions and finding them during missions too. Keep an eye out for pods that have a large yellow beam flashing above them. You’ll need Requisition Slips for special weapons that are Stratagems. Otherwise, you can get normal weapons via the battle pass on the acquisitions screen, with Medals.
Tip 7 – Not All Secondary Objectives Are Visible
Something not obvious is that there can be hidden secondary objectives in each mission. So when you’re looking at where to deploy, you won’t see every objective immediately. Instead, the deploy screen shows the primary objectives and sometimes one secondary. Assuming you don’t have a condition concealing your map.
This is why it’s useful to keep an eye out for common clues like a tall radar tower or a giant artillery emplacement. Otherwise, you may complete your primary objectives and extract missing out on extra experience and money.
Tip 8 – Where to Find Supplies and Samples
Those looking for purple/pink samples can find them near this unique rock on difficulty 6 or higher.
Calling in supplies when you’re low is always helpful but sometimes you just need a couple of extra mags. Fortunately, small bases spread throughout each mission frequently have ammo boxes and other useful supplies.
Such as stims, grenade boxes, and the even more valuable, samples. Buildings are a good sign there may be loot nearby but you can also search for minor points of interest. These are marked on the map when nearby or visible on your compass as a question mark. If you’re trying to get purple samples in Helldivers 2, you’ll need to play on at least difficulty 6.
Tip 9 – Communication Is Key
Not everyone has a microphone or wants to chat with randoms, so I understand if you don’t talk to your teammates. But, you should still try to take advantage of the pinging system. You can alert teammates to nearby patrols, bug holes, objectives, ammo, etc.
One thing that can be a little more difficult to warn teammates about is when you have a deadly stratagem hitting their position. This is why it helps to communicate so you can avoid unnecessary friendly fire. However, we all know some friendly fire is bound to happen even when talking to each other.
Tip 10 – Use Stratagems Together For Powerful Results
Whether you’re a lone wolf or working with your team, try using your stratagems together. One of my favorite combinations is using the Orbital EMS Strike and Gas Strike whenever a bug breach happens. The EMS stuns all the bugs coming out while the gas deals with them since they can’t leave it.
EMS probably works the best for setting up almost any other stratagem, except for maybe mines. However, you can use the EMS Strike for other massive Orbital and Eagle stratagems too. Or even just to delay an incoming swarm so your sentries can work.
Tip 11 – Target Limbs For Bugs and Automatons
In the same way I recommended destroying a Charger’s leg, you can also take out the limbs of many bugs and automatons. One bug I hate fighting one-on-one is the Brood Commander. They have a lot of health and won’t stop chasing you even when they have no head. Fortunately, you can take out their front legs to destroy their mobility.
Alongside larger bugs like the Brood Commander, you can take out the legs of smaller ones too. And if you’re dealing with Automatons, you can go after their arms to disable their weapons. Even though their face is usually the best weak point.
That’s all there is to this long in-depth guide full of tips and tricks for Helldivers 2. Make sure to comment below with some tricks of your own if you think of any.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.