Helldivers 2 has finally released on Xbox after more than a year. MeinMMO editor Dariusz has gained some experience on PC during that time and has a few tips for the new comrades.
The first hours of Helldivers 2 can be very overwhelming, but PS5 and PC players have had over a year to adapt to the chaos of the galactic war.
Now the Helldiver veterans have received new support: Xbox players have joined the fight and are storming the battlefields. To ensure our new comrades do not serve as helpless cannon fodder, we have gathered 20 tips to help them get started.
Use Boosters, especially the Hellpod Slot Optimization
At the beginning of each mission, every Helldiver can and should equip a booster. Boosters provide your entire team with an enhancement that can be very useful. One particularly important booster is the Hellpod Slot Optimization. It gives you more ammunition, grenades, and syringes at each respawn. Every team should equip at least this booster.
You can farm Über-Credits instead of buying them
You need Über-Credits (the blue currency) to unlock War Bonds. Through the War Bonds, you get new weapons, equipment, armor, and cosmetic items. Especially with weapons and grenades, there are some that significantly simplify your life on alien planets.
If you don’t want to spend money on War Bonds, you can also find Über-Credits during your missions, for example in bunkers. So it can be worth farming them deliberately – even if it takes a while.
Start upgrading your ship early
Use the remaining time during missions to look for samples. You need samples to unlock upgrades for your ship. It makes sense to start upgrading your ship right at the beginning since it takes some time.
Drop your samples at the extraction point
If you have diligently collected samples during a mission, you should drop them at the extraction point. Ideally as close as possible to the actual landing point of the shuttle. This way, you avoid losing some samples and not being extracted because the carrier bites the dust just before the end of the mission.
Forget about false pride
Play on a suitable difficulty level, especially when collecting samples to improve your ship. To successfully deliver samples, you must complete a mission and extract.
Overall, Helldivers is most fun when you use weapons and stratagems that you enjoy. Meta loadouts can simplify your life at higher difficulty levels, but they won’t help you if you are not having fun. So don’t let false pride guide you. This is not a PvP game.
Spend your medals and other currencies regularly
There is a maximum amount you can reach with the various currencies. Once you reach this, you will not receive any more. Then you are farming completely for nothing.
- Medals, cap: 250 (currency for unlocks within the War Bonds)
- Request Notes, cap: 50,000 (yellow currency for new stratagems, etc.)
- Samples, cap: 500 for common, 250 for rare, and 100 for super rare
(Samples are the currency for ship upgrades)
Even a fun build can be optimized
Play with weapons and stratagems that you enjoy, but: A build works more reliably when you have the right mix – such as a support weapon, a backpack, and 2 stratagems (e.g., one for crowd control, one as a heavy hitter). You can also combine different weapons in your builds to compensate for each other’s weaknesses.
Weapons for easing missions
There are weapons, stratagems, and support weapons with which you can destroy mission objectives like fabricators or bug nests. Some examples include:
- R-26 Burster (primary weapon)
- Adler – Air Strike (stratagem)
- Ultimatum (secondary weapon)
- GP-31 Grenade Pistol (secondary weapon)
- Auto Cannon (support weapon)
- CB-9 Explosive Crossbow (one-handed primary weapon)
- GR-8 Recoiless Rifle (support weapon)
Always keep moving
Always keep moving, as the hordes of enemies will otherwise get closer and put more pressure on you. You need to try to maintain control and successfully kite the enemies. If possible, you should even move while activating stratagems. If you’re on PC, for example, you can map the stratagem execution from WASD to the arrow keys – as long as your keyboard has arrow keys.
Don’t waste ammunition
When you reload, you discard the remaining ammunition in your magazine. Since ammunition management is important for some weapons to avoid encountering a giant acid titan unprepared and empty-handed, you should avoid this if possible. So be mindful not to switch your magazine after just a few rounds.
Stims not only heal you, they also replenish your stamina
If you are being overrun by hordes of bugs and need to make up a few meters, your stamina plays a crucial role. If you’ve used up all your stamina, you can replenish it with a syringe. Ideally, use the stims when you can benefit from both effects: health AND stamina regeneration.
Throw yourselves into the dirt more often
Dropping down and diving to the ground extinguishes the fire if you are burning. It also reduces the damage you take from explosions. If you cannot escape a potentially devastating explosion, throw yourself on the ground – you may be lucky and survive this way. You also avoid damage from Tesla towers when you are lying on the ground.
Weapons have different armor penetration
In Helldivers 2, not all weapons deal the same damage to armor. Each weapon has one of three armor penetration ratings: light, medium, heavy. Only weapons that penetrate heavy armor can deal damage to any enemy. The shots from a submachine gun with light penetration will bounce off enemies with medium or heavy armor – keep that in mind.
Planning when loading the SEAF artillery
When using the SEAF artillery, keep in mind: It fires the shells in the order you load them. It can cause surprises if you expect a different type of ammunition. So keep this in mind when loading the SEAF artillery.
Check out the planets from the spaceship
Pay attention to the conditions of the planet when starting a mission. This can have a significant impact on gameplay and, for example, affect the use of stratagems.
Stealth can also be a way
Sometimes in Helldivers it is wise to avoid or quickly end a confrontation and retreat. In such situations, you can use smoke to break the line of sight and reposition yourself. The enemies can no longer track you if they do not know your position.
Distraction to avoid confrontations
You can use sound to distract enemies and lure them in another direction. For example, throw a grenade or a stratagem in a certain direction to draw the enemies’ attention there, and then sneak past them from the other side.
Avoid reinforcements – especially the really nasty ones
If you encounter enemy patrols or get involved in a fight, first eliminate the enemies that can call reinforcements. With the bugs, pay special attention to the Alpha Commanders, as they can summon strong enemies like acid titans.
Injuries affect gameplay
In heated combat, your Helldiver may quickly sustain an injury. This is then indicated with a corresponding symbol on the screen. These injuries actively affect gameplay and should therefore be treated. A broken arm, for example, worsens your shooting precision and affects the throwing of grenades and stratagems. A broken leg impacts your movement, and a chest injury deals bleeding damage that can eventually kill you over time.
Prepare for strong enemies
Some enemy types are significantly stronger than the small, insignificant adds that follow you in droves. You should not encounter these enemies unprepared. For example, if you are facing a Bots tank or an acid titan and do not know their weaknesses or do not have firepower that can crack their armor, you will run into problems.
If you are not familiar with the weaknesses of various enemies, we have written small guides on MeinMMO for many of the Over-Earth foes that could help you in battle. You can find an overview here: Helldivers 2: All Guides, Beginner Tips, and Lists Overview
