Helldivers 2 Beginner's Guide
New to Helldivers 2? How missions, stratagems, difficulty and the Galactic War work – and the habits that keep your squad alive.
Helldivers 2 is a co-op third-person shooter from Arrowhead Game Studios, published by Sony. You are a Helldiver, fighting for Super Earth and "managed democracy" against bugs, robots and aliens in a shared Galactic War where every mission counts. It launched on PS5 and PC on February 8, 2024 and on Xbox Series X|S on August 26, 2025, with full cross-play.
The mission loop
Pick a planetOn the Galactic War map, choose a planet the community is fighting for. Major Orders tell everyone where to focus.
Pick a difficultyTen levels, from Trivial to Super Helldive. Start low while you learn.
Choose your stratagemsTake four stratagems – a mix of firepower, support and defence.
Complete and extractFinish the objectives, then call the extraction shuttle and survive until it lands.
Habits that keep you alive
Play as a squadUp to four players in co-op. Sticking together makes reinforcing and reviving easy.
Friendly fire is realYour bullets, grenades and airstrikes hurt teammates. Check before you throw.
Use your stimsStims heal you and fix injured limbs. Resupply often.
Grab the samplesSamples upgrade your Super Destroyer. They only count if someone extracts with them.
Earn Super CreditsPremium currency drops in missions too – no need to pay.
Spend your MedalsMedals unlock Warbond items. The wallet caps at 250.
Keep up with changes
Read the latest patch notes, see every Warbond and watch the trailers.
Our Helldivers 2 articles on this
Sources
Reference page written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games change with every patch – the patch this page was last checked for is shown at the top.