Helldivers 2 beginner tips and tricks to progress fast

Your aim isn’t actually dictated by the dot in the center of your screen, it’s actually the circle that floats roughly around it. Weapons have different turn speeds and recoil, but your view point doesn’t change, only the aiming circle which indicates where your bullets are actually going. You’ll see that circle become much more unstable with heavier weapons and while you move, so stand still if you want the best accuracy possible.

When you reload your weapon you discard any and all remaining ammo in your clip – yes, just like real life. This is unlike most shooters though, which magically reuse any remaining ammo left in your clip. That means that most of the time, you’ll want to use every last bullet in your clip. Heavier weapons will take longer to reload though, so you might just need to pick a good time and accept the sacrifice of any leftover ammo.

Your limbs can get individually damaged in Helldivers 2, which is especially bad when it slows you down as a swarm of bugs surrounds you. This is a quick way to die, so you should stay clear of explosives, and make sure to have a supply of Stims ready to bring you back up to top speed.

If a friend dies you should immediately redeploy them. They’ll respawn wherever you throw the redeploy beacon, which means if your pal dies in the middle of a bug swarm, you can choose to spawn them somewhere a bit safer.

When on the Galactic Map you can choose different difficulty settings, and unlocking tougher difficulties requires clearing a few missions on the lower difficulties first. Tougher missions will offer bigger and better rewards, but also far tougher objectives and enemies to face off against. Going for tougher challenges is much easier if you have friends.

If you don’t have friends, then Quickplay is here to help – even if it doesn’t really work. Instead, just check out a planet’s surface. You’ll see white hexagon icons, and these are actually missions being started up by other players. Most players will appreciate having another team member in their squad to help conquer the galaxy, since mission rewards are shared, and everything really is easier when you’re with your besties.

It is a team game, after all, so make sure to be generous with your team mates, even if they’re not your actual friends. You can use pings on the map and on items and locations to convey what you want to do next, if you’re shy, but voice and text chat are both an option too. Communicating with your team is essential, and the ping system allows you to do that even if there’s a language barrier.

Stratagems are pieces of equipment that deploy from your ship and smash into the ground to aid you. Sometimes it’s a bombing run, like calling in a Call of Duty killstreak, and sometimes you’ll want to simply call in a supply drop for some ammo. For the best Stratagems to equip and unlock early, check out our Helldivers 2 best Stratagems guide.

There’s no main quest in Helldivers 2, not really, so your progress is mainly tracked by your level and your Warbond unlocks. Warbonds is like a battle pass system, where you’ll spend medals earned from missions on new cosmetic items and weapons. There’s a standard Warbond path and a Premium Warbond path, which even includes Super Credits to spend on Superstore items. Once you’ve played through a handful of missions, check your Warbond progress in the Acquisitions menu.

Ship modules can be found in the same place as the Stratagems, and they will offer a variety of passive bonuses by making your ship bigger, better, and more functional. To unlock ship modules you’ll need to earn Common and Rare Samples. A lot of them, too, so make sure to search those points of interest in each mission.