Helldivers 2 Beginner Guide: How to Start and Survive

Helldivers 2 is a co-op third-person shooter where squads of up to four Helldivers drop onto alien planets, complete objectives and try to get out alive. It runs on PS5, PC and Xbox Series X|S with crossplay, and every mission feeds into a shared Galactic War that the whole community fights together. This guide covers what new players need to know, from the mission loop to the habits that keep you alive.

Last checked: November 9, 2026.

Before your first drop

You need to be online. Helldivers 2 always requires an internet connection. On PS5 that also means a PlayStation Plus membership; Steam players don't need one.
On PS Plus Extra or Premium, the game is included. Helldivers 2 joined the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog on August 12, 2026. Otherwise the Standard Edition is $39.99 and the Super Citizen Edition, which adds bonus gear and a Premium Warbond Token, is $59.99.
You don't need to have played the first game. Arrowhead built Helldivers 2 to be friendly to newcomers.
Play the tutorial. The short training mission at the start covers the basics, and you can replay it later.
Friendly fire is always on. Your bullets, grenades, airstrikes and turrets can all kill your squad, and there's no way to turn this off.

How a mission works

Everything starts on your Super Destroyer, your ship and hub between missions.

Pick a planet. At the Galactic War map, choose a planet on one of the active fronts. Major Orders tell you where the community is needed most.
Pick an operation and difficulty. An operation is a set of one to three missions on the same planet. New players can only pick Trivial at first; each finished operation unlocks the next level. Our difficulty levels guide explains all 10.
Choose your loadout. Each Helldiver brings a primary weapon, a secondary, a grenade, armor, up to four stratagems and one booster for the squad.
Drop in. Choose your landing zone on the planet map, then ride your Hellpod down.
Complete the main objective. This is the only thing you must do. Optional objectives and points of interest give extra rewards.
Extract. Call the extraction shuttle at the marked zone, hold out until it lands and get on board.

Each mission has a timer. When it runs out, your Super Destroyer leaves orbit and you lose access to most of your stratagems, so aim to finish and extract before then.

Stratagems: your most important tool

Stratagems are the support you call from orbit: heavy weapons, airstrikes, orbital bombardments, turrets, backpacks and vehicles. Hold the stratagem button (L1 on PS5), enter the arrow code, then throw the beacon where you want it.

Learning the codes so you can enter them under pressure is the single biggest skill jump for new players. Start with one anti-armor support weapon, one strike for groups of enemies and one defensive tool. Our stratagems guide covers how to unlock, upgrade and choose them.

Dying and reinforcements

You will die a lot. That's expected. Your squad shares a limited pool of lives for each mission. When someone dies, any living squadmate can call the Reinforce stratagem to send them back in a new Hellpod, aimed wherever the caller chooses.

When you come back, head to where you died. Your support weapon and backpack stay where they fell, and so do any samples you were carrying. Samples only count once someone extracts with them. If the whole squad dies with no lives left before finishing the main objective, the mission fails.

The four currencies

Currency	How you get it	What it's for
Requisition Slips	Objectives, missions and operations	Unlocking new stratagems; buying weapon attachments
Samples (common, rare, super)	Found in missions	Ship upgrades that improve your stratagems
War Medals	Found in missions and awarded for objectives	Unlocking items in Warbonds
Super Credits	Found in missions, Warbond rewards or bought	Buying Warbonds and Superstore items

Rare samples start appearing on Challenging (4), and super samples on Extreme (6). You can earn Super Credits without paying; see how to get Super Credits.

How progression works

Levels. You earn XP from missions, and new stratagems unlock as you level up. The level cap rose to 300 in August 2026, up from 150.
Stratagems. Buy them at the Ship Management terminal with Requisition Slips once you meet the level requirement.
Ship modules. Also in Ship Management, these upgrades use samples and make whole groups of stratagems better.
Weapon customization. From level 10, primary weapons level up as you use them and unlock attachments you buy with Requisition Slips.
Warbonds. The free Helldivers Mobilize Warbond holds weapons, armor and more, unlocked with medals. Premium Warbonds cost 1,000 Super Credits. See our Warbonds guide.

The Galactic War

Helldivers 2 is a "global co-op" game: everyone's missions push the same war forward. Liberating a planet moves a progress bar on the map, and Arrowhead's Game Masters respond to what players do, sometimes with surprises.

Major Orders are community-wide goals with rewards for everyone who takes part. Some have unlocked new stratagems.
Personal Orders are daily challenges for smaller rewards.
The Control Centre terminal on your ship, added in June 2026, shows the current campaign, its Major Orders and the rewards at stake, plus an archive of past campaigns.

Some campaign rewards only go to players who logged in during that campaign, so it's worth checking in regularly.

Know your enemies

You'll fight three factions, and each needs a different approach:

Terminids (bugs) swarm you up close. Bring crowd control and something for armored Chargers and Bile Titans.
Automatons (bots) shoot from range with guns, rockets and artillery. Use cover and precise, armor-piercing weapons.
Illuminate (squids) mix mind-controlled hordes with shielded, high-tech units, often in tight city streets.

Our enemy factions guide covers the key units and newest strains.

Ten tips for new Helldivers

Practice stratagem codes on Trivial and Easy. Speed and accuracy matter more than which stratagem you bring.
Dive. Diving (Circle on PS5) gets you out of an airstrike, a charge or your own sentry's line of fire.
Call in support weapons early. Don't save them; a heavy weapon on your back is worth more than one on cooldown.
Stay with your squad. The harder difficulties are tuned for co-op, and lone Helldivers get overwhelmed.
Talk before you throw. Warn your team before calling in airstrikes or supply drops, which can crush a teammate.
Check the planet conditions. Environmental effects change how fights play out. Extreme cold, for example, slows your rate of fire but also slows heat buildup in weapons.
Sneak when it helps. You don't have to fight everything. Moving carefully around a patrol is often faster than fighting it.
Grab samples. Pick them up as you go and recover them from fallen squadmates. Ship upgrades need a lot of them.
Use the SOS Beacon when playing alone or short-handed, so other players can join you.
Work with the SEAF. On some missions, Super Earth soldiers fight alongside you. Since August 2026, they can arrive by dropship, follow your orders or hold a position, and their medics can heal you.

Playing with friends on another platform? See whether Helldivers 2 is crossplay and how friend codes work.

Frequently asked questions

Is Helldivers 2 good for beginners?

Yes. The game is built to be friendly to newcomers, starts with a tutorial and lets you pick from 10 difficulty levels. Start on Trivial or Easy and move up as you learn the stratagem codes and enemies.

Can you play Helldivers 2 solo?

Yes, but Arrowhead doesn't recommend it for the harder difficulties, which are tuned for co-op. If you get stuck, throw the SOS Beacon so other players can join your mission.

Is Helldivers 2 free with PlayStation Plus?

It's included with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium, through the Game Catalog, since August 12, 2026. PS Plus Essential members need to buy it, and every PS5 player needs PS Plus to play online.

How much does Helldivers 2 cost?

The Standard Edition is $39.99 and the Super Citizen Edition is $59.99. The Super Citizen Edition adds an armor set, a cape, the MP-98 Knight weapon, the Stratagem Hero ship minigame and a Premium Warbond Token.

What is the max level in Helldivers 2?

The maximum level is 300. The cap was 50 at launch, rose to 150 in April 2024 and went up to 300 with the Devoid of Liberty update in August 2026.

Do I need to play Helldivers 1 first?

No. Helldivers 2 doesn't expect you to know the first game, and the story unfolds through the ongoing Galactic War rather than a campaign you need to catch up on.

Helldivers 2 © Sony Interactive Entertainment. Developed by Arrowhead Game Studios. mgame.gg isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Sony or Arrowhead.