The ultimate Helldivers 2 beginner's guide

Helldivers 2 PS5 screenshot — (Image credit: SIE)

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What do you do in Helldivers 2?
Where do I go?
How do I play Helldivers 2?
What weapons should I get first?
What armor should I get first?
What Stratagems should I get first?
What are Warbonds?

Our Helldivers 2 beginner's guide is the perfect starting point for new players learning the rules of engagement for Super Earth's Galactic War. With near-constant changes and updates in some form and a community-focused structure, Helldivers 2 can be quite daunting to get into.

Still, the fundamentals remain the same throughout and the best way to learn the game is to get stuck in. But if you're really confused, this guide has the answers. Whether you're fighting the Automaton Bots, the Terminid Bugs, or the alien Illuminate, we've explained the basics of Helldivers 2 for beginner's below.

What do you do in Helldivers 2?

Helldivers 2 is a multiplayer co-op game in which you fight various alien enemies on planets in a vast galaxy. Here's how it works, very simply:

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The game's developers (specifically a guy called Joel) decide which enemies attack which planets. All of this is visible on the galactic map in your ship with colored sectors showing where enemy forces are therefore which planets you need to liberate or defend.
Choose a planet to go to to via the same map.
When you get there, Choose an 'Operation' - a chain of 1-4 mission, depending on your chosen Helldivers 2 difficulty - to complete. Every mission and Operation completed goes a little way to taking back that planet, represented as a percentage.
The Helldivers 2 community therefore works collectively to win wars and achieve victories over the enemies of Super Earth. There are also Major Order - objectives that all players can contribute to - which typically award large sums of Medals for completing them.
As the players fail or succeed in taking worlds, the galactic war changes and develops over time. We've seen new planets and locations to fight on, new enemy types, and even a whole new faction, the Illuminate, emerge as a result of changes in the war.

It sounds simple, but there's a lot of nuance to it - in part because actually beating those operations isn't an easy thing to do in the least, and also because the battles are constantly in flux, with new threats, enemies, and more to keep things interesting. Make sure you do the tutorial before starting to play the game, which will take you through the basics of combat!

Otherwise, we've laid out the rest of this guide for all the basic questions that new players will have when picking up Helldivers 2, as well as linking to all the useful guides we have when it's beneficial and if you want further info.

Where do I go?

Helldivers 2 Steeled Veterans Warbond — (Image credit: Sony)

Wondering where to start the war, what planets you should be fighting? Well - any of them! Any sector of the galaxy that's glowing red, yellow, or purple has planets occupied by the enemy, and any of those worlds is a viable battlefields that the Helldivers are trying to take back.

The orange sectors are controlled by the Helldivers 2 Terminids - aka, the Bugs, giant insects that swarm and overwhelm you with numbers.
The red sectors are controlled by the Helldivers 2 Automatons, armies of advanced robots that use laser guns and armor plating.
The purple sectors are controlled by the Helldivers 2 Illuminate, legions of corrupted Voteless hordes controlled by alien masterminds with advanced technology.

You can fight whichever faction you want - or bounce between them - as you choose, but if you're getting started, I will say that generally people find the bugs easier to fight than the other two. Those getting used to galactic warfare can cut their teeth on the Terminids.

Alternatively, check to see if there's any Major Orders (community wide goals) or Personal Orders (daily challenges just for you) that'll help give you some direction or a target to aim for!

More guides that might help:

How do I play Helldivers 2?

Helldivers 2 missions are very objective focused - you're dropped into a mission and told to complete objectives (marked in orange on your map). Literally nothing else matters besides the objective - not the amount of kills you get, not the amount of people who die, nothing.

Now yes, there are optional objectives and collectibles you can find while you explore the mission, all of which will get you more XP and rewards at the end, but they're all optional. Even if you don't extract from the mission safely at the end, as long as the main task has been completed, it'll get chalked up as a win.

Otherwise, here's some basic info that might help:

All progress, collectibles and lives are shared. Work together for the best result!
Friendly fire is always on, and applies in all directions - you can hurt your friends, and your enemies can hurt each other.
Accidents will happen and Helldivers kill each other all the time. Try not to do it, but don't worry about it if it does!
Communicate with and help each other for the best performance.
The more side objectives, enemy bases and similar that you do, the more XP and Requisition Slips you'll get at the end.
Dive, dive, dive! Your dive ability is incredibly useful for dodging attacks and protecting you from explosions - you actually take reduced damage from blasts when lying prone. Use it often and learn how it works!

More guides that might help:

What weapons should I get first?

Helldivers 2 has all manner of weapons, armor and equipment for players to get, with a great deal of difference in how good they actually are. We put together a Helldivers 2 best weapons tier list for players to compare everything in terms of armaments.

More guides that might help:

What armor should I get first?

Helldivers 2 Armor — (Image credit: Sony)

Armor in Helldivers 2 is meant to provide options between balancing weight - how slow and cumbersome you are - over protection, namely how much damage reduction you get. Not only that, but armor has a variety of unique buffs and perks too - but as a rule, we're confident saying that the best Helldivers 2 armor is almost never heavy, as heavy armor doesn't protect enough to be worth losing that extra agility and speed.

Armor sets are available in Warbonds and in the Superstore for Helldivers 2 Super Credits.

More guides that might help:

Helldivers 2 Boosters

What Stratagems should I get first?

Stratagems in Helldivers 2 are the special airstrikes and equipment drops you can call in. It goes without saying that we have a guide to the Helldivers 2 best stratagems overall, but as a rule you want to get a wide variety of Stratagems early on, as different stratagems are good for different kinds of missions, such as Sentry turrets being good for defense and certain support weapons being good for specific enemy types.

Early on, start with the Machine Gun Sentry, Eagle Airstrike, Eagle Cluster Bomb and Anti-Materiel Rifle - that'll give you firm grounding in the basics to move on from.

More guides that might help:

What are Warbonds?

Helldivers 2 Cutting Edge Warbond — (Image credit: Sony)

Warbonds are battle pass-like reward packages that contain new weapons, armor, Stratagems, cosmetics, and Super Credits, and you must spend Medals on rewards to unlock them.

All Helldivers have the Helldivers Mobilize! Warbond for free, which contains a lot of basic weapons and armor - start by spending your Medals here while you get a feel for the game.

The Superstore also contains many premium Warbonds which must be paid for with Super Credits before you can start unlocking their rewards with Medals. Each of these Warbonds contains gear relevant to a certain theme, be that flamethrowers, jungle warfare, or space cowboys.

While all Helldivers 2 Warbonds contain a good selection of gear, some of them are markedly better than others, containing weapons that are immensely effective against and can be near essential for some loadouts.

More guides that might help: