HELLDIVERS 2: Complete Guide

From your first drop to Super Helldive: stratagems, loadouts per faction, currencies and Warbonds, ship upgrades, and what the Devoid of Liberty season and the Ironclad Democracy Warbond changed.

Researched September 2026 — current as of patch 1.007.101 (September 24, 2026), Devoid of Liberty season, Ironclad Democracy Warbond. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. Finish the training and play Easy/Medium first. Learn stratagem inputs and extraction before jumping to high difficulties.
2. Friendly fire is always on. Watch where you throw airstrikes and fire explosives.
3. Every loadout needs anti-armor. Chargers, Hulks, Bile Titans, Harvesters — someone must be able to kill heavies.
4. Spend Requisition Slips on stratagems first. Unlocking stratagems matters more than anything early.
5. Medals go into Warbonds. Warbonds never expire, so there's no rush.
6. Pick up samples and extract with them. They're lost when you die, but teammates can recover them from your body.
7. Follow the Major Order. It pays out medals and pushes the Galactic War.
8. Reinforce teammates quickly. Downtime is wasted time; reinforcements share a team budget.
9. Level cap is now 300 (raised from 150 in the August 2026 Devoid of Liberty update).

Controls (PC default)

Everything is rebindable in Options; check the Controls menu for stim, melee, dive, and stance keys, and consider binding stratagem input to arrow keys so you can keep moving while calling in.

Difficulty Levels

Super Samples only appear on the higher difficulties. Rewards scale with difficulty, so move up once your squad is comfortable.

Currencies

F2P tip: Super Credits drop on missions (often in points of interest on lower difficulties), and each Premium Warbond pays out some Super Credits as you progress through it. Many players earn Warbonds entirely through play.

Stratagems

Stratagems are called in via directional codes. Categories:

• Support weapons (occupy your back/hands): Recoilless Rifle, EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank, Quasar Cannon, Autocannon, Spear, Commando, Grenade Launcher, Stalwart, Machine Gun, Flamethrower.
• Backpacks: Supply Pack, Shield Generator Pack, Jump Pack, Guard Dog variants.
• Orbitals: Orbital Railcannon Strike, Orbital Laser, Orbital Precision Strike, Orbital Gas Strike, Orbital Airburst, barrages.
• Eagles: Eagle 500kg Bomb, Eagle Airstrike, Eagle Cluster Bomb, Eagle Napalm Airstrike.
• Sentries and emplacements: Machine Gun Sentry, Autocannon Sentry, Rocket Sentry, Anti-Tank Emplacement.
• Vehicles: exosuits and the GATER, which got a faster engine, better handling, and more health in August 2026.

A reliable loadout template

1 anti-tank + 1 crowd clear + 1 utility/defense + 1 flexible. For example:

• Anti-tank: Recoilless Rifle, Quasar Cannon, or EAT-17
• Crowd clear: Eagle Airstrike or Eagle Napalm Airstrike
• Utility: Shield Generator Pack or Supply Pack
• Flexible: Orbital Railcannon, Eagle 500kg Bomb, or a sentry

Recent balance changes worth knowing

• Eagle Napalm Airstrike radius increased from 8m to 10m (Aug 2026).
• MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines demolition strength raised from 30 to 40 (Aug 2026).
• Assisted reload was simplified so either player can carry the backpack (Aug 2026).
• Orbital Precision Strike cooldown lowered from 90s to 80s (Sep 2026).
• AR/GL-21 One-Two got more grenade launcher ammo (starting 2→3, max 3→5) (Sep 2026).
• LAS-13 Trident vertical recoil cut sharply (Sep 2026).
• Short magazine attachments got more spare and starting ammo; several secondaries received ammo buffs (Aug 2026).

Faction Guide

Terminids (bugs)

• Threats: Chargers, Bile Titans, Brood Commanders, Hunters, and large swarms.
• Loadout tips: fire is excellent against bugs (Flamethrower, Napalm). Bring an anti-tank support weapon for Chargers and Titans. The Orbital Gas Strike is strong for groups.
• Close bug holes with grenades or explosives to stop spawns.

Automatons (bots)

• Threats: Devastators, Hulks, Tanks, Gunships, Fabricators, dropships.
• Loadout tips: medium-armor-penetrating primaries and precision weapons matter; aim for weak points (Hulk back vents, Devastator heads). Autocannon and Recoilless Rifle are long-time staples. Use cover and prone — bots punish standing in the open.
• Destroy Fabricators with explosives through their vents to stop reinforcements.

Illuminate (squids)

• Threats: Overseers, Watchers (call reinforcements), shielded Harvesters, Voteless hordes, and the Crusher and Wretch introduced in August 2026 for the Void biomes (the Crusher regenerates, so keep sustained damage on it; the Wretch is fast and agile, so track it rather than spraying).
• Loadout tips: area-damage primaries like the PLAS-101 Purifier or a shotgun; a shield-breaking answer for Harvesters (Quasar Cannon or the Anti-Tank Emplacement are popular); Orbital Laser for big sweeps.
• Kill Watchers first to prevent reinforcements.

Galactic War, Operations, and Missions

• The Galactic War is the shared campaign map. Every mission you win adds liberation (or defense) progress to the planet you're fighting on, pooled across all players.
• Major Orders are the community-wide objectives set by Super Earth High Command. They pay out a large Medal bonus when completed, so playing on the Major Order planet is the most rewarding default choice.
• Operations are chains of missions on one planet. Finishing the whole operation gives bonus rewards; pick the operation length and difficulty before you drop.
• Planet modifiers (weather, reduced visibility, stratagem penalties, and since August 2026 SEAF support troops) change how a mission plays. Read them on the mission select screen and adjust your loadout.
• Side objectives and points of interest are where Requisition, Medals, Super Credits, and samples come from beyond the main objective. On lower difficulties, sweeping the map is often worth more than rushing extraction.
• Extraction: call the Pelican at the extraction beacon, then hold the area until it lands. Samples only count if they're carried by a Helldiver who makes it onto the Pelican. If a carrier dies, their samples drop where they fell, so recover them before you leave.

Ship Modules (Super Destroyer Upgrades)

Spend samples and Requisition on permanent upgrades in the ship management terminal. Priorities for new players:

• Hangar / Eagle upgrades — more Eagle uses and faster rearm.
• Orbital cannon upgrades — shorter orbital cooldowns.
• Engineering bay — better support weapons and reloads.
• Bridge upgrades — faster stratagem call-ins.

Upgrade tiers require more Rare and Super samples, so plan to extract with them on higher difficulties.

Warbonds

• Helldivers Mobilize! is free and included with the game.
• Premium Warbonds are bought with Super Credits (recent ones, including Ironclad Democracy, cost 1,000) and never expire.
• Legendary Warbonds (Obedient Democracy Support Troopers, Righteous Revenants, and the Warhammer 40,000 crossover Castellan's Creed, added with Devoid of Liberty) are a separate tier, also unlocked with Super Credits. Check the in-game price before saving up.

Newest: Ironclad Democracy (September 22, 2026)

It's the first Premium Warbond with two boosters and two throwables. Price: 1,000 Super Credits.

Boosters

Boosters affect the whole squad; don't bring duplicates. Commonly valuable: Vitality Enhancement, Hellpod Space Optimization, Stamina Enhancement, Muscle Enhancement, Increased Reinforcement Budget.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Throwing stratagems near teammates. Friendly fire is real.
• Bringing no anti-tank. Heavies will overwhelm the squad.
• Dying with samples. Retrieve your body's samples or let a teammate grab them.
• Ignoring side objectives. They reduce enemy strength and give rewards.
• Sprinting into open terrain against bots. Use cover.
• Duplicate boosters. They don't stack.
• Rushing extraction without clearing. Kill heavies around the pad first.

Advanced Tips

• Dive to avoid damage. Diving breaks line of fire and dodges some attacks.
• Use your stim early. Stims heal over time; don't wait until you're on the edge.
• Resupply smart: call resupply before everyone is dry, and split it evenly.
• Stratagem throw timing: some stratagems stick to enemies — tag Chargers or Hulks with orbitals.
• Bring defensive stratagems to Evacuate High-Value Assets: in September 2026 (patch 1.007.100) it got harder: the time between waves at the start dropped from 60 to 42 seconds, and more spawn points were added, especially for larger squads.
• SEAF troops can appear as a planet modifier since August 2026 — they help hold objectives, but watch your fire.
• Enemy spawns now scale with enemy count and distance (September 2026), which Arrowhead says balances spawns across separated players, so splitting into two teams of two should be less punishing than before.

FAQ

What's the level cap? 300, raised from 150 in the August 12, 2026 Devoid of Liberty update.

Do Warbonds expire? No. You can buy and complete them at any time.

How much do Premium Warbonds cost? Recent Premium Warbonds such as Ironclad Democracy cost 1,000 Super Credits. Legendary Warbonds are a separate tier; check the in-game price.

What's the newest Warbond? Ironclad Democracy, released September 22, 2026 with patch 1.007.100.

How do I get Super Credits without paying? Pick them up on missions (especially at points of interest) and earn them from Warbond pages.

What difficulty should I play? Start at Medium or Challenging, then step up once your squad handles heavies reliably. Super Helldive (10) is the top.

Is the Devoid of Liberty campaign over? The launch campaign is. Arrowhead's September 25, 2026 post "Launching Devoid of Liberty: A Look Back" says the Illuminate's latest push was dealt with and "history has been written", but also that "the Void isn't finished with us", so expect more Illuminate and Void content in later updates.

Sources

• Helldivers Wiki (wiki.gg) — Warbonds
• Helldivers Wiki — Ironclad Democracy
• Helldivers Wiki — Patches
• Helldivers Wiki — 1.007.000 (Devoid of Liberty)
• Helldivers Wiki — 1.007.100
• HELLDIVERS 2 Steam news (incl. "Launching Devoid of Liberty: A Look Back", Sep 25, 2026)