HELLDIVERS Dive Harder Edition (2015): Complete Guide

A guide to the original top-down HELLDIVERS on PC: stratagems, the three enemy factions, difficulty, the Galactic Campaign, Proving Grounds, and how to survive friendly fire. This is the 2015 twin-stick shooter, not HELLDIVERS 2.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the Dive Harder Edition with the A New Hell update (Liberty Day 2018) and the April 2021 Proving Grounds leaderboard bugfix, the last listed patch. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Status (September 2026): HELLDIVERS (Arrowhead Game Studios, published by PlayStation Publishing) released on Steam on 7 December 2015. The Dive Harder Edition was a free upgrade that bundles every expansion (A New Hell, Masters of the Galaxy, Turning Up The Heat, Democracy Strikes Back) and adds the Proving Grounds mode. The last Steam update listed is a Proving Grounds leaderboard fix on 21 April 2021; since then Arrowhead's focus has been HELLDIVERS 2 (February 2024), which is set about a century later. The original is still sold and playable, but it gets no new content. Online co-op and the community Galactic Campaign depend on Arrowhead's servers, so if matchmaking is quiet, invite friends or play local co-op.

Quick Start

Friendly fire is always on. Bullets, airstrikes, turrets, and falling Hellpods all kill teammates. Most early deaths are from your own squad.
Stratagems are called by typing a directional code. Hold the stratagem key, enter the arrow sequence, then throw the beacon. Learn your loadout's codes before you dive.
Reinforce is your lifeline. Dead Helldivers come back through the Reinforce stratagem, but someone has to be alive to call it, so don't let the whole squad go down at once.
Resupply is a stratagem too. Call it before you are dry, not after.
Start on low-difficulty planets. Planet difficulty goes from 1 up to 15 (with A New Hell). Low levels give you room to learn weapons and codes.
Match your loadout to the faction. Bugs swarm, Cyborgs are armored and use ranged weapons, Illuminate use shields and teleport. The same loadout rarely works for all three.
Collect samples. They fund upgrades to your weapons and stratagems.
Extraction is its own fight. Once you call the shuttle, hold a defensive position and expect waves.
Don't stand where a stratagem lands. Hellpods crush whatever they hit, including you.

Controls and Stratagem Input

HELLDIVERS supports keyboard and mouse or a controller. With keyboard and mouse you move with WASD and aim with the mouse. To call a stratagem you hold the stratagem modifier and type the code (default is a directional sequence on the movement keys or arrows), then throw.

Tip	Why
Practice codes in low-stakes missions	Fumbling a code while being chased is how squads wipe
Throw beacons away from teammates	Hellpods and airstrikes land where the beacon lands
Watch for jammers	Some enemy structures and effects can block or disrupt stratagems
Communicate "calling air"	Everyone should know an airstrike is coming

Check the in-game controls menu for your exact defaults; you can rebind if you prefer arrow keys for codes.

Core Systems

The squad

Up to 4 players, local (couch) or online on Steam.
Dead Helldivers come back when a living teammate calls the Reinforce stratagem. If the whole squad dies with nobody left to call it, the mission fails.
Teammates can also heal each other and share ammo, so stick close enough to help.

Stratagems

Stratagems are the game's real arsenal. They are grouped roughly like this:

Category	Examples of what they do
Mission essentials	Reinforce, Resupply
Support weapons	Heavy weapons dropped by Hellpod, such as anti-tank launchers and machine guns
Backpacks	Utility packs like supply and jump packs
Vehicles	Mechs and armored vehicles such as the EXO-44 Walker and the APC
Offensive strikes	Orbital and air strikes, including the Railcannon Strike
Defensive	Turrets, mines, and static defenses such as the Tesla Tower

Stratagems unlock as you rank up, and most can be upgraded with research paid for by samples you pick up on missions.

Weapons and perks

Each Helldiver chooses a primary weapon, a perk, and a set of stratagems.
Primary weapons unlock by rank and include assault rifles, shotguns, SMGs, laser weapons, and more exotic options. Each can be upgraded with research.
Perks are passive bonuses (e.g., carrying more ammo, faster reload, better stratagem handling). Pick them to cover a weakness in your team.
The Dive Harder Edition added a loadout system with random and favorite loadout options, so you can save builds.

Missions

Each planet has an operation made of several missions. Mission types include objectives like retrieving data, launching an ICBM, escorting or rescuing, defending areas, and eliminating targets. Completing all missions on a planet liberates it and contributes to the Galactic Campaign.

Side objectives and samples are optional but pay out in progress.
The extraction phase (roughly a 90-second wait once called) requires calling the shuttle, defending the landing zone, and boarding before the timer or enemies overwhelm you.

Difficulty

Planet difficulty levels originally went up to 12. A New Hell (Liberty Day 2018) added three more:

Level	Name (from the update)
13	An Exercise in Futility
14	The Definition of Insanity
15	Inner Circle of Hell

Higher difficulty means more and tougher enemies, heavier patrols, and harder objectives. Rewards scale accordingly.

Enemy Factions

Faction	Style	Counters
Bugs	Huge swarms, fast melee, large armored bugs	Crowd-control, turrets, area strikes, mines; keep moving
Cyborgs	Armored infantry, ranged weapons, heavy units	Anti-armor weapons, flanking, orbital strikes on bases
Illuminate	Shields, cloaking, teleporting, psychic attacks	Energy weapons, spread out, prioritize shield-bearers

A New Hell added new elite variants:

Shadow (Bugs): an evolved Stalker/Hunter with stronger regeneration and camouflage, which can release spores that lure other bugs. Kill it fast; its armor is weak.
Obsidian Observer (Illuminate): a weaponized Watcher that uses nanotechnology.
Legionnaire (Cyborgs): an up-armored squad leader with a heavy shield. Flank or use explosives.

The Galactic Campaign

The whole community fights a shared war across the galaxy against the three factions.
Each liberated planet pushes the front line toward an enemy homeworld; capture a homeworld to defeat a faction.
Enemies can counterattack. If they reach Super Earth, a defense event begins.
A campaign ends when all factions are defeated or Super Earth falls; then a new campaign starts.
Your mission completions contribute directly. Low-difficulty dives still count.

Because this is a shared server-side system, it depends on the game's online services being up. If it is ever unavailable, missions and local co-op are still where the fun is.

Proving Grounds (Dive Harder Edition)

Proving Grounds adds challenge missions with unique modifiers and leaderboards (the last patch on Steam, in April 2021, fixed those leaderboards). It is a good way to test loadouts under pressure and earn rewards.

Team Roles

A four-player squad works best when everyone has a job:

Role	Loadout focus	Job
Anti-armor	Heavy anti-tank support weapon	Delete tanks, heavy bugs, and shielded units
Crowd control	Machine gun or shotgun, turrets, mines	Hold chokepoints and cover objectives
Support	Supply pack, resupply, defensive stratagems	Keep ammo flowing and the team alive
Striker	Orbital and air strikes	Destroy bases and big clusters

Mission Checklist

A simple routine that keeps squads alive from drop to extraction:

Phase	What to do
Loadout screen	Check the faction and planet difficulty; make sure the squad has anti-armor, crowd control, and at least one resupply option between you
Drop	Pick a drop point away from enemy bases and patrol routes; you can't fight well before your support weapons land
First minute	Call support weapons and backpacks in a safe spot, away from teammates' feet
Moving	Travel as a group, sweep for samples on the way, and avoid patrols that would trigger alarms and reinforcement waves
Objectives	One or two players do the objective input while the rest watch the approaches
Before extraction	Clear the landing zone, place turrets and mines, then call the shuttle
Extraction wait	Hold one direction each, reinforce anyone who falls, and board together

Solo diving: stick to lower difficulties while you learn, bring defensive stratagems (turrets, mines) that fight for you, and lean on stealth. Alarms are far more dangerous alone because there is no teammate to cover you or call Reinforce.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Throwing airstrikes into your own team. Always check where teammates are before you commit.
Dropping Hellpods on friends. Reinforce and support drops kill whoever they land on.
Running the same loadout for every faction. Bugs and Cyborgs demand different tools.
Dying in chains. Every death costs time, gear, and firepower; losing people repeatedly on objective one leaves the squad weak for extraction.
Fighting every patrol. Avoidance is often cheaper than a fight you do not need.
Skipping samples. They fund the upgrades that make high difficulties survivable.
Calling extraction too early. Clear the landing area first or you will defend a hot zone for the whole timer.

Advanced Tips

Pre-call your defenses at extraction. Turrets and mines around the landing zone before you call the shuttle make the wait much easier.
Use terrain as a funnel. Canyons and chokepoints concentrate swarms for area strikes.
Split into pairs on large maps. Two pairs can clear objectives faster while still covering each other.
Vehicles are force multipliers but fragile. Mechs and APCs are strong but need escorts against anti-armor enemies.
Watch the Galactic map. Diving where the community is pushing makes your contribution matter more for the campaign outcome.
Treat friendly fire as a tactic, not a joke. Tight movement and staggered firing lines make higher difficulties manageable.

HELLDIVERS vs HELLDIVERS 2

	HELLDIVERS (2015)	HELLDIVERS 2 (2024)
Perspective	Top-down twin-stick	Third-person shooter
Factions at launch	Bugs, Cyborgs, Illuminate	Terminids and Automatons (Illuminate returned later)
Co-op	4 players, local and online	4 players, online with crossplay
Story timing	The first war	About 100 years later

If you loved the sequel, the original is a great prequel with the same stratagem input system and the same friendly-fire chaos.

FAQ

Is HELLDIVERS 1 still online in 2026? The game is still sold on Steam and its last patch was in April 2021. Online services have not been reported as shut down in the official Steam news, but it receives no new content. Local co-op works if matchmaking is quiet.

Do I need the DLC? The Dive Harder Edition already includes the expansions. Some cosmetic and weapon packs were sold separately.

Is this the same as HELLDIVERS 2? No. HELLDIVERS 2 is a separate game released in February 2024. This is the original 2015 top-down game.

Can I play solo? Yes, but it is hard at higher difficulties. Use more defensive stratagems and avoid unnecessary fights.

What is the hardest difficulty? Level 15, Inner Circle of Hell, added in the A New Hell update.

How do I stop killing my teammates? Communicate stratagem calls, stagger your firing lines, and never throw a beacon near a friend.