Spreading managed democracy around the galaxy is hard work, there’s a whole load of new stuff to learn including weapons, stratagems, armor, and how to fend off these democracy-resisting bugs and robots. Today I’ve pulled together some top tips and tricks for beginners, so you can get off to the best start in Helldivers 2.

Use your Stratagems

The quick tutorial gives you a good idea about how important stratagems are in Helldivers 2, but you’ll see that first hand when you are out there on the battlefield. You’ll need to get more ammo, weapons and call down precision strikes against your enemies. Stratagems are an important part of your arsenal, so don’t forget about them and use them as often as your cooldowns allow.

Get Ship Module Upgrades

Stratagems are super important out there on the battlefield, and Ship Module Upgrades are important for managing your Stratagems. They can increase your ammo capacity, reduce cooldowns, plus all manner of helpful things. To get Ship Module Upgrades you’ll want to keep an eye our for Samples when you are down there on planets, the rarer the samples the better the upgrades, so keep your eyes peeled for samples and make sure you turn them in for Ship Module Upgrades back on your ship.

Don’t move and shoot

Moving and aiming at the same time is a quick way to miss your target. Stay still to get the best results while shooting. Even better, crouch down while shooting to help steady your aim.

Understand your currencies

There’s a few currencies to learn in Helldivers 2, and they each have their own job.

There are multiple currencies to get familiar with. Whether you’re unlocking new Stratagems or upgrading ship modules, you’ll find that not everything uses the same currency. Here are the ones you’ll need to know and what exactly they can do:

Requisition Slips – These are the Yellow R at the top of the screen. These can be earned from completing missions, as well as found in loot. Spend these on Stratagems as you level up.

Medals – You’ll earn these by completing missions. Each time you start one, you can see the number of medals you’ll receive upon completion. These can be used to purchase Warbonds progression and unlock items such as Super Credits, victory poses, and gear.

Samples Samples will be found as you run around and explore planets. These are what you’ll need to purchase upgrades for your Ship Modules.

Super Credits – Super Credits can be bought, but you’ll find plenty while you’re exploring, and they can be unlocked in the Warbonds progression. You can use these to purchase armor in the Super Store.

Find points of interest

When you’re out and about on missions, there will be other points of interest on your map. You have plenty of time to complete missions, so have a look around. Open up your map and scan for points of interest. Investigating points of interest leads to loot like Medals, Requisition Slips, Logs. If you can’t find anything on your map, look for flashing beacons with your eyes or question marks on your compass at the top of the screen.

Use your ammo carefully

Be careful with ammo, and look at when you reload. If you reload before you run out of ammo, you may be throwing away valuable ammo. If you’re running low on ammo, use your supply stratagem, or find points of interest on your map and often you’ll find ammo.

Use the prone position

This is a good way to avoid friendly fire, double tap circle (or your keyboard equivalent) to dive onto the floor. It’s a good idea to dive out of the way if something is shooting you, but it’s also a good way to get to the weakspot of a bug.

Know your orders

There are personal orders and major orders. The major orders last a few days and reward you Requisition Slips. Personal Orders update daily, and you’ll be rewarded with medals. These can be secondary objectives while you are on a mission, like killing a certain number of bugs.

Use multiplayer modes

It can be much easier to complete missions with a larger squad, so take advantage of multiplayer. When you are playing with others you have to share resources, resupply drops cater for 4 players. Plus you’ll have 20 chances for redeployment, which you can see in the top left hand corner of the screen. Multiplayer is a LOT of fun, so get in there with friends or make some new ones.

Stratagem Hero

Stratagems are a big part of the game, which means entering a code with the d-pad or WASD keyboard controls. If you want to practice, then you can on your ship with a game called Stratagem Hero found on the wall, near the ship management station. This is a great way to practice entering Stratagems under pressure.

Secondary objectives

All maps have secondary objectives, and they aren’t always obvious. They can be objectives like destroying bases or disrupting signals, but all lead to decent extra loot.

Destructable environments

You can destory the environment in Helldivers 2, and sometimes this can lead to extra loot. If you find a point of interest, then you may find a crate or doors, throw a grenade into them to blow them up and get more loot.

Extra time

You can extract when the timer runs out, but you’ll loose access to stratagems. There is a special acheivement for this too called “In the nick of time”. If you don’t manage to make it out alive, you can also earn the Job’s done! trophy, where you complete the main objective but fail to extract.

Adjust guns

You can modify settings of your guns when you are out on the field. Press and hold square, or your keyboard equivalent, to change a bunch of features on a mission. Toggle on and off your flashlight, or change the firing rate of weapons including automatic or burst fire.

Let me know in the comments what you think, and share your top tips for getting started in Helldivers 2.