Helldivers 2 isn’t your average game, and many important details can go unnoticed because the game wants it that way.
As an example, after players started flocking to social media to point out that explosive gun variants only deal extra damage to certain enemies, Arrowhead responded with a Yup! We intentionally left that little detail out of the in-game description – enjoy finding the rest.
So, with so many important facts and details that Helldivers 2 just didn’t tell you about, here are the ones we think are most important:
The Real Hell In Helldivers 2 Is Your Own Teammates
The game never tells you this, so let me be the one to pull the band-aid off:
Your teammate is not your friend.
Your teammate doesn’t have your back.
Your teammate is basically a bug with a gun, and if you forget that for even one second, you’re going to pay for it with your life.
Again and again and again.
EMS Strikes Are Actually Kinda Important
The first time you face Automations in Helldivers 2, you will realise that someway, somehow, these rust buckets of doom always seem to have more armour than you have bullets.
When that moment happens to you, remember back to this guide and drop an EMS. This is an Area of Effect stun that will stop the robot uprising in its tracks and give you enough time to start running away if you’re smart or to reload your guns if you aren’t.
Just make sure you aren’t in the radius when it gets dropped because there is nothing quite as sad as getting caught by your own exit plan.
You Can Never Have Enough Of A Good Thing
If you take one thing from this guide, let it be this: the Supply Pack is the best Stratagem in the game.
In a game like Helldivers 2, there is only one thing more important than liberating planets and spreading around all the democracy you can:
Ammo.
Because without ammo, how will you be the best damn Helldiver you can be? Trick question. Without ammo, the only thing you’ll be is dead. And no one likes a dead Helldiver. Trust.
This Little Flag Of Mine… Will Never Be Flown.
Regardless of what the game’s tutorial will have players believe, raising flags is not a big part of Helldivers 2.
As of writing this, only one mission requires players to let their flag fly.
So if, like me, you’ve been running around, getting excited about every pole you see, listen to your mother and keep it in your pants because nothing good will come of it. Trust.
Want Your Booms And Bangs To Be 100% More Effective?
This tip was spoiled in the introduction to this guide. Still, if you want your exploration damage to be 100% more effective, you must learn about weak points – because we all have them, even bugs.
Basically, anything with the explosive trait will do 100% damage against enemies with squishy bits.
Two of the more common squishy bits are:
The glowing orange bit on Chargers’ backs and the bulbous bodies of Bile Spewers.
Lasers Are Where It’s At!
One of the most potent and devastating Stratagems in the game is undeniably the Orbital Laser.
It’s basically a laser of death that will evaporate everything in its wake. And I do mean everything, from bugs to teammates to you. No one is safe.
But seriously, the Orbital Laser is so powerful it can only be used three times and comes with a five-minute cooldown. Still, if something, or a lot of things, needs to die, this is the best way to ensure that happens – just make sure you drop it and run without looking back.
You Are Never Safe From Anything. Ever.
Helldivers 2 does not do a good enough job of explaining how prone to dying your Helldiver truly is.
Are you requesting extraction? Best make sure the ship doesn’t land on you.
Are you dropping a Support Pack? Best make sure it’s not heading for your head.
Have you just risked everything to revive one of your teammates? You’d better start running while keeping an eye on the sky above.
There Are No Problems That Can’t Be Fixed With A Grenade Launcher
After trying, trying again and trying some more, I’ve finally found the best way to quickly clear bug nests and kill your annoying teenagers while you’re at it – the grenade launcher support weapon!
Having to fight your way up to a bug nest and carefully aim your limited bombs in hopes of destroying them is for the birds. A single grenade from your launcher will shut down a nest with no questions asked, and better yet, you can fire it at a distance.
With 99 problems to worry about in Helldivers 2, don’t let nests be one of them.
About To Go Boom? Just Lie Down – Dummy!
This is something that I really wish I had known or remembered way earlier than I did: lying prone and hugging the ground can and will protect you from explosions.
If I tell you that most of my deaths are thanks to my teammate’s explosions ripping me apart faster than my little legs can carry me out of the blast zone, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
However, Helldivers 2 developers knew where the real danger of the game would come from and gave players a way to mitigate it – if they’re fast enough.
It turns out that going prone, or diving, will protect your Helldiver against most explosions. Sure, you’re not going to be walking away from the blast site without a scratch or two, but you will live, and that’s what matters.
If you found this guide helpful, then don’t forget to check out our post on how to put together the best load-outs for Helldivers 2 so that you can focus on what is most important of all:
Spreading all that good, juicy Democracy everywhere you can!