Helldivers 2: Difficulty Settings, Explained

Helldivers 2 is a well-polished game when it comes to both its amazing graphics and menu layouts. There are games that make things overly complicated and can have players wondering where they need to go to change something. Thankfully, Helldivers 2 presents everything you need to know when you are at the relevant menu points.

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How a player selects difficulty settings can vary from game to game, with some telling players to choose it at the start of the game and not being able to change it afterward. Other games will let you pause your game and change the difficulty without even needing to restart the current session. Helldivers 2 handles difficulty on a mission-to-mission basis.

Helldivers 2

Released: February 8, 2024
Developer(s): Arrowhead Game Studios AB

How To Unlock Each Difficulty Mode

Helldivers provides players with numerous difficulties to choose from as they dive into this amazing sci-fi shooter. If ever a player feels missions are going too smoothly or enemies are not posing a challenge, they can opt to try a harder setting. There are a total of 9 difficulties to choose from, but you will not have access to all of them from the very start. You will need to prove you are up for the challenge by overcoming the previous difficulty type — this will occur each time you complete a mission.

Once you have completed a mission on Trivial difficulty, the game will allow you to ready the next mission using the difficulty above Trivial — which is called Easy. Whenever you access a mission overview from the Galactic War Console, you will have the option to change the difficulty setting. This can be done using L1 and R1 if you are playing on the PS5, or using a controller on the PC. If you are playing with a mouse and keyboard, then you will be able to change between your unlocked difficulties using the Q and E keys on your keyboard. Using any difficulty less than the highest available one will prevent you from unlocking a harder difficulty. Once you complete any mission on Easy, you will unlock Medium difficulty. This will be what most players will find delivers a core experience.

For those who have mastered all the basics of the game and are now ready to be challenged and overcome significantly harder missions, keep playing the highest difficulty to climb up Hard, Extreme, Suidice Mission, and Impossible in order to unlock the final difficulty — known as Helldive. As you can imagine, completing a mission with a harder difficulty will give more Medals than the other difficulties.

Difficulty Name	How To Unlock
Trivial	This difficulty is available from the very start of the game and does not need to be unlocked.
Easy	Complete any mission in the game on the Trivial difficulty to unlock this difficulty.
Medium	Complete any mission in the game on the Easy difficulty to unlock this difficulty.
Challenging	Complete any mission in the game on the Medium difficulty to unlock this difficulty.
Hard	Complete any mission in the game on the Challenging difficulty to unlock this difficulty.
Extreme	Complete any mission in the game on the Hard difficulty to unlock this difficulty.
Suicide Mission	Complete any mission in the game on the Extreme difficulty to unlock this difficulty.
Impossible	Complete any mission in the game on the Suicide Mission difficulty to unlock this difficulty.
Helldive	Complete any mission in the game on the Helldive difficulty to unlock this difficulty.

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How Do The Difficulty Modes Impact The Game

a squad of 4 helldivers fighting terminids on a desert planet

Missions in Helldivers 2 have many elements to them. You will have various kinds of enemies all over the map, you will have multiple tasks that you will have to complete, there will be numerous enemy outposts to destroy, and to top it all off, there is a timer in the corner of your screen ticking down — and if it hits zero before you’ve completed your primary objectives, you fail. Every time you crank up the difficulty, your room for error drops, and your risk of failure increases.

The higher the difficulty, the harder the enemies become to kill, the more dangerous and stronger these enemies will become, and the number of enemies from previous missions on lower difficulties will become dwarfed by the new hordes you will face at higher difficulties.

There will also be an even higher number of enemy strongholds at these higher difficulties, along with an increased number of tasks you will be expected to complete for each of your missions. Thinking that this might make managing your time limit harder is an understatement, as you will have even less time to complete all this additional work and take out vastly harder hordes of increased enemies. Luckily, the increased medals are well worth it — if you survive.

How To Choose The Right Difficulty For You?

Cranking up the difficulty is not something you need to do. However, if you feel that you could still be clearing missions, even if there was more of a challenge, you should attempt it to test your skills. Steadily increasing the difficulty this way can give players a very deep sense of accomplishment. You will want to get as many Medals as you can, and upping the difficulty will be a great way to do this. These Medals will be used to get yourself some new weapons to tear through your enemies, new cosmetics to look great while playing the game, and get your hands on some new body armor.

You’ll gain rewards at an increased rate the higher difficulty you venture, so there comes a fantastic risk/reward balance you should take into account with each nudge of the difficulty setting.

The best way to figure out your ideal difficulty as a new recruit or returning Helldiver will be to steadily increase the difficulty setting as you go, and meeting the increased challenge head-on. If you push up to Hard difficulty, you might find that too punishing, so you slip back down to Challenging. As you continue to tweak your experience and grow more confident and effective at a given difficulty, it’s important to continue adjusting to find that right balance of danger and accomplishment.

What Does Each Difficulty Setting Add

helldivers 2 explosions automatons attack

In addition to things getting all around harder for players, some elements will be present in harder difficulties that were previously not a factor. There are many different enemies to face in the game, and some of them will only be present once you tackle these harder difficulties. You will also be gaining access to different Samples rarities by increasing the difficulty. You will definitely want better samples as they will be required for the best ship modules as you progress through the game.

Difficulty Name	Added Enemies	Obtainable Samples
Trivial	Scavengers, Warriors, Hunters, Trooper, Raider, Marauder, Commissar, Dropship	Common
Easy	Stalkers, Brood Commanders, Berserker	Common
Medium	Bile Spewers, Chargers, Scout Strider, Devastator	Common
Challenging	Bile Titans, Hulk	Common, Rare
Hard	Tank	Common, Rare
Extreme		Common, Rare
Suicide Mission		Common, Rare, Super Rare
Impossible		Common, Rare, Super Rare
Helldive		Common, Rare, Super Rare

To get the most out of your Helldivers 2 experience, check out our guide detailing the best graphics settings for visuals and performance, as well as how to unlock all of the Stratagems in the game.