Helldivers 2 is out now, eight years on from the first instalment of the galactic shooter, and it’s safe to say fans and newcomers alike are getting on board with spreading managed democracy with great gusto.
While the first Helldivers game was a top-down shooter, Helldivers 2 goes down the third-person squad shooter route with all the gore and aliens you could hope for. It was one of the most-anticipated releases of 2024, and given the long wait between drinks, this comes as no surprise. With tense cooperative gameplay, expansive loadout options and hordes of aliens to fend off, players are in for a real treat. Based on the astronomical hype and huge concurrent player numbers we’ve seen so far, the title has been going gangbusters since launch.
We’ve collated everything we know about Helldivers 2 so far into one place. If you’re keen for guides or to find out more info about the server issues, updates, gameplay details, and the all-important question of whether the newest Helldivers game has crossplay, we’ve got you covered.
Table of contents
Helldivers 2: Leaks and News
- February 20, 2024: Helldivers 2 Fixes For ‘Most Serious Problems’ To Roll Out Tomorrow
- The game is due to get an update tomorrow in an effort to begin fixing the “most serious problems” caused by the sheer number of players.
- February 20, 2024: Helldivers 2 Sees Over 400,000 Concurrent Players On Steam Alone
- Momentum is still building on PC and PS5, with the game smashing through 400,000 concurrent players on PC over the weekend.
- February 20, 2024: Helldivers 2’s Success Has A Lot Of People Rewatching Starship Troopers
- Helldivers 2 has a lot of people revisiting Starship Troopers, a movie it seems not that many people understood at the time of its release.
- February 19, 2024: Helldivers 2 Caps Player Count To Combat Server Issues
- The developers have capped the concurrent player count in an effort to address server capacity issues after the game’s massive success.
- February 17, 2024: Helldivers 2 Extra XP Weekend Means It’s Time To Level Up Fast
- Arrowhead Game Studios is hosting a bonus XP weekend as a make-good for a bug that stopped players receiving end-of-mission rewards.
- February 14, 2024: Helldivers 2 Feels Like A PS3 Game In A Very Good Way
- February 13, 2024: Helldivers 2 Is One Of The Best Multiplayer Experiences I’ve Had In Years
- The game is one of the best co-operative multiplayer games I’ve played in years. Let’s talk about what makes it so special.
- February 13, 2024: Helldivers 2 Is Too Popular For Its Own Good
- If you’ve been having server problems and disconnection issues in the new Helldivers game, you’re far from the only one.
- February 12, 2024: Helldivers 2 Director: Games Should ‘Earn The Right To Monetise’
- Creative director and Arrowhead CEO says games should “earn the right to monetise” in a discussion about pay-to-win in gaming.
- February 5, 2024: This Week In Games Australia: Helldivers 2 And Foamstars Lead A Quiet Week
- PlayStation drops Helldivers 2 and Foamstars lead a quiet early February week. A good moment to catch up on your other games!
- January 10, 2024: Helldivers 2 PC Specs Are Here, Surprisingly Beasty At The Top End
- Helldivers 2 PC specs have been revealed! Turns out, you may need a slightly beastier rig to run it than first anticipated.
Helldivers 2 FAQs: Weapons, Armour and Stratagems
What’s the best armour in Helldivers 2?
The best armour in Helldivers 2 varies greatly depending on your enemies and situation. For players who are just getting started, anything with either the Democracy Protects or Med-Kit armour passives is ideal. When it comes to facing off against Terminids, broadly, you’re better off taking medium armour. This is because it provides a little protection without taxing your stamina too much if you need to run like hell. As such, packing as much extra ammo and ordinance is useful on any given day. That means, you should keep your eye out for the Engineering Kit perk, which right now feels like the most powerful passive for facing bug foes. For Automatons on the other hands, dressing your character in heavy armour is your best bet. Any sets with the Extra Padding or Fortified passives will be ideal. You can view our full guide on the best Helldivers 2 armour here.
What’s the best way to destroy Scout Striders in Helldivers 2?
The game will occasionally throw heavy enemies at you called Scout Striders and they can be brutal to beat. As you’ll no doubt have noticed, Scout Striders are really just bipedal vehicles piloted by weak automatons. Use this to your advantage. If you spot one before it sees you, get yourself into position to easily aim at and take out the automaton pilot with a speedy headshot. If you can’t get the jump on them though, your best bet is to take out the legs. We’ve got a full rundown on how to defeat Scout Striders in Helldivers 2 here.
What are the best settings for Helldivers?
There’s a number of essential settings tucked into the game’s options that might make for a better experience. Helldivers 2 has a handful of aiming modes you can tweak to your liking, some of which might work out better for you than the default settings. Changing the weapon selection mode to ‘Classic’ if you use a support weapon often is also worth trying out for ease of switching. There’s also an alternate ‘Seperate’ map navigation mode in HUD settings which, on PC, lets you use your mouse to quickly scroll across the map when you pull it up. This is very handy for speedy navigation, but it comes at the cost of being able to look around. You can check out the best Helldivers 2 settings here.
Helldivers 2: Review
The team over at Kotaku US have released a their Helldivers 2 review, which you can check out here. Kotaku Australia’s David Smith also shared his impressions, calling it the “one of the best co-operative multiplayer games I’ve played in years.” If you’d like to read more about his impressions of Arrowhead’s newest release, check it out here.
Helldivers 2: Servers
Since launching, Helldivers 2 has experienced a range of server issues due to the large amount of concurrent players across Steam and PlayStation. The issues players have reported experiencing include problems logging in, matchmaking, and receiving end-game rewards amongst other smaller bugs. Developer Arrowhead Game Studios has been providing regular updates on fixes to keep the game chugging along in the face of overwhelming player counts, including the introduction of a 450,000 concurrent player cap to better manage server capacity while further fixes are put into place. As of February 20th, the developers confirmed a wave of updates would begin rolling out to fix the most serious issues so players can focus on protecting the galaxy from bugs and bots without trouble. We’ll keep you posted as more updates on these fixes come through.
Helldivers 2: Trailer
Despite being announced almost a year ago during a PlayStation State of Play showcase, up until December last year we’d not received a whole lot of trailers for Helldivers 2. Beyond the initial announcement, there’s been a number of trailers focusing on the game’s co-op gameplay and combat, PC features, as well as multiple closer looks at the overall story.
Helldivers 2: Platforms
The game launched on PlayStation 5 and PC on 8 February 2024. As the game is published by PlayStation, we can expect it to remain a console exclusive, at least for now. There are no current plans or official confirmation that the title will get an Xbox launch, although Phil Spencer did have something to say about this in a recent interview about console exclusivity.
Does Helldivers 2 have crossplay?
We’re happy to confirm that the Helldivers game does support crossplay between Steam and PlayStation 5, meaning you can jump into gory co-op gameplay with your friends regardless of which platform they own the game on. The news was confirmed via the official PlayStation blog in early January.
Helldivers 2: Plot and story
Helldivers 2 puts players in the shoes of a Helldiver, part of a galactic elite military force tasked with combatting rising alien threats. Your planet is in danger from hordes of dangerous enemies, descending the world into utter chaos. You must serve as the bulwark of your planet in order to make it safe again alongside your team as waves of aliens threaten to destroy it all. Based on the mature content description and Australian MA 15+ rating, we can expect to see a whole lot of blood and gore along the way.
Helldivers 2: Gameplay
As mentioned, Helldivers 2 does diverge in gameplay from the original title. Where the first Helldivers game was a top-down shooter, the successor is a co-op third-person type game that really puts you into the action in close quarters. In a team of four (either other players or AI), you’ll come up against alien threats you must mow down to protect your planet. At your disposal is a variety of weapons, armour and stratagems to fully customise your loadout to your liking for a wholly different gameplay experience depending on your arsenal. It’s worth noting friendly fire does exist in-game, so your teamwork will need to be airtight to defend against threats, survive, and (hopefully) not accidentally take out a member of your own squad in the process. There’s plenty of frantic, chaotic gameplay in fast-paced combat to get stuck into.
When was the Helldivers 2 release date?
Helldivers 2 launched on 8 February 2024 at 8:00 PM AEDT for those based in ACT, NSW, VIC, and TAS. The developers took to X (formerly Twitter) earlier this week to confirm the Helldivers 2 launch times globally for all players.
Why was the release delayed?
The Helldivers game was initially planned for an end of 2023 release, however it was confirmed in an official PlayStation blog post by Arrowhead Game Studios in September 2023 that the game would launch in February. No reason was given for the delay at the time of the news.
Image: Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation
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