HELLDIVERS 2 — A Veteran’s Guide to Helldiver Etiquette

With HELLDIVERS 2 now on Xbox Series X|S, it’s high time that I update the new recruits diving in to kick all sorts of alien butt! Pay attention, because General Brasch has declassified these tips to ensure Super Earth reigns supreme. Today, we’ll be teaching you about Helldiver Etiquette!

A Helldiver represents the power and strength of Super Earth, and you must act like the pinnacle of Managed Democracy that all citizens aspire to be.

In less radicalised terminology, please learn how to interact with others online. HELLDIVERS 2 can be enjoyed even if you’re by yourself only playing Quickplay, but take some of these lessons to heart for a healthier experience and a happier Helldiver:

• Learn when to use the Reinforce stratagem. Most Helldivers don’t like being dropped far away from their support weapons and samples, so let the nearest diver reinforce them. If they were alone when they died, feel free to reinforce them away from the enemy.

• Be a team player and try to stick with your team if possible. Lone wolves and selfish players often get shot dead without someone watching their back. If you are going alone, you’d better have the skills, equipment, and stratagems to back it up. Try using stealth.

• Accidents happen (and are often hilarious), but don’t kill your teammates on purpose. There are some toxic players who want to ruin missions, so don’t let that be you. Use the “Sorry” option in the Communication wheel; it does make things feel better. Also, and can’t believe this is an actual thing, Helldivers have PTSD, so don’t even aim at other divers.

• Communicate with your teammates. They can’t read your mind, so ping anything and everything of note, tell your teammates either through text or with voice, and be sure to be polite. This is a co-op game, and you should support your fellow Helldivers, not try to get them to uninstall the game.

• Don’t take others’ support weapons without permission first, and if you do (if you’re in a situation that your primary can’t handle efficiently), make sure to drop it for them as soon as you’re done. Be sure to check your controls in the options menu.

• Samples, credits, EXP, and req slips are shared and distributed in full. You cannot steal them, and they are not divided in any way. There is no point in being greedy; everyone gets all the samples once they make it into the extraction ship.

• I highly recommend you host your games. If you encounter some truly unruly divers on Quickplay, they’re very easy to kick out of your team.

Ultimately, I can’t tell you how to behave, and there will be moments where your darker instincts may take over. However, like everything in HELLDIVERS 2, it’s up to you to be the upstanding Super Citizen that Super Earth expects you to be. Be courteous, recruit!