Before you dive into a mission in Helldivers 2, you have to decide how difficult you want it to be, and there are lots of options to choose from.
Helldivers 2 offers no less than nine difficulty settings, though you only start with access to one and need to unlock the rest. But which one is best for you, and are you missing out on anything by leaving certain difficulties alone?
Helldivers 2: all difficulty levels
The nine difficulty levels in Helldivers 2 are, from easiest to hardest:
- Trivial (the default difficulty level)
- Easy
- Medium
- Challenging
- Hard
- Extreme
- Suicide Mission
- Impossible
- Helldive
The differences between each one are simple enough, with higher difficulties adding stronger enemies to kill and larger enemy outposts to infiltrate. So, if you wish to complete tougher missions, you need to learn the ins and outs of Helldivers 2, plan out an optimal strategy, and get yourself the best weapons, armor, and Stratagems.
Helldivers 2 doesn’t gate mission types between difficulty levels, so even if you only play on Trivial, you’re still able to play every kind of mission. You can freely swap between difficulties at the Galactic War console right before choosing your next mission, but doing so changes which missions are available and their locations. Be aware once you pick a mission, you can’t change the difficulty level.
Which difficulty should you choose in Helldivers 2?
Choosing how difficult your next mission will be is simply a matter of preference. New Helldivers 2 players are free to run through the game on the default Trivial difficulty if they want, even after unlocking Easy. But, while it arguably never forces you, Helldivers 2 does push you into attempting higher difficulties. After all, the more difficult a mission, the more Warbond Medals you receive for completing it, which means more opportunities to unlock new weapons, emotes, and armor appearances from the free battle pass (there’s a paid battle pass too, but it’s tied to Premium Warbonds, which you only get by trading in Super Credits).
Since you unlock higher difficulties by completing a mission on the level below it (so, clearing any Easy mission unlocks Medium difficulty), it’s worth trying each difficulty you unlock at least once to get a feel for it. You may find the likes of Medium and Challenging not as hard as you feared or wind up enjoying the challenge they offer. If a level proves too much for you, you can drop back to a lower one. Teaming up and coordinating with other players may help give you an edge in the harder missions, too. While you can play Helldivers 2 solo, it’s primarily an online co-op game, and skilled human players will likely be more reliable than AI-controlled allies.
