Helldivers 2 Difficulty Levels Differences, How to change & unlock

Helldivers 2 features 10 distinct difficulty levels, ranging from Trivial to Super Helldive. Players unlock higher levels by completing operations on the highest currently available difficulty. Higher levels introduce more armored enemies, complex objectives, and increased enemy spawns, rather than just boosting enemy health.

The Differences of Helldivers 2 Difficulty Levels

• 1-3 (Trivial, Easy, Medium): Introductory, ideal for learning mechanics, with simple objectives and fewer enemy spawns.
• 4-6 (Challenging, Hard, Extreme): Casual to moderate, featuring more armored enemies, secondary objectives, and larger enemy patrols.
• 7-9 (Suicide Mission, Impossible, Helldive): High-intensity challenges requiring intense coordination, with massive enemy presence and specialized enemy types.
• 10 (Super Helldive): The highest difficulty, designed for the ultimate challenge.

Key Aspects of Difficulty

• Unlocking: Complete an entire operation (all missions in a set) at your highest available level to unlock the next.
• Enemy Scaling: Higher levels feature more frequent, tougher armored enemy spawns (e.g., Chargers, Behemoth Chargers).
• Rewards: Higher difficulties provide increased experience and rare, essential samples for ship upgrades.
• Strategic play: On levels 7-9 and higher, team coordination and efficient strategem usage are essential, with multiple operation modifiers affecting gameplay.

How to change difficulty levels

To change your difficulty level in Helldivers 2, you must be at the Galactic War table (the mission selection terminal) on the bridge of your ship.

Once you have the Galactic War map open, look at the bottom center of the screen to see your current difficulty setting. Use the following buttons to cycle through them:

• PC: Press Q (Decrease) or E (Increase).
• PlayStation: Press L1 (Decrease) or R1 (Increase).
• Xbox (if using a controller): Press LB (Decrease) or RB (Increase).

How to Unlock New Difficulties

You cannot jump straight to higher difficulties; you must earn them through gameplay:

• Complete Operations: To unlock the next difficulty tier, you must successfully complete a full Operation at your current highest unlocked level.
• Operation vs. Mission: An Operation is a cluster of 1 to 3 missions (marked by a yellow outline on the map). Simply finishing one mission is not enough; you must complete every mission within that specific cluster.
• 10 Tiers: There are currently 10 difficulty levels, ranging from Trivial (1) to Super Helldive (10).

Recommended Player Levels by Difficulty

• Trivial to Medium (1–3): Level 1–10. These are introductory levels where you learn mission mechanics and earn early requisition points for basic stratagems.
• Challenging to Hard (4–5): Level 10–20. At this stage, you should have access to mid-tier support weapons like the Autocannon or Expendable Anti-Tank to deal with the increasingly heavy armor found here.
• Extreme to Suicide Mission (6–7): Level 20–35. Many veterans consider Difficulty 7 the "sweet spot" for rewards versus effort. You will need high-tier anti-tank options and ship modules to handle the massive enemy swarms.
• Impossible to Super Helldive (8–10): Level 35–50+. These difficulties require specialized loadouts, maximum ship upgrades, and strong team coordination. At Level 10, common enemies are often replaced by their most dangerous variants.

Key Progression Milestones

• Level 6 (Extreme): This is the minimum difficulty where you can find Super Samples, which are essential for the highest tier of Ship Module upgrades.
• Stratagem Unlocks: Most critical endgame stratagems (like the Railgun or Shield Generator Pack) are unlocked by level 20, making this the point where you are technically "ready" for any difficulty if your skill allows.
• Soloing vs. Groups: If you can reliably complete a mission solo at a certain difficulty, you are likely ready to move up one level when playing with a full squad.

Ultimately, if a level feels "easy" and you aren't dying frequently, it's time to bump it up. If you find yourself struggling to finish objectives or constantly running out of reinforcements, drop back down until you've unlocked more Warbond gear.

Helldivers 2 Difficulty Levels Not Unlocking?

If you’re stuck on a specific difficulty level in Helldivers 2, it is usually due to a misunderstanding of how the progression system works or a known legacy bug.

1. Complete the Entire "Operation"

The most common reason players don't unlock the next difficulty is that they are completing individual missions rather than full Operations.

• What is an Operation? It is a cluster of 1 to 3 missions (indicated by a yellow/orange diamond outline on the Galactic Map).
• The Requirement: You must complete every mission within that specific cluster. If an Operation has three missions and you only complete two before switching to another planet or lobby, the next difficulty will not unlock.
• Host Status: While joining others can work, many players report success by hosting their own Operation to ensure completion is tracked correctly for their account.

2. Troubleshooting the "Difficulty Lock" Bug

If you have definitely completed full Operations and still cannot progress, you may be experiencing a known bug.

• Restart the Game: Some players found that the next level appeared only after restarting the application.
• Check Your Stats: Look at your "Career" page. If your "Missions Won" or "Objectives Completed" are showing as zero despite your playtime, your progression is likely bugged due to server-side tracking issues.
• Join a Friend: Try joining a friend who has the next level unlocked and complete a full Operation on their ship. This has been known to "force" the unlock for some players.

3. Support & Manual Unlocks

If the issue persists, the developers at Arrowhead Game Studios have historically used manual fixes for this.

• Submit a Ticket: You can submit a request through the Arrowhead Support Zendesk.
• Official Discord: Check the "Support" or "Troubleshooting" channels on the Official Helldivers Discord. They occasionally open threads where players can post their IDs for manual difficulty unlocks by the QA team.