All Helldivers 2 difficulty settings, explained

There are some aspects of Helldivers 2 that the players are still discovering, such as levels of difficulty. This guide is here to explain all Helldivers 2 difficulty settings so you can pick the one that fits you most.

Helldivers 2 difficulty settings guide

This game has nine difficulty levels ranked by hardship from Trivial to Helldive. You can choose difficulty for each mission, and the harder mission settings are unlocked after you beat them in the current level. Helldivers 2 is an exciting sequel to Arrowhead Game's third-person shooter, and it features soldiers battling in intergalactic struggle, various alien units, and even mechs.

How to change difficulty level in Helldivers 2

The main menu in Helldivers 2 is called Galactic War Screen, and there, you can see the difficulty setting option at the bottom of the screen. When you choose the planet and get the mission resume, you can also select your difficulty.

Which difficulty to choose in Helldivers 2

You have nine difficulty settings, but you start with Trivial as your default, which is also the easiest. You can unlock the rest of the difficulties for each mission by beating the mission on the previous level. If you think this is a lot, the original Helldivers game had 15 levels of difficulty.

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• Trivial - A default setting. It's not challenging, and beating a mission unlocks the Easy level.
• Easy - A bit of a challenge. Small effort, small rewards. Unlocks Medium difficulty.
• Medium - More balanced, stronger opponents, good rewards. Unlocks Challenging difficulty.
• Challenging - Where the fun starts. Puts a real challenge in front of you. Unlocks Hard missions.
• Hard - Challenging, but in a fair way, and also good rewards. Unlocks Extreme difficulty.
• Extreme - Challenging, but not fair anymore. Unlocks Suicide Mission difficulty.
• Suicide Mission - Genuine Starship Troopers experience. Unlocks Impossible level.
• Impossible - Expect spawn-kills and anxiety, but also great rewards. Unlocks Helldive.
• Helldive - Only for the strongest. Ultimate level of difficulty.

The difference between difficulty settings is that harder missions give stronger enemies and bigger enemy outposts to conquer, but also more rewards. Playing on easier levels will help you learn the ropes of Helldivers 2, plan optimal strategies for each mission, and pick the best weapons and gear.

Playing at higher difficulties is more rewarding, and the game indicates you should try higher levels of difficulty. However, the missions are not difficulty-locked, you can play every mission on Trivial difficulty if you want. You can switch between difficulty levels between missions, but once you start playing it, you can't change it mid-play.

Want to know more about Helldivers 2? Check out Helldivers 2 system requirements and file size are hellish on Pro Game Guides.