How to change the difficulty in Helldivers 2

If the starting difficulty in Helldivers 2 is no longer challenging for you, then maybe it’s time to kick things up a notch (bam!). As you progress through the war campaign of Helldivers 2, it’s suggested that you change the difficulty to match your skill level.

Turning up the difficulty in Helldivers 2 is generally a good idea. Not only do the battles get more exciting, but so too do the rewards. To change the difficulty in Helldivers 2, you need to open up your Galactic War screen on your ship’s Bridge and press L1 or R1 on PlayStation 5 or the Q Key or E Key on PC to scroll through a wheel. Said wheel is near the bottom of the screen, and the difficulty highlighted in the center is what’s been set.

Why change the difficulty in Helldivers 2?

There are myriad reasons why you’ll want to up the challenge in Helldivers 2. You start on the easiest difficulty, Trivial, which lives up to its name. It includes only enemy patrols to fight as you complete a Primary Objective. The difficulty shouldn’t be too severe, but if you find it lacking then you can increase it higher. You need to complete a single mission in a difficulty mode to unlock the next difficulty.

Trivial rewards a single Warbond Medal for a completed mission. As you go up in difficulty, you can earn even more medals as you finish additional Primary and Secondary Objectives while tackling tougher enemies and enemy outposts.

Naturally, you shouldn’t feel pressured to take on a difficulty you aren’t comfortable with. Helldivers 2 includes nine difficulty options, but you should play the one you enjoy the most that matches your skill level.

What to expect with higher difficulties

Climbing the difficulty ladder in Helldivers 2 means tougher challenges. You get more objectives to complete, and enemies will grow larger and more armored. It’ll take better teamwork and even more powerful Stratagems and weapons to properly spread that Democracy.

But you do get better rewards for your efforts. Harder missions offer even more Warbond Medals, and reaching difficulty level 4 – ‘Challenging’ will see you earning Rare Samples. You should also start earning a lot more Requisition Slips, the in-game currency of Helldivers 2. All in all, getting sweaty simply pays the bills.