How to level up fast and farm XP in Helldivers 2 with the best missions

Updated on April 17, 2024 by Antony Terence

Posted in Guides

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Leveling up fast is essential in Helldivers 2 as many of its stratagems are locked at high levels. Use our fast leveling guide to close the gap between you and that shiny Patriot Exosuit at level 25.

Helldivers 2 level up fast: A team finishes an Eradicate mission in the game. Image captured by VideoGamer. — Eradicate missions give you a ton of XP. Image captured by VideoGamer.

✓ Quick answer

Best Helldivers 2 missions to farm XP

Play Automaton Defense, Egg Nest, and Eradicate missions for the most XP.

Best missions to farm XP fast in Helldivers 2

The best methods we’ve found so far are using the following missions for XP in Helldivers 2:

Automaton Defend operations
Egg Nest missions
Eradicate missions

These can be found in the sectors to the left and right of Super Earth in the Galactic War menu respectively. They task you with clearing waves of foes, the nests of the Terminids, or simply killing a set number of enemies. These grant you about 200 experience points in under 10 minutes on the easiest difficulty and scale up as things get tougher. For instance, Challenging doubles this to about 400 XP.

Use turrets and orbital strikes and these waves can be taken out easily. Remember that stratagems are good against bug nests too. While doing the same mission can get boring, this will let you speed up the leveling process. Eradicate Automaton Forces missions can test your resolve at higher difficulties so opt for the Orbital Laser and Eagle 500kg bomb stratagems to wipe out armored mobs. Note that these missions are now longer than before after the 01.000.100 update dropped. They’re still shorter than the usual missions with a 40-minute timer though.

Best ways to earn XP solo in Helldivers 2

When it comes to playing solo in Helldivers 2, you’ll be limited to a small selection of strategems and a single booster. Here’s how you can still earn XP fast as a solo Helldiver:

Pick an appropriate difficulty setting. You might not be able to survive the final Helldive difficulty but that doesn’t mean that you have to shy away from Challenging or Hard missions.
Try finishing Eliminate missions. These require you to kill specific enemies like Devastators or Brood Commanders. Clear them and you can get to the extraction point in a matter of minutes.
Terminate Illegal Broadcast missions are fairly simple while playing solo. Any explosive stratagem can take this objective out, letting you extract quickly for bonus XP.
Finishing missions fast will give you more XP. While secondary objectives are important, solo players on harder difficulties might find it worthwhile to simply extract quickly and get into the next mission.

Helldivers 2 level up fast: A player's mission end screen with bonus XP displayed. Image captured by VideoGamer. — Your XP rewards scale with the difficulty. Image captured by VideoGamer.

Our 6 methods to level up fast in Helldivers 2

Leveling up fast in Helldivers 2 lets you gain access to more powerful stratagems in the game. Here are our top XP farming methods to level up fast in Helldivers 2.

1 – Don’t play alone and bring friends along

While you can clear missions solo, operations become near-impossible at high difficulties. So either drop in with friends or use the quickplay feature to join a random squad. Enemies like Hulks and Bile Titans are tough while playing solo but can be dealt with thanks to Eagle and Orbital stratagems. The Shield Generator will enhance your survivability so consider getting one before a mission. A full squad will let you enhance coordination, conserve ammunition, and bump up your firepower. You can also rely on players to bring a variety of stratagems like the EMS Mortar or Supply Pack that aren’t purely combat-focused.

2 – Opt for higher difficulty levels and get more XP

Missions on Trivial and Easy are indeed quicker and you can spam them repeatedly for XP. But unless you are okay with grinding for ages, consider having fun and testing your skills instead with higher difficulty settings in Helldivers 2 for better XP gain. A recent update has made difficulties a little tougher with reworked weapons and new planetary hazards. While players celebrated lower Charger spawns, expect this to be balanced with bigger hordes. Higher difficulty levels also offer Rare samples and Very Rare samples for ship upgrades. If you’re wondering how much of an impact difficulty levels have on XP in Helldivers 2, check out the following table. The highest difficulty is one of the fastest ways to earn XP irrespective of mission type but you’ll need a solid team for it.

Level	Difficulty	Bonus XP
3	Medium	+25%
4	Challenging	+50%
5	Hard	+75%
6	Extreme	+100%
7	Suicide Mission	+150%
8	Impossible	+200%
9	Helldive	+250%

A table with all the XP modifiers based on difficulty levels in Helldivers 2.

3 – Pick the right weapons and stratagems for the mission

Flaming weapons will do better against the Terminid faction in Helldivers 2, especially now that the flamethrower has been buffed. On the other hand, armor penetration is a must against robots. While leaning into your playstyle is great, try focusing on survivability if you’re playing the game solo. Supply weapons like the Autocannon and Grenade Launcher are good options to have. The buffed EAT-17 Anti-Tank is great against armored opponents. Sentries like the Mortar Sentry can wipe out entire hordes and can hold choke points but watch out for friendly fire. Updates can bring major buffs and nerfs so keep them in mind while picking your loadout in Helldivers 2.

4 – Finish the main mission or get zero XP

One of the key components of farming Medals in Helldivers 2 is finishing the main mission. Failure to do so will result in you not earning any XP at all from a tense mission. So try to pick appropriate difficulty levels where you can clear the key objective at least. Clearing more missions will net you more Medals to unlock gear via the Helldivers Mobilise and Steeled Veterans reward passes.

5 – Complete optional objectives for more XP

Clearing nests or destroying enemy bases net you more XP so finish as many side missions before extraction. Some of these require defending objectives or moving objects so don’t hesitate to use stratagems and support weapons. These can also lead you to points of interest like bunkers and containers with Samples, Super Credits, and Requisition Slips. Use these resources to improve your effectiveness in combat and earn as much XP as possible.

6 – Extract with your teammates or suffer an XP penalty

While you can still get most of your XP if knocked out, your squad will lose some XP if anyone isn’t onboard the transport shuttle while leaving. If someone is down and you have time to spare, use the Reinforce stratagem for additional XP. Note that you will still get all rewards and resources if you fail to extract after a successful mission. Arrowhead Game Studios wants players to focus on the mission so extraction isn’t a lose condition. But every bit of bonus XP helps.

Is it worth leveling up fast in Helldivers 2

While the game naturally progresses at a steady rate, farming XP will let you get access to the best stratagems in the game. This includes support weapons like the Arc Thrower and Flamethrower. You can also get advanced mortar turrets and other gadgets to streamline your operations. So if you’re okay with repeating the same procedure for hours just to get the best gear fast, it’s worth the effort.