How to unlock weapons in Helldivers 2

Unlocking weapons in Helldivers 2 is mainly done by spending Medals on them in Warbonds, but there are quite a lot of support weapons that can be unlocked on your Super Destroyer. Warbonds are essentially Helldivers 2's answer to battle passes, featuring all sorts of cosmetics as well as weapons that you need to unlock with Medals once you've bought the Warbond.

That means they're a bit of a grind and Medals are pretty slow to earn at first, but there are a few other ways you can get more guns. It all means that unlocking weapons in Helldivers 2 isn't as straightforward as other games, so I've explained the whole system below.

How to get more weapons in Helldivers 2

Depending on the sort of guns you're after, there are several ways you can unlock new weapons in Helldivers 2. Primary and sidearm weapons that form your main loadout are most commonly unlocked in Warbonds - battle pass-like reward tracks that never expire and let you unlock weapons and much more with your hard-earned Medals – while Stratagem support weapons are typically found in the Ship Management menu.

Here's a breakdown of all the ways you can unlock weapons in Helldivers 2:

• Loadout weapons:
  • "Helldivers Mobilize!" Warbond: All players have access to this warbond for free, which includes powerful options like the Punisher shotgun, Breaker shotgun, and Scorcher energy weapon.
  • Premium Warbonds: To expand your armory further, you'll need to spend Super Credits on premium Warbonds (Helldivers 2 Super Credits can be farmed in-game, but you can also buy them with real money in the Superstore). However you get your SCs, once you have enough to afford a Warbond (usually 1,000 SC), open the 'Acquisitions' menu on your ship and pick an available Warbond to unlock. Now you can spend any Medals you've earned on the rewards contained within, including new weapons and guns. To help you get some good guns, we've got a list of the best Helldivers 2 Warbonds but bear in mind that balance patches can dramatically change how good some weapons are.
  • Superstore: Some weapons are only available in the Superstore for a limited time, such as the Combat Hatchet melee weapon and Warrant pistol.
  • Super Citizen Edition: Owners of the Super Citizen Edition of Helldivers 2 or the Super Citizen Edition upgrade get the exclusive MP-98 Knight sub-machine gun and either the Helldivers 2 Steeled Veterans Warbond (if purchased before August 26, 2025) or a Warbond Token (if purchased on or after August 26, 2025) which lets you unlock one premium Warbond for free.
• Support weapons:
  • Ship Management Stratagems menu: Head over to your destroyer's Ship Management console and navigate to the 'Stratagems' tab. Here you'll see a list of all the Stratagems you can unlock, including support weapons. Each one has an XP-based level requirement and a Requisition Slip cost to pay to unlock, then you can equip them when choosing Stratagems before a mission.
  • Warbonds: Some support weapons, such as the Sterilizer, De-escalator, and Epoch are locked in Warbonds, so you'll need to get the relevant Warbond and pay Medals to get them.

So, in short, the best way to get new weapons of any kind is through Warbonds. However, while they never expire, Warbonds can be slow to work through and the big issue with them is that they're not all created equally.

Some have more gear than others, so are better bang for your buck, while others have some of the best Helldivers 2 weapons in them, so knowing which one to get is difficult and they're highly dependant on a good supply of Medals. And once you reach level 10, you can start messing around with Helldivers 2 weapon attachments to kit out some of your guns.

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