Pro Strategies: 11 Essential Medal Tips for Helldivers 2 Players

Medals are one of the most valuable resources in Helldivers 2, serving as the key to unlocking new stratagems, armor, and weapons. Unlike requisition slips or super credits, medals can't just be bought in bulk—they must be earned consistently through missions and objectives. For players aiming to maximize their rewards, smart medal farming makes all the difference. Below are 11 essential tips from a player's perspective to help you stay efficient and avoid common mistakes.

1. Choose the Right Difficulty

Difficulty selection is one of the most important factors in medal farming. While high-level missions might promise bigger payouts, they also come with stronger enemies, limited reinforcements, and longer objectives. For many squads, this risk translates into failed runs and wasted time.

The smarter approach is to find a difficulty level your team can consistently clear. Even if the rewards per mission are lower, the steady flow of successful completions will stack medals faster than gambling on missions you can't reliably finish. Remember: medals are about consistency, not single big wins.

In the end, medals are all about steady growth and reliable wins. If you and your squad want to speed things up beyond farming, you can also choose to buy Helldivers 2 medals as a shortcut—but the real fun comes from mastering missions, learning the right difficulty, and building consistency that pays off over time.

2. Focus on Objectives First

It's easy to get distracted by secondary tasks like destroying enemy outposts or clearing nests. While these activities can be satisfying, they should never take priority over the main mission objectives. Completing the primary goals guarantees the biggest portion of your medal payout.

Think of side missions as a bonus, not the core of your strategy. Knock out the essentials first—whether it's launching a missile, rescuing civilians, or destroying a bug nest—then use leftover time to pursue extras. This way, you lock in your medals before risking anything unnecessary.

3. Avoid Squad Wipes

Nothing kills medal progress faster than a full squad wipe. When your team loses all reinforcements, the mission ends instantly, wiping out your rewards. A single careless push into enemy territory can cost you everything.

The key here is risk management. Don't push objectives recklessly when your squad is down to one or two reinforcements. Use stratagems, set up defensive positions, and coordinate carefully. Sometimes it's better to slow down and play safe rather than gamble with the last lives of your team.

4. Use Stratagems Smartly

Stratagems are your lifeline in Helldivers 2. Turrets, supply drops, and defensive tools aren't just conveniences—they're the difference between surviving an ambush and losing the mission. Too many players hold onto stratagems until it's too late, wasting the chance to stabilize fights.

The best squads deploy proactively. Drop turrets before engaging large enemy waves, call in resupplies before ammo runs low, and place defensive barriers before activating objectives. Treat stratagems as part of your plan, not last-second panic buttons. Well-timed use saves lives, protects reinforcements, and ensures the medals you've earned don't slip away.

5. Prioritize Revives

In Helldivers 2, every teammate on the ground is a lost gun, and in medal farming, that loss quickly adds up. The game moves fast, and enemies don't give much breathing room, but making the effort to revive downed allies can be the difference between victory and a squad wipe.

Whenever a teammate falls, evaluate the situation quickly: is it safe to revive now, or do you need to clear a few enemies first? Having one player designated as the “reviver” in chaotic fights can keep your team in action. The sooner your squad is back at full strength, the faster you can push objectives and lock in medals.

Keeping your squad alive is the best way to protect your progress, but sometimes you’ll still want an extra edge for customization or faster unlocks. That’s where you can choose to buy Helldivers 2 super credits, giving you more freedom to pick up armor, weapons, and upgrades while your medal farming continues at a steady pace.

6. Learn Enemy Behavior

Every enemy faction in Helldivers 2 has its quirks. Bugs swarm aggressively and overwhelm through numbers, while Automatons rely on heavy firepower and armor. Learning their attack patterns, weak points, and spawn behaviors allows your squad to react before a fight spirals out of control.

For example, knowing when bug patrols are likely to spot you lets you plan stealthier approaches, reducing unnecessary firefights. With Automatons, targeting weak points or using specific anti-armor weapons prevents drawn-out battles. The better you know your enemies, the less time and resources you'll waste—leading to smoother missions and more medals.

7. Manage Extraction Carefully

Extraction is where missions can unravel fast. The final minutes are often the most intense, with waves of enemies closing in as you wait for the shuttle. Many squads lose medals here simply because they underestimate how chaotic extraction gets.

The best strategy is preparation. Set up turrets and defensive stratagems before calling for extraction. Spread out to cover all angles, but keep communication tight so no one is left isolated. When the shuttle arrives, don't hesitate—get on board as a squad. Completing the extraction is what secures your medals, so treat it like the most important fight of the mission.

8. Rotate Mission Types

Farming the same mission type repeatedly may seem efficient, but it often leads to fatigue and sloppy mistakes. Different missions not only keep things fresh but also expose you to varied objectives, which can affect how medals are distributed.

For example, rescue missions may emphasize speed and defense, while nest-clearing missions reward aggressive offense. By rotating mission types, you sharpen different skills, keep your squad engaged, and gather medals more consistently. In the long run, variety helps prevent burnout while still boosting your rewards.

9. Squad Composition Matters

Helldivers 2 rewards teamwork, and nowhere is this clearer than in how you build your squad. If everyone loads up with the same weapons and stratagems, you'll likely hit roadblocks against certain objectives. A balanced team, on the other hand, can handle almost anything the game throws at you.

For example, one player running heavy anti-armor weapons can deal with tanks or large Automatons, while another focuses on support tools like supply drops and shield generators. A third might specialize in crowd control with turrets or area-of-effect weapons. By mixing roles, you maximize efficiency and minimize downtime, making medal farming runs smoother and more reliable.

10. Learn When to Retreat

Not every fight is worth taking. One of the biggest mistakes players make is trying to brute-force every encounter, even when the odds are stacked against them. Losing reinforcements to unnecessary battles is a fast way to sabotage your medal progress.

Smart squads know when to pull back, regroup, and reposition. Retreating doesn't mean giving up—it means preserving your strength for the objectives that actually matter. Falling back to defensive positions or using terrain to reset fights often saves time and lives, ensuring you walk away with medals instead of a mission failure screen.

11. Stay Consistent Over Flashy

It's tempting to chase high-risk missions or pull off wild strategies for bragging rights. But when it comes to medals, steady progress is what pays off. One successful high-difficulty run won't make up for three failed ones.

The key is consistency. Focus on building a rhythm of successful missions, even if that means tackling moderate challenges instead of elite ones. Over time, the steady accumulation of medals will unlock more stratagems, weapons, and gear—making you stronger and more capable of tackling harder content later. Think long-term growth, not short-term glory.

Medals form the backbone of progression in Helldivers 2, and how you approach farming them will shape your experience in the game. By balancing difficulty, prioritizing objectives, keeping your squad alive, and practicing consistent teamwork, you'll ensure that every mission ends with meaningful rewards.