Helldivers 2 is built around squads of four wreaking havoc together, but sometimes you don’t want to rely on randoms or even friends. Maybe you’re tired of griefers, want to improve your skills, or want the satisfaction of completing a tough mission on your own to tell your friends of it with pride. Thankfully, you can play Helldivers 2 solo. But it’s not an official single-player mode—it’s the regular game without teammates.
Here’s how it works, why it’s both hard and rewarding, and we’ll also share some tips to survive when you’re a lone Helldiver.
- Related: Is Helldivers 2 Split Screen?
Can You Play Helldivers 2 Solo?
Yes, but there’s no dedicated single-player or offline mode. You’ll always need an internet connection, even if you enter the match solo. To make sure you aren’t matched with random players, you need to change one setting:
- From the Menu, go into Options → Gameplay → Matchmaking Privacy and set it to Friends Only.
- Start a mission from your Destroyer without inviting anyone.
That’s it, you’ll drop down alone in the battlefield against bugs, bots, and deadly bosses like Hive Lords, with no other Helldivers to come for help mid-mission unless you throw up an SOS beacon.
Why Playing Solo isn’t a Good Idea?
Helldivers 2 doesn’t scale enemy numbers to player count. The same waves of Terminids or Automatons that swarm a four-person team will come after you. That means Easy and Trivial difficulties are manageable for solo runs, especially once you learn enemy patterns.
Medium and above get brutal fast. By Hard, Extreme, and higher, solo players fight uphill battles against endless patrols, heavy armor, and nonstop reinforcements. The game’s design leans heavily on teamwork; Stratagems like Turrets, supply drops, or Shield Generators are powerful when someone else has your back. Alone, you’ll have to juggle everything like surviving, completing objectives, and calling in support.
How to Play Missions Solo in Helldivers 2
Playing alone requires you to think about every mission and challenge in front. Instead of leaning on teammates to cover specific roles, you have to build a loadout that can handle everything.
- Cover every range: Bring something for close-quarters swarms, armor-piercing for tanks, and explosives for crowd control.
- Think defensively: Shield Generator Backpacks, Guard Dogs, and Turrets become lifesavers in single-player. They provide breathing room in an overwhelmed scene.
- Play fast and smart: The longer you stick around, the more spawns you’ll face. Solo players thrive when they blitz objectives, avoid unnecessary fights, and extract quickly.
- Stay stealthy: Patrols can ruin a mission if you encounter them unprepared. Scout passives and light armor help you avoid drawing attention.
Some objectives are designed with squads in mind. Tasks that require multitasking like defending while completing uploads or hauling multiple objectives, are impossible to finish alone. And of course, there’s no one to revive you if you fall. You’ll also sacrifice a lot of rewards. Low difficulties are doable solo, but they don’t give the same payouts as higher-tier objectives, which are nearly impossible to clear alone. Even though you can farm some resources, you won’t progress as fast as you would with a team.
Should You Play Solo?
I’ll not recommend playing Helldivers 2 solo because this game is only best for squad multiplayer. Still, we can talk about some conditions when and when not singleplay is a good idea:
- Solo Helldivers runs are punishing but rewarding. If you want to push your skills, experiment with loadouts, or prove you’re a one-man army, it’s worth it.
- Though if you want to farm, progress, or experience the full chaos Helldivers 2 brings onto the table, squad play is better in almost every way.
In short, solo play is possible, fun for masochists, but not what the game is balanced around.
