How Helldivers 2’s Battlepass System Battles FOMO

Many people are eagerly anticipating Helldivers 2’s launch for a variety of compelling reasons. One of those reasons has to do with the Warbond system. So, today, we’re going to explain how Helldivers 2’s Warbond-battlepass system battles the fear of missing out.

One of the biggest issues with most live-service games these days is their FOMO nature. Publishers have been using the fear of missing out to keep players coming back week after week so as not to miss out on content or battlepass unlocks. Case in point, Destiny 2 does this with their mid-seasonal mini battle passes and stiff quest requirements that demanded constant weekly play. Like Destiny 2, Helldivers 2 will have its own battlepass system dubbed Warbonds.

But don’t fret, because Helldivers 2 handles battle passes in a way that is much more like Halo Infinite than anything else, and that’s good news. Simply put, Warbonds are effectively a battlepass that has 10 pages worth of goods to earn through gameplay. These goods range from pure cosmetics like helmets and caps, to cosmetics with stats like light or heavy armor, all the way to new weapons and stratagems.

There are two things that make this system work in the favor of player’s time and effort. The currency needed to unlock these Warbonds can be earned in-game at a reasonable rate; where a full 10-page Warbond can be reasonably earned in around 25-100 hours—even while potentially playing solo. You then earn medals to unlock items on the first page, then once you’ve unlocked enough items, the 2nd page opens and you keep doing that until you’ve earned what you’ve wanted from all 10 of the Warbond’s pages.

The system by itself is already pretty good if it were just that. However, the developers of Helldivers 2 have made it so that these Warbonds never expire. This allows you to unlock things from whichever Warbond you want to focus on at any time. The freedom and lack of urgency is what many prefer because of how the game respects the time you put into it. And it’s that kind of respect that makes a good game, great.

Now, beyond the first Warbond that all players will get for free, there will be Premium Warbonds that cost 1,000 Super Credits (and if I had to guess, that would be around $10 USD). The developers have already come out and said there are more than enough earnable Super Credits in the game to buy the next Premium Warbond. They also said there is no upper limit to how much SC you can earn, so regular players should always be able to earn these new Warbonds over time without spending money.

It’s also sounding like there will be new Premium Warbonds every couple of months. While every new Warbond may not be 10 pages long, that’s still quite a bit of new content for players to sink their teeth into. It’s easy to see how this game is subverting the expectations that usually come along with the live-service title. Because of how Sony and Arrowhead Game Studios are handling Helldivers 2, I feel confident in saying that I haven’t felt this excited for a new game in years.

Here’s hoping that Helldivers 2’s SuperStore cash shop can help generate enough revenue to keep these anti-FOMO, pro-consumer policies from changing. Which shouldn’t be as difficult for a game that is launching on both PC and PS5 at the same time.