How to Unlock More Weapons in Helldivers 2 (Shotgun, Sniper, & More)

The action in Helldivers 2 is all about taking out swarms of enemies as fast as you can. Therefore, you’ll need to have the right weapon for the situation. Here’s how to unlock more weapons in Helldivers 2 so that you have the right tools in your arsenal.

How to Get More Weapons in Helldivers 2

For the first few missions in Helldivers 2, all you’ll have at your disposal is the standard-issue assault rifle and pistol, alongside the ability to call in an airdrop of a more powerful machine gun. The likes of shotguns, snipers, and more powerful rifles will have to wait a little bit.

Rather than simply unlocking new weapons as you level up, as is often the case in online shooters, you need to use medals you earn as you play to unlock items of your own choosing. You’ll earn medals as you complete missions, so keep hold of them for the weapons you want to unlock.

If you press square on PlayStation (just select it from the top of the screen) to head to the store menu when you’re on your ship, you’ll see various items you can buy using in-game currency, or currency bought with real-world money.

While most of the things you can buy are cosmetic – helmets, armor, or emotes – you can also buy some weapons. One of the first you can buy is the SG-8 Punisher Shotgun, which will be really useful in missions when faced with hordes of smaller enemies scuttling around your feet. It only costs six medals too, so isn’t too expensive.

New Stratagem Weapons

While the basic weapons you start every mission with are limited, there are loads of weapons you can choose from and unlock if you look into the Stratagems.

They take a while to unlock, but you can unlock weapons like a heavy sniper, a flamethrower, and rocket launchers to call in from above when you really need them. They’re more powerful than the weapons unlocked from the store, but much more powerful.

That’s it for the two ways of unlocking more weapons in Helldivers 2. For more tips and tricks, check out the guides below. We’ve got tips on how to join public multiplayer and how to customize character.