How to Join Public Online Multiplayer in Helldivers 2

In Helldivers 2, you take the fight to the bug menace, but it’s not something you can do alone. If you don’t have three friends to share the destruction with, there’s always online matchmaking. This will pair you with other soldiers eager to serve their galaxy. Joining public matches in Helldivers 2 is the best way to fight back against the enemy.

How to Play Public Matchmaking Multiplayer in Helldivers 2

Before doing anything else in Helldivers 2, you’ll want to double-check something in your options menu.

Matchmaking Privacy Option

With it open, look in the Gameplay section to ensure that Matchmaking Privacy is set to Public.

This is so you won’t only get paired with your friends who are also in the game doing their own missions. However, if that is all you want, you can swap that setting to Friends Only.

Galactic War Table

With that setting confirmed, you can approach the Galactic War table and use it as you would starting any mission. Instead of moving the cursor to whatever region you might be interested in helping, you’ll want to press whatever button/key is shown next to Quickplay above your difficulty setting (square on PS5).

Keep in mind that you can’t leave the table while the game is “searching for active SOS beacons.” But to cancel you can either hit the same button you used to start Quickplay, or back out of the table completely.

You’ll know it worked when the message switches to “game found.” It doesn’t appear that you can affect where Quickplay takes you. If you are trying to complete missions in a specific sector, you might be better off starting your own mission and seeing if people join.

If you are experiencing any matchmaking issues, we have a few fixes that might be able to help.

This is everything you need to know to get out into the galaxy with other soldiers and join public matchmaking in Helldivers 2. For more tips and tricks on being the best soldier you can, check out our links below. We’ve got guides on the best Stratagems to use, plus how to emote in lobbies.