There is a quickmatch feature that will drop you into a random game.
You can search missions in progress and choose to join if desired.
Sometimes there are SOS signals where others are asking for help.

As a host you can choose to keep your game closed, friends only, or open.
You can also send up an SOS to recruit other divers.

This guy's great, he just makes space battle animations that look good enough to be in the game and posts them every month or so.

Remember Machinimas? Truly essential to the Halo 2 era vibes. While videos like these aren’t usually in-engine anymore thanks to Blender and such, the spirit is still alive, and it’s great to see how much Helldivers is reigniting that spark that you just sadly don’t see anymore…

I love this one. Especially when the DSS that we built as a community comes in, *mwah*.

This guy's great, he just makes space battle animations that look good enough to be in the game and posts them every month or so.

One neat thing is the way even fresh players can try out most things that they are curious about. was a no-brainer (MA5C, M90A, you’re as beautiful as the day I lost you).

I finally convinced my son to download the game. In his first match I was able to call down my stratagems for him to use, and he was excited to get the instant upgrade. (All I had worth sharing was a guard dog :P)

Bones dropped his mech for me a few times and that thing was awesome!

This game has been so fun. I've not had new game excitement like this since Halo 2. There's so much about this game that I wish Destiny would have been from the beginning.

And again...this is all relative to my play style. I just don't have time anymore to dedicate towards a pinnacle activity. And in Destiny, you can only get pinnacle gear from pinnacle activities. And even then, there's a roll of the dice if you actually get it.

One neat thing is the way even fresh players can try out most things that they are curious about. My brother made the official jump into the game in Sunday (he’d played a few times when he came over, but has no PS5). He was curious about several weapons and stratagems, so Sammy and I jumped into a bug -> bot -> squid mission with the gadgets and weapons to let him get a feel for a bunch of different gadgets in ideal/less-than-ideal scenarios. It helped him decide what Warbond he was going to grab with his token, what weapons and stratagems he was going to skip (he didn’t like the mechs, whaaaa?), and convinced him that paying $15 for the ODST bond was a no-brainer (MA5C, M90A, you’re as beautiful as the day I lost you).

In Helldivers, I can hop into a game by myself, on easy difficult. Do a mission, collect loot, gain my exp and eventually....I too will get that pinnacle gear.

Yes, there are items that require currency only acquired in pinnacle difficulty missions, but not so many that I'm riddled with FOMO, or are powerless without said item.

I’d argue that with a seasoned veteran, the difficulty 6 missions where you find the Super samples are totally doable. The enemies don’t get more health, and the big difference is mission length, enemy variety, and numbers in a wave. The only snag right now is the Predator strain that has dominated the bug front. They are relentless in their numbers, but that may have ended with today’s update… speaking of which…

The community aspect of, all players are working towards an ever changing goal, that has consequence keeps things fresh and fun.

When my brother got on, I gave him the “story so far” about the last couple of weeks, with the in-game-lore explanation of the Xbox launch, the multi-front assault from all three factions, and the reason we were establishing a FOB on the bugs this week. It was neat to have a sense that there was a cause and effect to the world, and it felt pretty impactful that the first world we were jumping into, Hellmire, was the same world he first jumped into back when he first tried the game, though that world looked VERY different than it did back then- before the Meridia incident…

The game is so neat. Sammy and I have fully jumped back in. My only complaint is that the two-minute-long friend codes make adding people on other platforms really awkward, but it’s a nitpick, ultimately.

Glad you’re enjoying it!

And again...this is all relative to my play style. I just don't have time anymore to dedicate towards a pinnacle activity. And in Destiny, you can only get pinnacle gear from pinnacle activities. And even then, there's a roll of the dice if you actually get it.

In Helldivers, I can hop into a game by myself, on easy difficult. Do a mission, collect loot, gain my exp and eventually....I too will get that pinnacle gear.

Yes, there are items that require currency only acquired in pinnacle difficulty missions, but not so many that I'm riddled with FOMO, or are powerless without said item.

The community aspect of, all players are working towards an ever changing goal, that has consequence keeps things fresh and fun.

I've been ensured that our fleet of Super Destroyers have completed construction and are made of the finest materials the galaxy has. I'm excited to do my part to complete the current major order.

Box Divers Assemble!

And here's one of those golden moments where the simple act of joining your friends can have unintended consequences...

Oof... I felt that, "Do you explode when you die?" in my soul. I, on the other hand, never make the mistake of running integrated explosives on bug hunts, and always tactically-assess the situation before making any strategic move --

Well, when I do the math and make brilliant strategic moves...

. . .

Yeah, duos can be rough on the higher difficulties for sure. One of my favorite things to do when playing on my own is to answer single-squad SOS beacons or join low-level players, call-in the cool stratagems for them to use, and generally try to make their first time with the game a positive experience.

I've always loved games that let you swoop in, rain cool stuff on folks, then fly off into the sunset knowing they get to make new memories and maybe pay it forward one day (Borderlands 2, Resident Evil 5, and Warframe come to mind)...

Unfortunately, most low-level players in Helldivers just seem confused with the gifts. They run around Mechs, ignore supply weapons, and generally just seem happy to let you run off to do the less fun objectives on your own (which hey, I don't mind).
But darn it if I don't leave them with a unique memory... :P

Yeah, duos can be rough on the higher difficulties for sure. One of my favorite things to do when playing on my own is to answer single-squad SOS beacons or join low-level players, call-in the cool stratagems for them to use, and generally try to make their first time with the game a positive experience.

Such a mensch!

. . .

Yeah, duos can be rough on the higher difficulties for sure. One of my favorite things to do when playing on my own is to answer single-squad SOS beacons or join low-level players, call-in the cool stratagems for them to use, and generally try to make their first time with the game a positive experience.

. . .

Edit: Embedding fixed.

A year ago, I would never have believed that Arrowhead would introduce stealth gameplay and suppressors with an ODST cross-over. Truly amazing times we're living in...

A year ago, I would never have believed that Arrowhead would introduce stealth gameplay and suppressors with an ODST cross-over. Truly amazing times we're living in...

Lord knows it was needed.
Couple of nights ago Sammy and I were reminded of how openly hostile Joel is towards people who run duos. Even with free FRVs and Napalm stratagems, the bugs were absolutely relentless, and activating the exfil beacon felt like it took longer than the rest of the mission combined. It was rough going… sneakiness being an option might prove a lot more beneficial… especially considering some of my historically poor strategies…