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Is the newest Helldivers title playable without friends? Can you play Helldivers 2 solo? Let’s see.
Helldivers 2 is the latest shooter game from Arrowhead Games Studios, a sequel to the popular Helldivers from 2015. This game puts you and your squad members against alien threats, Terminids, Automatons, and anything else that threatens Super Earth and tries to bring down our perfect Democracy. The success depends on the skill and coordination between you and your team members. But, can you play on your own or are team members (and friendly fire) mandatory?
Can You Play Helldivers 2 Solo?
The short answer is yes, you can play Helldivers on your own. The game is primarily designed as a co-op multiplayer experience, but nothing is stopping you from playing solo. The caveat is that there is no content specifically for solo play.
![HELLDIVERS 2 - Pre-Purchase - Super Citizen Edition - PC [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/416-zlk3QfL._SL160_.jpg)
- BECOME A LEGEND – You will be assembled into squads of up to four Helldivers and assigned strategic missions. Watch each other’s back – friendly fire is an unfortunate certainty of war, but victory without teamwork is impossible.
- LOADOUTS – Rain down freedom from above, sneak through enemy territory, or grit your teeth and charge head-first into the jaws of combat. How you deliver liberty is your choice; you’ll have access to a wide array of explosive firepower, life-saving armour and battle-changing stratagems… the jewel in every Helldiver’s arsenal.
- REQUISITION – Super Earth recognises your hard work with valuable Requisition. Use it to access different rewards that benefit you, your squad, your destroyer ship and our overall war effort.
- THREATS – Everything on every planet wants you dead. That’s what we’re dealing with. Each enemy has distinct and unpredictable characteristics, tactics, and behaviour – but they all fight ferociously and without fear or morality.
There is no single-player campaign or dedicated single-player mode. In other words, you can play solo, however, since the game is designed as a co-op experience, you may have difficulty completing higher-level content on your own. It will be quite hard to beat the higher-difficulty missions without some backup. Solo players can use the Quickplay option to join other players who need more squad members.
Should You Play Solo?
Helldivers 2 is designed with a squad in mind, but playing completely on your own can have its benefits. First off, you can jump quickly into those easy “take out a specific target” missions, and farm Super Credits and Medals. And, playing solo can make you a better player. With no one to rely on but yourself, you have to play smart in order to win. You’ll learn how to stay hidden, which targets to prioritize, what Stratagems work the best for each situation, what Loadout works for you, etc.
But, without a team, more challenging missions can become almost unplayable. If you are playing solo, the number of enemies spawned is reduced. But, on higher difficulties, those enemies will be tougher. You can deal with one Charger on your own but two or three simultaneously is a whole different thing.
And the number of Reinforcements depends on the number of players, ie, you get five per player. If you are alone, you only have 5 “lives”, and if you find yourself in a pickle, you may see those numbers rapidly go down. In case you want some Helldivers to assist you and join mid-game, you can always deploy an SOS Beacon.
How to Play Solo
To play solo, ie, without strangers joining your matches, you have to set your Matchmaking options. From your main menu, go to Options, and in the Gameplay section set your Matchmaking Privacy to “Friends Only”.
Now strangers cannot join your matches, only your friends can. You can only hope that they will ask you first, instead of blatantly joining your game.
There is also a recent addition, Invite Only, where only people you invite can join. Technically, this is the closest to “solo mode” we got.
Can You Play HD2 Offline?
Sadly, no, Helldivers 2 requires an internet connection to play. It is described as “an online multiplayer team shooter where you join a squad with up to three friends, so there is no offline or single-player game mode.” That means that a constant connection to Helldivers 2 servers is required in order to play, even if you fly solo.
