Measure of a Helldiver - Part 2
Part Two: Find Your Battle Buddy
Good morning, cadets! Welcome to the Helldivers. If you missed part one of our talk you can find it here: Become a Helldiver. For those who don't know me, I'm WandererInGray of the ship Harbinger of Benevolence. I've been playing since May 2024 and have 2,700-plus hours of in-mission time.
In my spare time I write science fiction as K.B. Wagers and it’s in part because of the skills I’ve honed there but also because of how my brain works that I'm forever breaking down the game and gameplay in my head. Over the last month or so I've had a few people ask me questions that got me thinking more about the leadership aspect and how to be a good team player. So today we’re going to talk about three things I find extremely important - leadership, team skills, and play styles.
A reminder: These are my thoughts on the game and the way I try to play, not hard rules I expect everyone to follow. (with the exception of things like not being racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic assholes - that is a rule that will get you airlocked as an enemy of Democracy) Things shift and change, there are awesome players out there who break “rules” on the daily and it still works in the overall team dynamic.
For reasons unknown to me, over the last two years the friends I have made all still want to play with me and we end up on my ship a lot. Because of the way my brain works, that means I feel particularly responsible for everyone on board, not only in a "is everyone having fun" sense, but in a "my brain will try to keep track of where everyone is and what they are doing through the mission" sense. And look, this isn't a requirement in the least, but it is something I like to think makes the game a little more fun and makes missions go a little smoother. It’s something I enjoy doing most of the time. If I'm keeping track of my squad, I know when people need supplies, when objectives aren't going well, when something has been missed, or when people need a call in versus waiting until someone closer can do it.
Please note the “try” does some heavy lifting there. I remain not very good about wandering into other people's line of fire during firefights and I'm really trying to get better but it's hard when you can't turn your damn head to see what's happening behind you or feel people in your space :D I also get as distracted as the next person and even though I dislike leaving people behind it happens occasionally, all you can do is wait for them to catch up or double back to help out.
Pro-tip: If you have a teammate making their way to extract alone or trying to get back to the group, find a good vantage point and cover them.
The more I play with the friends I’ve made the more I get a sense of the rhythm of their play. I was trying to explain this to someone the other day when asked how I know if a teammate needs help. I replied, only half-joking, "If he dies, he needs help." But that's not the whole story. What I didn't go into at the time, but what sort of led to me thinking about it more and this entire blog series, is that I know about how long it takes that person to finish a secondary objective like the artillery. If it starts running over that internal clock I've got going, I'm going to ask if they need help. *jazz hands* because communication is awesome!
Good leaders listen to input from the team but make decisions quickly. We look at the skill sets for the assembled team and figure out how best to employ them against the enemy. We take care of the new cadets in our midst—helping teach them, getting samples, finding super credits, etc. We know in the back of our head who plays well together and whose styles might cause friction. This is an undeniable fact of groups of people coming together: Sometimes it just doesn’t work, it’s not a commentary on anyone’s abilities or their worth as a person. I don’t like making this call, but it’s my ship, and sometimes it’s necessary. This is a game we’re playing for fun, and if it’s not fun, something needs to change.
People sometimes struggle with team play for any number of reasons but by and large the one I see most frequently is a need to prove that they're Really Good at This Game™ and I get it. We all want to be good. We don’t want to let the team down. However, I'm constantly reminded to pay attention to when I'm performing versus actually being present. If you don't understand that, think about if what you're doing is because you're focused on the activity in question or how people will react to you doing the activity in question. Slow down, see what your teammates are doing, communicate, and go help out rather than waiting around at an objective or extract. (Now sometimes it’s awesome to have someone at extract ready to call it in the second you’re done so you can get off the damn planet, again, remember these are guidelines, not rules.)
Now, not always but often, it seems like the people who need to prove that they are good at this are actually not particularly good and would benefit from sticking closer to the group and learning how to improve their situational awareness and team play. Are you missing things? Leaving dead teammates hanging? Getting killed because you’re trying to out-stubborn an objective instead of waiting for help? There’s a benefit to sticking closer to the group sometimes.
Believe me, I do love the players you can turn loose on the enemy like feral rabbits who are just going to fuck up everything in their path, take care of the side objectives and the bases and leave you in peace and quiet to finish the main objective. It's an excellent battle strategy and one we employ often when we have one on the ship. Those players truly tend to be Very Good™ in the best sense of the phrase. They are aware of the rest of the team, the mission objective, and are focused, dangerous weapons. They make everything else run smoother. Again, It's learning how people work best as a team. Smooth missions are fast missions. Fast missions are fun missions.
Because of this thought process and the way I play the game, I have become more careful about who’s on the ship, not only in terms of who I want to play with, but with how the other three members of the squad will play together. Sometimes the four players will gel, other times it doesn't work and it feels a bit like grinding gears. That’s okay. We adapt and we persevere. There’s no perfect way to play the game, there’s just different configurations of people’s skill sets. Some work great together, some less so. It’s always a learning experience.
However, there is something truly beautiful about a team that's fully in sync: one full of people who just click in that way we occasionally do with total strangers. We’ve all had those games dropping in on randoms where even though we’re not talking the whole thing just flows. (We’ve also had the opposite *weary laugh* oof. ) What I have learned in the last two years of this game is that I cherish the friendships I've made, the ridiculousness of chaos that ensues, the chatter, the quiet, the accomplishment of rocking through a D10 in record time. We've gone from randoms dropping into missions to casual conversations to talking outside the game and getting to know each other better. It makes the whole thing worth coming back to time and again.
And it's a lot of fun when you can do a whole mission without comms because you've already gotten used to predicting one another’s movements and strategies. When you're fighting in a sandstorm and can't see shit but you know your teammate is at your right shoulder because that's where they always are. When you can trust that the teammate across the map is going to finish things to the best of their ability and only an act of the developer gods will stop them. Listen, war is chaos and nothing employs that better than this game. It’s not cheating by the devs, it’s not some evil plot to make your life difficult. Shit just happens, even to the best players. You roll with it and regroup.
Because attitude has a huge impact on who I want to play with and when. We all get frustrated at times and it’s hard not to verbalize that, but a quick note about comms etiquette and general play: Keep your mouth noises to yourself. No one wants to hear your best impression of Darth Vader and no one wants someone else cursing at top volume in their ears. No one wants to hear your snacks or the aftermath. It makes everything less fun, so check your mic at the airlock and listen when your teammates ask you to try and fix things. It’s not always possible but the attempt is what matters. Sometimes staying muted except to say things is the best option if you can’t get your tech dialed in right. Because there are situations where it’s just not cooperating and I know I’m willing to work around it when all other things are considered.
The attitude you bring to the game impacts everyone on the ship and because of that it makes me feel like I’m responsible (again as captain) for the rest of the crew and our enjoyment of the game. I’m not saying don’t ever curse, we do it often but there’s a difference between the occasional “fuck off” and really angry yelling. Learn it and be a good teammate. I see this as not only my personal preference but a major factor into how teams work and the impact it can have on the mission and the game. (Because again, we’re doing this for fun. If you are not having fun, it’s time to examine things and maybe even step away to do something else.) Or don’t, I’m not your parent at the end of this, but I can decide how often you end up on my ship. As I mentioned above if you choose to be racist, sexist, homophobic, or transphobic I don’t want to play with you and you'll get booted permanently.
There is no One True Way to play Helldivers 2. There is only the One True Flag. Play styles will vary as widely as the number of people in the game. We’ve got the feral rabbits, the mission critical, the soloers, the support folks, the drivers, the heavy crew, I could keep going on and on. There’s no ideal combination of players in a four person squad, but I have noticed that for people who play together a lot, we’ve all come to realize we each have our niche, and you can reliably build a loadout and plan around who is in the group. You can even know whether your “standard” loadout is going to work perfectly for who’s on the ship or if you have to make adjustments.
Find a play style that works for you, one that also hopefully works with the people you get to play with regularly. Talk with your teammates about loadouts, what works, what doesn’t. Have fun and experiment on lower difficulties to work out things for each faction. Pay attention to what the loadouts are when you drop into random games and try to tailor your stuff to best help the team. The more you try things on your own the easier it is to get a feel for weapons and stratagems and be more effective doing this!
I joke about there being three stages of Helldivers: the new recruit who comes back for their stuff when they die because they can’t function without it, the experienced veteran who knows when to just leave it and adapt along the way, and the grizzled old curmudgeon who is coming back for my fucking stuff because fuck you, you bastards. By this same token I think that our loadouts tend to reflect where we are in the cycle. New recruits learn to play with what they have, they’re trying out new things as they get them, maybe finding something they love. Veterans have their standard loadouts and we can get set in our ways. But then there’s the point where you start thinking about trying “new” gear because you’re bored with your loadout or where you want to challenge yourself and try playing with something new. It’s a fun challenge and one I highly recommend for improving your gameplay.
Remember there are no meta loadouts in this game. All weapons have their place and you’ll love some of them more than others, but try all of them for several missions. Don’t yuck your teammates’ choices, let people play the game the way they want even if you don’t see the utility of a loadout.
And before I get too distracted, we’ll stop, because there’s honestly so much more I could talk about here. Tune in to the next one for more on tactics and battle strategy, including all the ways you can deep dive into Helldivers 2!
Website: www.kbwagers.com
Sign up for the weekly Crew Bulletin
Part One: Become a Helldiver
Part Two: Find Your Battle Buddy
Part Three: You’re Holding the Map Upside Down (coming soon)