Does Helldivers 2 difficulty scale with more players?

Does Helldivers 2 difficulty scale with more players?
Images via Arrowhead Studios

Written by 

Dave McAdam

Published 

14th May 2024 15:04

Difficulty scaling is often the solution to adding more players in a co-op game, but is that how Helldivers 2 works? Here is what you need to know.

Does co-op play have difficulty scaling?

There is no difficulty scaling for playing Helldivers 2 with friends, which means that the number of enemies, their health and their damage are the same no matter who is playing.

The only way to alter the difficulty is by changing it before launching a mission. Helldivers 2 has a litany of difficulty options to choose from, so there are still plenty of ways to dial in the right setting for you.

If you are playing solo, you might want to keep the difficulty at a reasonable level. The higher difficulties, and there are quite a few in this game, were clearly not meant to be tackled by solo players.

Conversely, if you're playing with a full squad and you're concerned about the game being too easy, rest assured the higher difficulties are no joke. It will take a full team of experienced players to succeed in Impossible or Helldive difficulty-level missions.

Dave McAdam
About the author
Dave McAdam
Dave is a Senior Guides Writer at GGRecon, after several years of freelancing across the industry. He covers a wide range of games, with particular focus on shooters like Destiny 2, RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, and fighting games like Street Fighter 6 and Tekken 8.
Trending
How to unlock weapons and armour in Helldivers 2
All weapons in Helldivers 2
All armour in Helldivers 2
What's in the Viper Commandos Warbond for Helldivers 2?
Best Helldivers 2 mods for PC & how to install them