While Helldviers 2 throws you into the middle of intense battlefields where Helldivers are dying left, right, and center, it’s also a lot of fun and great source material for funny memes.
The satirical nature of Helldivers 2‘s humor makes it the perfect game for the community to use to create memes every single day that have players in stitches worldwide. I know I can’t help but stop and laugh every time I scroll through the game’s subreddit. On the harder difficulty levels or just a hard day, sometimes you need a pick-me-up that really resonates with you at that moment, which is why we put together this list.
The funniest Helldivers 2 memes to give you a boost on low days
Below, I’ve compiled a list of the ten funniest Helldivers 2 memes that I’ve seen around the community. The game moves fast, so how funny a meme is depends greatly on the current Major Order or recent successes and failures. That’s why I’ve tried to keep these as relevant as possible as newer and funnier memes pop up.
1. No reinforcements left
This meme perfectly encapsulates that feeling of being unstoppable as soon as the reinforcement budget has been depleted. You feel ridiculously powerful because this is the last Helldiver you have until more reinforcements are provided, so you put every ounce of effort into serving liber-tea. Of course, when there are reinforcements to rely on, we all sneak past patrols and cower from side objectives.
2. Stolen valor
The stolen valor meme refers to the commemorative cape given to all Helldivers 2 players on April 3, 2024, the day officially recognized by the Super Earth President as Malevelon Creek Memorial Day. It’s a sign of solidarity and remembrance for those who died on the Automaton world dubbed “Space Vietnam,” and the meme pokes fun at players who wear it but have never even landed on a world in the Automaton sector.
3. White loadout meme
Sorry to spam another meme about the Malevelon Creek Cape here, but it’s too funny to ignore. It’s a fabulous meme that highlights how great the new cape is for Helldivers 2 players who rock a white-themed gear loadout. The way players latch onto customization options like this will never cease to amaze me.
4. Joel is a Tank
The Joel is a Tank meme is pretty simple. The meme is used a lot to show various enemy factions in the position of Helldivers 2‘s Game Master Joel. This one popped up around the time we were pushing the Automatons back into their sector of space during Operation Swift Dissasembly, and they immediately attacked key planets along our supply lines.
5. Promotion
Roughly a month or so after launch, developer Arrowhead Game Studios increased the level cap in Helldivers 2 to level 150. This also added new Titles for players to equip, and this meme pokes fun at how long it’ll take to get to the top. Honestly, I’ll be older by the time I’m at that level.
6. Questionable equipment
I adore this questionable equipment meme because it speaks to how all players truly feel. The Automatons have the best equipment in the galaxy, with actual walking platforms to attack us with. All the while, Super Earth is sending us a few guns and lots of bodies to hold them.
7. The Helldivers 2 experience
I can’t get this meme out of my head. At the time of writing, I just had a conversation with a colleague about how we both sit down for a ‘quick round’ in Helldivers 2 and emerge bloodied, 40 minutes or 4 hours later, with no memory of what we were doing with our day except spreading democracy.
8. Looming Illuminate
There are a few versions of the looming Illuminate meme, but this one is the best. the Illuminate is a faction from the first Helldivers game that uses characteristically blue lasers to kill Helldivers. These crop up now and again in missions, usually after updates, but Super Earth denies their existence.
9. Bot drops
Automaton Dropships perform Bot Drops to throw even more enemies at Helldivers during missions. While the Terminid reinforcements make sense because small bugs call them in, Bot Drops feel like they come out of nowhere, exactly as Walter White portrays in this meme.
10. Not helping
This is a great meme pulled from The Office TV series. It makes fun of how low-level players feel when high-level players join missions of a lower difficulty with them. These high-level players destroy the enemy for their low-level companions. Still, all they’re really doing is twiddling with new loadouts or getting some practice in taking shots at foes in preparation for higher-difficulty missions.
Bonus: The average Malevelon Creek experience
I had to throw this Malevelon Creek meme in as a bonus because it’s so relevant right now, but the dates will help all players remember what’s being made fun of here. The day after we took Malevelon Creek for what feels like the tenth time, the Automatons attacked, and we were forced to defend it from them. Defending a planet feels so much more grueling than liberating one, and the images above capture the experience and horror we all felt at the time.
