As straightforward and fun as Helldivers 2 might be, at its core, this is a live service as well.
Though it doesn’t fall into the same trappings as some other live-service games do, Helldivers 2‘s season passes aren’t completely straightforward and require a bit of thought. Helldivers 2‘s season passes are known as Warbonds, and though they certainly seem very simple at a glance, there are some quirks that players need to keep in mind. We’ve hinted at them in our earlier coverage of Helldivers 2‘s currency system, for example, but a deep dive is well deserved in this case. Here’s a full overview of Premium Warbonds in Helldivers 2.
What makes Helldivers 2’s season pass different?
The most obvious difference between Helldivers 2‘s season/battle pass and the vast majority of other GAAS examples is that they are permanent. Arrowhead Studios has chosen to implement Warbonds as, essentially, mini-DLCs that will stick around permanently, allowing players to invest in them however they see fit.
As of recently, there are three Warbonds available: Helldivers Mobilize, Steeled Veterans, and Cutting Edge. Helldivers Mobilize is essentially the game’s basic progression system and is available at no additional charge. Steeled Veterans and Cutting Edge Warbonds, on the other hand, are roughly a $10 purchase each that you can farm for via Super Credits.
Helldivers 2 season pass rewards
As most experienced players will have already discovered, the vast majority of equippable gear (i.e. weapons, armor, etc.) in Helldivers 2 cannot be unlocked through regular means. Instead, you need to collect Medals and purchase your desired gear via the appropriate Warbond menu.
So, not only are all of Helldivers 2‘s season passes permanently available, but they are also effectively your only means of unlocking different equipment. This sounds like a bigger deal than it is, however, as the game showers you with resources, both premium and not.
How to get Super Credits in Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 isn’t skimpy when it comes to currencies. In fact, the game is so rewarding that it’s more than happy to give you oodles of Super Credits every so often. Provided, of course, that you know where to look for them. Helldivers 2‘s Super Credits premium currency can be found virtually anywhere where there’s loot.
Most often, you’ll find them in old human settlements and bunkers, and if you’re only a bit lucky, you could quickly find quite a lot of Super Credits with minimum fuss. A dedicated player could very easily stock up more than enough Super Credits to buy the Steeled Veterans Warbond “for free,” which is a real delight in the modern microtransaction scene.
What’s included in Helldivers Mobilize Warbond?
Helldivers 2‘s Warbonds come with several pages’ worth of items set up in a grid you can unlock at your own behest. Generally, Warbonds include various cosmetic items ranging from emotes to full armor sets, as well as usable gear. Here’s the full breakdown of the Helldivers Mobilize Warbond:
- 10 full sets of Helldiver armor
- 11 unique weapons
- 9 pieces of gear (grenades, boosters, etc.)
- 9 emotes
- 10 player cards
- 800 Super Credits
What’s included in Steeled Veterans Warbond?
Compared to Helldivers Mobilize, Steeled Veterans is humble in comparison. There are only three pages’ worth of gear to collect here, and virtually all it of is entirely optional in the current meta. Here’s everything included in the Steeled Veterans Warbond:
- 3 full sets of Helldiver armor
- 4 unique weapons
- 2 pieces of gear (grenade + booster)
- 3 emotes
- 300 Super Credits
What’s included in Cutting Edge Warbond?
Underlining the fact that Helldivers Mobilize is an outlier when it comes to the sheer scope and size of a given Warbond, Cutting Edge is much more similar to Steeled Veterans than anything else. This is yet another 1,000 Super Credit purchase, and players can expect generally the same amount of content as seen in the previous content drop, though the new weapons do seem to be a fair bit more potent, especially the LAS-16 Sickle. Here’s everything included in the Cutting Edge Warbond:
- 3 full sets of Helldiver armor
- 4 unique weapons
- 2 pieces of gear (grenade + booster)
- 3 emotes
- 300 Super Credits
What’s included in the Democratic Detonation Warbond?
Once again, Helldivers 2‘s Democratic Detonation Warbond follows the same format as the two other, previously available Premium Warbonds. For 1,000 Super Credits, you get a fairly comprehensive bundle of goodies including new armor sets, weapons, gadgets, and cosmetics. As far as cosmetics go, of course, these are an acquired taste, but the weaponry is a huge draw here. With not one but (at least) two extremely potent weapons included, Democratic Detonation is bound to become one of the players’ favorite Warbonds yet. Here’s everything included in the Democratic Detonation Warbond:
- 3 full sets of Helldiver armor
- 4 unique weapons (with the Eruptor and Grenade Pistol being extremely important)
- 2 pieces of gear (grenade + booster)
- 3 emotes
- 300 Super Credits
What’s included in the Polar Patriots Warbond?
Helldivers 2‘s Polar Patriots Warbond doesn’t break any moulds, content-wise. Once again, we’re getting effectively the same amount of purpose-built content, this time focusing on snow and tundra-based gear. The asking price is once again 1,000 Super Credits, which nets players three rather snazzy sets of Helldiver armor, four potentially interesting weapons (though the assault rifle is a side-grade to the baseline Liberator), a way to ignore some of the game’s slowdown effects, and a super-spicy incendiary contact grenade, just to list some of the included bits of content. Here’s everything included in the Polar Patriots Warbond:
- 3 full sets of Helldiver armor
- 4 unique weapons (with the Eruptor and Grenade Pistol being extremely important)
- 2 pieces of gear (grenade + booster)
- 3 emotes
- 300 Super Credits
What’s included in the Viper Commandos Warbond?
Here’s something new! Whereas all the previous Premium Warbonds for Helldivers 2 followed the content format established in the earliest seasonal release, Viper Commandos is a fair bit different. It’s still priced at 1,000 Super Credits, mind, but you’re getting fewer items and way more cosmetics compared to what’s come before. Highlights include the supercharged carbine version of the Liberator rifle, a triple-barrel shotgun secondary, and the throwing knife. Here’s everything included in the Viper Commandos Warbond:
- 2 full sets of Helldiver armor
- 2 unique weapons
- 2 pieces of gear (throwing knife + booster)
- 3 emotes
- 3 vehicle cosmetics
- Unique ‘Viper Commando’ account title
- 300 Super Credits
Premium Warbond vs Default Warbond
Taking everything into consideration, then, it may come as a bit of a surprise that Helldivers 2‘s Premium Warbond is not only far smaller than the free alternative but that its featured usable gear isn’t an upgrade compared to the baseline items.
In fact, it would be very easy to argue that Steeled Veterans weapons aren’t worth the Medal investment and that you should prioritize the items found in Helldivers Mobilize, instead.
Better yet, the way Helldivers 2 is set up is that its Stratagems are far more potent and important than any piece of small arms the game throws at you, to the point that almost every equipable weapon is simply a sidegrade to the basic bullpup carbine. This results in a situation where players should absolutely not be hard-pressed to purchase the Premium Warbond, which is a huge difference compared to most other battle passes on the market all on its own.
