How to Play Co-Op With Friends in Helldivers 2

While playing as the Helldivers fighting for democracy in Super Earth, players will be tasked to defeat several alien invaders to protect the civilization in Helldivers 2. Throughout this adventure, they are tasked with completing various missions and liberating the planet from the grasp of the enemy forces.

Since most of these missions demand tactical co-op gameplay from the players, they are considerably more enjoyable when done with friends. Teams of up to four players can embark on these missions together to defeat the alien dangers and accomplish the given objectives.

Updated March 4th, 2024 by Russ Boswell: Although it’s possible to play solo, much of the fun in Helldivers 2 is had with friends. The cooperative game sees groups of up to 4-players tackling various planets and completing objectives against a variety of enemies. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to jump into the action and join other players in Helldivers 2. To better help showcase how to join friends in Helldivers 2, the following guide has been updated to include a small companion video.

Helldivers 2: How to Fix Failed to Connect to Server Error

Helldivers 2 players encountering the ‘Failed to Join Lobby’ error can try these solutions to fix the problem.

How to Unlock Multiplayer in Helldivers 2

In Helldivers 2, you have to finish the tutorial to access the co-op mode before you can join forces with your buddies to fight some extraterrestrial bugs for the good of democracy. Every player must watch the tutorial; it cannot be skipped.

It will take around 20 minutes to finish the tutorial and your first mission, which you must do alone. After the tutorial, you can add, invite, and complete missions with your friends.

How to Add Friends in Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 offers the best gameplay experience when it’s played with friends. The third-person shooter has several difficulty levels and demands tactical gameplay from the players, combined with their cooperation and teamwork with the other players in the squad.

However, adding your friends to the game can seem to be a bit confusing as the game doesn’t make it clear when you start. But don’t worry. Follow these easy steps to add other players in Helldivers 2:

Log in to the game’s main lobby and enter the Social menu.
You will find the Search section on the left side of your screen, where you must paste another player’s Friend Code. The friend code must be generated by clicking the Generate button beside the ‘Your Friend Code’ section. Similarly, you can share your Friend Code with other players so they can add you in-game.
Added friends can be viewed from the Friends section of the Social menu. You can accept or reject incoming friend requests from the Friend Request section of the same menu.

How to Invite Friends to the Squad

After you add your friends in-game, you must invite them to a squad if you want to play missions together. To form a squad with your friends, here are the things you need to do:

Enter the Social menu from the game’s main lobby.
Go to the Friends section, which will show all your added and online friends.
Click on the player name you want to add to your squad, then click on ‘Invite to Squad.’ If you want to join a squad created by another player, click ‘Join Squad.’ However, to join a squad, the leader’s Matchmaking Preference must be set to ‘Open to Friends.’ This preference can be changed from the Gameplay settings menu.

If you have no friends to play with, you can still join the
public games
of
Helldivers 2
by playing through the Quickplay option or creating a session by yourself.