Commando Missions in Helldivers 2 strip away the safety net and dare you to thrive with almost nothing. This guide walks you through how to prepare, pick your battles, and extract in one piece when stratagems are scarce and lives are even scarcer. We’ll cover smart loadouts, routing, threat management, Automaton-specific tactics, and co-op coordination—so you can keep the flag flying even when the sky refuses to help.
What makes Commando Missions different
- Stratagem drought: You get tiny, time-limited windows to call the basics, then you’re on your own. Plan to fight 90% of the mission without orbitals, turrets, or backpacks.
- No safety lives: You start with zero spare reinforcements and must earn them mid-mission. Deaths hurt, wipes end everything.
- Escalation is real: The longer you linger and the more alarms you trigger, the denser patrols and enemy presence become.
- Bot country: These operations commonly appear on Automaton fronts, rewarding teams that can dismantle machines efficiently and quietly.
Mindset: play like you can’t be saved Approach every decision as if you won’t get a second chance. That means:
- Avoiding unnecessary fights.
- Skipping “nice-to-have” objectives that sit in bad terrain.
- Moving with intent and extracting the moment your goals are complete.
Pre-mission prep: build for self-sufficiency
- Armor: Mobility keeps you alive. Light or medium suits that let you sprint, slide, and reposition beat slow, bulky protection in most commando runs.
- Perks: Favor stamina and sustain over raw damage. Anything that helps you sprint longer, carry more consumables, or heal more reliably pays off over time.
- Primary weapon: Pick a reliable, precise rifle or marksman option that performs well without constant resupply. A weapon that can pop weak points on Devastators and shred low-tier units is ideal.
- Secondary weapon: Carry something that solves a different problem than your primary. If your primary is precise, go close-range for crowd control; if it’s a bullet hose, choose a punchy, accurate sidearm.
- Grenades: Stuns and EMPs are MVPs against machines; smokes break line of sight for repositioning; incendiaries control space. Bring at least one utility option that helps you leave a fight, not just win it.
- Stims and ammo discipline: Treat every mag and stim like it’s your last. Never top off after a single burst. Only heal when you’re one mistake from death.
Your brief stratagem window: set the board, then forget it If you do get a short window to call things in, use it like a quartermaster, not a warlord.
- Drop ammo in a triangle near your first two objectives, not at spawn. Place it along the route you’ll be taking.
- If you have any defensive tools, put them to guard a reinforcement pod or a chokepoint you know you’ll revisit.
- Don’t waste orbitals on random patrols. Save any strikes for high-value objectives or emergency retreats—then accept that you probably won’t have them when you need them most.
Route planning: the map is your strongest ally
- Draw a loop: Plot a path that hits your objectives in a single circuit with minimal backtracking. Backtracking doubles your chances to run into respawned patrols.
- Read the terrain: Hills, rocks, and tree lines are your stealth. Skirt open ground unless you can cross it at a dead sprint.
- Time matters: The longer you stay, the heavier the patrol density. Keep up a steady, deliberate pace and don’t loiter after firefights.
Stealth and engagement discipline
- Patrols first, bases second: Clear or bypass roving patrols before they can spot you mid-objective. If you can let them pass without shooting, even better.
- Alarm hierarchy: Against Automatons, any unit or structure that can call more friends is your top priority. When spotted, immediately seek line-of-sight breaks and delete the spotter.
- Disengage often: Toss a smoke or stun and break contact the moment the fight stops serving the objective. Surviving is winning.
- Sound management: Short, accurate bursts; avoid chewing entire mags into armor. Every reload during a panic is a risk.
Automaton-specific tips
- Devastators: Target head sensors and weak joints. Strafe to one side to dodge shoulder rockets and finish methodically. Keep cover between you and multiple shooters.
- Hulks: If you can’t crack them quickly, don’t. Use terrain to lose their line of sight and move on. EMPs buy you time to escape.
- Tanks and heavy armor: If you lack dedicated anti-armor, don’t pick a fight. You can bait them away from objectives, then slip back to complete tasks.
- Fabricators and spawn sources: Don’t hang around production buildings. Complete, loot quickly, then disappear before trickle spawns snowball.
Objective play without toys
- Sabotage/Upload: Secure a perimeter before you interact. One player triggers, the rest hold angles with overlapping fire. If the heat rises, pause the interaction, reset aggro by breaking line of sight, then resume.
- Defend-the-thing: Use natural chokepoints—doorways, gullies, and rock funnels. Kite enemies through narrow lanes where one magazine goes a long way.
- Escort/Carry: The carrier plays coward. Teammates scout ahead and clear the path rather than react to surprises. Switch carriers if stamina is low.
- Samples and side ops: If they’re not on your line, leave them. The best side objective is the one that doesn’t drag you into a slaughter pit.
Reinforcement pods: lifelines worth the risk
- Secure early, benefit later: If you spot a reinforcement site on the way to your first main objective, detour to claim it while patrol density is still low.
- Stage a fallback: Treat reinforcement points as rally nodes. If a teammate goes down, you want the respawn location to be defensible and familiar.
- Don’t feed the grinder: If the pod area is already swarming, kite the pack away, break line of sight, then return to capture cleanly.
Threat management: how to keep the spiral small
- Break contact after every big fight. Move 100–200 meters and let the map breathe. Enemies thin out if you stop feeding them line of sight.
- Rotate directions. If you just cleared north, leave to the west. Pushing deeper into freshly spawned lines is how stacks become hordes.
- Reset mentality: When comms are loud, ammo is low, and everyone’s limping, call a 20-second silent reset—crouch, reload, stim, check bearings, then continue.
Co-op communication that saves lives
- One calm voice: Nominate a shot-caller. Fewer words, more decisions: route, fight, or flee.
- Ammo and stim economy: Say your numbers. If someone drops below two mags or one stim, the team adjusts to keep them safe until a resupply cache or calm stretch.
- Roles with intent:
- Point: spots patrols and sets the pace.
- Anchor: watches the rear and flanks, calls disengage early.
- Objective hand: interacts, hacks, and never tunnels vision.
- Flex: rotates to plug gaps or revive.
- Revives: Clear the space first. Smoking a revive you can’t safely complete wastes both.
Solo survivors: play like a ghost
- Favor mobility perks and precise weapons.
- Skip fights you don’t absolutely need. If a patrol angles toward you, prone behind cover and let them pass rather than asserting dominance.
- Objectives first, spice later: Finish primaries, then scoop samples on the exit line if time allows.
Extraction: leave clean
- Call it early. Don’t wait until you’ve got a dozen bots on your heels.
- Set your perimeter, then let the enemies come to you through lanes you pick.
- Save a smoke or stun for the final sprint. Don’t die with a grenade in your pocket and the shuttle ramp five steps away.
A compact checklist for Commando success
- Build for mobility and sustain, not flashy damage.
- Plot a one-way loop that minimizes backtracking.
- Treat stratagem windows like logistics, not fireworks.
- Prioritize spotters and anything that spawns more enemies.
- Cut fights short; use smoke, stuns, and terrain to disengage.
- Secure reinforcement points early and defendably.
- Communicate clearly, share resources, and reset often.
- Extract the second your objectives are complete.
Commando Missions are designed to test restraint, planning, and composure under pressure. When the sky falls silent, your squad’s fundamentals are all that’s left—and that’s exactly why these ops feel so good to beat. Stay light on your feet, keep your powder dry, and bring a plan you’re willing to change. Super Earth will thank you later.
