What Are Medals Used for in Helldivers 2?
Medals are mainly used to unlock items in Warbonds.
Warbonds are essentially progression tracks. You spend Medals to unlock weapons, armor sets, grenades, boosters, and cosmetic items. Some Warbonds are free, others are premium.
In practice, Medals are your long-term progression currency. Requisition slips buy stratagems. Samples upgrade your ship modules. But Medals unlock the gear that changes how you actually play.
If you want a new primary weapon or a specific booster, you need Medals.
How Do You Earn Medals?
Medals mostly come from:
Completing operations (a set of linked missions)
Finishing personal orders
Completing major orders
Finding Medals in mission loot containers
In the early days after launch, most players focused only on mission rewards. Over time, people realized that personal orders and major orders are consistent and efficient sources.
In practice, if you log in regularly and complete your personal order each day, your Medal income becomes steady. If you only grind random missions without paying attention to orders, you progress much slower.
Difficulty also matters. Higher difficulty operations reward more Medals, but they also take longer and are more likely to fail. For most players, there’s a balance point around mid-to-high difficulty where rewards are solid without missions dragging on too long.
How Did the Medal System Work at Launch?
At launch, the Medal system felt simple:
Complete missions.
Earn Medals.
Spend them in the main Warbond.
There was only one primary Warbond progression path, so everyone unlocked things in roughly the same order. Loadouts were more predictable because most players had access to similar gear at similar stages.
Back then, Medal spending decisions were easier. You didn’t have to think much about “which Warbond should I prioritize?” because there weren’t many options.
The system was straightforward, but limited.
What Changed When Premium Warbonds Were Added?
The introduction of premium Warbonds changed how Medals are used.
Now, instead of one progression path, you have multiple Warbonds active at the same time. This creates real decisions:
Do you unlock deep into one Warbond?
Or spread your Medals across several to grab key items?
In practice, experienced players usually unlock specific “power spikes” first. For example:
A strong primary weapon.
A top-tier booster.
A versatile grenade.
They don’t fully complete a Warbond right away unless they really want the cosmetics.
This shift made Medal management more strategic. Instead of just progressing forward, you’re now planning.
Is There a Medal Cap?
Yes, there is a cap on how many Medals you can hold at once.
When the game launched, some players didn’t realize there was a limit. They kept completing orders without spending Medals and hit the cap. After that, additional Medals were wasted.
Now most regular players spend Medals regularly to avoid hitting the cap. If you’re close to it, it’s smart to unlock something—even if it’s not your top priority—just to keep earning efficiently.
In practice, the cap encourages active spending. You’re not meant to hoard forever.
How Has Player Behavior Around Medals Evolved?
At first, most players unlocked things based on curiosity. New weapon? Unlock it. New armor? Try it.
Over time, the community started identifying what’s actually strong and what’s situational. Players became more selective.
Now, many players:
Research builds before spending Medals.
Watch gameplay or read patch notes.
Unlock based on current enemy balance (Terminids vs Automatons).
Another change is how players approach efficiency. Some players try to speed up progression, whether by focusing heavily on daily orders or by looking into discounted Helldivers 2 Medals options outside the standard in-game earning pace. Regardless of approach, the core idea remains the same: Medals are valuable because they directly shape your build options.
The mindset has shifted from “unlock everything” to “unlock what supports your playstyle.”
Are All Medal Unlocks Equally Valuable?
No. Some unlocks have a much bigger impact than others.
In general:
Primary weapons and boosters have the biggest gameplay impact.
Grenades and sidearms are more situational.
Cosmetics are personal preference.
Over time, patches have buffed and nerfed certain weapons. This indirectly changes the value of Medal spending. Something that was considered weak early on may now be strong.
Because of this, long-time players often hold some Medals in reserve after major patches. They wait to see what rises in value.
The key lesson: don’t blindly spend Medals just because you have enough. Think about what problem you’re trying to solve in your loadout.
What Is the Most Efficient Way to Farm Medals?
There’s no single best method, but there are consistent patterns.
In practice, efficient Medal farming looks like this:
Complete your personal order every day.
Participate in major orders when possible.
Run mid-to-high difficulty operations you can complete reliably.
Play with a coordinated team to reduce mission failures.
Failed missions slow Medal gain significantly. A clean 20-minute operation is better than a chaotic 40-minute struggle that ends in failure.
Speed also matters. Some objectives can be rushed if your squad knows what it’s doing. Veteran squads often focus on completing objectives first, then extracting quickly rather than clearing the entire map.
How Does the Medal System Affect Long-Term Motivation?
This is where the evolution of the system becomes clear.
At launch, progression felt linear. You finished the main Warbond, and that was mostly it.
With multiple Warbonds and regular updates, Medals now act as a pacing system. Even if you’ve unlocked strong gear, new Warbonds create new goals.
For experienced players, Medals are less about power and more about flexibility. You might already have a strong setup, but Medals let you experiment.
The system keeps you engaged without forcing you into one specific path.
Should New Players Spend Medals Differently Than Veterans?
Yes.
New players benefit more from unlocking broadly useful items early:
A reliable primary weapon.
A strong general-purpose booster.
Versatile gear that works against both major enemy factions.
Veterans, on the other hand, often unlock niche tools:
Specialized weapons for specific mission types.
Armor with particular passives.
Experimental builds for team synergy.
If you’re new, focus on consistency. If you’re experienced, focus on optimization.
Has the Medal System Improved Over Time?
Overall, yes.
It’s more complex now, but also more meaningful. You’re making real choices instead of following a single path.
The addition of more Warbonds increased player freedom. The cap prevents endless hoarding. Daily and major orders give structure to progression.
There are still debates in the community about pacing and balance, but compared to launch, the Medal system now feels like an integrated part of long-term gameplay rather than just a reward track.
How Should You Approach Medals Today?
Think of Medals as build currency, not just progression points.
Before spending, ask yourself:
What does my current loadout struggle with?
What enemy type do I fight most?
Am I unlocking for power or variety?
Don’t rush blindly. Don’t hoard endlessly. Spend with purpose.
The Medal system has evolved from a simple unlock ladder into a strategic layer of the game. Once you understand that, you’ll get much more value out of every Medal you earn.
