Is Helldivers 2 pay to win?
No, Helldivers 2 is not a pay-to-win game. While you'll unlock different guns by purchasing the premium battle pass, the team at Arrowhead has carefully balanced things so any new guns simply provide an alternate experience instead of being superior to the starting kit.
Earn premium currency through playing Helldivers 2
Arrowhead Game Studios' new title is pushing beyond anything the developer has previously worked on, and that will naturally raise some questions.
In Helldivers 2, players are able to go through the game without buying anything. They can however, choose to progress Warbonds, which is the name for the battle pass system in Helldivers 2. At launch, there's one Warbond track available for all players, while another Warbond requires a purchase via premium currency or through grabbing the deluxe "Super Citizen" edition of the game.
Both Warbonds have different guns in them to unlock, so it's fair for a player to wonder if the guns on the paid Warbond would provide an unfair advantage. Testing shows this is not the case, and according to Arrowhead's CEO via Twitter, the developers have taken care to ensure things are strictly balanced. Guns you unlock through Warbonds might be better in some respects, but they are worse in others.
You also don't have to buy premium currency in order to unlock the premium Warbonds. While it's certainly much faster that way, you can earn some currency through finding it when you're deployed on various missions. It'll take a long time for you to save up enough for the Warbond, but this is a totally valid way of playing the game.
Furthermore, in order to actually unlock the items included in a Warbond, you need to playing the game and completing objectives. If a gun costs 20 medals, there's no shortcut outside of fulfilling daily objectives and helping drive back Terminids and Automaton threats.
It's also worth mentioning that Strategems, the big "call down heavy weapons and ordinance" abilities, are not included in the Warbonds. These actually are game-changing, but all players unlock these at the exact same rate.
Helldivers 2 is currently available on Windows PC and PlayStation 5. It's also part of a growing list of PlayStation Studios games on Windows PC, a list that is expected to grow with further additions throughout the year.
