What Are Medals Actually Used For?
Medals are mainly used to unlock items in Warbonds.
Warbonds are progression tracks that contain:
Primary weapons
Secondary weapons
Grenades
Armor sets
Boosters
Cosmetics
You earn Medals by:
Completing missions
Finishing major orders
Clearing personal orders
Exploring the map and opening bunkers
You don’t use Medals for stratagems — those are unlocked with Requisition Slips. You don’t use them for ship modules — those require samples. Medals are specifically for Warbond progression.
That distinction matters. If you’re struggling in higher difficulties, your Medal spending choices will often determine whether your loadout is actually viable.
Do Medals Directly Make You Stronger?
Not directly. They don’t increase your stats by themselves.
But the items you unlock with Medals absolutely affect your effectiveness.
For example:
Unlocking a better primary weapon can improve your crowd control.
Unlocking armor with useful passives can change how you approach fights.
Unlocking strong boosters benefits the whole squad.
If you’re still running early-game weapons in difficulty 7–9 missions, you’ll feel the difference. Medals are your path to better tools.
So while Medals don’t increase damage or armor on their own, they unlock the gear that does.
Which Warbond Unlocks Matter Most for Performance?
This is where a lot of new players make mistakes.
They spend Medals on cosmetic items early because they’re cheaper. That slows down their practical progression.
If your goal is overall success in missions, prioritize:
Weapons that fill gaps in your playstyle
Boosters that help the team
Armor with strong passives
Boosters are especially important. A good booster affects all four players. That’s a multiplier on team performance.
For example:
Reinforcement-related boosters reduce downtime.
Stamina-related boosters help with mobility.
Ammo-related boosters reduce supply strain.
In higher difficulties, small efficiency improvements matter. The right Warbond unlock can mean surviving an extraction instead of wiping.
How Do Medals Affect Higher Difficulty Missions?
At difficulty 6 and above, enemy density increases. Heavy units show up more often. Objectives become harder to complete under pressure.
Your early-game gear will start to feel limited.
Medals let you unlock:
Better armor penetration options
More specialized grenades
Weapons suited for specific factions
For example:
Fighting Automatons requires armor penetration and precision.
Fighting Terminids requires crowd control and sustained fire.
If you don’t have the right tools unlocked, you rely heavily on stratagems. That creates cooldown gaps. And in Helldivers 2, cooldown gaps get people killed.
So Medals indirectly increase mission success rate by expanding your tactical flexibility.
Should You Save Medals or Spend Them Immediately?
Most experienced players spend them steadily.
There’s no advantage to hoarding unless you’re waiting for a specific unlock tier. Warbonds are structured in pages, and you must unlock enough items to access the next page.
A practical approach:
Unlock the cheapest items required to move forward.
Save larger Medal investments for weapons or boosters you actually plan to use.
Don’t unlock something just because it’s expensive. Expensive doesn’t mean useful for your playstyle.
If you’re running heavy armor and support weapons, a lightweight mobility-focused armor may not help you much.
Do Premium Warbonds Change the Medal Strategy?
Yes.
Premium Warbonds contain some very strong weapons and armor. If you have access to them, your Medal priorities may shift.
Instead of pushing deep into the free Warbond, you might:
Unlock a specific high-performance weapon early.
Grab a strong booster that improves squad efficiency.
Focus on armor that fits your role.
Some players who don’t have time to grind every mission look for the best site to buy helldivers 2 medals so they can unlock specific Warbond gear faster. Whether you grind or accelerate progression, the key is knowing what you’re unlocking and why.
Medals only help if they’re spent intentionally.
How Do Medals Impact Team Success, Not Just Individual Power?
Helldivers 2 is squad-based. Your performance affects others.
Here’s how Medal unlocks influence the team:
1. Booster Synergy
If no one in the squad has unlocked strong boosters, the whole team plays at a disadvantage.
2. Role Coverage
If everyone runs similar early-game weapons, your team lacks flexibility. Medal unlocks let players specialize:
Anti-armor role
Crowd control
Objective runner
Support
3. Survivability
Armor perks like explosive resistance or extra padding reduce reinforcement drain. Fewer deaths = smoother mission flow.
At high difficulties, mission failure often happens during extraction. Having better gear unlocked through Medals increases consistency under pressure.
Are Medals the Most Important Resource in the Game?
They are important, but they’re not the only thing that matters.
You need:
Samples for ship upgrades
Requisition for stratagems
Super Credits for certain unlocks
But Medals are unique because they unlock build variety.
Once you’ve unlocked core stratagems, Warbond items become your primary way of refining your playstyle.
In the mid-to-late game, Medals feel more impactful than Requisition Slips.
What Are Common Mistakes Players Make With Medals?
Here are the ones I see most often:
Unlocking for Looks Only
Cosmetics are fine, but early on, focus on functionality.
Ignoring Boosters
Boosters are easy to overlook. They’re not flashy, but they help every mission.
Unlocking Weapons Without Testing Playstyle
Some weapons look strong on paper but don’t fit how you play.
Rushing Deep Pages Without Practical Upgrades
You need a functional loadout before chasing niche gear.
How Many Medals Do You Really Need?
That depends on your goals.
If you only want:
One strong primary
One solid armor set
A useful booster
You don’t need everything unlocked.
Completionists will need a large amount over time. But for practical mission success, you can reach an effective loadout relatively early if you focus your spending.
It’s less about total Medals earned and more about how efficiently you use them.
Do Medals Matter More for Solo or Squad Players?
They matter more for squad players.
In solo play:
You rely heavily on stratagem timing.
Gear helps, but positioning is everything.
In squad play:
Synergy matters.
Booster stacking matters.
Role specialization matters.
The more coordinated the team, the more valuable good Warbond unlocks become.
Thoughts: How Medals Really Affect Success
Medals are not a direct power boost. They are access.
Access to:
Better weapons
Stronger armor perks
Team-enhancing boosters
If you’re failing missions, the issue is usually:
Poor positioning
Lack of coordination
Or weak loadout choices
Medals fix the third problem.
Used correctly, they improve consistency. They reduce friction in higher difficulties. They allow specialization instead of improvisation.
Helldivers 2 rewards preparation. Medals are how you prepare.
