If you're looking to boost your progression in Helldivers 2, medals are your golden ticket to unlocking premium gear and top-tier upgrades. Whether you're grinding missions or eyeing the next elite weapon, understanding how to collect medals efficiently can completely change your experience. Here are 12 practical tips to help you collect medals faster and buy better items—straight from the trenches.

1. Prioritize High-Difficulty Missions

Tackling missions on higher difficulty settings naturally rewards more medals. While these missions are more intense, they also offer the best return on time invested. Equip your best loadout and bring a coordinated squad for higher survival rates.

2. Complete All Side Objectives

Medals often come from optional tasks, like defending civilians or securing intel. Don't rush to extraction—check your map and finish all objectives to maximize rewards.

3. Use Stratagems That Speed Up Objectives

Certain support gear—like the UAV Recon or Supply Pods—can help complete mission goals faster, freeing you up to collect bonus medals or push into extra zones.

4. Farm Events During Warbonds

When special events or Warbonds drop, medal rewards often spike. These are perfect times to grind and stockpile. Keep an eye out for temporary missions with medal multipliers.

5. Squad Up with Efficient Players

Teaming up with skilled or organized players dramatically boosts mission completion time. Use voice chat or find active communities to match with people who are serious about efficiency.

6. Don't Overlook Daily Orders

Daily and weekly challenges often grant a solid chunk of medals. They’re usually straightforward—like killing enemies with specific weapons or completing a certain number of missions.

7. Replay Medal-Rich Missions

Some planets and operations consistently offer better medal rewards. Keep a list of your top-earning missions and rerun them when you're low on options.

8. Avoid Unnecessary Deaths

Respawning slows down progress, wastes resources, and affects mission rewards. Equip survivability-focused armor and be cautious with friendly fire to stay alive longer and earn more.

9. Learn Map Layouts

Knowing where enemies spawn, where objectives typically are, and where extraction zones appear helps you move faster and complete missions more efficiently—key to earning more medals per run.

10. Spend Medals Wisely

Once you've earned your medals, don't blow them on flashy but ineffective gear. Look for items with proven utility. The Helldivers 2 Super Credits system gives you access to a wide range of premium items—make sure the ones you choose actually elevate your gameplay.

11. Consider Alternate Medal Sources

If you're short on time or just want to speed things up, some players opt to buy Helldivers 2 medals from third-party marketplaces. Sites like U4GM are frequently mentioned in the community for this. As always, be mindful of the risks and ensure the source is trusted.

12. Trade Medals for Gear with Long-Term Value

Instead of buying low-tier weapons or gear early on, save medals for items that scale well into late-game missions. Armor with movement bonuses or weapons with crowd-control potential will serve you much better in the long run.

In Helldivers 2, collecting medals is more than just a grind—it’s about smart planning and execution. Whether you're dominating Terminid nests or braving Automaton sieges, keep these tips in mind to streamline your medal collection and make smarter item choices. With the right strategy, you’ll build a stronger Helldiver faster than ever.