Warbonds are Helldivers 2's version of a battle pass, but with a crucial difference: they never expire. Each warbond is a track of weapons, armor sets, grenades, boosters, and cosmetics that you unlock by spending medals, and because they stay available forever, there is no pressure to rush them. That makes choosing which warbond to invest in a question of priorities rather than deadlines, and the right answer depends entirely on what your diver needs and how you like to play.
This guide was checked in October 2026 against the in-game Acquisitions screen, the Helldivers community wiki, and discussion on the r/Helldivers subreddit. Arrowhead adds new warbonds regularly and tunes the items inside them, so the specific contents and the best current pick will have moved by the time you read this; verify what each warbond contains in-game before committing.
How warbonds actually work
There are two kinds of warbond. The free warbond is available to everyone from the start and contains a broad spread of foundational weapons, armor, and boosters, enough to build complete loadouts without spending anything. Premium warbonds are purchased with Super Credits, the game's premium currency, and once bought they stay in your account permanently. Both free and premium warbonds are then progressed the same way, by spending medals to unlock items page by page.
Warbonds are laid out in pages, and you spend medals both to buy individual items and to unlock later pages. This means you do not have to buy everything in a warbond; you can cherry-pick the weapon or armor you actually want and leave the rest. Understanding this structure is important, because it means medals are the real bottleneck, not access to the warbonds themselves. You will almost always have more warbonds available than medals to spend on them.
This page structure also rewards a little planning. Because unlocking a later page costs medals on top of the items themselves, reaching a standout weapon buried deep in a warbond can be a meaningful investment, and it is worth checking how far into a track the item you actually want sits before you commit. Sometimes the most efficient path is to grab a strong item on an early page of one warbond and a useful booster on an early page of another, rather than sinking a large medal total into reaching the back pages of a single track. Treat the whole collection of warbonds as one shared shelf of items gated by medals, and shop across all of them for the best value rather than completing them one at a time.
Medals and Super Credits
Two currencies gate warbond progress. Medals are earned by completing missions and major orders and are spent inside warbonds to unlock items; they are the steady drip of progression currency that determines how fast you fill out any warbond. Super Credits are the premium currency used to buy premium warbonds outright, and notably they can also be found scattered on mission maps, which means a patient player can earn enough through play to buy premium warbonds without spending real money.
That earnable-Super-Credits detail matters for prioritizing. Because you can accumulate Super Credits in-mission, the question is less "can I afford this warbond" and more "is this the best place to spend the medals I earn." Keep an eye out for Super Credits as you explore maps, bank them, and you will steadily open up premium warbonds over time without needing to buy currency.
Start with the free warbond
For new players, the clear first priority is the free warbond. It costs no Super Credits, it contains genuinely strong foundational weapons and armor that remain relevant at every difficulty, and it lets you build complete, competitive loadouts while you learn the game. Spending your early medals here gives you the broadest capability for the least investment, and nothing in it becomes obsolete just because premium options exist.
Only once you have the foundational tools you want from the free warbond does it make sense to branch into premium ones. There is no mechanical disadvantage to this order, and plenty of advantage, because you build a flexible base first. If you are still assembling your core kit, our best loadout guide explains which roles your weapons and stratagems need to fill, which in turn tells you what to prioritize unlocking.
How to choose a premium warbond
Premium warbonds tend to be built around themes, a particular weapon style, a type of damage, a playstyle, or a faction matchup, and the best one for you is the one whose theme fits a gap in your kit or a way you want to play. If you love explosive weapons, a warbond built around them is worth prioritizing; if you struggle against armor, one with penetrating weapons or useful anti-armor tools earns its place; if you want fire damage-over-time for clearing swarms, a themed warbond delivers that.
Resist the urge to buy premium warbonds purely for cosmetics or hype. The most satisfying purchases are the ones that unlock a weapon, grenade, or armor passive you will actually use, because those change how you play. Read what a warbond contains, ask whether any of it fills a real need in your loadout, and prioritize accordingly. A warbond full of items that duplicate what you already have is a lower priority than one that gives you a capability you lack, no matter how popular it is.
It also pays to think about the faction you fight most. If you spend most of your time on the bot front, a warbond that strengthens precise, armor-penetrating weapons or adds explosive-resistant armor is worth more to you than one themed around close-range swarm clearing, and the reverse is true if you mainly dive against bugs. Because warbonds never expire, you can afford to buy the one that matches your current focus now and come back for the others later when your interests shift. Let your actual play patterns, not a reviewer's ranking, decide the order, and every purchase will feel immediately useful rather than aspirational.
Spending medals wisely
Because medals are the true bottleneck, how you spend them matters more than which warbonds you own. Within any warbond, prioritize the specific items that fill gaps in your loadout rather than buying every page in order. You might unlock a weapon you want on page one and a booster you need on page two, then stop and save medals for a different warbond's standout item, rather than completing the first warbond for the sake of it.
Boosters deserve a special mention, because they provide squad-wide benefits like increased stamina, faster reinforcement, or extra starting resources, and a good booster improves every mission your squad runs. Picking up strong boosters across warbonds is often a better use of medals than completing cosmetic pages. Think of your medal spending as targeted shopping for capabilities, not as a completion grind. It is fine to let medals bank up between worthwhile purchases rather than spending them the instant you have enough; a small reserve means you can immediately grab a standout item from a new warbond or a freshly buffed weapon when it arrives, instead of grinding from zero while everyone else is already using it. For the weapon side of those decisions, our best primary guide and best weapons overview help you decide which unlocks are worth your medals.
Why the best warbond keeps changing
Any recommendation of a single best warbond has a short shelf life. Arrowhead adds new warbonds on a regular cadence and adjusts the weapons and items inside existing ones, so a warbond that is considered essential today may be matched or surpassed by a new release, and a weapon that made a warbond must-buy may be rebalanced. This is normal and healthy for the game, but it means you should evaluate warbonds by their current contents rather than by an older reputation.
The durable advice is the method, not the pick. Start free, earn and bank Super Credits as you play, spend medals on the specific items and boosters that fill gaps in your loadout, and judge each premium warbond by whether its current contents give you a capability you actually want. Follow that and you will always be investing in the warbond that is genuinely best for you, whatever the newest release happens to be.
Choosing your warbond, in summary
Warbonds never expire, so there is no rush, only priorities. Lock in the free warbond first for its strong foundational gear, keep an eye out for Super Credits on maps so you can open premium warbonds through play, and spend your scarce medals on the specific weapons, armor passives, and boosters that fill real gaps in how you fight. Verify every warbond's current contents in-game, because Arrowhead changes them often.
Since warbonds exist to feed your loadout, the best warbond for you flows directly from the kit you want to build. Our best loadout guide helps you identify the roles your kit needs filled, and the best weapons overview helps you judge whether a given warbond's arsenal is worth your medals. Decide what you need first, and the right warbond becomes obvious.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do warbonds expire in Helldivers 2?
No. Unlike many battle passes, warbonds never expire. Once a premium warbond is purchased it stays in your account permanently, so there is no pressure to rush through any of them.
Which warbond should I unlock first?
The free warbond. It costs no Super Credits and contains strong foundational weapons, armor, and boosters that stay relevant at every difficulty, letting you build complete loadouts before branching into premium warbonds.
Can I earn premium warbonds for free?
You can earn the Super Credits to buy them. Super Credits are scattered on mission maps, so a patient player who collects them can open premium warbonds through play without spending real money.
What are medals used for?
Medals are earned from missions and major orders and spent inside warbonds to unlock individual items and later pages. They are usually the real bottleneck, so spend them on the items that fill gaps in your loadout.
Do I have to buy everything in a warbond?
No. Warbonds are laid out in pages and you can cherry-pick the specific weapon, armor, or booster you want. Spending medals on standout items across warbonds is usually smarter than completing one for its own sake.
Which premium warbond is the best?
It changes as Arrowhead adds and tunes warbonds. The best one for you is whichever current warbond fills a gap in your kit or supports how you want to play, so judge each by its present contents, not an old reputation.