I spent about twenty hours playing Helldivers 2 on launch, and then my wife bought the game; we easily put in another sixty. There was one feature I continuously begged for in the beginning, much to my wife’s annoyance since she couldn’t do anything about it. I wanted weapon customization. Not just skins, but attachments. Thankfully, my wish came true.
Exploring weapon customization in Helldivers 2
If this is your first time playing Helldivers 2 in quite a while, as it was mine, you’ll receive a notification upon loading into the game and boarding your vessel. It will alert you to the new weapon customization mechanic. To access the new feature, visit the Armory on the left-hand side of the main hallway leading to the command center.
In the Armory, select the primary weapon you wish to customize, then hit “Customize” or click in the left analog stick on your controller to access the attachments menu.
Currently, it’s possible to customize most of the game’s primary weapons with a few exceptions. For instance, I couldn’t customize any of the firearms from the Killzone crossover bundle, and you can’t customize sidearms. Hopefully, the developer will change that in the near future so that I could dump an extended magazine on my beloved P-19 Redeemer.
In any case, you have access to:
- Optics
- Underbarrel Attachments
- Muzzle Attachments
- Magazine Attachments
- Weapon Skins
With the exception of skins, your chosen attachments alter the following stats:
- Horizontal Recoil
- Vertical Recoil
- Sway
- Ergonomics
- Capacity
- Magazines
- Reload Time
For the most part, you want bigger numbers for all, besides Reload Time and Sway, which should be low.
How to unlock weapon attachments and skins
Weapons in Helldivers 2 now have levels. The more you use a weapon, scoring kills with it, the more XP you earn for said piece of equipment. As you reach a new level, or a milestone, you’ll unlock additional attachments.
Of course, if only it were that simple. But this is Helldivers 2, and nothing is meant to be easy for the grunt on the ground!
Once you earn enough XP to unlock weapon attachments and skins, you must then spend Requisition to further unlock the customization option for use. Thankfully, earning Requisition isn’t challenging these days, as most people still playing the game know how to farm and which missions to run!
Helldivers 2 is available now, complete with its brand-new content update, on PS5 and Windows PCs.