Helldivers 2 Medal Farm Guide — Safe vs. Fast Routes

Turn 30 minutes into a Warbond shopping spree: the best Eradicate and Blitz loops, how to stack Daily/Major Orders, and exactly when to extract (or not).

Medals are the currency that unlocks Warbond gear in Helldivers 2. If you want the latest boomsticks and armor sooner rather than later, you need a repeatable medal route that fits your skill level and schedule. This guide gives you two proven approaches:

• Fast but risky: high‑difficulty Blitz “suicide” loops that maximize medals per minute.
• Safe and steady: Eradicate loops that emphasize survivability and consistent extraction to build operation streak bonuses.

Along the way, we’ll show you how to stack Daily and Major Orders for bonus medals, and how extraction timing changes based on your route.

Quick note on caps: The medal cap is 250; any medals earned above that are lost. If you’re close to 250, spend before cashing in Orders or doing big farm sessions.

TL;DR medal routes

• Fastest medals/hour (solo or squad): Run Blitz missions at the highest difficulty you can finish the primary objective on (ideally Super Helldive). Blow up the targets immediately, ignore extraction, and let the mission end by running out of lives—your medals still count. On Super Helldive, Blitz pays 9 medals for Mission 1 in an operation; with clean loops you can push ~100+ medals/hour.
• Safest, most reliable medals: Queue Automaton Eradicate missions (the small “fort defense” maps are very forgiving), set up sentries and bombardments, finish and extract, then complete all 3 missions in an operation to trigger the operation’s escalating medal payouts (e.g., on Helldive: 8/11/14 medals across Missions 1–3; on Super Helldive: 9/12/15).
• Order stacking: Do your Personal (Daily) Order first (commonly ~15 medals) and aim your farming route so it also contributes to the week’s Major Order (~50–55 medals when it pays out). Major Order rewards are granted when the next Major Order begins and may arrive in staggered waves, so don’t panic if there’s a delay—just make sure you’re under the 250 cap so nothing is lost.

Why Blitz loops are the medal meta (and exactly how to run them)

What makes Blitz special? Blitz missions task you with destroying enemy spawn sources (Warpships, Nests, Fabricators, etc.). The trick is to front‑load damage: land, delete the objectives with heavy Ordnance, and end the mission immediately (even via intentional wipes) rather than spending time extracting. GamesRadar’s tested method explicitly recommends completing the objective and then using up your lives to cash the medal reward faster. On Super Helldive, a clean Blitz mission pays 9 medals for the first mission in an operation, and running them back to back can yield around 108 medals/hour if you average ~5 minutes per clear.

Loadout (baseline for all factions):

• Primary: Exploding Crossbow
• Sidearm: Ultimatum
• Grenades: High Explosive
• Stratagems: 500 KG Bomb, Orbital Laser, Grenade Launcher, Orbital 380 mm HE
  This package lets you pop objectives at drop, chain big bursts, and avoid getting bogged down by patrols.

Faction picks: GamesRadar notes Illuminate Blitz can be the easiest variant to execute quickly (fewer armored nuisance enemies compared with bots or bugs), but the method works across all factions.

Step‑by‑step Blitz loop

1. Set difficulty to the highest you can reliably delete objectives on (Super Helldive if possible; Helldive/Impossible also work).
2. Pick a Blitz mission as Mission 1 of an operation whenever possible (this is where medal/time is best).
3. Drop directly onto a large cluster of targets; immediately call in your 500 KG/Orbital Laser/380 mm to erase them.
4. Ignore fights and loot. Tunnel on finishing the objective.
5. Objective complete? Dump lives (or sprint to extraction if you’re stacking mission‑chain medals—more on that below). You still get the medal payout without extracting.
6. Repeat.

When to extract in Blitz
If you plan to finish the whole operation (to claim the larger medal amounts on Missions 2 and 3), then extract. Otherwise, skip extraction to maximize medals/hour. On Super Helldive, a full three‑mission chain pays 9/12/15 medals (total 36) if you complete them sequentially; if you’re only farming Mission 1 loops, it’s 9 each time.

Trophy sidebar: Chasing Gone in 360 Seconds? That trophy requires completing a full Blitz on Extreme (or higher) and extracting under 6 minutes. The timer effectively includes landing and liftoff; many players succeed by calling extraction early to account for shuttle time. If you’re trophy hunting, extract; if you’re medal farming, skipping extraction is faster.

The safe route: Automaton Eradicate loops with clean extractions

If your squad prefers stability and low variance (or you’re gearing up), Automaton Eradicate missions are ideal. The common Automaton version takes place in a defensible fort, enemies arrive in dropships, and sentries/airstrikes can choke points while you farm the required kills. PC Gamer clocked Extreme‑difficulty clears in 3–5 minutes with sentry/airstrike loadouts, paying 5 medals per clear—with the option to chain multiple Eradicates within one operation for even more.

Why this route is “safe”

• You’re fighting on home turf (the fort) with predictable drop lanes.
• Most of your power is AI‑driven (sentries, mortars), which reduces execution errors.
• It scales down: if Extreme is spicy, run Hard/Challenging—you’ll still complete operations quickly and build confidence.

Loadout (accessible, forgiving):

• Sentries: Mortar Sentry (MVP), Gatling Sentry
• Eagle: Cluster Bomb (or other anti‑swarm strike)
• Weapon: Grenade Launcher for crowd deletes
  This simple kit was recommended specifically for Eradicate fort farming.

Operation chaining: where the medals really add up
While a single mission payout is modest, the second and third missions in an operation award more medals. Example payouts per mission if you complete Missions 1→2→3 in sequence:

• Helldive: 8 → 11 → 14 (total 33)
• Super Helldive: 9 → 12 → 15 (total 36)
  Lower tiers scale similarly (e.g., Impossible: 7/10/12). That’s why extraction matters here—you want each win to count so you reach Missions 2 and 3.

A typical “safe” 30‑minute block

• Mission 1 (Eradicate): Set sentries, delete waves, extract.
• Mission 2 (Blitz) if available: delete targets, extract to keep the chain going.
• Mission 3 (any short mission): finish and extract.
  On Helldive, that’s ~33 medals in a single contiguous run; on Super Helldive, ~36. If your squad averages ~8–10 minutes per mission with short objectives, you’re pulling ~60–70 medals/hour with far fewer wipes than a pure Blitz speed‑farm. (That per‑hour math is the practical implication of the difficulty payout tables.)

Daily & Major Order stacking (free multipliers on your time)

Personal/Daily Orders are quick tasks that often award ~15 medals; always check and knock these out first—you can usually choose a Blitz/Eradicate that also satisfies the daily objective. Major Orders are community‑wide goals that tend to award ~50–55 medals when they complete. Rewards arrive when the next Major Order starts, and distribution is sometimes staggered over days; if you didn’t get paid yet, you likely will, unless you were sitting at the 250 cap.

Practical stacking examples

• MO: “Complete X Blitz missions.” Run the fast Blitz loop—you’ll farm medals and contribute to the MO simultaneously.
• MO: “Defend/eradicate Automatons” or “Liberate Sector Y.” Choose operations on those planets and run the safe Eradicate route while progressing the MO.
• Daily: “Call down X Stratagems” / “Kill X with explosives.” Blitz loadouts with 380 mm/500 KG and HE grenades hand these in without slowing you down.

Tip: If you care about stash efficiency, try to end sessions below ~200 medals so delayed Major Order payouts don’t silently push you into the 250 cap. GamesRadar documents lost medals above cap and recommends spending regularly.

Extraction timing: when leaving early helps (and when it hurts)

Blitz (fast route):

• If your goal is raw medals/hour, skip extraction after destroying objectives (intentionally wipe) to shorten each loop; the medals still award for completing the primary objective.
• If you want to chain operation payouts (e.g., 9→12→15), extract to bank the win and queue the next mission in the operation.
• Trophy hunting: If going for Gone in 360 Seconds, you must extract under 6 minutes (Extreme difficulty or higher). Call extraction as soon as the last target dies—the timer effectively includes shuttle landing and liftoff.

Eradicate (safe route):

• Always extract—that’s how you advance the operation chain and hit the larger medal amounts on Missions 2 and 3. Don’t linger to farm extra kills unless the timer is generous; your medals/minute are better by sprinting to the next mission in the operation.
• Call extraction at ~90% of required kills so the shuttle arrives just as you hit the objective completion threshold; it keeps momentum and limits wipe risk (especially on Extreme+).

Loadouts & roles that save minutes

Blitz “demolition” kit (fast route)

• Exploding Crossbow + Ultimatum + HE nades
• Strats: 500 KG Bomb, Orbital Laser, 380 mm HE, Grenade Launcher
• Roles:
  • Demo: Rush target clusters; chain 500 KG → 380 mm → Laser.
  • Runner: Beeline to extraction and pre‑call shuttle if you’re chaining operations (or prep a wipe location if you’re speed‑looping).
  • Spotter: Ping targets, drop smoke or stuns to keep Demo moving.
    Loadout rationale and the “objective then wipe” loop are drawn from tested Blitz methods.

Eradicate “fort farmer” kit (safe route)

• Weapons: Grenade Launcher main; flexible secondary.
• Strats: Mortar Sentry (top pick), Gatling Sentry, Eagle Cluster Bomb; optionally EMS Mortar for slow fields.
• Roles:
  • Engineer: Place sentries covering fort approaches; stagger cooldowns.
  • Artillery: Time Eagle strikes between dropships.
  • Sweeper: Clear stragglers and guard objectives while others reload.
    This mix mirrors the setup PC Gamer used to post sub‑5‑minute Extreme clears on Eradicate fort maps.

Choosing where to farm (operations, factions, and difficulty)

• Target operations with short missions. From Hard upward, operations are typically 3 missions, and one or two can be Blitz—these are perfect chains (e.g., Blitz → Eradicate → Short objective). The per‑mission medal payouts scale by difficulty; the highest tiers (Helldive/Super Helldive) pay 8/11/14 and 9/12/15 respectively across Missions 1–3.
• Faction comfort matters. If you’re faster at deleting nests/ships for a given faction, bias towards that Blitz. GamesRadar specifically calls Illuminate Blitz an easy finisher; PC Gamer highlights Automaton Eradicate as a forgiving farm.
• Don’t neglect mid‑tier practice. If Super Helldive Blitz is too volatile, you may earn more medals/hour by running Helldive or Impossible and finishing operations consistently (33–36 medals per chain) rather than wiping repeatedly on a riskier 9‑medal Mission 1 loop. The tables make the trade‑off clear.

Looting vs. sprinting (what about medal crates and SC?)

Yes, medals can drop as loot inside missions, and you’ll pick up Super Credits and Samples along the way—but pure medal rate favors sprinting objectives in Blitz/Eradicate rather than detouring. If you want to balance currencies (e.g., early‑game Super Credits), consider a lower difficulty “loot sweep,” but for Warbond progress specifically, stick to the loops above.

Troubleshooting: “Why didn’t I get my medals?”

• Major Order delay: Payouts can be staggered across days; watch for the reward when the next MO begins.
• At medal cap: If you’re at 250, you won’t receive more—even from Orders. Spend down and keep yourself under the cap.
• “Gone in 360 Seconds” didn’t pop: It requires Extreme Blitz with extraction under 6 minutes, and the effective timer includes shuttle animations—call extraction early.

Two 30‑minute medal plans you can copy

Plan A — Speed Blitz Loops (~90–110 medals/hour potential)

1. Super Helldive Blitz (Mission 1): Nuke objectives, skip extraction → 9 medals.
2. Re‑queue another Blitz Mission 1 (new operation) and repeat.
3. When your Daily Order matches (e.g., explosives kills, Blitz clear), you’ll also grab ~15 medals in the process. Typical high‑end results reported are ~108 medals/hour if ~5‑minute loops are consistent.

Plan B — Safe Fort Eradicate Chain (~60–75 medals/hour, very stable)

1. Helldive Eradicate (Automatons): Fort setup with Mortar/Gatling Sentries and Eagle strikes; extract → 8 medals.
2. Blitz if present as Mission 2; extract → 11 medals.
3. Short objective Mission 3; extract → 14 medals.
   You’ve banked 33 medals with low wipe risk; repeat on a second operation if time remains.

Final reminders so you don’t lose progress

• Check Daily/Major Orders first and build your route around them for free bonuses (expect ~15 and ~50–55 medals respectively).
• Spend before you farm if you’re near 250; otherwise Major Order payouts and Daily rewards can evaporate.
• Choose the route that fits your consistency. If you miss wipes in Super Helldive Blitz, drop to Helldive or swap to Eradicate chains; your medals per hour will likely go up, not down.

Spread Managed Democracy—and fund it, efficiently.