Helldivers 2: How to join or host a Public Game

While Helldivers 2 is best enjoyed with friends, there might be moments when you are just looking to grind the game with some randoms. During these instances, you will either have to host your own Public Game or join one that is already live.

However, the game isn’t entirely too clear on how you can go about doing either. While playing with friends seems rather easy, enjoying a public session is creating problems for some.

This Helldivers 2 guide will go over how you can join or host a Public Game in the shooter.

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How to join a Public Game in Helldivers 2

Scene from the game (Image via Arrowhead Gaming Studios)

To make your way into a public lobby, you need to join a game from the Quick Play option. To be able to do this, you first need to interact with the Galactic War map from the menu and click on Quick Play.

This will make the game automatically search for a random lobby, which you will then be able to join.

However, do keep in mind that if the Quick Play option is not showing up, then your privacy settings under the Matchmaking menu might be set to “Friends Only.”

Hence, to be able to change it, you need to open the Main Menu of the game and head to the Options Tab. Here under the Matchmaking Privacy Option, you need to click it and set it to Public.

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How to host your own Public Game in Helldivers 2

To host your own Public Game, all you need to do is select a mission from your ship aka the Super Destroyer, and then make a lobby. However, don’t get in the Pod, or it will start the mission immediately, and other players will not be able to join.

Once you select the mission, wait for some time, and then players will start queuing up with you. When the lobby is full, enter the Pod and drop onto the map with other random players.

Alternatively, you can also get players to join your lobby by firing an SOS Beacon. But first, you need to drop into a mission and then send the signal so that other players can join.

Playing with others is also a great way to level up fast in Helldivers 2, and also a great way to earn Medals and titles, which lets you get access to better weapons, and most importantly, Stratagems.

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Read our other HD2 articles:

• HD2 review: A co-op delight par excellence
• How Helldivers 2 does live service right
• How to change difficulty in HD2
• How to level up fast in HD2
• How to report players in HD2