Arrowhead is aware Helldivers 2 players are using an 'undemocratic' exploit to easily farm Super Credits, but doesn't seem too worried about it

helldivers 2 super credits — (Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Give players free premium currency, and they will learn how to farm it. Helldivers 2 is set up like lots of other service games, with cosmetics and warbonds purchasable with premium Super Credits, but it's unique in how easy it is to get its premium bucks for free. You'll find Super Credits just lying around in underground bunkers or supply pods out in the field in 10 credit chunks.

If you play a lot, those chunks naturally add up over time, but some players are utilizing an exploit with how Helldivers 2 generates a mission to farm the same Super Credit pickups over and over again. The process is slow, but reliable, and Arrowhead is catching on (as spotted by GamesRadar).

"We're aware of this undemocratic behaviour," Arrowhead community manager Twinbeard responded to Discord user CyberViper, who raised the alarm on Super Credit farming in the #troubleshooting channel. "Thanks for doing your sworn duty and reporting it, though. Hooah!"

I was curious how lucrative these farming methods going around actually are, so I tested the one in question. It's not so much a bug or glitch, but an exploitation of Helldivers 2's randomly generated points of interest. All you have to do is load up any mission, find a supply drop (signified by blinking yellow lights from a distance) containing 10 free Super Credits, then force quit the game and return to that exact spot again. Your account is immediately awarded Super Credits every time you pick them up, but the pickup will repopulate each time you reload the mission.

It works, but it's slow and monotonous. I was able to "farm" 30 credits after three restarts and was already getting tired of going through the whole launch sequence, stratagem selection, and loading screen for every drop. If you committed to doing it for hours, you could make a few bucks worth of Super Credits toward the next warbond… or you could just play a regular mission, scrounge through every supply drop and bunker on the map, and earn 20-30 credits just for playing normally.

helldivers 2 — The fan plea that sparked the statement from Helldivers 2 community manager Twinbeard. (Image credit: Discord user CyberViper)

I understand why Arrowhead doesn't seem too concerned with this exploit. It's already giving away Super Credits in every mission, and when you think about it, simply playing Helldivers 2 is another method of "farming" Super Credits. Arrowhead stopped short of saying it's actively working on countering credit farming, though if the practice is on its radar, I wager it'll eventually do something about it.

For now, the 100-person studio has bigger priorities, like fixing a full plate of disruptive bugs in its unexpected hit shooter.

Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.