How to vote in Helldivers 2

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Decide amongst your fellow divers what the Democracy Space Station will do.

Helldivers 2 how to vote - Divers on Cyberstan
(Image credit: Arrowhead)

Working out how to vote in Helldivers 2 is surprisingly complicated if you've never really engaged with the DSS (Democracy Space Station) or the actions it can undertake to help Helldivers in their ongoing galactic war. Voting lets you decide where the DSS will travel to provide tactical bonuses to divers on the ground based on donation thresholds.

Below, I'll explain how you go about voting on the DSS, but also how to help unlock some of these powerful buffs during campaigns against the bugs, bots, or Illuminate.

How to vote in Helldivers 2

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Helldivers 2 how to vote - Merak
You can vote in the DSS section of the Galactic War map(Image credit: Arrowhead)

Though it's not really explained, voting in Helldivers 2 lets you decide (along with the community) where to move the DSS, the Democracy Space Station. To do this:

  1. Head to the Galactic War map on your ship
  2. Press B on keyboard or Toggle View on controller next to the menu button
  3. Use E or right bumper on controller to toggle across to the Location tab

This will let you vote on where to move the DSS. So what exactly is the point of voting? Well, if you cycle back to the Actions tab, you'll see all of the stuff that the DSS can do for a planet based on community donations of either samples or Requisition Slips, including:

  • Eagle Storm: Deploys periodical Eagle Airstrikes during missions. Slows enemy progress in Defense Campaigns.
  • Orbital Blockade: Defense Campaigns cannot originate on this planet. The Hellpod Space Optimization Booster is automatically active for all missions.
  • Heavy Ordnance Distribution: Gives access to the Orbital 380mm HE Barrage Stratagem during missions. Accelerates progress in Liberation Campaigns.

As you can see, the DSS just provides some additional tactical options for the Helldivers 2 community in terms of achieving objectives during Major Orders. If you're not sure what location to vote for, it's worth considering the live poll: the most popular choice of the moment is usually winning because it's a key planet for the current Major Order.

For example, the recent Dispatch discussed a 'Vote to raze Merak'. If you don't want to raze Merak and move onto Aurora Bay, then vote for Merak. This would seem advisable since we're currently using Merak as a beach-head to attack Cyberstan, so we want the DSS to remain there ideally.

Sean Martin
Sean Martin
Senior Guides Writer

Sean's first PC games were Full Throttle and Total Annihilation and his taste has stayed much the same since. When not scouring games for secrets or bashing his head against puzzles, you'll find him revisiting old Total War campaigns, agonizing over his Destiny 2 fit, or still trying to finish the Horus Heresy. Sean has also written for EDGE, Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, EGMNOW, and Inverse.

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