What Are Medals Used For?

Medals are used to unlock items in Warbonds. That includes:

Primary and secondary weapons

Grenades

Armor sets

Boosters

Capes and cosmetic items

Warbonds are progression-based. You spend Medals to unlock items in order, page by page. You can’t just jump straight to the last weapon. So the more Medals you earn, the faster you move through each Warbond.

Unlike Requisition Slips, Medals are not used for Stratagem purchases. They’re strictly for Warbond progression.

How Do You Actually Earn Medals?

There are four main ways players earn Medals:

Completing mission

Finishing operations

Completing personal and major orders

Findin Medals during missions

Let’s go through each one in practical terms.

Do You Get Medals From Every Mission?

Yes, but not all missions give the same amount.

You earn Medals at the end of missions, and the amount depends mostly on:

Difficulty level

Whether you complete the full operation

Active orders

Higher difficulties give more Medals, but the difference isn’t extreme per mission. The real value comes from completing full operations (all linked missions on a planet).

If you quit after one mission instead of finishing the operation, you leave Medals on the table.

In practice, the most efficient approach is:

Pick a difficulty you can complete consistently.

Finish full operations instead of hopping planets constantly.

A failed high-difficulty mission gives you nothing. Three successful mid-tier missions give you steady progress.

What Is the Best Difficulty for Farming Medals?

This depends on your squad.

For most players:

Difficulty 5–7 is the sweet spot.

It gives decent Medal rewards.

Missions are fast and manageable.

You’re less likely to wipe late into a 30-minute run.

Difficulty 8–9 gives more rewards overall, but missions take longer and wipes are more common unless you’re playing with a coordinated team.

If you’re solo queuing with randoms, consistency matters more than difficulty. Fast clears beat risky runs.

Are Personal and Major Orders Worth Focusing On?

Yes. Always.

Personal Orders refresh regularly and are usually simple:

Kill a certain number of enemies

Use a specific weapon type

Complete missions on a faction

They don’t require special effort most of the time. Just check them before deploying and adjust your loadout slightly if needed.

Major Orders give large Medal payouts when the community completes them. Even if you only contribute a little, you still get the reward if the order succeeds.

If you're ignoring orders, you’re slowing your Warbond progress for no reason.

Can You Find Medals During Missions?

Yes, and many players underestimate this.

Medals can be found inside:

Bunkers

Containers

Escape pods

Hidden side objectives

These are usually marked by points of interest on the map. If you only rush the main objective and extract, you’re missing free Medals.

In practice:

Split into two pairs.

Clear nearby points of interest while moving between objectives.

Don’t wander across the whole map late in the mission just to loot.

You don’t need to 100% every map, but grabbing nearby side objectives adds up over time.

Is It Better to Speedrun or Fully Clear Maps?

It depends on the map layout and mission type.

For short missions (like Blitz or Eradicate):

Clear the objective quickly.

Grab nearby loot.

Extract.

For larger maps:

Efficient pathing matters more than full clearing.

Hit objectives in a logical route.

Pick up loot along the way.

Running across the map just for one container isn’t efficient. But ignoring everything except the main objective slows your Medal gain long term.

The best players don’t “rush.” They move efficiently.

Does Squad Size Affect Medal Farming?

Yes.

A full squad:

Clears objectives faster

Survives better

Finds more loot

Finishes operations more consistently

Solo runs are slower and riskier on higher difficulties.

If you want efficient Medal farming:

Play in a full squad.

Stick with teammates who complete operations instead of leaving after one mission.

Consistency with a stable group makes a huge difference.

How Important Is Loadout Choice?

More than people think.

If you’re trying to farm Medals efficiently:

Bring stratagems that clear objectives fast.

Use anti-armor tools appropriate for the faction.

Bring mobility and survivability.

For example:

Against Automatons, bring reliable anti-tank options.

Against Terminids, crowd control matters more.

If your squad wipes because nobody brought armor penetration, you wasted 20 minutes.

Efficiency isn’t about flashy builds. It’s about finishing missions cleanly.

Should You Farm Medals or Just Play Normally?

If you’re constantly asking how to farm faster, you might be overthinking it.

Helldivers 2 rewards steady play more than extreme grinding.

If you:

Complete operations

Do your personal orders

Participate in Major Orders

Grab nearby loot

You’ll earn Medals at a steady rate.

Some players try to optimize everything to the point where they stop enjoying missions. That usually leads to burnout.

If your goal is to unlock Warbond items quickly, just focus on consistent mission completion at a difficulty you can clear reliably

What About Buying Progress?

You’ll see discussions online about ways to speed up progression, including searching for ways to buy Helldivers 2 items for cheap. But Medals themselves are earned through gameplay. Warbond progression is designed around playing missions and completing orders.

If your focus is Medal efficiency, the most reliable method is simply structured, consistent play with a good squad.

How Long Does It Take to Complete a Warbond?

It depends on:

How often you play

Whether you finish operations

How many orders you complete

How much time you spend looting

Casual players who play a few nights a week will still progress steadily. Dedicated players finishing full operations on mid-to-high difficulties will move much faster.

Warbonds are not meant to be finished in a day. They’re long-term progression systems.

What Are Common Mistakes That Slow Medal Gain?

Here are the most common ones I see:

Constantly switching planets and abandoning operations

Playing difficulties that are too high and failing late

Ignoring Personal Orders

Extracting immediately without grabbing nearby loot

Playing solo on high difficulties

All of these reduce efficiency without players realizing it.

What’s the Most Efficient Medal Strategy Overall?

If I had to boil it down:

Play on Difficulty 6 or 7 with a full squad.

Always complete full operations.

Check Personal Orders before deploying.

Participate in Major Orders.

Loot naturally along your route.

Avoid unnecessary wipes.

That’s it.

No secret trick. No exploit. Just consistent, clean mission completion.

Medals in Helldivers 2 are designed to reward teamwork and steady participation. If you treat every mission like part of a larger operation instead of a one-off run, your progression will feel smooth instead of slow.