Helldivers 2 Scavenging: Samples, Slips and the Bunkers

The four things worth carrying

Samples. The currency that unlocks ship modules, and the only pickup whose value persists across missions. Common samples are everywhere; rare and super samples are tied to higher difficulty, which is the argument for pushing difficulty rather than farming low ones — see the super samples page. Requisition slips. Straight currency for stratagem unlocks. Plentiful, and the cap means banking more than you can spend is pointless — the requisition page covers the ceiling. Medals. Earned mostly from mission completion and major orders rather than from the ground, with a low cap. Not a reason to detour. Support weapon crates and ammunition. Not currency, but the reason a long mission stays winnable. A crate you walk past is a fight you lose later.

The two-person bunker

Some containers are sealed bunkers with two consoles. They cannot be opened by one player, which makes them the most valuable thing on the map for a squad and completely worthless solo. The habit: when a bunker appears on the map, treat it as a squad objective. Two players, one on each console, and the loot inside is usually worth more than the detour costs. In a random group, ping it and wait — somebody will come, because everybody wants it.

The route rule

Loot on the way out. Two reasons. First, carrying samples through the main objective risks them for no benefit; they only pay if you extract. Second, the map is quietest early, and a detour taken before the objective is a detour taken while you still have stratagems. The exception is a reveal objective: clearing a radar or lidar installation early marks the points of interest, which turns the exit route into a list instead of a search. That is the highest-value side objective in the game for a loot run — see the side objectives page.

What samples buy

Ship modules, which are permanent upgrades to stratagems and support systems. That makes samples the only loot with a compounding return, and it makes the ship modules page the right place to look before deciding what to farm. A squad that extracts with samples every mission is stronger next week than a squad that wins more fights and leaves them on the ground. It is a boring conclusion and it is the correct one.