How to Play Rogue Diver
Climb from D1 to D10, build a run-only arsenal, earn Stars from missions and Samples, and shape the run with a Perk after every operation.
Core Rules
Rogue Diver is a Helldivers 2 roguelike challenge. Gear is earned, rented, lost, destroyed, and replaced during a run. The run progresses from Difficulty 1 through Difficulty 10.
Starting Rules
The starting Stratagem pool is Bullet Storm, EAT-17 Expendable Anti-Tank, Commando, EAT-700 Expendable Napalm, and EAT-411 Leveller.
The assigned item becomes normal run inventory. Other eligible gear from that category remains available through normal progression.
The selected starting category becomes protected Free Choice. Gear covered by that Free Choice is removed from normal Draft and Store progression for the run.
Empty Primary, Secondary, and Throwable slots use AR-23 Liberator, P-2 Peacemaker, and G-6 Frag. Fallback gear is normal destructible inventory.
Permanent free gear is always unlocked and protected. It does not appear as a normal Draft, Buy, Rent, or sale item.
Use the account-wide Items setting to enable or disable equipment you own or prefer. The same setting is shared with SEAF-LT, ILM, and Hardcore.
D1 always starts with 0 Stars. D2–D10 starts receive the selected Starting Stars amount and the Perk choices from skipped operations. Skipped Drafts, Samples, and mission Stars are not awarded.
Starting Stars are set by the current Rogue Diver balance table for each starting Difficulty. D1 and None always begin with 0 Stars.
After D10 is cleared, Endless continues at D10 with normal missions, Drafts, Store cycles, and Perks.
Stars & Samples
- Unused Sample remainders stay in the Sample Bank.
- Mission Sample entries are limited by the current Difficulty.
- Perks and Penalties can change Stars, Samples, and Sample conversion during the run.
Starting Stars by Difficulty
Maximum Samples per Mission
Arsenal Drafts
- Each non-final mission in an operation awards a Draft using D1 tier odds.
- The final mission of an operation awards a Draft using that operation's actual Difficulty tier odds.
- Starting above D1 does not award skipped Drafts.
- Draft choices rotate through eligible Primary, Secondary, Throwable, and Stratagem types before repeating types.
- The same item cannot appear twice in one Draft.
- Displayed gear enters the appearance cooldown even when it is not chosen. Rerolled cards also enter cooldown.
- Owned, disabled, permanently destroyed, protected, Free Choice, and otherwise ineligible gear is removed from the Draft pool.
- Stim Pistol is Store-only and never appears in a random Draft.
Difficulty Draft Odds
Rogue Store
- Base Buy prices are F 20★ · E 25★ · D 30★ · C 40★ · B 50★ · A 60★ · S 70★.
- Base Rent prices are F 1★ · E 2★ · D 3★ · C 4★ · B 5★ · A 6★ · S 7★.
- A rental lasts for the current mission.
- Renting an item increases that item's future Rent and Buy prices by +2 Stars for the run.
- After each completed operation, the Store randomly selects between 1 and the configured maximum number of eligible sale items. Buy and Rent sale discounts can be different.
- Permanent repeatable price-reduction Perks stop at x3. Temporary vouchers remain separate.
- Permanently destroyed gear cannot be Drafted, bought, or rented until Recommissioned.
Perks
- One Perk selection is awarded after every completed operation.
- A D2–D10 start receives the Perk choices from skipped operations before beginning the selected Difficulty.
- Repeatable Perks use the configured Perk appearance cooldown.
- Permanent repeatable price reductions stop at x3.
- Sample rewards are rolled when the Perk cards are created. The exact Sample amounts are shown before selection.
- Sample Perks use their configured fixed base amounts and percentage ranges. The exact rolled Samples are shown before selection.
Penalties
Some Perks include 1, 2, or 3 Penalties. The exact Penalty names and effects are shown on the Perk card before the Perk is selected.
- Penalties are selected from one shared pool.
- A targeted Penalty can only roll when its target can actually be affected.
- Protected gear, Free Choice gear, empty slots, already locked slots, and unavailable targets are excluded.
- Multiple Penalties on the same Perk do not use the exact same Penalty and avoid conflicting versions of the same effect.
- Limited Lives Penalties only appear in Limited Lives runs.
- Gear Attrition Penalties only appear when Gear Attrition is active.
- Starting-Stratagem Penalties only appear on Stratagem Start runs.
Possible Penalties
Death Modes
Deaths are recorded. The run does not end from a Life count.
Deaths consume Lives. Reaching zero can end the run. Perks and Penalties can add, protect, or remove Lives.
Each unprotected death destroys 1 currently equipped eligible combat item and locks that slot for the rest of the mission.
Saving a Run
The active Rogue Diver run is saved locally in the browser. Shared Item and Warbond preferences use their own cross-project settings.
Export a portable run backup or import one later. Import asks before replacing the current local run.
Signed-in users can Save to Account, Restore from Account, or Delete the Account save. Restore asks before replacing local data.
Gear Tiers & Automatic Availability
The gear reference uses Rogue Diver tier settings plus automatic Draft/Store rules. Account-wide Item and Warbond preferences are applied separately, and a run can further change availability through ownership, Free Choice, destruction, permanent destruction, rentals, and temporary Penalties.