Helldivers 2 Samples: Where to Find Rare and Super Samples

Helldivers 2 has three sample types. Common Samples (green) spawn on every difficulty, Rare Samples (orange) from Challenging, difficulty 4, and Super Samples (pink) from Extreme, difficulty 6. They sit near structures, objectives and points of interest, and you can hold 500, 250 and 100 of each. Samples count toward ship upgrades when you extract; once a Helldiver boards the shuttle, the samples they carry transfer to it and are safe.

Almost everything below comes from the community-run Helldivers Wiki sample page, checked on September 26, 2026, because Arrowhead does not publish a sample table. Where an official source exists (patch notes, the official X account, in-game tips), we say so in the section.

The three Helldivers 2 sample types at a glance

The difficulty thresholds matter more than anything else on this page. If you are grinding on Hard (difficulty 5), no amount of searching will turn up a Super Sample. The wiki’s difficulty page also notes that the Galactic War console shows which sample types an operation carries when you select it, so you can check before you drop.

How many samples each difficulty spawns

These are the per-mission counts the wiki lists for Expedition and other non-Defense missions. They are how many samples the map generates, not a guaranteed haul, and the wiki adds that Terminid missions tend to place the fewest.

Commons stop rising at 40 from Impossible upward, while Rares keep climbing to Helldive and Super Helldive. Super Sample counts per difficulty live in our separate Super Samples guide, linked in the Super Samples section below, because the wiki gives the Super Helldive figure two different ways and it needs its own explanation.

Two mission types break the table. Eradication maps carry a fixed 10 to 15 Common Samples tied to the layout. Evacuate High-Value Assets used to have next to none, but Arrowhead’s patch 7.1.0 notes from September 22, 2026 say the mission now has 10 Common Samples to collect throughout. For how many runs and hours a full set of ship modules takes, see our Common Samples farming guide.

Samples PackCommon, Rare and Super Samples, if the counts above make the ship module bill look like months of runs.No account login · just your friend codeFrom $5.99View offer

Where to find Common Samples

Common Samples look different depending on who built the place you are searching. The wiki lists five forms, and knowing them stops you walking past one:

• Human structures: a sample case, in any colour.
• Automaton structures: a piece of small machinery.
• Terminid structures: an alien bulb.
• Graves (a small point of interest): a corpse worm. The wiki notes some burial grounds hold no samples at all.
• Illuminate structures: an Illuminate cuboctahedron.

Most small points of interest the wiki catalogues hold between zero and three Commons each, so they add up by visiting many places rather than finding one big stash.

There is one way to get more than the map generates. The Sample Extricator booster, bought for 65 Medals on page 3 of the Borderline Justice premium Warbond, gives large enemies a chance to drop Commons when they die. Its in-game description caps this at 10 drops per mission.

Where to find Rare Samples

Rare Samples start on Challenging (difficulty 4) and come in three forms:

• Crystallized E-710, at Terminid structures.
• Legendarium, at human, Automaton, Terminid and Illuminate structures, and in special loot containers.
• Black Saffron, at human, Terminid and Automaton structures.

Each one makes its own sound, which the wiki says makes them easy to pick out when you are close. There are also extra Rares the HUD counter does not track, inside pods, containers and bunkers at small points of interest. Collecting them does not use up the map’s normal Rares, so, in the wiki’s example, you can extract with 23 against a counter that says 20.

Super Samples: the short version

Super Samples appear from Extreme (difficulty 6) upward. They look like a pool of shiny grey liquid with a matching blob hovering above it, and they bubble with Geiger-counter clicks. The wiki lists three places to find them:

• the Super Sample Rock, a silver-veined rock that shows on the minimap and is guaranteed on Extreme and above;
• Helldiver statues in urban biomes;
• burning convoys on colony planets.

How many spawn per difficulty, the Terminid decoy rock and a solo stealth routine are all in our Super Samples guide, so we will not repeat them here.

How to spot samples on the minimap

Small points of interest change their minimap icon once every sample in them is collected. Ammo and support weapons generally do not count towards it. That makes the minimap a checklist: an unchanged icon means something is still there.

Two exceptions, both from the wiki. A Rescue Pod with no support weapon inside keeps its original icon even after you loot it. And in colonial cities, a building is only marked as a point of interest if it holds at least a sample, a support weapon or a special loot container. Arrowhead’s 7.1.0 notes also fixed a bug where some points of interest did not show as cleared after every sample was collected, so if you saw that before September 22, 2026, it was not you.

Samples count once they reach the extraction shuttle

Picking a sample up is only half the job. Here the rules come from official sources as well as the wiki.

• Everyone gets the full amount. The official Helldivers 2 account posted on May 2, 2024 that samples are shared equally, so a squad that extracts 10 samples gives each player 10.
• A dead Helldiver drops what they carried. The game’s own loading-screen tips tell you to pick up a fallen squadmate’s samples. Reinforcing near the body makes that easier.
• Anyone left behind loses theirs for the whole squad. The wiki’s extraction page says no player receives the samples held by a Helldiver who fails to extract.
• Once aboard, they are safe. Patch notes from August 6, 2024 say samples move to the shuttle when you board, so dying inside it does not drop them.

In practice, give the samples to whoever is most likely to reach the shuttle, and do not leave a squadmate’s dropped container on the ground late in a mission.

Helldivers 2 sample caps and what samples are for

Samples pay for ship modules, the permanent Super Destroyer upgrades. All 30 of them cost 3,830 Common, 2,920 Rare and 305 Super Samples, plus Requisition Slips from tier 4. The full table is in our ship module upgrade costs guide, and the slips are covered in how to farm Requisition Slips.

Because the caps are 500, 250 and 100, no type can be banked for the whole tree in one go. Plan to buy upgrades as you go rather than saving everything for the end.

To give a sense of scale, here is our own arithmetic, using the best case of every sample on the map extracted every time. At 40 Commons per mission (Impossible and above), 3,830 Commons takes at least 96 missions. At 40 Rares per mission (the top of Helldive’s range), 2,920 Rares takes at least 73. Real runs rarely clear the map, so expect more.

Spare Commons and Rares have one other use. You can donate them to the Democracy Space Station to fund Tactical Actions such as Eagle Storm (Commons) and Heavy Ordnance Distribution (Rares). The wiki gives a donation cap of 75 Commons and 50 Rares per player per 24-hour cycle.

Helldivers 2 sample and ship module services

If the totals above are more runs than you want to do, these cover the samples, the upgrades, or both.

Samples PackCommon, Rare and Super Samples for your ship modules.No account login · just your friend codeFrom $5.99View offer Unlock All Ship ModulesAll 30 ship module upgrades, tiers 1 to 5, done on your account.From $52.49View offer Resource BundlesResource bundles that include samples alongside Medals and Requisition Slips.No account login · just your friend codeFrom $7.79View offer

Frequently asked questions

What difficulty do Rare Samples start on in Helldivers 2?

Challenging, difficulty 4. Commons appear on every difficulty and Super Samples start on Extreme, difficulty 6.

What is the sample cap in Helldivers 2?

500 Common, 250 Rare and 100 Super Samples.

Do I lose samples if I die?

You drop them where you fall, and a squadmate can pick them up. They are only lost if nobody carries them onto the extraction shuttle.

Are samples split between the squad?

No. Arrowhead’s official account says each player receives everything the squad extracts.

Why did my mission show fewer samples than the table?

The table is for Expedition and other non-Defense missions. Eradication maps carry only 10 to 15 Commons, and Terminid missions tend to place fewer samples overall.

Can I get more samples than the map shows?

Yes, in two ways: the Sample Extricator booster adds up to 10 Common drops per mission from large enemies, and pods, containers and bunkers can hold Rares the HUD counter does not track.

Sources and update history

• Helldivers Wiki, Sample — sample types and forms, icons, caps, per-difficulty counts, mission-type exceptions, untracked Rares, DSS use; checked September 26, 2026
• Helldivers Wiki, Difficulty — difficulty names and thresholds, operation sample types on the Galactic War console; checked September 26, 2026
• Helldivers Wiki, Minor Place of Interest — minimap icons, Rescue Pod and city exceptions, per-location sample ranges; checked September 26, 2026
• Helldivers Wiki, Sample Extricator — booster effect, 10-drop cap, Warbond page and Medal cost; checked September 26, 2026
• Helldivers Wiki, Extraction — samples lost with Helldivers who fail to extract; checked September 26, 2026
• Helldivers Wiki, Training Manual Tips — in-game tip to pick up fallen squadmates’ samples; checked September 26, 2026
• Helldivers Wiki, Democracy Space Station — donation caps per 24-hour cycle; checked September 26, 2026
• Arrowhead Game Studios, Devoid of Liberty: 7.1.0, Steam, September 22, 2026 — 10 Common Samples added to Evacuate High-Value Assets; point-of-interest cleared-icon fix
• Arrowhead Game Studios, Escalation of Freedom patch notes, Steam, August 6, 2024 — samples transfer to the shuttle on boarding
• HELLDIVERS 2 on X, samples shared equally, May 2, 2024
• Helldivers Wiki, Ship Modules — total sample cost of all 30 upgrades; checked September 26, 2026

Update history: Published September 26, 2026. Facts last checked September 26, 2026 against the sources above.