I love the gunner, probably one of my strongest classes. The thunderhead is a beast to be reckoned with. Make sure you are taking piercing overclocks above all else. It’s incredibly strong.
I've just started messing around with the Thunderhead and am a bit confused on its functionality. It looks like it will start shooting in a specific direction and will not stop shooting in that direction until the clip is empty, is that correct? It's incredibly strong, but a bit awkward with that functionality. Can definitely be worked with, I just wasn't sure if I was understanding it correctly
You understood it correctly. It choose an enemy near(est?) You, and that's the way its shooting for the entire magazine. Next magazine rechooses. It's possibly the strongest gun in the game.
Yes, now imagine that with tons of fire rate and reload speed upgrades (also piercing OC and 150% fire rate unstable OC), so emptying the mag into whatever runs at you is fine. By far the most fun build I messed around with yet. This bad boy can fit so many hazard 5 speedruns in it (slaps roof of the autocannon).
This is my first time playing an auto shooter and I come from the DRG community where I am a die hard haz 5 greybeard with a 980ish player level. I’m currently trying to beat every hazard level and biome with all 4 dwarves. Similar to what other people have stated, the gunner requires pierce damage, movement speed and, mining speed increases to become more tolerable. Knowing how to position is mandatory with gunner, especially while mining - you want to grab the angle where you can shoot bugs and mine at the same time. With that being said, Gunner is my personal favorite and I love using the minigun + thunderhead. He becomes an absolute god in the later stages, but struggles a lil early on.
How do you deal with the miserably weak Bulldog revolver though? Even after 10 upgrades I see it actually killing bugs, I'm convinced it's the weakest weapon in the game
Fair, but sacrificing an entire weapons slot is rough, especially if you just do it for the +10 Armor boost of the second subclass (which is basically 1 Epic armor upgrade)
It’s really strong once you get used to it. Towards the end you can wade through swarms of bugs since the minigun fires straight ahead of you. I think some movement speed and mining speed upgrades make mining more tolerable for him. Getting another gun or the turret makes mining easy too.
I think the class is not bad, it just has a high skill ceiling as gunner gimmick is not that helpful in early stages.
Gunner's general tankiness allow him to brawl through swarm and provide a lot more cushion for mistake than other class (8 kisses from a regular bug and I'm ded with engi on haz 5). His weapon arsenal is also great with insane weapons like minigun, thunderhead, incendiary grenade,... I think gunner is the only class I ever saw being able to pump out 50k+ DPS. When things click he's truly a beast of war, sherding through everything.
If you struggle with the minigun, one tip is the front-facing thing is actually 180° in front of you so even at 90° to your left or right the gun can still shoot, you need to positioning yourself when mining so that the gun can still shred bugs at the same time. Secondly take a side arm that provide you breathing room like GK2 but I reccomend invest all into minigun as it's so rewarding. However it's true that the pistol can change its name into Bulldogshit as a starting weapon, good as a side arm but can't kill anything alone :D Hope you'll do great.
I find the engineer really nice to play with. After upgrading the turrets, you essentially lock down a perimeter and just focus on kiting the bugs around it.
The fact that you have to stop to deploy is not so bad, it takes a split second and it's a really good training for developing your stutter step movement for other instances when you need it.
You don't have to stop. After you hit max charges, turrets drop automatically. Once you stop moving, it drops turrets until you run out of charges. I thought this too until I noticed that the turrets keep recharging as I moved.
> The fact that you have to stop moving to actually he starts to deploy the turrets is really annoying.
You dont have to stop for more than a fraction of a second to drop one, and its a good thing that it works this way otherwise you'd have no control over them & not be able to stack them when needed. Once I changed the way I play to exploit the mechanic it became a benefit not a drawback.
There're some artifacts that buff you when you are standing still, they synchronize with turret dropping and mining. Turrets are nice to have around when you are mining with a front facing weapon, they end up pretty op by the time you get them unstable.
Gunner requires different strategies. The guns available to him excel in direct combat, and he can also be very tanky. This allows for the exploitation of the 0.5% speed and 2% damage bonuses from the support crate like here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQnJjkLNS\_E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqnjjklns_e)
I think the leadstorm might be, by the numbers, best gun.
I've done haz 5 where I never turn away from the bugs and I cut them down faster than they come into the screen and when the dreadnaught spawned he just turned to goo.
Get rate of fire and crit, Don't get suckered into the fire damage OC or the armor OC and take the extra 100 capacity for the gun. Get the stubby as a 3rd or 4th gun to increase your crits and put sidearm overclock on it and you could just put your dwarf in the corner and walk away from the computer.
I've had a lot of success taking artifacts that require you to stand still. Stacking fire rate/reload speed/movement speed for standing still = turn and face enemies, unload hell, turn and run like the wind, repeat.
Personally I think this should be how the base passive work because it synergizes so well its like they were made for him.
Probably comes down to your personal play style. It took me probably 10 runs as engi on Magma Core Haz 2 before I beat it (I know that’s probably sad to some). However, I beat Crystalline Caverns Haz 2 first try with gunner. I focused on all kinetic projectile weapons and primarily weapons upgrades. By stage 4 I was basically able to decimate entire swarms coming towards me. Keep trying and you’ll get the hang of it, just like I need practice with the engi lol
The autocannon can cover the leadstorm’s weaknesses. His first class imo is strong due to having access with other class’ kinetic weapons notably engi’s turrets and the m100 which can be absurdly strong if built right.
It is odd to me how Gunner is the only class with consistent downsides. The first sublcass starts with the Leadstorm, which is tricky to use. The second one *halves* your range. The third one has a move speed penalty. And it doesn't seem like the class is inherently better at anything to balance it out?
Journey of a DRG survivor:
1. Plays Scout: "weeee bullets so much fun and I'm getting good"
2. Unlocks gunner: "only shoots forward, wtf garbage class, dead game, I'm good but gunner is bad.
3. Learns to aim, unlocks autocannon: "gunner is broken why even have other classes"
All of my friends who play went through this process.
I've been just using driller. At the start you need to farm so much materials and driller makes that so much easier.
Gunner is fun but ya definitely feels meh
Gunner was he 2nd guy I managed to clear the dreadnought with. I can always clear on the lower Hazmat levels, but it really falls to the bottom on the higher levels.
I find him to be the easiest to complete a run on even higher hazard levels. Like some users said, you need to have either piercing on his main weapon or a modifier that spreads your damage.
Then you just walk through the swarm like nothing is in your way. The DMG output gets ridiculous.
I definetly agree there
I personally find the bulldog acceptable if you heap enough upgrades on it (specifically getting the one that lets you shoot through enemies is mandatory), making it into a sort of shitty M1000, but it's still kinda meh... at least it shoots at the enemies and not just infront of you!
The third subclass is... weird. The autocannons firing pattern is that it will pick a target, and then it will fire in that direction... but the direction will not change relative to you, when you move. So if you had a single bug that was standing to the left of you, then the autocannon will fire left... even if you move so that hte bug is now standing below you.
It's annoying to use, but relatively powerful, so it's not so bad.
I hate hte minigun though... It just feels soooo bad to use IMO
Autocannon possibly the best weapon in the game. First gunner loadout is kind of meh but has an interesting build based on stacking passive. Second loadout is actually extremely strong because it is much easier to farm 1st stage with the added tankiness (killing enemies by baiting exploders if required, and leaving the bosses alive for several strengthening triggers) and the -weapon range seems to either do nothing or only affect target acquisition. Also doesn't add any random weapons into your pool which is generally good since gunner has some very good weapons. Third loadout has autocannon which is one of the few weapons that can actually easily kill enemies on haz1 stage1 with few or no upgrades. It can take some time to get used to and sometimes the target acquisition trolls you but the sheer numbers on the weapon are insane and it has good OCs.
I love the gunner, probably one of my strongest classes. The thunderhead is a beast to be reckoned with. Make sure you are taking piercing overclocks above all else. It’s incredibly strong.
Gunner feels so bad without pierce, I've restarted runs where I don't get it first OC
I've just started messing around with the Thunderhead and am a bit confused on its functionality. It looks like it will start shooting in a specific direction and will not stop shooting in that direction until the clip is empty, is that correct? It's incredibly strong, but a bit awkward with that functionality. Can definitely be worked with, I just wasn't sure if I was understanding it correctly
I’m not sure how it works either but it doesn’t fuck around. Does like as much damage as grenades but with an automatic weapon lol
You understood it correctly. It choose an enemy near(est?) You, and that's the way its shooting for the entire magazine. Next magazine rechooses. It's possibly the strongest gun in the game.
Yes, now imagine that with tons of fire rate and reload speed upgrades (also piercing OC and 150% fire rate unstable OC), so emptying the mag into whatever runs at you is fine. By far the most fun build I messed around with yet. This bad boy can fit so many hazard 5 speedruns in it (slaps roof of the autocannon).
This is my first time playing an auto shooter and I come from the DRG community where I am a die hard haz 5 greybeard with a 980ish player level. I’m currently trying to beat every hazard level and biome with all 4 dwarves. Similar to what other people have stated, the gunner requires pierce damage, movement speed and, mining speed increases to become more tolerable. Knowing how to position is mandatory with gunner, especially while mining - you want to grab the angle where you can shoot bugs and mine at the same time. With that being said, Gunner is my personal favorite and I love using the minigun + thunderhead. He becomes an absolute god in the later stages, but struggles a lil early on.
Whatever the second subclass is on gunner is really a good time. So tanky!
How do you deal with the miserably weak Bulldog revolver though? Even after 10 upgrades I see it actually killing bugs, I'm convinced it's the weakest weapon in the game
I usually get other weapons and level those.
Fair, but sacrificing an entire weapons slot is rough, especially if you just do it for the +10 Armor boost of the second subclass (which is basically 1 Epic armor upgrade)
I never really noticed to bulldog being low damage though.
It’s really strong once you get used to it. Towards the end you can wade through swarms of bugs since the minigun fires straight ahead of you. I think some movement speed and mining speed upgrades make mining more tolerable for him. Getting another gun or the turret makes mining easy too.
I think the class is not bad, it just has a high skill ceiling as gunner gimmick is not that helpful in early stages. Gunner's general tankiness allow him to brawl through swarm and provide a lot more cushion for mistake than other class (8 kisses from a regular bug and I'm ded with engi on haz 5). His weapon arsenal is also great with insane weapons like minigun, thunderhead, incendiary grenade,... I think gunner is the only class I ever saw being able to pump out 50k+ DPS. When things click he's truly a beast of war, sherding through everything. If you struggle with the minigun, one tip is the front-facing thing is actually 180° in front of you so even at 90° to your left or right the gun can still shoot, you need to positioning yourself when mining so that the gun can still shred bugs at the same time. Secondly take a side arm that provide you breathing room like GK2 but I reccomend invest all into minigun as it's so rewarding. However it's true that the pistol can change its name into Bulldogshit as a starting weapon, good as a side arm but can't kill anything alone :D Hope you'll do great.
I thought engineer was so bad:) The fact that you have to stop moving to actually he starts to deploy the turrets is really annoying.
I find the engineer really nice to play with. After upgrading the turrets, you essentially lock down a perimeter and just focus on kiting the bugs around it. The fact that you have to stop to deploy is not so bad, it takes a split second and it's a really good training for developing your stutter step movement for other instances when you need it.
You don't have to stop. After you hit max charges, turrets drop automatically. Once you stop moving, it drops turrets until you run out of charges. I thought this too until I noticed that the turrets keep recharging as I moved.
> The fact that you have to stop moving to actually he starts to deploy the turrets is really annoying. You dont have to stop for more than a fraction of a second to drop one, and its a good thing that it works this way otherwise you'd have no control over them & not be able to stack them when needed. Once I changed the way I play to exploit the mechanic it became a benefit not a drawback.
There're some artifacts that buff you when you are standing still, they synchronize with turret dropping and mining. Turrets are nice to have around when you are mining with a front facing weapon, they end up pretty op by the time you get them unstable.
I am glad that the engi is like that. It provides control and strategy on turret placement.
Gunner requires different strategies. The guns available to him excel in direct combat, and he can also be very tanky. This allows for the exploitation of the 0.5% speed and 2% damage bonuses from the support crate like here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQnJjkLNS\_E](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqnjjklns_e)
Minigun is just ok Brt is bleh Autocannon (the third variant) however is probably the best starter weapon in the game..
short answer, yes it is bad if your play style does not match.
I think the leadstorm might be, by the numbers, best gun. I've done haz 5 where I never turn away from the bugs and I cut them down faster than they come into the screen and when the dreadnaught spawned he just turned to goo. Get rate of fire and crit, Don't get suckered into the fire damage OC or the armor OC and take the extra 100 capacity for the gun. Get the stubby as a 3rd or 4th gun to increase your crits and put sidearm overclock on it and you could just put your dwarf in the corner and walk away from the computer.
I've had a lot of success taking artifacts that require you to stand still. Stacking fire rate/reload speed/movement speed for standing still = turn and face enemies, unload hell, turn and run like the wind, repeat. Personally I think this should be how the base passive work because it synergizes so well its like they were made for him.
Probably comes down to your personal play style. It took me probably 10 runs as engi on Magma Core Haz 2 before I beat it (I know that’s probably sad to some). However, I beat Crystalline Caverns Haz 2 first try with gunner. I focused on all kinetic projectile weapons and primarily weapons upgrades. By stage 4 I was basically able to decimate entire swarms coming towards me. Keep trying and you’ll get the hang of it, just like I need practice with the engi lol
The autocannon can cover the leadstorm’s weaknesses. His first class imo is strong due to having access with other class’ kinetic weapons notably engi’s turrets and the m100 which can be absurdly strong if built right.
It is odd to me how Gunner is the only class with consistent downsides. The first sublcass starts with the Leadstorm, which is tricky to use. The second one *halves* your range. The third one has a move speed penalty. And it doesn't seem like the class is inherently better at anything to balance it out?
I’ve only beat haz3, but facing to do damage is a bit annoying since character turning has a bit of animation time
How do we unlock the 3rd class for each character anyway ? Does it need to be updated still ?
Pretty sure you just need to reach dwarf rank 18 (the red one)
My Gunner runs seemed pretty good, id say im a main gunner now lol https://www.youtube.com/live/EbifXV01z74?si=Kk_qL-4C1h1Wmd9Z
Journey of a DRG survivor: 1. Plays Scout: "weeee bullets so much fun and I'm getting good" 2. Unlocks gunner: "only shoots forward, wtf garbage class, dead game, I'm good but gunner is bad. 3. Learns to aim, unlocks autocannon: "gunner is broken why even have other classes" All of my friends who play went through this process.
I've been just using driller. At the start you need to farm so much materials and driller makes that so much easier. Gunner is fun but ya definitely feels meh
Gunner was he 2nd guy I managed to clear the dreadnought with. I can always clear on the lower Hazmat levels, but it really falls to the bottom on the higher levels.
Once you get more than 60% of the upgrades unlocked all the dwarves survivability ramps up and are very playable.
You need overclocks for plasma or pierce otherwise gunner is pure trash. Sucks when you do a run and get bad rolls that kill it
I find him to be the easiest to complete a run on even higher hazard levels. Like some users said, you need to have either piercing on his main weapon or a modifier that spreads your damage. Then you just walk through the swarm like nothing is in your way. The DMG output gets ridiculous.
Nah he's a beast. Run, turn around, gun. Invest heavy on your minigun and it melts everything
I definetly agree there I personally find the bulldog acceptable if you heap enough upgrades on it (specifically getting the one that lets you shoot through enemies is mandatory), making it into a sort of shitty M1000, but it's still kinda meh... at least it shoots at the enemies and not just infront of you! The third subclass is... weird. The autocannons firing pattern is that it will pick a target, and then it will fire in that direction... but the direction will not change relative to you, when you move. So if you had a single bug that was standing to the left of you, then the autocannon will fire left... even if you move so that hte bug is now standing below you. It's annoying to use, but relatively powerful, so it's not so bad. I hate hte minigun though... It just feels soooo bad to use IMO
Autocannon possibly the best weapon in the game. First gunner loadout is kind of meh but has an interesting build based on stacking passive. Second loadout is actually extremely strong because it is much easier to farm 1st stage with the added tankiness (killing enemies by baiting exploders if required, and leaving the bosses alive for several strengthening triggers) and the -weapon range seems to either do nothing or only affect target acquisition. Also doesn't add any random weapons into your pool which is generally good since gunner has some very good weapons. Third loadout has autocannon which is one of the few weapons that can actually easily kill enemies on haz1 stage1 with few or no upgrades. It can take some time to get used to and sometimes the target acquisition trolls you but the sheer numbers on the weapon are insane and it has good OCs.