Which Deep Rock Galactic perks should I prioritize?

You’ve been unlocking perks left and right, but you’re not sure what their uses are for. Perks in Deep Rock Galactic are a way to enhance your characters, and make their playstyles more fluid during missions. There are two types of perks: active, and passive.

You’ve noticed all perks have their uses, none is outright bad, but you’re not sure which ones are more powerful. Don’t fret, because we have you covered! In this article, we’ll be going through the active perks in Deep Rock Galactic, from least to most useful.

9. See You In Hell

See You In Hell is a fun perk to use, because each time you get hit by a melee attack, you get a temporary melee damage bonus. And you’ll get hit by melee attacks a lot. But wait, there’s more! When you get downed, you can trigger a large neuro-pulse explosion around you, which will electrocute and scare off enemies. This will be very helpful when someone is trying to revive you! 

Why is See You In Hell Useful?

• The bonus to your melee attacks is fun to use, and it can help you in a complicated situation. Your pickaxe deals a lot of damage!
• The neuro-pulse explosion can be very helpful when someone is reviving you, creating space for an ally dwarf to revive you safely.

Perk Details:

• Passive: Right after an enemy hits you with a melee attack you get a temporary melee damage bonus.
• Active: 3 times each mission, you can trigger a large neuro-pulse explosion after you go down. A residual neuro-electric field will electrocute and scare off enemies. (2 / 2 / 1 minute cooldown) [Tier 2 and 3 only: Neuro-pulse radius increased!]
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Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/See_You_In_Hell

8. Shield Link

You’re playing with a friend, and somehow he manages to get downed often. You read what Shield Link does, and you decided to pick it up for the next mission. Now your friend won’t die as often, because if you’re near him, you’ll both get quicker shield regeneration, and you can even boost his shields, enabling him to take more punishment! This perk is great during teamplay, but if you’re playing solo, you’ll want to bring something else..

Why is Shield Link Useful?

• It’s a great perk for teamplay, since it helps anyone around you by increasing their shield regeneration.
• It’s especially great for Scout if he’s using the DRAK-25’s Shield Booster Battery overclock, since it requires to have full shields to use to its full potential.
• Making someone tankier by increasing their shields can help new players a lot, but it’s also great for veterans in high difficulties. If you’re alive, you’re taking care of the bugs.

Perk Details:

• Passive: Whenever you are within 4m of a teammate, both of your shields recharge 50% faster!
• Active: You can overcharge a teammate’s shield to 300% (this is not correct, it adds 60 shields instead)  for 20 / 30 / 30 seconds. (3 / 3 / 2 minutes cooldown)

Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Shield_Link

7. Hover Boots

The Hover Boots can be a lifesaver during a fall! If you have this perk equipped, and you’re falling to your doom, activate them and it will stop your fall right there. This perk is great for new players that aren’t used to traversing through the terrain and aren’t yet comfortable using their mobility tools. If you’re a greenbeard Scout, get this perk, it will save your life more times than you think! Later down the line, this perk only sees usefulness for Driller and Gunner. Scout has ways to deal with falling through his grappling hook and weapon overclocks, and the Engineer doesn’t fall (too often) from his platforms.

Why is Hover Boots Useful?

• This perk can save you from a painful nosedive, stopping you middair, which makes it especially useful for Driller and Gunner, since they have no way of dealing with fall damage.
• In the early stages it will help new players correct their mistakes. The terrain can be very tricky!
• The Hover Boots actually deal damage underneath your feet! It’s very hard to use, and not that practical, but it’s fun to try.

Perk details:

• Active: Fancy boots that let you hover in midair for 2 / 2.5 / 3 / 3.5 seconds, burning any creatures unfortunate enough to be right beneath you. (120 / 105 / 90 / 75 seconds cooldown)

Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Hover_Boots

6. Heightened Senses

If you never got grabbed in Deep Rock Galactic, you haven’t played the game. Enemies that can grab you are common, including Cave Leeches, the pesky Nemesis, Mactera Grabbers and even Nayaka Trawlers, that only exist in the Sandblasted Corridors. This perk will give off a warning whenever an enemy is attempting to grab you. If you do get grabbed, you can free yourself from their clutches, and live to fight another day. This can be a lifesaver, especially during a fight! It’s also fantastic when you are playing solo, because Bosco isn’t the most reliable source of salvation. Heightened Senses is really useful for the Scout, since he tends to… Scout ahead of the party, which can get him to get grabbed easily. Don’t forget to look up!

Why Is Heightened Senses Useful?

• Getting grabbed is a huge pain, and with this perk you will be able to avoid it.
• If you’re playing solo, this perk becomes even better, since you can free yourself from the maws that are clutching you.
• This perk is great for new players, since they’re not used to the dangers that dwell inside Hoxxes II. It will teach you to look up and look for sound cues, for when you’re about to be grabbed.

Perk Details:

• Passive: You get an early warning when a creature is about to grab you.
• Active: 1 / 2 / 2 times per mission, you can escape after being grabbed, killing your captor in the process! (∞ / 90 / 5 seconds cooldown)

Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Heightened_Senses

5. Berzerker

You like going melee. Smashing skulls with your power attack gives you that adrenaline rush. It does the same for us too! That’s why we take Berzerker, since it gives you a window where your power attack cooldown is non-existent! This perk is mostly useful for Scout and Driller: the Scout can use his mobility to smack the waves of bugs without taking punishment back, and the Driller just enjoys going melee, especially if you’re taking the passive perk Vampire, which gives you health each time you kill an enemy with a melee attack. We don’t recommend it to new players, since there are perks that will help you more often, but it’s really fun to use and in the right setting it can save your skin!

Why is Berzerker Useful?

• Having no cooldown on your power attack is fantastic, since it deals massive amounts of damage to anything that dares be under your pickaxe.
• It works really well with Vampire, as it helps you replenish your precious hit points.
• Scout and Driller take the most advantage of this perk, due to the tools they bring to the table.

Perk Details:

• ALL TIERS: Active: Go berzerk for 10 seconds during which you get boosted melee damage and a lightning-fast pickaxe Power Attack recharge. (10 / 8 / 6 / 4 minutes cooldown)

Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Berzerker

4. Beast Master

Steeve! Beast Master lets you tame a Glyphid Grunt, which will fight by your side, taking names, hitting his brethren, and protecting you the best it can. You can tame three types of Grunts: the run of the mill Grunt, the Slasher, and the Guard. We recommend getting either a Slasher or a Grunt, since the first one deals increased damage and can slow enemies, and the second is just really tanky. Steeve will take aggro off of you, relieving pressure when you’re fighting the hordes. Taking this perk is especially useful in solo play, since you’ll have another companion to fight by your side! Always pet Steeve, he’s really cute!

Why is Beast Master Useful?

• Having Steeve by your side will relieve pressure off of you, letting you kill priority targets with ease.
• Steeve can pack a punch, especially if you tame a Glyphid Guard. It will stay by your side for a long time, helping you throughout the mission.
• Did we mention he’s really cute?

Perk Details:

• Active: Charm a Glyphid Grunt to become your loyal companion. You can only have one tamed Grunt at a time. (5 minute cooldown)
• Tamed Grunts deal 100 / 200 / 300 % more damage to their targets!

Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Beast_Master

3. Iron Will

Iron Will is one of the most useful perks in this game. Being able to revive yourself and smack things in the face with such force they perish is great, but hear us out. First, pair this with Vampire. This way, if you don’t find any Red Sugar, at least you’ll be able to replenish your health by killing enemies with your pickaxe. Second, if your whole team has died, Iron Will will give your squad a second chance, in which you can revive a downed squad member, and he can revive you after, if you didn’t find a way to survive at the end of Iron Will’s duration. This perk is extremely useful for both Scout and Gunner: The Scout can use his mobility to quickly revive someone or to reach Red Sugar, and the Gunner can create safe areas with his shield, letting him revive someone without any problem. This perk can be the difference between finishing your mission or waking back in the med bay!

Why is Iron Will Useful?

• This perk grants a self-revive per mission, giving you another chance to continue the mission if you play your cards right.
• When paired with Vampire, you can replenish some of your health without going down, letting you continue fighting.
• With this you can revive downed teammates, giving your squad a second opportunity to reposition and deal with the enemies.

Perk details:

• Active: Never give up! Once per mission, get back into the fight with all your weapons reloaded and a rage-fueled strength for a 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 second last stand before going down for good!
• While in this state you move faster, hit harder, and are resistant to slowdowns.

Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Iron_Will

2. Field Medic

What’s not to like about reviving teammates faster? Field Medic will help you bring back teammates to life faster, which is very helpful in a pinch. It also grants you one instant revive per mission, making it extremely useful when playing in a squad. In a tight situation, that instant revival can mean surviving the wave of bugs that is coming after you. This perk shines when taken by either the Scout or the Gunner. The Scout can use his mobility to reach downed dwarves that died in dire places, and the Gunner can create a safe area to revive teammates with his shield. Don’t take this perk while playing solo, because there’s nothing to revive other than yourself!

Why is Field Medic Useful?

• Field Medic is an overall great perk in team play, since you can revive downed teammates faster.
• The speed bonus stacks if more dwarves have this perk and they’re helping you revive, making it go much faster!
• The instant revive is crucial to survive hard missions, as it can change the overall outcome of them.
• The fear that this perk applies on reviving someone can help you and your ally reposition to deal with the threats.

Perk details:

• Passive: Leave no dwarf behind! You revive teammates 15 / 20 / 25 / 30 % faster! [Tier 4 only: Upon reviving someone, nearby enemies flee!]
• ALL TIERS: Active: Once per mission, you can get a downed teammate instantly back on their feet!

Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Field_Medic

1. Dash

Dash is probably the most useful active perk currently in the game. This simple yet effective perk gives you a burst of speed, letting you sprint faster for a short period. If you’re in a bad spot, you can run away faster and position properly; if you’re stunned, electrocuted, or slowed, activating this perk will cleanse those debuffs and let you run away to safety. This perk is extremely useful, and we recommend you take it with all classes. The Scout is the only class that doesn’t use this perk as effectively, since he’s already very mobile and the burst of speed doesn’t stack with movement buffs that some weapons are able to give this class. Other than that, all the other classes benefit a lot from this perk!

Why is Dash Useful?

• Activating Dash grants you a burst of speed, letting you reposition to deal with the bugs.
• This burst of speed also ignores debuffs like stuns, electrocution and slow, which can save you from dire situations.
• Dash has a short cooldown, so you’ll be able to use it very often during missions.

Perk details:

• Active: Get out of trouble with a short burst of speed.
• While dashing you ignore all slowdown effects. (40 / 35 / 30 / 25 seconds cooldown)

Link to this perk: https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Dash

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