What are some of the most effective and fun builds for Deep Rock Galactic’s Driller?
The Driller is, as the class name says, the terrain specialist. He can create tunnels through terrain with his signature tool, the Reinforced Power Drills. With these in your arsenal, you can go anywhere, anytime! This class has a wide range of weapons, from a flamethrower to a microwave gun, specializing in area damage and crowd control. This enables your teammates to dish damage without being overwhelmed, and as the cherry on top, you also have a satchel charge that will demolish terrain, deal great amounts of damage, and possibly kill a Scout or two. Don’t worry about being accused of war crimes, it’s part of the job.
There is no meta in Deep Rock Galactic. All weapons and overclocks have their functionality. With this being said, don’t fret if you don’t have some of these overclocks! You can always experiment with the ones you have, and see what suits you. Every weapon works really well even without any overclocks, and you’ll eventually unlock all of them, as long as you keep playing. Rock and Stone!
3. Flow Rate Expansion + Chain Hit
We can all agree that one of the most satisfying sounds in Deep Rock Galactic is the shatter sound. The Driller is adept at freezing things, which will in turn help your team deal more damage, and if bugs are frozen, they can’t bite you! The Cryo Cannon is a fantastic gun by itself, and in this build we’ll be using the Flow Rate Expansion overclock, to help freeze things faster and without much interruption. To round up this build we’ll be using the Subata 120 with Chain Hit, so we can make our bullets chain through enemies! The Cryo Cannon doesn’t deal much damage with this build, so having a pseudo area of effect secondary is a boon to this build.
What Flow Rate Expansion + Chain Hit Excels in?
- The Cryo Cannon is one of the best weapons for Driller, as it can freeze targets. It relieves pressure from your entire squad while increasing the damage everyone can deal.
- With Flow Rate Expansion you will have a very short delay between repressurizations, which will let you freeze things relentlessly. This is especially strong against bigger targets that take longer to freeze, since you’ll have a very short downtime!
- The Subata might feel underwhelming at the start, but it’s a great sidearm, and with Chain Hit you’ll be able to amplify the damage it deals.
- This build can be played Solo, but it shines in teamplay, since it provides so much crowd control.
- Shattering bugs is definitely one of the most satisfying things you can do in Deep Rock Galactic!
Cryo Cannon - B-C-A-C-B
- Faster Turbine Spinup: This perk will reduce the charge up time for the Cryo Cannon, letting you start firing faster.
- Bypassed Integrity Check: Taking this perk will reduce the repressurization delay for the Cryo Cannon, letting you start firing faster after you reach the threshold.
- Improved Pump: This perk will let the Cryo Cannon repressurize faster, letting you start firing quicker.
- Larger Reserve Tank: With a larger tank, you can fire for longer.
- Cold Radiance: You can take either this perk or Fragile, depending on your preference. This perk will create a freezing aura around you while you’re firing, freezing anything that decides to get up close.
- Overclock - Flow Rate Expansion: This overclock will increase your flow rate, letting you freeze enemies slightly faster, and it will increase your pressure gain rate, letting you start firing your Cryo Cannon faster after depressurization. It will also lower the pressure drop rate, which will make it lose pressure faster.
Subata 120 - C-A-C-A-B
- Quickfire Ejector: This perk will let you reload the weapon faster.
- Expanded Ammo Bags: Taking this perk will increase your total ammo.
- Expanded Ammo Bags: More ammo equals more shooting.
- Hollow-Point Bullets: This perk will increase your weak spot damage, which synergises with Chain Hit.
- Mactera Toxin-coating: Since we don’t have heat on this build, we take this perk instead. It will grant you bonus damage against Mactera enemies.
- Overclock - Chain Hit: This overclock will make it so that any shot that hits a weak spot has a chance to chain into a nearby enemy, increasing the damage output of this gun.
Pickaxe - A-C
- Power Attack: The Driller is a melee oriented class, and the Power Attack is one of his favorite tools! Use it often.
- Better Weight Balance: This perk will let you use the Power Attack more often, since it lowers its cooldown.
Satchel Charge - B-A-A-C
- Extra Satchel Charge: More satchels means more war crimes.
- Kill Switch: This perk will let you pick up unused Satchel Charges.
- Extra Satchel Charge: Even more satchel charges for more explosions.
- Rock Mover: Taking this perk will have the explosion cover a much wider area, destroying more terrain.
Reinforced Power Drills - B-A-A-A
- Hardened Drill Tips: Drill faster.
- Magnetic Refrigeration: The Drills will cool faster when not in use if you take this perk.
- Supercharged Motor: Drill even faster.
- Increased Tank Pressure: You’ll be able to drill for longer with this perk, since it increases your total ammo capacity.
Grenade - Impact Axe
- The Impact Axe is the best grenade option for Driller. It deals great damage to weak spots, and if you miss it, you can pick the axe back up again. It also synergises well with Vampire, since it counts as a melee attack! Taking this grenade will let you minimize this build’s weakness: single target damage.
“Mole” Armor Rig - C-B-A-C
- Bigger Mineral Bag: More carrying capacity means less trips to Molly.
- Healthy: Healthy is especially useful with Driller, because you’ll be replenishing your health points a lot. Having a bigger pool makes you tankier!
- Temperature Insulation: This perk will make you resistant to fire!
- Breathing Room: Taking this perk will give you a brief window of invulnerability after being revived, letting you reposition safely.
Perks
- For this build we recommend taking Thorns, Vampire and Ressuplier as your passive perks. Thorns is a must-have for most builds, since it reflects damage taken. Ressuplier is a good quality of life, letting you get ammo faster and more health each time you use a Resupply Depot. You can change this perk to Friendly if you prefer. Vampire is fantastic on Driller, since you have several melee damage sources: your pickaxe, your Impact Axes, and even your Drills! For active perks, we highly recommend taking Dash. Dash is really good overall, but it shines on Driller, since he is the only class with no mobility in his kit. Iron Will is also a great choice, letting you revive yourself once per mission, which can mean the difference between finishing the mission or being patched up at the med bay. You can easily replenish your health while in Iron Will, since you have a lot of melee damage sources, and you have taken Vampire!
2. Volatile Impact Mixture + Heavy Hitter
We’ve mentioned before that the Driller commits war crimes. With this build, we’ll be taking this to the next level, by bringing the Sludge Pump! This weapon shoots corrosive goo that will melt anything that comes into contact with it. It’s very satisfying to watch bugs melt in front of you! We’re speccing the Sludge Pump to deal more direct impact damage, so shoot directly into the enemies, and watch them decay. The Experimental Plasma Charger (EPC) rounds this build up, since it can deal with targets at a longer range, and it deals good amounts of single target damage. With this build, nothing can stop you! Just try not to melt your teammates.
What Volatile Impact Mixture + Heavy Hitter Excels In?
- This build is geared towards single target damage, with some area of effect.
- The Sludge Pump has innate slowdown, which will let you relieve pressure of your squad while dealing damage.
- The EPC is a strong sidearm, letting you deal with targets at any range.
- This overclock combo will let you tackle the strongest threats while still having ways of dealing with the waves of bugs.
Corrosive Sludge Pump - A-C-B-B-A
- High Capacity Tanks: Having a bigger tank will let you purge more enemies before reloading.
- Potent Goo Mix: This perk will increase your direct damage, synergising with Volatile Impact Mixture.
- More Goo Canisters: Having more ammo will let you shoot more before needing a resupply.
- Improved Spooling Mechanism: Your charged shot is very strong, and this perk will let you charge it faster.
- Protein Disruption Mix: Taking this perk increases the slowdown effect for both your direct shots and the puddles, letting you bring more crowd control to the table.
- Overclock - Volatile Impact Mixture: This overclock will increase both your normal shot and charged shot damage, while reducing the corrosive damage over time duration and the puddle duration.
Experimental Plasma Charger - A-A-C-B-B
- Increased Particle Density: Having more damage never hurt anyone! Except the bugs you’ll be shooting at.
- Heat Shield: This will reduce how fast the weapon heats while you’re charging a shot.
- Tweaked Radiator: This perk will increase the rate at which the EPC sheds heat, letting you shoot more projectiles before the weapon overheats, and it will also help the weapon recover from overheating faster.
- High Density Battery: Taking more ammo is great for the EPC, since it doesn’t come with much of it.
- Thin Containment Field: This is a very interesting perk! First, it will reduce the amount of heat you’ll generate per shot. Second, you can shoot a charged shot, and if you shoot the projectile you created, it will explode, dealing damage to anything nearby! It takes some practice but when you get the hang of it, it’s very satisfying to use. You can also use it to mine resources, at a loss.
- Overclock - Heavy Hitter: This overclock will increase your overall damage while reducing your battery capacity and increasing your heat generation per shot.
Pickaxe - A-C
- Power Attack: The Power Attack is a fantastic tool, so use it often!
- Better Weight Balance: With this perk your Power Attack cooldown will be reduced.
Satchel Charge - B-A-A-C
- Extra Satchel Charge: This perk will give you more boom!
- Kill Switch: This perk will let you pick up unused Satchel Charges.
- Extra Satchel Charge: Even more boom!.
- Rock Mover: This perk will let you carve wider areas with the Satchel Charge’s explosion.
Reinforced Power Drills - B-A-A-A
- Hardened Drill Tips: Drill faster.
- Magnetic Refrigeration: This perk will let you cool your drills faster when you’re not using them.
- Supercharged Motor: Drill even faster.
- Increased Tank Pressure: Having more tank capacity will let you drill for longer before needing a refill.
Grenade - Impact Axe
- As we’ve mentioned before, the Impact Axe is the best overall grenade for the Driller. It synergises well with your kit and the usual perks of choice, and it deals good amounts of damage to anything you manage to hit.
“Mole” Armor Rig - C-B-A-C
- Bigger Mineral Bag: Having a bigger mineral capacity will let you mine more without having to deposit.
- Healthy: Being healthy is great, since it keeps you alive for longer.
- Temperature Insulation: This perk will make you resistant to fire.
- Breathing Room: With this perk you’ll have a brief invulnerability period after being revived, which will let you reposition safely.
Perks
- For this build our recommendations are Thorns, Vampire and Ressuplier for your passive perks. Thorns will help you deal with enemies that are overwhelming you by reflecting damage, and Ressuplier will let you get ammo faster and more health points from a Resupply Depot. Vampire is fantastic on Driller, since you have many melee damage sources on your kit. Friendly and Deep Pockets are also good alternatives for Driller. For your active perks, we recommend Dash and Iron Will. Dash is almost mandatory for the Driller, since it helps you maneuver around better. Iron Will works well with Vampire, but it can be switched to Heightened Senses or Berzerker, depending on your preferences.
1. Face Melter + Blistering Necrosis
Who doesn’t like a good BBQ? This build features the CRSPR Flamethrower with the Face Melter overclock. The flamethrower is an overall great weapon, letting you make the world burn! And your fellow dwarves. We don’t talk about it. The Face Melter overclock brings the damage of the Flamethrower to the next level, so don’t shy away from it! To round out this build, you’ll want to bring the Colette Wave Cooker. This weapon shoots microwaves, and it has virtually infinite range. But wait, there’s more! The Blistering Necrosis overclock will let you create weak spots on any enemy, enabling you and your squad to deal even more damage. Nothing quite like a good roast!
What Face Melter + Blistering Necrosis Excels in?
- The Flamethrower is a high damage primary weapon, letting you deal with the swarms easily.
- Flame Melter is a huge DPS increase for the Flamethrower, making it even stronger!
- The Collette Wave Cooker might feel underwhelming at first, but its purpose is to be an utility weapon. With Blistering Necrosis you can bring this utility to the next level.
- This build can deal with anything that comes across your crosshairs, having great area and single target damage.
CRSPR Flamethrower - B-A-A-B-B
- High Pressure Ejector: Since Face Melter reduces the reach of the flames, taking this perk will counteract that downside.
- Unfiltered Fuel: We’re building the Flamethrower for damage, and with this perk you’ll have more of it.
- Oversized Valves: This perk will increase fuel consumption to further increase the damage you’re able to dish out.
- Sticky Flame Duration: This tier is personal preference. We like to augment the duration of the sticky flames, so that anything that passes through them gets burnt for longer.
- Targets Explode: This perk is self-explanatory. Targets killed from direct damage have a chance to explode, dealing damage around them. Very satisfying!
- Overclock - Face Melter: This perk increases the flames damage dramatically, and it ups the flow rate of your flames, at the cost of reducing your flames reach and diminishing the tank size.
Colette Wave Cooker - B-C-A-B-B
- Magnetron Tube: More ammo means more opportunities to cook some bugs!
- Thermoelectric Cooler: This perk increases the cooling rate and it reduces the overheat duration for this weapon.
- Densification Ray: Taking this perk provides crowd control for the Wave Cooker, as it lets you slow enemies down with the weapon’s beam!
- Power Supply Overdrive: With this perk you can push reload to increase the rate of fire at the cost of area of effect! Push reload again to deactivate it.
- Boiler Ray: This perk will boil the targets you shoot, making them have a chance to explode! Don’t forget to bring salt.
- Overclock - Blistering Necrosis - This overclock will give the Wave Cooker a chance to create blisters on hit, which count as weak spots! It will also increase the heat weapon generation and reduce its cooling rate.
Pickaxe - A-C
- Power Attack: Get used to using the Power Attack, as it’s a fantastic tool to deal damage to anything nearby!
- Better Weight Balance: Taking this perk will reduce the cooldown of your Power Attack.
Satchel Charge - B-A-A-C
- Extra Satchel Charge: More Satchel Charges equals more opportunities to kill the Scout.
- Kill Switch: This perk will let you pick up unused Satchel Charges.
- Extra Satchel Charge: Even more opportunities to commit war crimes!
- Rock Mover: Taking this perk will let you carve bigger areas with the Satchel Charge’s explosion.
Reinforced Power Drills - B-A-A-A
- Hardened Drill Tips: Drill faster.
- Magnetic Refrigeration: Taking this perk will help the drills cooldown faster, when you’re not using them.
- Supercharged Motor: Drill even faster.
- Increased Tank Pressure: You will be able to drill for longer if you have this perk equipped, since it increases the Drills’ ammo.
Grenade - Neurotoxin Grenade
- In the two previous builds we mentioned that the Impact Axes are the best grenades for the Driller, but hear us out. Neurotoxin Grenade creates a cloud that poisons anything that passes through it (including your teammates), and you can ignite it to deal more damage! The Flamethrower makes this grenade competitive, and you should give it a shot!
“Mole” Armor Rig - C-B-A-C
- Bigger Mineral Bag: Taking this perk will reduce the amount of times you’ll have to deposit your minerals.
- Healthy: This perk synergises well with Vampire, and it makes you tankier.
- Temperature Insulation: This perk will make you resistant to fire.
- Breathing Room: If you get downed, this perk will give you a brief invulnerability period after being revived, letting you move to a better spot.
Perks
- For this build we recommend taking Thorns, Vampire and Ressuplier. Thorns will help you deal with the smaller bugs that come near you, Vampire will help you keep your health topped up, since you have several means of dealing melee damage, and Ressuplier helps you replenish your ammo and health faster at a Resupply Depot. You can also take Friendly if you notice you’re annoying your teammates too much with your flames. Dash is almost mandatory for Driller, since it provides him with a much needed mobility boost, and Iron Will will help you survive for longer if things get dire. You can also bring Field Medic or Heightened Senses instead, if you prefer.
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