Deep Rock Galactic’s cooperative mining gameplay relies on players making the most of the abilities of each class. While you can all just run with the same class and hope for the best, the aliens you encounter and the placement of the minerals you’re mining will make life very difficult for you. However, it can be tricky to swap classes or even try new ones out once you get into a groove with the first one you picked because you liked their gun, drill hands, or beard. This guide ranks the best classes in Deep Rock Galactic, so you know which one to pick and which one to learn later in your mining career.
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What are the best classes in Deep Rock Galactic?
In this list, we’ve ranked the classes in Deep Rock Galactic from best at the top to worst at the bottom. This is based on how easy we find each class to play, and have explained our reasoning for each class’ position below.
Gunner class
The Gunner is the DPS class in Deep Rock Galactic. It’s equipped with an Autocannon to blast through enemies with and a shield that can be plonked down to protect all Dwarves inside from whatever nasty alien scum is trying to eat you. This is particularly helpful when reviving allies, since the bugs don’t let up when there’s a big swarm. It also utilizes a Zipline Launcher that makes moving through caves pretty easy, particularly up steep inclines when you really just need to keep moving. Finally, the Gunner has a great range of grenades for blasting bugs apart.
We believe that the Gunner is the best class to play as simply because you don’t need to worry too much about mining or completing objectives. As long as you’re shooting enemies, you’re doing your job, and it’s a simple one. Everyone wants to get stuck in when the bosses spawn but it’s only the Gunner that can truly bring the pain, so it’s the best place to start.
Scout class
The Scout class comes in as the second-best class just because it requires a bit more than shooting enemies but is still easy to play. Scouts are responsible for going ahead of the crew and identifying the minerals you’re all after. It has a Flare Gun to light up dark caverns when you’re exploring, and a couple of decent weapons to fend off the smaller foes you’ll meet.
We like this class because it still plays an active role in battle even if it’s not an offensive one. The key to the support the Scout class provides is in its grenades, which offer an array of debilitating effects, such as slowdown, that can be inflicted upon approaching swarms of bugs.
Driller class
The Driller class is third because it’s one that requires more understanding of each mission. This class, as you might guess from the name, is all about drilling into rocks to extract minerals. While the Gunner protects you as you follow the Scout, it’s the Driller who will be making the most of any deposits you find. Everyone protects the Driller because that’s how you walk away from a mission with the most loot.
We think the Driller class requires a bit of getting used to before you become a competent player. You’ll let a few teams down over time, but ultimately that will just make you a better Driller in the long run after you identify your mistakes. While this class does have a Flamethrower that can deal a lot of damage to bugs, it takes way too long to reload and should be a last resort after you’ve exhausted all the deposits in the cave system.
Engineer class
Finally, we have the Engineer class. Last is by no means least, and this class has an important role to play if you know how to work them. Their Platform Gun is required to create stairs to out-of-reach locations in a cave, allowing everyone to follow. This can be particularly important when swarms of aliens are biting at your ankles.
However, this is definitely the most challenging class to master. You won’t get far early on with the Engineer class, but you can be one of the most important players in the team if you learn to play them well. The key is avoiding the weapons as much as possible and simply working to create opportunities for your fellow Dwarves to move and opening up enemies for attacks by using items like the L.U.R.E.
