Gunner is the first-ever class you play in Deep Rock Galactic.
With the iconic minigun and other helpful utility tools, Gunner creates such a powerful vibe right in the tutorial mission.
Recommended Read: Best Builds for the Scout Class in Deep Rock Galactic
In this article, let’s take a look at some best Gunner builds in Deep Rock Galactic!
We’ll cover all Gunner weapons and 4 strong builds, including a fire damage build that can instantly smelt the rival tech robots, a single-target build so you can eliminate those big bosses faster, a crowd control build with slow effect and great damage over time, and a general build with two clean overclocks.
Table of Contents
Gunner Playstyle
Gunner is well-known for his powerful weapons and grenades.
Most Gunner weapons are relatively easy to use with a single click or hold-to-shot mechanic, except for the Hurricane, since you can guide the bullets manually.
In addition, all Gunner secondary weapons are pistols, each with unique features. For example, the Bulldog has decent damage with a steady-fire mechanic, the BRT7 has the highest rate of fire, and the ArmsKore has a charge shot with strong penetration bullets.
Gunner’s primary weapon:
- “Lead Storm” Powered Minigun
- “Thunderhead” Heavy Autocannon
- “Hurricane” Guided Rocket System
Gunner’s secondary weapon:
- “Bulldog” Heavy Revolver
- BRT7 Burst Fire Gun
- ArmsKore Coil Gun
Besides the strong firearms, Gunner has his own unique traversal and support tool, the Zipline Launcher and the Shield Generator.
Like the Scout’s Grappling Hook or the Engineer’s Platform Gun, Gunner’s Zipline Launcher allows the whole team travels a long distance with a decent steep degree. However, the Zipline Launcher is the worst traversal tool because of its slow speed compared to the other classes.
In contrast, the Shield Generator is the best support tool for fighting dangerous waves of bugs, reviving teammates, or defense missions.
The best Gunner is the one who uses the Shield Generator at the right time. This includes when the Drilldozer starts moving in the Escort Duty mission or uplinking and refueling the drop pod in the Salvage Operation mission.
What Overclocks to Use for Gunner
Gunner weapons are already unique and powerful enough, so there aren’t many game-changing overclocks to pick from. If you don’t want negative effects on your guns, clean overclocks are the way to go.
However, here are our suggested five overclocks to use for the Gunner.
1. “Lead Storm” Powered Minigun – Burning Hell
Burning Hell is a great balanced overclock with only one downside, making your minigun overheat 50% faster.
When equipped, it burns any enemy within 5 meters of the minigun, dealing 5 fire damage and 20 heat damage every 0.25 seconds.
This perk alone is not worth it. However, the damage is massive when combined with the Bulldog overclock below! That’s why Burning Hell is the top one on the list.
2. “Bulldog” Heavy Revolver – Volatile Bullets
Volatile Bullets allows you to deal 300% bonus damage to burning enemies. Combined with the Burning Hell overclock above, you can deal up to 210 damage per shot.
This overclock reduces the damage by 10. But you can pick damage modifications to bring the weapon damage to 70 per shot.
3. “Thunderhead” Heavy Autocannon – Neurotoxin Payload
The Thunderhead is suitable for both close and long-range fighting. It also deals area damage, which is perfect for fighting Glyphid Swarmers. So to buff it even more, Neurotoxin Payload is a go-to overclock.
It increases the weapon damage area by 0.6 meters and allows you to deal 12 poison damage every 0.75-1.25 seconds for 10 seconds. In contrast, you sacrifice 2 damage and 5 area damage.
4. “Hurricane” Guided Rocket System – Salvo Module
Hurricane is a heavy weapon, but you can shoot like a shotgun with Salvo Module overclock.
You can load up to 9 missiles into the next shot by holding the fire button. For each missile added, all of the missiles in the next shot will deal 0.375 more damage and area damage. The min damage is 1, and the max damage is 4.
5. ArmsKore Coil Gun – The Mole
The Mole is one of the most special overclocks in DRG because of its terrain-based damage boost.
For each terrain the bullet penetrates through, the bullet will deal 150 bonus damage. This is a considerable boost suitable for fighting giant bugs and Glyphid Dreadnoughts.
What Perks to Use for Gunner
Here are some excellent perks for the Gunner class in Deep Rock Galactic.
1. Dash
Since the Gunner has no fast travel method (unless you drop down to the zipline), Dash is a crucial perk that can save you from dangerous situations.
You move 2.2 times faster and ignore every slow effect for 1.5 seconds. At max level, this perk has a cooldown of 25 seconds.
2. Field Medic
Field Medic is an excellent perk for every class in DRG.
With a 30% faster revive speed, this perk synergizes well with the Shield Generator. You can save everyone within a single use of the shield, including a one-time instant revives provided by the perk.
3. Resupplier
Gunner needs a lot of ammo. That’s why a 50% buff to the supply collecting speed can save your life.
In addition, Resupplier also provides extra 25% health at the max tier when you collect a supply pod.
4. Born Ready
If you’re a fan of the Thunderhead or the Hurricane, Born Ready is the perfect perk since it can automatically reload all your unequipped weapons after 5 seconds.
This is pretty useful when fighting big waves of bugs. Switch to the secondary weapon when you’re out of ammo and try to survive for 5 seconds.
5. Veteran Depositor
With Veteran Depositor, you deposit 20-50% faster and have a 20-30% damage reduction buff as long as you stay within 7 meters around the MULE, the Mine Head, or the Drop Pod.
Combined with the Shield Generator, your whole team can easily survive defense objectives in high-hazard missions.
Besides the five perks above, Iron Will, See You In Hell, Deep Pockets, and Elemental Insulation are good perks for Gunner. So, feel free to try different perks and see what fits you the best.
4 Best Gunner Builds & Weapon Loadouts
Here are the four best builds for the Gunner in Deep Rock Galactic.
Gunner Best Build #1: Burning Hell
As mentioned above, the Burning Hell building uses the fire combination from the minigun and the bulldog revolver to deal massive damage to bugs and rival robots.
Besides fire damage from the minigun, you can use the incendiary grenades, overheat your minigun, or rely on other dwarves for the damage boost.
Primary Weapon: “Lead Storm” Powered Minigun
- Overclock: Burning Hell
- Burn enemies in front of the gun
- +150% Heat Generation
- Modifications:
- 3 – Improved Platform Stability
- 1 – Oversized Drum
- 3 – Blowthrough Rounds
- 2 – Lighter Barrel Assembly
- 1 – Aggressive Venting
Secondary Weapon: “Bulldog” Heavy Revolver
- Overclock: Volatile Bullets
- +300% Damage to burning enemy
- -10 Damage
- Modifications:
- 1 – Quickfire Ejector
- 1 – Increased Caliber Rounds
- 3 – Hollow-Point Bullets
- 1 – Expanded Ammo Bags
- 2 – Neurotoxin Coating
Increased Caliber Rounds modification gives the bulldog 10 damage, removing the damage penalty from the Volatile Bullets bullets. Moreover, each bullet also has a 50% chance of inflicting Neurotoxin on the enemy.
This deals 12 poison damage every 0.75-1.25 seconds for 10 seconds and reduces the bug’s speed by 30%. Like its name, this build is the real burning hell for the bugs on Hoxxes.
Gunner Best Build #2: Single-target Build
If you want to focus on high-value bugs and Dreadnoughts, try this single-target build!
This build focuses on high damage with a high rate of fire and armor-breaking effect. With Cold as The Grave modification, you can fire longer without overheating the minigun.
Primary Weapon: “Lead Storm” Powered Minigun
- Overclock: Lead Storm
- +4 Damage
- Can’t move while firing
- x0.25 Stun Chance
- x0.5 Stun Duration
- Modifications:
- 3 – Improved Platform Stability
- 2 – High Velocity Rounds
- 1 – Hardened Rounds
- 1 – Variable Chamber Pressure
- 2 – Cold As The Grave
Secondary Weapon: ArmsKore Coil Gun
- Overclock: The Mole
- +150 Damage for every terrain pierced
- +500% Penetrability
- x0.8 Charge Speed
- Modifications:
- 2 – Larger Battery
- 1 – Overcharger
- 1 – Concussive Shockwave
- 1 – Defence Enhancement
- 3 – Electric Trail
The Mole adds 150 damage for each penetrated terrain. If you have the Drill on your team, remember to inform him you need the terrain to fight correctly.
Moreover, the Overcharge modification adds bonus damage to the ArmsKore after it’s fully charged and ready to shoot. For every 0.25 seconds after the full charge, the bullet receives 8 damage.
Gunner Best Build #3: Bug Control
Next, we have a crowd control build that is suitable for clearing waves of bugs.
The Thunderhead can deal both direct damage and area damage. So, to enhance the bullets even more, Neurotoxin Payload offers a 50% chance of inflicting Neurotoxin on the bugs.
This effect deals 12 poison damage every 0.75-1.25 seconds for over 10 seconds. Plus, it slows the bugs down by 30%. If you fire a bug multiple times, the effect won’t stack. Instead, the timer is reset to 10 seconds again.
If the poison effect isn’t enough for you, the Suppressive Fire modification inflicts 50% fear within 1 meter of where the bullets hit. Since each bug has different fear resistance, the actual chance of causing fear varies from 15-35%.
Primary Weapon: “Thunderhead” Heavy Autocannon
- Overclock: Neurotoxin Payload
- 50% Chance of inflicting Neurotoxin
- +0.6m Effect Radius
- -2 Damage
- -5 Area Damage
- Modifications:
- 3 – Expanded Ammo Bags
- 3 – Lighter Barrel Assembly
- 3 – High Velocity Rounds
- 2 – Shrapnel Rounds
- 2 – Suppressive Fire
Secondary Weapon: ArmsKore Coil Gun
- Overclock: Hellfire
- Ignite terrain within 2m of projectile trajectory
- +1m Trail Radius
- -200 Ammo
- x0.7 Charge Speed
- -2s Trail Duration
- Modifications:
- 3 – Optimised Magnetic Circuit
- 1 – Overcharger
- 1 – Concussive Shockwave
- 1 – Defence Enhancement
- 1 – Necro-Thermal Catalyst
The ArmsKore is suitable for both single and multiple targets. With the Hellfire overclock, you can deal decent fire damage to rival robots, making clearing Industrial Sabotage easier.
The flame path lasts 3 seconds and deals 12 damage every 0.15-0.2 seconds.
Gunner Best Build #4: Hurricane Generalist
Finally on the list is a general build with two clean overclocks, suitable for anyone new to the Gunner.
This build works well in most cases, from close to long-range enemies such as menaces and spitball infectors. Each missile has a 25% chance to stun the bug for 3 seconds.
Primary Weapon: “Hurricane” Guided Rocket System
- Overclock: Overtuned Feed Mechanism
- x1.2 Max Velocity
- +1 Rate of Fire
- Modifications:
- 1 – Missile Belt
- 2 – Anti-Tank Missiles
- 1 – Nano Missles
- 1 – Shrapnel Load
- 2 – Uncontrolled Decompression
Secondary Weapon: BRT7 Burst Fire Gun
- Overclock: Composite Casings
- +36 Max Ammo
- +1 Rate of Fire
- Modifications:
- 2 – Floating Barrel
- 2 – Quickfire Ejector
- 2 – Increased Caliber Rounds
- 3 – Hollow-Point Bullets
- 1 – Burst Stun
With the BRT7, you can stun the bugs for another 4 seconds if all three bullets in a burst hit the target. With this build, those poor bugs can’t move at all.
Those are the best 4 Deep Rock Galactic Gunner builds!
What’s your favorite build? Let us know in the comment below.