Just as a disclaimer, this guide IS NOT meant to flex on other peoples' insights by pretending that my loadouts are the best, because everyone's experience with DRG may be different whether playing solo or in teams. All my guides are susceptible to change, so please leave a comment if you have any constructive feedback to make this guide better for everyone who reads it.

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Each number represents which upgrade to pick in each tier. For example;
TYPE Gun_312 oc: X.
TYPE - "Heavy Hitter", "General Purpose", etc.
Gun - self explanatory...
3 - far right upgrade in tier 1
1 - far left upgrade tier 2
2 - middle upgrade in tier 3
oc: - Overclock

If you want to learn more about DRG, I recommend checking out the Deep Rock Galactic game wiki.[deeprockgalactic.wiki.gg]

Here's 4 loadout types that fit 4 different scenarios;
Used in Elimination missions. Sacrifices ammo for damage, but trust me, it's totally worth it for those damn Dreadnoughts.

Covers a broader range of mission types by stacking dmg & status effects. Works especially well during Deep Dives that don't have "Industrial Sabotage" objectives.

Mainly for missions with "Critical Weakness" buffs. You'll have a lot of ammo to spare if you hit the enemies' weakspots.

Prioritises robots during Industrial Sabotage or "Rival Presence" missions, but not as practical against bugs. With enough practice tho, you'll get used to it. Also made another guide on some strategies to beat the CareTaker. Check it out; https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2639497943

Of course, you’re not restricted to using these loadouts for only their associated mission types. I know I use the heavy hitter loadouts for all kinds of missions (especially for CareTaker boss fights in Deep Dives). However, the ammo junky loadouts definitely should only be used for crit weakness missions, especially on higher haz difficulties. But it’s up to you if you wanna mix and match your equipment for certain playstyles.

Each character class has loadouts that can fit each of these 4 Loadout Types. Now, let’s see which guns, upgrades, and Overclocks we want for each scenario type...

Honestly, pick whatever you’re comfortable with. Doesn’t really matter which ones you bring, but if I had to choose, these would be my top 5.


works especially well as Driller when using throwing axes or power drills, but works as a "second wind" when stealing health during Iron Will when you can't find red sugar or resupplies.

is also super handy when you’re trying to grab ammo quickly while fighting off bugs, plus each resupply gives you a lot more health and automatically reloads all your guns. Keep in mind that Driller and Scout don't really need the resupplier perk for reloading weapons, mainly because Driller's vampire perk gets a lot of health from bugs, and Scout is fast at reloading weapons, so you could probably switch it with something else for those two classes.

is very helpful for killing off small bugs without having to waste ammo. However, Thorns may interfere with Vampire because bugs might die attacking you before you get a chance to drain health out of them. Driller probably doesn't need this perk either because most of Driller's attacks are close quarters anyway.

for escaping grabbers and leeches mainly playing solo. But if you stick by your teammates that got your back, you probably don't need this perk.

cuz you never know if you're gonna go down, especially doing a mission solo. Most importantly, Iron Will + Vampire acts like a “second wind” and will prevent you from bleeding out.

I use this armour set for all my character classes. Remember; fully upgraded armour gives you extra health. Sacrificing 1 second of recharge delay isn't a big deal because, it's kind of annoying when you can only get 2 stacks of 39 nitra compared 2 stacks of 44 nitra. Using the more minerals upgrade fixes that annoying issue. And having longer invulnerability after revive is more useful than the shield explosion upgrades because they don't really do much.

I like to reserve my higher power strike damage against big bugs or Dreadnoughts when they're almost dead to save on ammo.

Check out this loadout in action here!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/P5De1_E9OMw
Great for freezing large swarms of bugs, even if you're completely surrounded. The closer you are to a bug, the faster they'll freeze, leaving enemies vulnerable to any of your other attacks. Ice Spears do crazy damage, but if you miss, just freezem and cookem with the Colette.
The key is to cook bugs while they're frozen to cause 200 "Temperature Shock" damage. This works even better when in overdrive mode (press reload) for Dreadnoughts.
Mainly used to destroy Dreadnought armour as a setup to unleash other weapons.
Not much to say. Doesn't really do much against Dreads no matter what upgrades you use, but great for shattering swarms of frozen bugs!
Does a lot of damage to frozen Dreadnoughts, and crowd controlling to save on ammo. Pro tip: to maximize the reuse ability of your axes, use them against frozen grunts, or aim for the terrain to deal area damage.

Check out this loadout in action here!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/IxtNy8gblds
Great for one-shoting grunts in the face at close range, and does bonus weakpoint damage.
I mainly use this on the dreadnought's armour, but still does a lot of damage against its exposed weakspot. However, the "Deepcore_21212 oc: Hyper Propellant" is also a good alternative choice. The reason I didn't choose it though is because it's not as good at crowd control during solo missions.
Quick-build is very handy... mainly cuz i don't have the patience to build turrets lol. Having two turrets fires more rounds and consumes ammo rather quickly, but since the heavy hitter loadouts aren't really about conserving ammo, I'd say it's appropriate.
Since the dreadnought don't care about bug-repellent, just bring more ammo.
If you wanna be a pro engineer, click here!
Mainly used to crowd control bugs to save on gun ammo.

Check out this loadout in action here!
Haz 5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/fvKSxNr3GnI
Not as good at crowd control compared to the Autocannon with the Fear upgrade, but does double damage, at a faster rate, and with pinpoint accuracy from any range. Ammo is scarce, so use it wisely.
Does crazy damage, especially when eating weakspots. Treat yourself to a little neurotoxic spice on top of it all to make Dreads suffer from poison and slower movement. Quick reload compensates for missed shots, but also allows you to dump more shots into Dreads in less time, especially at close range.
Better angles for exploring complex terrains, and less drop damage in case you get hit by bowser's fireball.
Use this loadout for all my Gunner loadouts just cuz I find more time in the bubble allows for more breathing room.
Great for crowd controlling when you wanna save on a bit of ammo.

Check out this loadout in action here!
Haz 5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/RHn48Kp59tw
Does lots of damage to bugs and Dreadnoughts that are afflicted with elemental damage, and Scout's got IFG's and taser bolts to do exactly that. I chose weakspot over armour break cuz I was doing this mission solo, but armour break works great against the Dreadnought twins.
Electric special arrows amplifies the triple shot arrows and works best on the dreadnought's exposed weakspots. Deal even more damage to bugs in an IFG field. Not sure if the IFG + special arrows stack, but still helps either way. Quick reload helps if you miss and wanna take another shot.
Run away fast from Dreadnought attacks, or if you gotta reload your guns.
More ammo = more light, but longer light is more useful when you're fighting Dreads in one area.
Helps to crowd control and slow down Dreadnoughts for easier shooting. Also, anything in IFG fields receive bonus damage.

Check this loadout in action here!
Haz 5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/NRi6so0xL9g
Easy freeze large swarms of bugs, leaving them vulnerable to bonus frozen damage. The Ice Spear overclock adds more options to dealing with the bigger/tougher bugs.
I get why people don't like this gun, but man, once you get passed that learning curve and practice blowing up charged shots, it can be very useful as a mining tool and crowd controller. Not so great at EPC mining anymore cuz the devs prob didnt like how it was replacing the Scout+Engi duo. I still use it to mine stuff tho, but materials scatter everywhere.
Surprisingly, I mainly use this to mine stuff, but also great for finishing off a group of frozen bugs!
Drills work great with the vampirism perk against frozen bugs! Also, scares away bugs when you damage them with the drills.
Great for killing off large swarms... slowly and painfully 3:D

Check this loadout in action here!
Haz 5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/kZrZSDDJNrs
Stacks electrical damage like crazy, killing more bugs, and slowing them down while they're electrocuted to make it easier to shoot weakspots.
Kill lots of bugs in a row, and the ones that don't die will be vulnerable to your SMG's bonus electrical damage.
2 Turrents = more rate of fire = more damage = more kills. Still using that quick-build upgrade cuz I don't have the patience to build turrets.
Like I said before, bug repellent DOES WORK. You just gotta use multiple layers sometimes.
If you wanna be a pro engineer, click here!
Keeps bugs at bay by either blowing them up, or scaring them away. Each mine explodes multiple times, and can be disarmed and reused if it hasn't blown up yet.

Check this loadout in action here!
Haz 5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/foKm7nYcGUw
Kills multiple bugs over time with poison, slows down movement of ALL bugs that are poisoned, scares away most bugs which means they stay away from you while poisoned, and still does good direct damage. Works especially well if you can catch a wave spawning early to poison all those bugs. The pyro minigun + revolver duo is very good at dealing with bigger bugs, but the autocannon is way better at crowd control.
Pro Tip: you can poison the Ghost Bulk to slow it down.
I prefer using this on bigger bugs after throwing a molotov at them cuz bugs that are on fire receive massive bonus fire damage, and even more damage if you hit their weakspots. You'll probably be rarely using the revolver since the autocannon handles most bugs, so just max out those dmg upgrades.
More shield time is the best. Trust me.
Better angles are better for complex terrains.
Does lots of fire damage to a large group of bugs that walk through it, and stacks fire damage with the revolver.

Check this loadout in action here!
Haz 5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/vyirN_d7hAY
Inspired by the Driller's cryo cannon, this loadout works especially well against frozen bugs. With the large abundance of options to freeze bugs, the DRAK will absolutely demolish anything that's frozen.
I mainly use the Cryo Minelets to freeze large waves of enemies, leaving them all vulnerable to my plasma gun. If you really need to, electrocuting bugs with the plasma gun may leave them more vulnerable to your SMG's bonus electrical damage.
75 seconds x 18 flares = more than enough light.
honestly, doesn't really matter what upgrades you use for this.
Use for insta-killing airbourne mactera, large groups of swarmers, or handling lots of grunts in an emergency. Remember to use your plasma gun afterwards.

Check out this loadout in action here!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco.
https://youtu.be/dJmf0alUr4c
Freeze and shatter countless bugs. Doesn't do weakspot damage, but freezing bugs will buy you time to grab your pistol. Plus, the magazine is pretty big so, you don't have to worry about overheating your cryo gun as much with this overclock.
One-hit grunts and flying mactera in their weak spots, and you'll have plenty of time to shatter bugs after freezing them too.
More ammo = more explosions, cuz I love blowin ♥♥♥♥ up! Also scares bugs away. PRO TIP: you can draw two wieners on the map instead of one with more C4.
More drill ammo means you can drill more.
Cuz I love blowing ♥♥♥♥ up!

Check out this loadout in action here!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco.
https://youtu.be/OgeBAH4WmRA
With a REDICILUS amount of ammo, it'll be raining bugs and bullets, as long as you shoot them in their weakspots.
Great for wiping out entire rows of bugs. I don't think it does weakspot damage but still great for crowd controlling.
I still prefer having the quick-build upgrade, but if you've got the patience, use the ammo upgrade if you want. Still, add the accuracy/range upgrade so that the turret can kill bugs from far away while you're dealing with bugs that are up close. You can also prioritize your turret's target by selecting stuff with your laser pointer.
Keep bugs away by using bug repellent on your platforms.
If you wanna be a pro engineer, click here!
Got a lot of bugs on your ass? No problem. Distract them with these decoys, get them all bundled up in one nice little cozy group, THEN SUBTRACT THEM FROM EXISTENCE HAHAHAHA 3:D

Check out this loadout in action here!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco.
https://youtu.be/dL-E1JlSWz8
I mainly use this on bigger bugs, and you'll have a lot of ammo to spare if you hit their weakspots. If you're starting to overheat, kill some smaller bugs to cooldown your gun, then go back to shooting big bugs again.
I mainly use this on smaller / mid size bugs. Having a shorter burst saves ammo, and hitting a bigger bug's weakspot will stun them.
Only seemed appropriate to have more ziplines but, I'll probably go back to using the better angle upgrade.
Longer shield time all the way. Other upgrades suck.
...cuz its lots of fun.

Check out this loadout in action HERE!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/oSqQGyPKQBQ
I usually use this when handling small groups of grunts, bigger enemies, or ones that are far away. Plus you can get a lil speed boost per kill for when things get intense. The slower fire rate kinda forces you to conserve ammo, which is great for this loadout anyway.
Great for crowd controlling at mid-close range, especially against a large swarm that's been caught in an IFG field. Also has a slower fire rate that kinda forces you to conserve ammo.
Fun fact; you can kill mactera and grunts by shooting their weakspots with this thing too lol.
Mainly used to escape a bad situation.
Helps with crowd control by making it easier to aim at weakspots, especially against swarms.

Made a gameplay video showcasing this loadout! Check it out HERE!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/NQBUqsfJ0e4
Turns out robots are very weak to fire, so lettem burn. Does pretty well at killing/scaring bugs, and takes care of the robot tentacles too.
If the flamethrower can’t reach your desired burning target, you can heat them up from far away with the EPC’s heat upgrade, such as robot sniper turrets. Charged shots will also heat up targets pretty good, but that's more crowd controlling.
Plant a charge on top of the CareTaker's head to blow up all 4 of its electrical vents. Also scares away bugs during the hack process.
More for handling robot shredders and digging the tunnel system strategy during the boss fight.
Saves a bit of gun ammo when attacking the Caretaker’s eyeball.

Check out how Engineer disassembles the Caretaker HERE!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/L6gea1-qXcc
Mainly used to trigger EMP blasts from your turrets to crowd control bugs, bots, and destroying the Caretaker’s vents.
Amazing at crowd control and destroying Caretaker’s vents, but if you’re blasting the vents with the Stubby’s EMP, you can save your nukes to blow up the Caretaker’s eyeball.
Quick build to use Stubby’s EMP faster. Stun-locking enemies at close range allows for more effective EMP blasts, and at far range allows for better nuking when enemies are bunched up in one area.
I like the bug repellent for protecting the Hack Bot easier, but you could also bring more ammo if like setting up for the boss fight.
Excellent at keep enemies away from the hacker bot, and handling the Caretaker’s tentacles.

Check out how Gunner destroys the Big Bad Bot HERE!
Haz5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wu09KiPgz0
Does a lot of overall direct damage to everything, and scares away bugs from you, your teammates, and the hacker bot.
Since your autocannon does most of the work, you can reserve big damage opportunities for bigger bugs and the Caretaker’s eyeball.
You’re gonna be moving around a lot during the boss fight, so having some protection when you leave the shield is probably a good idea.
Angles and range aren’t really important when setting up for the boss fight.
Landing a cluster grenade just right at the corner of the Caretaker’s vents does lots of damage. Sticky grenade is also a good alternative.

Check out how the Scout demolishes the robot Rivals!
Haz 5, Solo, No Bosco/Mods.
https://youtu.be/vPLX2tib2ec
The tricky part is having your shields at 100% as much as possible, which means constantly finding ways to escape from swarms without getting hit so you can shoot back at enemies from a distance AND avoid overheating your gun. Scout is my weakest class cuz I had to unlearn my habit of staying in the fight instead of retreating, but getting passed that learning curve was definitely worthwhile.
Great for handling big bugs, bots, and swarms if you don't wanna use the DRAK after getting hit. Ammo is limited though so, use it wisely.
Longer flares are more useful when fighting in one area.
Run fast while fighting/escaping swarms and during CareTaker boss fight.
Surprisingly useful for protecting Hacksy, creating an opening to escape through, and wiping out swarmer drones.