Deep Rock Galactic Survivors Tips and Tricks

Deep Rock Galactic: Survivors hides a surprising depth behind its simple control mechanics. Since at the beginning you will have to play the same level and character over and over again to unlock more content, here are some tips and tricks that can help you advance the game faster.

Tips and Tricks for beginners in Deep Rock Galactic Survivors

This game lets you control the movement of your character, but not your weapons or any other gadget. Therefore, efficiency and good priorities are key to maximizing your run. Here are 10 things to consider, common errors to avoid, or choices to make that can improve your gameplay.

• Focus on upgrades: at the start of the game, you should not focus on finishing the level or killing the boss since you probably lack the DPS to do so. Instead, use your early runs to get a feel for the game and also mine materials required for upgrades. Once you unlock the Driller, he will be your primary character for mineral-gathering runs.
• Prioritize Damage: there are many upgrades in the game, and they all can be valuable. However, I found maximizing damage is best at first because more damage means you will kill enemies faster, create more space to walk, and gain more experience.
• Mining speed: even though damage should be prioritized, don't underestimate the importance of mining speed. It can mean the difference between opening up an escape from a swarm or not, and it also helps gather materials quickly.
• Think ahead: when a swarm or a boss is coming for you, look around and plan your escape. Don't break walls too early, or that will help bugs surround you; instead, wait until the enemies are funnelled into one entrance, and only then break down an exit for you.
• Target the explosive bugs: swarms come with a type of enemy that explodes on death and will also self-destruct if you walk right near it. Target these to reduce the overall health of the swarm, and if you dare, you can approach them and then walk right away to trigger the self-destruct.

Related: Deep Rock Galactic Survivor: Engineer Total Turret build guide

• Mine the slow bugs: some levels have a type of slow armored bugs which are not a threat to be killed, but rather can be mined and yield some Gold and Nitra (image above).
• Use the drop pods to kill enemies: once you've cleared the area of the beacons, a supply pod will drop and grant you a boon. If you time these right, you can one-shot-kill a mini-boss when the drop pod falls on top of it.
• Farm Experience: when you are sure that a stage is below your level, you can farm XP from the swarms. Using the explosive bugs, AOE damage weapons like grenades, drop pods, and explosive fungus or lava, you can run around the swarm until you've melted them into experience points. However, don't do this once the boss of the stage has been drawn out: there's a constantly increasing timer that makes bugs become stronger and faster every few seconds.
• Re-roll the shop: for only 5 gold you get to reroll the items on sale after each stage has been completed. You could save your coins for the next stage, but having extra power now could mean you will farm more experience and more materials in this upcoming stage.
• Use the Level Up push: every time you level up, your character sends a blast wave that pushes enemies back. You can time this right to create an opening and walk through a swarm.

For more on Deep Rock Galactic: Survivors, check out How to defeat Dreadnought in Deep Rock Galactic Survivor here on Pro Game Guides.