Deep Rock Galactic – Driller Build Guide & Class Tips

Last Updated on June 28, 2025 by Samuel Franklin

This Driller build guide and tips ensure you maximise your utility to become a valuable DRG team asset. As one of my favourite co-operative classes these different playstyle builds are based on my hundreds of Driller games.

As a starting build I recommend the Flamethrower (2/1/2/2/2) and Subata 120 (2/2/3/2/3) with other alternative recommendations detailed below.

Table of Contents:
– Builds Overview
– Primary Weapon Builds
– Secondary Weapon Builds
– Equipment
– Throwables
– Team Role & Tips

Best Driller Builds Overview

I recommend these combinations for primary and secondary weapons:

• Flamethrower & Subata 120: A simple but highly effective loadout that focuses on area of effect damage with a pistol backup. This combination is ideal for most mission types particularly Mining Expedition, On-Site Refining, Escort Duty, Salvage Operation and Point Extraction.
• Cryo Cannon & Plasma Charger: Focused on cryo utility and the plasma pistol for high burst damage this is ideal for large objective battle missions like Elimination and Industrial Sabotage.
• Corrosive Sludge Pump & Wave Cooker: A generalist Driller build that combines sludge utility and the high wave cooker damage output. Like the flamethrower build this can be used on most mission types although should not be used on Elimination missions.

These are my recommended default weapon configurations for each weapon:

Primary Weapon Options:

• Primary (Flamethrower): 2/1/2/2/2 – Balanced weapon with reliable damage
• Primary (Cryo): 2/2/2/1/1 – Long ranged weapon that maximises charged shot output
• Primary (Corrosive Sludge): 3/2/1/1/1 – Fast firing rifle with no reload

Secondary Weapon Options:

• Secondary (Subata 120): 2/2/3/2/3 – Boosts area of effect for swarm management
• Secondary (Plasma Charger): 3/2/2/3/2 – Mitigates the ammo usage for an enemy cleanup tool
• Secondary (Wave Cooker): 1/1/2/2/3 – Turns enemies against each other with pheromone darts

Other Equipment:

• Equipment (Reinforced Power Drills): 2/1/1/1 – Optimise ammo and fall damage reduction
• Equipment (Satchel Charge): 2/1/1/2 – Larger damage area with an extra satchel
• Armour (Mole Rig): 1/2/1/2
• Throwable: Impact Axe or Neurotoxin Grenade

Driller Primary Weapons

The Driller primary weapons can vastly impact your team role with each having their own elemental theme (flame, cryo and sludge) to optimise.

CRSPR Flamethrower: A default flame based weapon with area of effect damage focus as you hold down the trigger to burn bug enemies at short range. It can also leave lingering flames for additional crowd control although is primarily a direct damage tool or can be used to get under armoured plates depending on the flamethrower build.

For recommended flamethrower mods boosting the flamethrower range counters a large drawback of the weapon and then empower the sticky flame mechanic.

• Tier 1 – High Pressure Ejector
• Tier 2 – Unfiltered Fuel
• Tier 3 – Sticky Flame Slowdown
• Tier 4 – Sticky Flame Duration
• Tier 5 – Targets Explode
• Overclock – Lighter Tanks or Sticky Additive or Fuel Stream Diffuser

Cryo Cannon: This Driller option is a completely opposite playstyle to the flamethrower as it supports your team through damage boosting cryo effects. Building your cannon to reduce wind up time and extended range can improve its flexibility:

• Tier 1 – Faster Turbine Spinup
• Tier 2 – Overclocked Ejection Turbine
• Tier 3 – Increased Flow Volume
• Tier 4 – Hard Mixture or Larger Reserve Tank
• Tier 5 – Fragile
• Overclock – Improved Thermal Efficiency or Ice Storm

Corrosive Sludge Pump: Introduced in the November 2021 patch the sludge pump (or CSP) focuses on crowd control similar to the sticky flame mechanic of the flamethrower. The CSP excels at narrow chokepoints where the slow utility provides invaluable map control in this Corrosive Sludge Pump build:

• Tier 1 – Air Sensitive Compound
• Tier 2 – Atomizer Nozzel
• Tier 3 – Superaturation
• Tier 4 – Spillback Extension or Improved Spooling Mechanism
• Tier 5 – Protein Disruption Mix or Fluroantimonic Acid
• Overclock – Goo Bomber Special or Disperser Compound or Hydrogen Ion Additive

Driller Secondary Weapons

Driller secondary weapons have longer range than your primary weapons to provide balanced combat options.

Subata 120: Your default sidearm that is empowered with extra damage and capacity through modifications. Players have some interesting decision points with this weapon capable of being a two shot pistol with high armour breaking (tier 3) or a fully automatic pistol (overclock). Tier 5 mods for the Subata 120 are also a major decision and while I default to the Acid Coated Bullets (previously known as Mactera toxin) as a counter to flying enemies you can also run Volatile Bullets as a DPS boost.

• Tier 1 – High Capacity Magazine
• Tier 2 – Increased Calibre Rounds
• Tier 3 – Expanded Ammo Bags or 2-Round Burst
• Tier 4 – High Velocity Rounds or Hollow-Point Bullets
• Tier 5 – Acid Coated Bullets or Volatile Bullets
• Overclock – Automatic Fire or Oversized Magazine

Experimental Plasma Charger (EPC): A fun experimental weapon that is vastly different from the bullet focused weapons of DRG. The EPC has two firing modes allowing you to shoot single shots or charge up a more powerful attack when necessary which generate heat. This base weapon deals nearly double the damage of the Subata 12 and five times the Subata 12 for a charged shot with the trade off being significantly less ammo. There are a few experimental plasma charger builds and I prefer focusing on strong shots but you can also build it as a generalist basic attack sidearm (both options included below).

• Tier 1 – Higher Charged Plasma Energy or Increased Particle Density
• Tier 2 – Heat Shield or Overcharged Plasma Accelerator
• Tier 3 – Crystal Capacitors or Tweaked Radiator
• Tier 4 – Reactive Shockwave or High Density Battery
• Tier 5 – Thin Containment Field
• Overclock – Overcharger or Heavy Hitter

Colette Wave Cooker (CWC): Your longest range secondary option with an overheating mechanic. The Cooker is flexible and can be optimised for damage against small enemies or high burst damage utility depending on your preferences. This high burst relies on leveraging Exothermic Reactor to deal Temperature Shock damage so you’ll need to utilise your reliable sources of burning or frozen on your primary.

• Tier 1 – Convex Lens
• Tier 2 – Heat Sink
• Tier 3 – Temperature Amplifier or Densification Ray
• Tier 4 – Power Supply Overdrive or Wide Lens Add-On
• Tier 5 – Exothermic Reactor
• Overclock – Mega Power Supply

Driller Equipment

Your equipment as a Driller is about terrain altering to help your team move around the map to key locations. This support utility should not be overlooked as a good Driller can save his team significant time and pain across all hazard levels or game modes.

Reinforced Power Drills: Your powerful hand drills that can dig pathways in the map and serve as a backup melee weapon. This utility equipment item has simple upgrade options that focus on faster drilling, cooling them down and giving a small uplift in ammo capacity.

• Tier 1 – Hardened Drill Tips or Expanded Fuel Tanks
• Tier 2 – Magnetic Refrigeration
• Tier 3 – Supercharged Motor
• Tier 4 – Increased Tank Pressure

Satchel Charge: Often referred to as C4 these can be detonated remotely for clearing a pathway or offensive and defensive needs. Upgrades provide extra damage, stagger enemies and an extra satchel.

• Tier 1 – Bigger Charge
• Tier 2 – Kill Switch
• Tier 3 – Extra Satchel Charge
• Tier 4 – Concussive Blast

“Mole” Armour Rig: These upgrade options improve your survival chances if your shield does break while being up close to enemies as the Driller.

• Tier 1 – Improved Generator
• Tier 2 – Healthy
• Tier 3 – Temperature Insulation
• Tier 4 – Static Discharge

Driller Throwables

The Driller throwable weapons each have a different use case to consider in designing your personalised Driller build.

Impact Axe: A unique variation of DRG throwable this axe has deadly impact damage and players can carry up to 8 which is the highest number of any dwarf throwable. This counts as a melee attack for triggering certain perks (Vampire) and if you miss it can be reclaimed.

High Explosive Grenade: This 6 capacity high explosive is generally overkill as your loadout already has plenty of explosive destruction. Following a Novemember 2022 tweak players can cook these grenades for a extra utility by carefully timing the explosion.

Neurotoxin Grenade: The best grenade for your Driller when using the flamethrower as the gas cloud can catch fire for bonus damage to deal with large threats or to protect a revive attempt for an ally.

Springloaded Ripper: Added in the Season 3 Plaguefall update this adds a devastating throwable to both foe and friend. For this reason it is not a grenade you should use lightly as the saws can quickly cut through an ally although when well placed and under the right conditions (preferably a clear line of sight with flat terrain) is your hardest hitting grenade option.

Driller Specific Tips

The Driller name explains the playstyle perfectly with your primary goal to drill paths for your allies to the objective. When you aren’t creating pathways through terrain the driller is a capable fighter alongside the gunner with high damage and crowd control depending on weapon selection.

The Driller is effective across low and high hazard levels with the right focus and use of Bosco in solo gameplay. The Driller tips below will boost your survivability and speed across the various mission types of Deep Rock Galactic.

• Tunnel Efficiency: Your primary goal is to save your team time, by looking for potential locations where you can create a tunnel with focus on tunnels that will be used multiple times.
• Think Vertical: Don’t limit yourself to the horizontal plane when using your drills as they are highly effective at creating stair like structures for a reliable and permanent source of vertical movement.
• Explosive Satchel Charge Planning: Use your satchel charge early and often, there are many Deep Rock Galactic game types that you’ll know where the swarm and other attacks are coming from so placing one to trigger at the right time can be a team saving action.
• Advanced Terrain Control: The Driller has the strongest terrain manipulation abilities in the game with the combination of satchel charges and drills. Using this to clear firing lines for your team of obstacles or flattening terrain can be a useful advanced tactic that might seem like a minor activity but can vastly boost your allies ability to deal damage and survive. For an advanced although limited tactic you can even create bunkers from the environment although you should be careful when doing so and ensure your teammates understand this strategy.
• Different Weapon Goals: As a Driller your role can vary heavily depending on your weapon selection. If you’re using the flamethrower your goal should be sweeping the area for small enemies to let your team focus on the larger threats. The reverse is true if you opt for a cryo based build though as your focus shifts to controlling the larger enemies and boosting other damage sources against them.

Written by

Samuel Franklin

Samuel Franklin is the founder and lead editor of the Games Finder team and enjoys video games across all genres and platforms.

Since the Early Access days of Deep Rock Galactic Sam has been blasting his way through mining expeditions, relishing the co-operative chaos and forging dwarven camaraderie. Playing solo or with a crew Sam regularly wields the Engineer’s wrench, crafting intricate platform bridges and unleashing turret hellfire on the swarm. With hundreds of game hours and more than 500 dives into randomised caverns under his belt Sam is an experienced dwarf who continues to “Rock and Stone” in between his other video game adventures.