"Friendly is just an aim issue" said the Engineer, as he fired a nuclear bomb and blocked off half the cave.

Yes all valid points. However, you can pet Steeve 10/10 perk

I love that this footage about how important perks are uses footage of you running solo with field medic.

The first 30 seconds should of this video should be played for everyone every time they open the perk selection screen in their room. 10/10 content.

I’ve basically had the same perk loadouts for 3 years and sometimes I forget that I can change them. I truly would love an overhaul to the perk system entirely rather than them taking the “nerf the good perks and buff the bad perks” approach. They just feel like things you pick once and forget about and aren’t that game changing (outside of Resupplier, Born ready, and dash). Most of the cooldowns are just so ridiculously long it’s almost comical. 4 minutes for Berserker? Really GSG? 4 minutes?!

Me watching my teammate who replaced Dash for Beastmaster getting destroyed by a single slasher while his Steeve is soloing an Oppressor 150m away from us: 🙂

I think we all would love for the perk system in general to get some love, they keep adding new ways to unlock perk points, so they haven’t entirely forgotten about them, but the perks themselves need a second look

Fun fact, second wind immediately activates with dash providing an upgrade to an already good perk

Field medic is also extremely handy when playing with greenbeards who you're teaching the game to. Gets them back in the fight faster so they can spend more time playing the game

Hover boots lets you look down upon other dwarves who think they're better than you.

I swear by Deep pockets, Plenty of medium-larger deposits of ore (or two smaller ones) are in that ~55 sweet spot, not having to walk back and forth between Molly saves more time over an entire mission than resupplier does. Nice video! Wish more people do what you did at the start.

I think Beast Master is good for newer players. Especially for classes they're not yet good at. That little extra help from your Grunt Slasher can be what distracts 10 enemies.

Just wanna say that Vet Depositor is actually pretty decent. If you use deposit canceling it shaves off a good deal of the animation to the point you never really have to stop moving for a full inv deposit. It's a mainstay for speedrunners but super useful to maintain momentum during a mission for other types of players too. Also, thorns gang unite! You don't realise just how much QOL that passive provides till you get used to it and them take it off. Stray single jellies/swarmers happen much more (in solo especially) than most people realise.

Honestly I think the best perks always depend on your playstyle. Look what kills you the most, and then choose a perk against that.

PSA: if you use any of the active perks with a contextual activation button like dash, there's a mod called SimpleQOL that lets you disable the default bindings and use a dedicated button.

Completely accurate, no notes. It's unfortunate that most passives have such a low impact on gameplay compared to Resupplier and Born Ready.

Didn't think I'd find myself agree this much with a "best perk" video as people tend to always have their own (questionable) opinions on them. So tired of people putting out blanket statements like "iron will is useless most of the time" and "stop crutching on iron will". Glad you actually put some emphasis on its usefulness on higher difficulties. Only difference I have in my builds is running Elemental on Driller though that's mostly because of my distaste for Magma core and fungus bogs (unless my life has been a lie and those stupid poison mushrooms aren't elemental damage), as well as the occasional tick of spit or gas from praetorians. I tend to take heightened senses on scout though that's a personal preference.

This has been my exact mindset about perk priority since i hit gold promotion with each class, and is still my perspective after about 900 hours. It both validating and disappointing to hear: I'm glad that I've got a good sense for what's good (although its hard not to after so many hours), yet its disapointing that there isn't greater complexity in the form of interesting perk-combinations, perk-weapon interactions, or just more valuable perks competing or those limited slots.

I love the idea of berzerker being a niche pick for builds struggling with oppressors. The cooldown in combination with using it on accident 75% of time really destroy its value though. Also, I unironically think It's a Bug Thing is a better pick than many other passives.

I love running Berzerker with vampire on all classes, it's just a nice way of clearing enemies and gaining a bit of health during it, saving ammo in the process as well.

I do wish that perks get looked at next season tbh. It's a great idea and one that has a lot of potential. Plus, there's over 100 perk points that are just sitting there collecting dust and need to be used.

Would’ve been cool to see a couple new perks with season 4. But all we got was some more rockpox, yay

I think second wind is actually okay on driller specifically. If your a fan of... well, drilling, making connected shortcuts, etc, being able to catch up is useful, either for going back through your own tunnel or dumping your team into a cave while you explore the side areas. Nothing tells your team "Go here!" Like a driller tunnel

Hm always considered Beast Master to be a free lure (and if a guard is converted and not a random grunt, it actually lasts for a while); seemed useful for engineer to have additional safety. "Waste time and attention" is harsly said ;_; Meanwhile shield link seemed useful for gunner (with him already being able to persist and/or save with shield), and berzerker for scout (combines well w Iron Will, allowing to regenerate more, and saves some ammo occasionally).

bro casually has entire population of salt pits chasing him

9:27 "Its a bug thing is a bit too powerful" 'you're goddamn right' walter meme here

I love Shield Link on missions or Deep Dives with Salvage. Having an almost constant 50% Shield regen boost while defending makes chip damage from the numerous enemies closing in on you much less stressful. I think it fills it's Niche well, but would be better if they cut the Active part and made it a strict passive so that it wasn't competing against Field Medic and Iron Will. I personally don't find Born Ready that useful on anything besides Gunner who has much longer reloads on his primaries since the natural ebbs and flows of waves and the needed movement to keep up with such gives enough down time to keep your weapons mostly topped up with some exceptions such as some Plasma Cutter OCs, Gunner's Damage Resist Autocannon (which I love stacking EI with for massive Praetorian and Spitters denial), Scout's Crossbow, or some other small exceptions. I personally prefer Sweet Tooth over Vampire since I try to keep out of Melee range in the first place, but It's a Bug Thing is definitely too strong, and really needs a nerf, plz fix GSG, totally broken.

I agree on almost everything, but recently I was feeling frustrated by the lack of viable perk combinations, so I started experimenting with strong arm and I actually find it pretty good especially for gunner and some driller builds. Throwing flares further than the usual short distance helps with spotting bugs sooner (and killing them sooner) and is also good for finding minerals and secondary objectives that are a bit high above the ground or in a tunnel in dark environments. The second effect is more of a quality of life, but it helps speeding things up when you're doing a tritilyte event or have to throw doretta's batteries up a terrace to get more fuel or need to throw the decontamination tools closer to some hard to reach rockpox. The main improvement though is spotting bugs with flares, and that is helping me quite a lot during missions

Counter argument: Steeve is the bestest boi and an absolute 10/10. I love him and refuse to get rid of him

Whenever I don't forget to equip it I really like It's A Bug Thing on OSR missions. Just for the sheer joy op grinding along a pipe with 10 lootbugs on it! :D

It's always frustrating to see people waste iron will or field medic early on in a mission. I run IW on my gunner and driller, keeping it for when everyone else is dead or about to be and only if I can get some health immediately, and then field medic on engie and scout when there are so many bugs I just can't stand in one spot long enough to revive someone without dying myself. I see both of these wasted so often just because someone's impatient :(

1:12 You hit that spitball so hard and fast he just got erased from existence and It made me fall back into my chair

I think thorns is actually a very close second after vampire, and it helps newer players learn haz 5 as damage from swarmers/spawn becomes a big deal

This and the weapon tier list was so useful, now I'm hoping there will be a grenade tier list or even a builds for armor/nonweapons as well.

wow, editing :) jokes aside, really good video, concise and accurate. hope this reaches more people

This is what I was looking for. Not another "just pick whatever you want as long as you have fun" video. Easy sub

As far as im aware, elemental insulation only works on praetorian spit. The acid spitter does kinetic damage, but the tick after is resisted. So it only covers prat spit, and every tick damage that im aware of

one day people will get over the thorns nerf. its almost like a perk doesn't need to literally completely and passively eradicate an entire enemy class to be good! it basically subtracts 5-6 swarmers from any interaction, which turns threating groups of swarmers into a cakewalk and turns little bunches of swarmers into nothing. swarmers aren't exactly the most important enemy type in the game to concern yourself with; but still, greatly negating the threat of a whole class of enemies is well worth a single passive perk slot.

I love videos that don't beat around the bush and just give the most important information at the start. You're a real one, subbed

The ammo and time you save from "its a bug thing..." will let you solo a dreadnought in due time

I agree with this 100% for you recommendations on scout/driller, very slightly less on others. The universally awesome perks are still the top picks and if you went with a "universal dwarf" build they would still be top no question about it. Gunner can reliably use the passive part of field medic because it drastically boosts the effectiveness of a shield revive. It gives you almost 2 more seconds of shielded time to figure out your next move. So much so that it feels like its stronger than iron will for him. Ressuplier is also stronger on him for this reason and his long reloads also make born ready a must have. He almost highlights exactly why the best passives are the best. A lot of Engineer's kit really mellows out the drastic advantages of the top contenders while enabling niche perks to be better. It takes the most skill/luck to reliably get mileage out of iron will mainly because the turrets and/or SSGs often steal potential vampire kills. Ressuplier is the opposite issue since the SSG or mines all but guarantees a safe resupply with little to no effort. His playstyle revolving around securing locations bolsters the effectiveness of things like shield link, veteran depositor, thorns, and beastmaster. If you run a team that typically doesn't have a scout, strong arm can cover lighting up a large room with a bit of skill and a use of dash. The trash perks are still trash though.

2:12 What a cutie. It’s okay, take your time. The morkite can wait.

You will not stop me from equipping thorns and deep pockets on every class I'm too used to it

While I may agree with most of this I feel that some just don't work well with me. Born ready: I swap between weapons and tools to much to get much out of it and I habitually reload everything fairly often. (There are sometimes I run it because the reload is that slow) Dash: I don't run on anyone but driller/engineer because field medic for a gunner/scout is amazing at least for me. See you in hell: is good solo simply because being able to clear stuff that killed you is amazing granted I only run it on haz 4 solo and lower. Sweet tooth: On almost every single loadout I think it is just that nice to have. Unstoppable: Only run it on glacial strata and sometimes fungus bogs. Beastmaster: Is much better than berzerker, shield link, and hover boots simply because steeve acts as a decoy granted not a great one but at least they didn't pick the other 3 I mentioned. (Doesn't mean I will actually use it) Thorns: I run it on a lot of loadouts for every single class except driller for obvious reasons. Deep pockets: It is nice QoL but I will always loathe anyone who runs it outside of solo because you have every other better option in the world but at least it isn't strong arms level of useless.

Honestly, shield link is really good. Great perks like combat medic or iron will have one use and can easily be failed if used incorrectly. But shield link allows for versatile use (Revives, desperate resource grabs, when you and another are getting surrounded, ext.) Imagine a situation where a driller with vamp needs health bad during a swarm, if he were to dive right in he'd be dead in seconds, BUT, because of shield link it allows for him to dive in grab a good 30 maybe 40 hp and then dip out. Also can be used for helping teammates out of thick situations. Another situation. Imagine in industrial sabo that an engineer needs to do a lot, he needs to get this praetorian away, reload his turret AND resupply. Usually this would be impossible alone but with shield link he can do it with ease and allow you to not worry about a teammate for 30 seconds! So you can focus on reviving that other teammate or making enemies target them and they still be fine. Shield link can be used multiple times and is very useful in a competent team, it helps in every situation while great perks like iron will or combat medic only help with revives. I think the only reason to why people do not use it is because a team sometimes needs to split up or people have just adjusted to using these perks.

Just started playing and this is exactly what I needed. No-BS and with explanations. Thanks so much dude

Thanks for this 40s video summarizing everything there is to know about perks in DRG!

Another very well made video; having played for hell of a long time, I knew what I’d be expecting, yet your explanations on the application/lack of impact of each perk is so concisely explained that I’m certain new players and veteran players can appreciate the work you put into this. Additionally, your movement on the refinery mission was impeccable and your dwarves’ drip is damn fine. You really know a thing or two about making great quality DRG content, waste. Rock & Stone m8 ⛏️

Man, it was only a few months ago I finally tried the Dash, and I cannot believe I slept on it for so long. Slasher stunned you? Dash. Stuck in goo? Dash. Exploders snuck up on you? Daaash! Cornered by a horde? Dash right by them all. Can't quite make a running jump? Make a Dash jump. About to miss landing on the foam platform? Dash works midair too, even while on a zipline. Dash has saved me more than Iron Will ever has, after all you can't be killed if they can't touch you.

SHIELD LINK IS MASSIVE #LINKSWEEP FIRST PERK TO SELL A LINKILLION COPIES

I remember Steeve being inmortal in a bug hp regen hazard thing, lot of time ago, i wonder if its still true. That was a nice ~scarecrow~ helping hand. Until a swarm of macteras came and then he became the most useless thing in the game, good days.

Generally I agree with you, but I disagree on two things. First of, dash. I actually don't really disagree on this one, but I would add one exception to your rule. If you're playing with inexperienced players, and mainly if someone (barring scout) does not use dash and/or if someone doesn't have their character promoted yet, it's sometimes better to run iron will + field medic on a non-scout class, to be better able to keep the team alive. Secondly, I disagree on thorns and born ready. Thorns is definitely a lot better than the other three "mediocre" perks. On scout and engineer I'd never recommend running any of the other three. For gunner you could run them, but still a combination of thorns, born ready and vampire is always better. Only for driller sweet tooth could be a semi-viable alternative to thorns, or maybe if the biome demands it unstoppable or elemental insulation instead. Born ready meanwhile, while very good, is not as clear cut a winner and more up to preference than you stated. Important to note is that the effectiveness of born ready is very dependent on your loadout. Certain weapons with certain overclocks can either really require born ready, most notably weapons with long reload or engineer platform gun, or kinda negate the usefulness of born ready, most notably weapons that don't reload but recharge/cool or when you need to swap quickly between weapons often. Also, Thorns and born ready are both QOL, with born ready helping you save time and keeping you on the move and thorns helping you when enemies inevitably attack you from behind, slip through your defences or swarm you. Thus, depending heavily on your loadout, which one of these you choose is very dependent on which of these two QOL changes you prefer. Especially with scout and engineer, where both of these are very useful. Vampire off-driller/iron will can also be added to this. Because you are not relegated to the limited amount of nitra and red sugar some may really like that they can regain a bit of health with their pickaxe, and thus pick this where they otherwise would've picked thorns.

Good quality video. All information within the first 30 seconds for the people who just want a quick tip, and a more nuanced section after a short ad. Good job 👍

I agree with pretty much every point and run the same perks as you do on modded. In vanilla on scout I prefer heightened senses, as I might be playing careless/without sound and also have teammates that are further away and less reliable.

god bless your soul for saying everything i need in 30sec

I always run born ready on sticky flame driller, giving yourself 100% uptime on Cc is invaluable for you and your team

I personally adore Second Wind for those moments in between dashes whwre you still need to make space. It's also great for those tense extraction moments where someone goes down a bit too far from the drop pod, and normal running speed just won't cut it for getting there and back in time.

love this content! super underrated channel.

2:02 enemy >:( 2:11 fren :)

Taking away steeve is like shooting somones pet, steeve cant be removed. We love steeve

2:10 that loot bug getting in the way 😂

I love that intro

im new to drg and your vids have been amazing!! keep up the sick content!

Love your vids

Love the straight forward explanation, this platform would be better with more like you.

Amazing video! Quick and easy, simple as that.

I am a newbie and this is why I love your content!!! keep it up!!!!

Liked and subscribed. Loved it!

i appreciate the high dopamine inducing gameplay being in the backround

Great vid bro!!!

2:11 this combo of hook-in to pet lootbug to hook-out is absolutely adorable cherry on cake of that video.

For the longest time I ignored Strong Arm as weak niche perk, until I truly gave it a go. Light and being able to see the enemies is pretty crucial in this game, and being able to throw flares longer distance helps spotting them sooner. Sure, it aint Scouts flare gun but there will be moments when I might be a bit separated from Scout, Scout might be out of flares or there simply aint no Scout in the match. Its a perk I basically run on every other dwarf except Scout these days. 1,3k hours in the game and playing only Haz 4 and 5, if that matters.

W video thank you for posting 🙏

Great video man

Nice music choice!

I like the one that grants me Steve, I don’t care about how good it is, I love Steve

i literally thank you for the short intro btw

casual b-roll of godlike scout gameplay while telling me things i already know. even besides the nuance for perks, you're insanely good at this game, dude

High-level play looks so chaotic to a low-level player such as myself.

Pro tip on audio you can put a low pass filter on your mic audio to cut out the hum of computers or fans for a crisper sound.

Great vid rly wana see the m1000 breakdown you mention in your teir list!

Kept getting distracted by the insane Scout movement gameplay, had to rewatch twice

Lol the introduction to this video basically showcased how I build my perk loadouts already

Liked after the first 30 seconds. Perfect intro.

I appreciate the first 30 seconds not wasting time, thanks.

About Born Ready: I usually run it even if I'm using fast reload/non reload weapons (if im at haz4 or low obviously), sometimes I play scout with the ray gun (I forgot the name, but his third main) and crossbow, but still equips born ready just for the convenience of not reloading the light gun, same for Engy, My fav "build" for him is fully auto shotgun and the magma OC on his third secondary, and I still uses born ready for his platform gun (it feels like it takes ages to reload that thing and I hate it even though I love playing engy)

I get it your points make a lot of sense and this would clearly help with higher difficulties prob mainly haz 4 and above. The perks I'm currently using like Deep Pockets makes collecting much faster as someone who spends alot of time looking for every last drop of gold and nitra possible. Regardless, this really was an insightful video I never knew these were the best perks in the game, and I'll definitely give these loadouts a try in some haz 4's.

All of my perk slots are filled with 'its a bug thing'

Ayye, congrats on 1k

Personally, I've found that with enough experience with positioning and kiting, I stopped using dash as much as I used to, to the point where I forgot I was running it, and so I switched it out for something else like field medic, iron will, or even Steeve. This being said, this is just my experience after a bit more than 1k hours, greenbeards should definitely give dash a try and appreciate it for what it's worth, but I also feel like branching out and finding what perk combo works for you is and will always be the best strategy.

I tend to only play on Haz 3 or 4, I like it a little chill, and I haven't been using resupplier much, perhaps I should give it a try, seems useful. Very good video btw!

I loved how you skipped "Tl;dr" crew so casually :) BGig like and big thumbs up man! Appreciated!

as someone who got to gunner promotion out of sheer luck. this vid helps me with picking the right stuff in order to keep going. nice vid

In my opinion hover boots can be really good when your just starting the game like me or playing in solo but once you get better at the game or your a scout main then other perks can be more useful and you should swap it

Just a heads up; the Elemental Protection (30% res) perk I was told does not effect the 'hit' of acid spitter.. spit, and only effects the dot tick. This may have been patched since I was told but you may want to check.

I love sweet tooth, it has many uses and saved runs alot, the extra healing saves on resupplies for health, to where u only use resupplies for ammo, the speed boost procs no matter how much u heal, so even if u get 1 hp from a small red sugar chunk, u get the movement speed. So u can just quickly grab a little bit of red sugar while u run to drop pod and make it there faster which can mean completeing the mission or failing

I love thorns so handy for getting rid of any of the small critters that sneak up on you

Nice vid mate!

Perfect first 30s. Every guide for build in any game should be structured like that

You did hoverboots dirty here. I feel like its the most slept on perk in the game. The "git gud" sentiment really belies its true potential. For one, quickly using it and cancelling it to avoid minor fall damage resetting shield cooldown is huge. Hoverboots also allows you to position in high places as any class without having to worry about straight up dying to fall damage. Also, between Opressors, Shellbacks, Stingtails, and Exploders, there are a lot of situations where you have basically no choice but to take fall damage, and hoverboots can be an absolute lifesaver. Having played with it for 850+ hours, I can safely say that the ability to safely yeet yourself off a cliff to escape bugs fills a similar niche to using dash. Between it and Sixth Sense, I can pretty much go wherever I please with minimal risk, barring pits with no escape route. I also take a lot of the defensive perks, especially Unstoppable, to mitigate the detriment of not having dash.