Since Deep Rock Galactic (DRG) came out of Early Access, some deep metastrategies have emerged. If you see players adopting one or more of the following strategies, rest assured that you have a professional DRG veteran on your team!

This guide is intended to showcase some interesting ways to play the game and to maximize your competitive advantage over other dwarf teams. These advanced metastrategies aim to deliver a greatly enhanced teamplay and to provide a highly sophisticated end-game gameplay for the most skilled of players.

Be sure to try out these strategies and share your experiences with the community. We will closely watch the evolution of DRG and will continue to develop and share new metastrategies as they emerge.

The desired outcome of a mission, and these metastrategies will be useful, if carried out correctly!

IMPORTANT NOTE: In order for these metastrategies to work best, we assume that the class required for the corresponding meta(s) is completely upgraded and you have some experience under your belt.

This meta is especially useful on Salvage, Point Extraction, Elimination and Escort Duty missions, where you have to defend a fixed area for a certain amount of time or need to kill some Glyphid Dreadnoughts. The Gunner uses his ziplines to create a strategic net of ziplines around the defense zone. It is ideal to make sure that the ziplines intersect, so that you can easily jump from one zipline to the next one.

A Gunner defending the team against a swarm, while the drop pod is powering up!

As enemies emerge, the Gunner (or any other class) hangs from a zipline and shoots at the enemies while riding it. Moving back and forth, the opponents are unable to land melee attacks. Special attention must be paid to opponents with ranged attacks (especially on missions with Mactera Plague), so that they do not shoot you off the zipline in case of a hit. In addition, because of the heightened firing position, it's often easier to hit the enemies' weak points.

A Gunner laying waste on a Glyphid Dreadnought while safely riding the zipline!

Meta complexity:

This meta is a slightly different variant of the Mobile-Turret-Meta and very useful whenever certain areas need to be defended, especially during the final battle in Escort Duty missions against the Ommoran Heartstone. The Gunner uses his ziplines to create a dense network of ziplines from which he can jump to another zipline if needed.



This gives the Gunner unmatched mobility and, thanks to the elevated position, can always identify and shoot at incoming dangers at an early stage. Unlike the Mobile-Turret-Meta , in this meta the other classes should refrain from using the ziplines and leave aerial supremacy to the Gunner.


Spidergunner, Spidergunner, does whatever a Spidergunner does!

Meta complexity:

This meta is a variant of the Death-From-Above-Meta, which requires a Gunner on the team. Throwing his Shield Generator at the enemy, he uses it to entrap the enemy into the shield and secure it in a single place. In the meantime, supply drops can be called into the shield for an easy kill. Of course, you can always use conventional firepower to kill the Dreadnought with this meta, in case you don't have enough Nitra for the supply drops.

A trapped Glyphid Dreadnought about to meet its demise!

Meta complexity:

This meta is specifically for players who prefer the One-Class-Only-Meta with the Gunner class. The goal is to eliminate the lack of Engineer platforms and Scouts and to use the Gunner's ziplines to reach resources.

The zipline should always be positioned slightly above the target resources. Now you're traveling to the end of the zipline, look down a little and start mining the minerals. If enemies should appear during the mining process, just go back a little on the zipline, kill them and then continue to mine in peace once again.

Experienced players can jump from the zipline into the small cavities created by mining the resources within the walls and continue mining from there.



Meta complexity:

Another metastrategy for collecting resources for a Gunner-only team is the Drive-by-Mining-Meta. But even with a heterogeneous team composition, this strategy is often very useful!


Resources on pillars and on the side of long junctions and islands are the preferred uses for this meta. The Gunner shoots a zipline as close as possible to the resource. After that he uses the zipline to approach the resources and starts to mine them. By skillfully moving back and forth on the zipline with the use key, the Gunner can almost stop dead at the resource and mine very quickly.

Meta complexity:

This meta-strategy is especially useful when using the Gunner-only Meta.

Hard-to-reach resources on cave walls and ceilings could be an issue for a team of Gunners only. But not any more! As you may have already noticed, the bullets of the Minigun tear small holes in the landscape. You can take advantage of this fact and simply shoot at the hard-to-reach resources! With a little endurance and sufficient precision, small pieces of resources begin to fall and can be easily picked up.



Meta complexity:

Similar to the highly effective Minigun-Mining-Meta, the Hurricane Rocket Launcher can also be used to mine resources. How? It's simple: Just aim at the resources to be mined on the wall/ceiling, hit the fire button and then gather the falling chunks.

Meta complexity:

Unknown to many players, this meta is extremely efficient in the middle of a fight. In order to keep the spinup time of the Gunner's Minigun as short as possible, the reload button (probably "R" for most players) should be pressed before firing in order to spin the Minigun's barrels manually. The Minigun can then be fired almost instantly without any spinup time, i.e. much sooner than without manual pre-turning. With this meta the spinup time of the Minigun can be reduced by 0.2s and combined with the "Lighter Barrel Assembly" even further.

You spin me round (like a Minigun)!

Meta complexity:

Similar to the Spinup-Meta, the reload button fulfills another practical function with the Minigun: If the Minigun is in the red area in terms of heat, pressing the reload button ensures that the Minigun is turned manually and helps with a faster cooldown. Please note, that this meta only works as long as the Minigun is not fully overheated. The usage of this meta temporarily adds +0.2 cooling speed for the duration of the animation to the Minigun.

Almost overheated, better give this meta a spin!

Meta complexity:

This metastrategy is all about the Driller class. As the Driller, you can only use your pickaxe to dig during the round to keep your drilling fuel at full capacity until the end of the round. Once the drop pod lands, you must aim at its exact location and drill all the way to it, no matter what distance it is.

It is important to closely monitor the temperature of the drills in order to keep them operational. At abount 90-95% of heat you should stop and wait for the temperature to drop to 10% and start drilling again.

This gives you the benefit of getting around any challenging terrain and each obstacle with ease, along with time savings of up to 5%.

[left] A long way to go, but it's the only one worth taking!

[right] Pay attention to the temperature of your drills, or they will end up overheating!


A Gunner and a Scout defending the tunnel while the Driller is doing its amazing work!

Meta complexity:

This is a simple yet efficient meta that requires two Drillers and is a variation of the Max-Fuel-Meta. As soon as the Escape Pod is called, one of the Drillers begins to drill a tunnel to the Escape Pod as usual. This Driller uses his drills until they almost overheat. The second Driller immediately takes over and continues to drill the tunnel until he nearly overheats as well. The drills of the first Driller have certainly already completely cooled down by now, and he continues to drill the tunnel. This alternation will now continue until the team safely reaches the Escape Pod. Combined with this meta, the Max-Fuel-Meta is especially effectively and the team reaches the saving Escape Pod at record speed.

Meta complexity:

This meta is a counterstrategy to the Gunner's Cooling-Meta. When using the Driller's drills for prolonged periods of time, i.e. when using the Max-Fuel-Meta, always let the drills overheat and wait for them to un-jam. In combination with the "Streamlined Integrity Check" modification this method of drilling is faster than letting the drills get to 99% and waiting for them to naturally cool off with the "Magnetic Refrigeration" modification.

Let off some steam, Driller!

Meta complexity:

A metastrategy for Salvage missions, designed to take maximum advantage of the area to be defended. Very useful for this is a Driller on the team, but other classes can still use this strategy, although it takes a bit more time.

If the Uplink or the Fuel Cells are in unfavourable positions, e.g. a large part of the area is within walls or in generally obstructed terrain, then this metastrategy should be used. The Driller extends with his drills the area to be defended, so that the entire extent of the defence area can be used. Especially combined with the infamous Roof-Meta a versatile metastrategy.


A highly-experienced team both using the Roof- and Free-Space-Meta!

Meta complexity:

If an object is to be defended, e.g. For example, the uplink and the fuel cells in salvage missions or the Mine Head in Point Extraction missions, this meta comes into play. Firstly, the Driller builds a deep defensive trench around the object. The trench should be approximately two dwarves deep and a minimum of three dwarves in width. It is very important for the trench to be constructed as in the most consistent way possible. Once the trench is constructed, the team gathers around the object to defend and starts the event.

Time for a new experiment, let's try gas!

The trench significantly delays enemies as they approach the object or even stops them altogether. To further enhance the defence, the Driller can toss his Neurotoxin Grenades evenly into the trench. Incoming enemies must inevitably go through the gasified trench and often times die before they are even able to approach the team.

Meta complexity:

With the right perks, gear and strategy, the Driller can be turned into an almost unstoppable self-healing melee class.

First thing to do is to take the "Breathing Room" armor upgrade granting temporary invulnerability after being revived, which allows you to heal yourself for a few precious seconds to get back on your feet when you have been downed. Choose the following perks: Berserker, Vampire, Iron Will. When you are able to proc Vampire while Iron Will is active, you will heal up and won't go down. If available at the Abyss Bar, a cold Skull Crusher Ale will provide a welcome extra boost 10% melee damage.

As far as weapons go, the Cryo Cannon has great crowd control and renders enemies frozen, giving you plenty of time to axe them and regain health, synergizing nicely with the Vampire perk. Modify the Cryo Cannon to have lots of ammunition and freeze enemies as quickly as possible.
The Power Drills should be upgraded with improved melee damage ("Barbed Drills") and the cooling capability when drilling enemies ("Bloody Cold Drills"). Improving pickaxe damage upgrade is also helpful, as well as taking Impact Axes with you, which oddly counts as a melee attack and can be used at a fase distance.

Keep in mind when using the Vampire perk, there are a few things that will not proc it: Swarmers, Loot Bugs, Brood Nexus, Q'ronar Shellbacks, Spitball Infectors, Hatchlings and Shockers, and non-hostile wildlife in general don't give you Vampire health when you kill them with melee, throwing axes, and drills. And yes, you are able to melee a Bulk Detonator... in theory...

So, basically: Freeze medium and large enemies with your upgraded Cryo Cannon and lay into them with your many melee attacks (Power Drills, Pickaxe, Impact Axes), triggering your Vampire perk. Frozen enemies suffer triple damage and are particularly vulnerable to kinetic (melee) damage, making this meta a very useful strategy.

Meta complexity:

In this meta, the Driller only uses his Satchel Charges to blast passages to nearby caves. Instead of continuously checking the minimap in which direction the next cave is in order to then switch to the drills and finally drill a passageway, one Satchel Charge is sufficient and the passage is free. It goes without saying that in this meta the Satchel Charges are otherwise not allowed to be used throughout the mission.




Before blowing up the Satchel Charge, it is of course necessary to ensure that there are no other players in the blast radius who could be harmed as a result. This meta is especially efficient with the Max-Fuel-Meta and the use of the "Rock Mover" modification for the Satchel Charges.

Meta complexity:

The secret way of the C4-Mining-Meta is a legendary technique that only the smartest dwarves really mastered and that has been well guarded over the millennia and passed on to only a few selected dwarves. This metastrategy is especially helpful when the One-Class-Only-Meta is used and also when minerals need to be extracted rapidly. Use the "Rock Mover" modification for the Satchel Charges to get the best results.

A vein of gold and an egg are blown free at the same time — brilliant!

The Driller throws one of his Satchel Charges at the resource to be mined, ensures that both he and his teammates are at a safe distance outside the blast radius and finally ignites the load. It should be noted that due to the force of the explosion some resource chunks might fly through the area and don't fall directly to the ground below, so watch out for those.

A Driller unearthing an Aquarq, one Satchel Charge at a time!

Meta complexity:

The Plasma-Mining-Meta, the Holy Grail of mining as a Driller. Some dwarves have attempted it, many have failed, but a select few have seen the light and bath in its glory. Basically it evolves around shooting a charged shot at the resources you want to mine and sending a regular shot right after to detonate the charged shot at just the right place. The resulting explosion is not only glorious and deals a lot of damage to enemies, it also carves an enormous sphere in the landscape and thus mining the resources. Particularly useful when you use the One-Class-Only-Meta with a team of Drillers, but it generally saves a great deal of time during mining compared to using your trusty pickaxe instead.

But before you run around the caves all jolly and frolicking shooting at the precious minerals, you should first modify your Experimental Plasma Charger accordingly. Try to maximize the ammo and get the lower charged shot ammo consumption perk and overclock, which gives you a total of 184 ammo. Each mining try costs 5 ammo (4 for the charged shot and +1 for the regular shot after).

The EPC mining build of the plasma gods!

21122 is a rather forgiving build and gives you plenty of fuel to work with. Since you have 168 ammo with this build, you get 33 charged shots out of it, which is a lot and should suffice quite some time down in the mines. Now all that is left is to learn the proper timing when trying to detonate the charged shot in the right place.

Meta complexity:

For this metastrategy, you only need a determined Engineer, the other dwarves are free to choose their classes.

The critical part is, that only the Engineer is permitted to take the ammo from the supply drops. The Engineer's task is to take out all the enemies on his own by using his Sentry Guns while the other dwarves are mining.

This gives a huge time benefit, due to faster mining, and even the Engineer can assist mining, while his Sentry Guns do all the work.


The other three dwarves are prohibited from receiving supplies, because:

• They're not going to need it anyway, because they won't have to shoot at enemies.
  
• The Engineer requires maxium ammunition to maintain the entire team's defense.

This metastrategy is especially useful in conjunction with the Early-Drop-Meta, to ensure that the Engineer always has enough ammo to refill the Sentry Gun(s).


Meta complexity:

Everybody knows the problem: Salvage missions inevitably take you to the point where you have to defend the Uplink and, shortly afterwards, the Fuel Cells. The area to be defended is fixed, provides little freedom of movement, and in addition, the things to be defended are often located in already tight spaces.

As a result, to make the most out of any given area, the Roof-Meta has established itself among the experienced players. Prerequisite for this meta is an Engineer on the team. He places his platforms above the objects to defend so that underneath, the other players can still walk comfortably around and act. By juxtaposing the platforms, the Engineer creates a second level, which is another efficient way of defending the area. In addition, placing Sentry Guns on these platforms greatly increases their effectiveness due to the extended field of vision. The platforms can also function as a protection measure against enemies with long-range attacks and to limit the area in which enemies can appear and attack, so that they are exposed to the concentrated firepower of the whole team.





Meta complexity:

This meta makes the final battle against the Ommoran Heartstone in Escort Duty missions easier. In the second phase of the fight, the Ommoran Heartstone will try to destroy Doretta with flying rocks. If the team does not concentrate their firepower specifically on the rocks, the mission can quickly be lost since the rocks cause huge damage. The Engineer can prevent this by using one of the surrounding stone formations, after the first round of combat and thus after the angry shock wave of the Ommoran Heartstone, to build a ceiling over Doretta with his platforms. Because the shock waves between the different phases destroy the platforms, they should not be built (quickly) until the beginning of the second round. If a flying rock is not destroyed in time, it shatters harmlessly on the platforms and Doretta remains unscathed. This allows the team to focus mostly on bugs during the fight without having to worry about the flying rocks.

A marvelous piece of engineering!

Sticks and stones may not break Doretta!


Meta complexity:

The Pancake-Meta is one of the tastiest metas that exist. It should be used whenever an area is required to be defended for a longer period of time (e.g. Point Extraction).

The Engineer uses his Platform Gun to fire a few platforms onto the ground as he jumps. As a result, the Engineer quickly builds a tower, which can vary in size depending on the environment.

Once the tower is in place, the Engineer can set up his Sentry Gun(s) and cover his teammates from above. In particular, the Grenade Launcher gains enormous efficiency from up there.

Behold, the mythical Tower of Pancakes! Yummy!

Important in this meta is that the Platform Gun is equipped with the Tier 3 upgrade "Repellent Additive", so that the bugs practically do not climb on the tower and the Engineer can thus calmly manage his tasty defense tower. You still need to watch out for flying and/or shooting enemies!

Meta complexity:

The Stairs-Meta allows smart Engineers to quickly and easily access precious resources without the annoying help of careless and lazy Scouts. When using the One-Class-Only-Meta with Engineers, this meta is critical and guarantees full pockets for everyone.

A perfect example of an effectively constructed staircase!

The Engineer uses his Platform Gun to build a convenient staircase to the resources. Make sure that the individual platforms can be easily accessed by jumping and are not built too close to each other.

Who needs Scouts when they have such great stairs?

If the staircase is properly constructed (see examples of possible staircase types), the Engineer can reach and retrieve the resources. In additiony, forward-thinking Engineers put their Sentry Gun(s) in the direction of the resource beforehand, so that the Engineer gets covered when mining the resources.


Meta complexity:

As we all know, of all the classes, it's the Scout who has the most trouble getting to Molly to unload resources. So this Carry-Mule-Meta states that Molly must be with the Scout on a permanent basis.

Playing with experienced players, the Scout should be at least 500 metres away from the rest of the team anyway. When he doesn't do the Scout-Leech-Meta or Scout-Bait-Meta (which he should), he could use his time to collect a few resources. To avoid having to come back to Molly all the time, Molly just stays with him throughout the whole match.
Other players on the team are not permitted to push the button to call Molly for the whole game. If any of the three other players don't understand the Carry-Mule-Meta or even think it's pointless (*gasp*), the Scout shouldn't engage in arguments, and instead just keep spamming the "C" key to make sure Molly is always with them.

This meta has the huge advantage that the other three dwarves can focus completely on the enemies, while the Scout is exploring the cave and collecting the minerals needed to complete the mission.

Meta complexity:

The purpose of this metastrategy is to maximize the light output of the Scout's flares. In order to get the brightest possible light, you will have to shoot two flares within a 5-meters (16,4042-foot) radius from each other.

The flares will buff each other up to 50%, depending on the relative distance bewteen them and the angle from the light sources.

This gives a big advantage during swarms, in larger caves and helps immensely when searching for every single mineral source.

The two flares burn in close proximity to each other, thus pushing the light output well beyond the usual limits!

Meta complexity:

This little-known meta is based upon the use of the Scout's Flare Gun as a lethal weapon. Flares fired from the Flare Gun are in fact armor-piercing and easily penetrate any enemy armor. Thus, the Scout automatically has an armor-piercing weapon with this Support Tool at his disposal and can modify its remaining weapons so that other important mods can be selected instead of armor-piercing mods. Combined with the mods Expanded Ammo Bags and Supercharged Feed Mechanism or High Capacity Magazine, the Flare Gun proves to be a yet another highly useful weapon in the Scout's arsenal.

Meta complexity:

This meta is at the same time an inversion of the Stealth-Meta and a variation of the [b[i]Leave-All-Dwarves-Behind-Meta[/i][/b]. Instead of lighting up the cave system, the Scout player saves the Flare Gun's ammo for the entire round, only to use it all at once at the end.

Once the drop pod has been called (see Instant-Escape-Pod-Meta), the Scout tries to reach the drop pod as quickly as possible (see Leave-All-Dwarves-Behind-Meta). Once there, he lights up the entire area around the drop pod with his saved flares, as well as the inside of the drop pod, firing the flares around the entrance door. In addition, his throwable flares can be used to further lighten things up.

The smart Scout lights up the drop pod to make sure everyone gets to it safely!

First, this strategy ensures that at least one player escapes and thus ensures the mission's success. Second, the other players can find the way to the drop pod much easier, as it is brightly visible from afar and illuminates the cave impressively, like a shining monolith of rock and stone.

Meta complexity:

The Scout-Leech-Meta utilizes the Scout class as bait. As a Scout player your task in this metastrategy is to use your grappling hook to get around the area or cave as quickly as you can. You are not allowed to be distracted by mining minerals or doing anything else, which is what the rest of the team is for.

What's great about it is you're are the bait for every cave leeches in the area. By moving quickly across a large area via the grappling hook, you will inevitably be caught by some cave leeches and:

• keep the rest of your team safe by keeping the leech busy
  
• you can easily find and mark the leeches for your fellow dwarves
  
• it is much faster to find the cave leeches in this way, than to look at the ceiling and wasting flares to light up every single cave

After you get downed by a cave leech, your team is will kill it, revive you and the whole process starts over.

[left] A fellow player looking at the freshly captured Scout in awe of the spectacular display of sheer skill and teamplay!


[right] Another player engages in a fierce battle with the cave leech to free his forward-thinking teammate!



An experienced Scout player masterfully getting caught by a cave leech and keeps the team safe!

Meta complexity:

The Scout-Bait-Meta is a variation of the Scout-Leech-Meta. Two Scouts are using their grappling hooks and weapons to act as bait for the enemies. Larger groups and big enemies are the main targets.

One of the Scouts has to grapple near the enemies in order to distract them, while the other Scout goes all-in for their weak spots. While the two Scouts are doing so, the other two dwarves are going for the minerals.

This meta provides a perfect use of the grappling hooks and therefore speed of the Scouts. They can get around the caves fast enough to distract every incoming group of enemies.

Since this metastrategy consumes a lot of ammunition for two of for the four players, we recommend using the Early-Drop-Meta at the same time.


Two scouts using the Scout-Bait-Meta to distract a group of enemies, while the other two dwarves can work in complete safety!

Meta complexity:

This metastrategy only applies to Salvage missions and is similar to the Scout-Bait-Meta. Once the mission step is reached where the Uplink needs to be set up and defended, three players remain in the perimeter of the Uplink, while one player acts as a distraction to the enemies.

Beacuse there are three players in the circle, the mission bar continues to increase rapidly. The player who serves as a distraction (ideally a Scout) on the one hand tries to move so far away from the rest of the team that the emerging opponents do not attack the teammates and on the other hand still is so close to them that the enemies attack him instead of the team members, so he can bait and kite them.

The Scout player leaves the premise to bait the swarms, while the other players defend the objective!

Finding the optimum distance requires considerable time and practice, but it definitely relieves the other three team members from their task. During the the Fuel Cells start-up, this strategy can be used as well.

Meta complexity:

It is well known within the community, that the most successful DRG teams are made up of a single class. By having your entire team committing to a single class, you increase your effectiveness to new heights. Even the developers themselves have admitted in numerous interviews that the intended way of playing DRG is four times the same class in a match.

Which class-team suits your purpose best comes down to the biome you will want to visit, the mission type and which kind of resources you aim to extract the most. A few points to keep take into consideration before selecting your team's only class:

Scout-only team

• Best mobility out of all other teams (Leave-All-Dwarves-Behind-Meta)
  
• Best visibility out of all other teams (Double-Flare-Meta, Shiny-Exit-Meta)
  
• Your team can quickly cross large distances
  
• You can escape the enemy waves and larger enemies with ease
  
• Your team can bait enemies very easily (Scout-Bait-Meta, Scout-Leech-Meta)
  
• Each resource is easily accessible thanks to Grappling Hooks
  
• Best team for Dense Biozone due to Grappling Hooks

Gunner-only team

• Second strongest firepower out of all teams
  
• Can easily dispatch any enemy, including Glyphid Dreadnoughts (Mobile-Turret-Meta)
  
• High mobility due to an abundance of ziplines (Zipline-Meta, Drive-by-Mining-Meta, Spidergunner-Meta)
  
• Shield generator allows for safely reviving fallen teammates during swarms
  
• Just shoot at resources to mine them (Minigun-Mining-Meta, Missile-Mining-Meta)
  
• Best team for Crystalline Caverns and Glacial Strata due to ziplines
  
• Very useful team for Magma Core due to explosion resistance

Driller-only team

• Very good mobility due to drills (Free-Space-Meta, C4-Traversing-Meta)
  
• Can easily escape during the run to the drop pod due to Max-Fuel-Meta
  
• Flamethrower and Cryo Cannon get rid of trash mobs, pistol for medium-sized and distant enemies and satchel charges for heavy enemies, Plasma Charger is an all-rounder, Melee-Meta possible
  
• Buried resources are easy to reach (Satchel-Mining-Meta)
  
• Descend safely into deep pits by drilling a downward tunnel
  
• Circumvention of deep pits by drilling a tunnel down
  
• Best team for Magma Core due to fire resistance

Engineer-only team

• Best firepower out of all other teams (8 standard turrets or 4 advanced turrets)
  
• Very effective weapons for both trash mobs and single, large foes (Engi-Only-Ammo-Meta)
  
• Platforms allow the building of additional layers in combat (King-Of-The-Hill-Meta, Roof-Meta, Pancake-Meta)
  
• Platforms allow for a safe descend into deep pits and easy and fast crossing
  
• High-up resources can be reached by building stairs with the platforms (Stairs-Meta)
  
• Can use platforms to block enemy paths (Bunker-Meta)
  
• Best team for Fungus Bogs due to poison resistance

Meta complexity:

This meta is applied during the loading screen, therefore before the start of the mission. Usually all kinds of very important things are done in the Space Rig, e. g. drinking beer and dancing, but a reasonable tactic for the next mission is seldom discussed.

As soon as the Drop Pod has started and all the players are in the loading screen, one of the players tabs out (ALT + Tab) of the game onto the desktop and, e. g. watches some random anime videos on YouTube, downloads some 8K movies, searches for the latest DRG memes on Reddit etc. A really slow PC and an even slower Internet connection help enormously in the application of this meta.

The absolute highlight: The loading time is greatly increased, and all players must stay a lot longer in the loading screen. That allows sufficient time to find good tactics for the upcoming mission. It is also recommended to consult this meta guide through the Steam Overlay for other helpful metas at this stage. Once the tactics have been discussed long enough, the corresponding player tabs back into the game and the mission can finally start.

In order to play as efficiently as possible, all players need to be aware of what is going on around them. Fortunately, for this, there is the Laser-Pointer-Meta, one of the easiest but most effective metas out there. Accessible by holding the [Left CTRL] or [X] key on a keyboard, the Laser Pointer is the tool of choice when it comes to quickly and effectively pointing things out (hence the name) to teammates.

Resources, enemies and other interesting objects can be marked with the Laser Pointer by pressing the fire button while aiming at the desired object. So be sure to use it profusely. A vein of Nitra just outside the cave's only exit? Tag it. A Bulk Detonator that the entire team is currently battling? Tag it! A resource somewhere at the end of an enormous cave that no one can get to now anyway? You guessed it, tag it!

So far so good. However, experienced players don't just tag once, but multiple times in a row to really ensure that every teammate is in the know and can make their decisions accordingly with all the information at their disposal. Greenbeards often have low SPM (scans per minute) counts, usually below 50. A good value was found to be approximately 400-500 SPM for seasoned DRG players. For the elite players on Hazard 5, an SPM value of 800 or above makes even more sense.

Similar to other metas, where the Scout explores the caves as far away from the team as possible, here the entire team is spread out instead. Immediately after the mission start, all players spread out in different directions and look for resources independently of each other. This ensures an optimal search for resources and the mission objectives are fulfilled faster, which, in combination with the Instant-Drop-Pod-Meta, allows the next mission to be started quickly after.

Of course, mission types with many different cave paths are ideal for this meta, e.g. Point Extraction, Elimination, Egg Hunt etc. But other mission types can also benefit from the fact that each player is in a completely different part of the cave and does their own thing. The player who happens to have Molly with them when the mission objectives are completed must immediately apply the Instant-Drop-Pod-Meta no matter where their teammates are at the moment. Each player then tries to get to the drop pod on their own.

The purpose of this metastrategy is to have as many supply drops on the battlefield as possible at all times. As soon as you reach 80 Nitra, you must call down a supply drop. At this point, regardless of whether everyone is still loaded with ammunition, simply call the drop pod. You never know, when it might come in handy, so better be safe!

Another plus of this metastrategy is that once you run back to the drop pod to escape, you will find numerous supply drops scattered along your way, where you can easily refill your ammo without having to wait for a supply drop in the middle of the enemy spawns.

A good start and a beautiful way of thinking, but not nearly enough supply drops!

It's getting there, but more is always better!

A pack of supply drops in their natural habitat!

Meta complexity:

This metastrategy focuses on the player, who is in charge of mining the minerals. You are only allowed to mine half of the minerals in order to fulfill the mission requirements precisely in the last cave of the system.

By mining only half of the minerals, you will progress a lot faster than mining them all and at the same time still get enough minerals to complete the mission right in the last cave. This means that only minerals such as Nitra, Morkite, Gold and so on shouldn't be mined completely. You are allowed to mine Bismor, Umanite and other optional, but rare minerals completely.

This gives you the quickest possible completion of a mission with the needed quantity of minerals and the largest amount of optional minerals at the same time. This metastrategy can save up to 50% time if done properly. It takes some practice to obtain enough minerals to complete the mission requirements, but not too much to save the optimal amount of time.




Meta complexity:

This metastrategy is a very advanced technique and is recommended only for the most experienced players (Miner rank 100+) and short missions (e.g. NOT Salvage).

The entire team is prohibited from picking up Nitra in order to complete the mission as quickly as possible. Ignoring Nitra saves you a lot of time, but on the downside you are limited to the amount of ammo you start with. Hence, you must aim with carey and try not to waste any unnecessary ammo on enemies. Use the pickaxe and its power attack whenever possible to finish off injured enemies, saving valuable ammo. If the meta is used properly, the advantage is a tremendous time saving of about 40% on average.

An untouched vein of Nitra, and it stays this way!

Meta complexity:

Inexperienced players often tend to attack and repair an emerging BET-C immediately. In missions with many long tunnels, however, BET-C, especially together with Molly, is often a kind of self-made death trap and mostly not much help for the team due to their weak AI.

First of all, BET-C costs the team a lot of ammunition when fighting the Xynarch Charge-suckers to defuse it. For inexperienced teams, a fight against BET-C on often means a complete wipe of the mission on higher difficulties. But even when BET-C is finally on the seemingly own side, it often causes headaches: BET-C tends to hurt players when attacking opponents and one or more players happen to be in the way. This damage can often be very significant. Furthermore, the team has absolutely no control over BET-C because it does what it wants. One of the worst "features" of BET-C is being in the way when players kite enemies behind them, often blocking players, resulting in unnecessary damage or even a down.

Therefore, BET-C should be avoided and ignored whenever possible. If a fight simply cannot be avoided, BET-C should at least not be repaired afterwards.

Meta complexity:

When the team faces an Omen Modular Exterminator as a machine event, this meta kicks into gears. Before the event begins, a player stops on the surface of the tower. As soon as the event is fully activated, the tower rises from the ground as usual and the corresponding player stays on the tower for the duration of the event and supports his teammates by looking after the wave while his teammates destroy the cooling tanks. With this meta, three players can focus completely on the tower and can defeat it faster and more efficiently than they normally would.



Meta complexity:

This infamous strategy should only be used for Salvage missions, and it is preferable to have a Driller and an Engineer on the team.

First, the Driller digs a small cave underneath one of the objectives (Uplink, Fuel Cells), but in such a way that all players are counted as still being in the green circle once the objective is activated. Then, the team members activate the objective as per usual and jump down into the cave.

The magical cave of wonders awaits!

Once the whole team is gathered in the cave, the Engineer seals the entrance with his platforms so that no enemy can enter. Time is of the essence here, to keep the enemies from getting into the cave before it's completely sealed.

The team is safe and sound while the objective is being done!

Upon successful completion of the objective, the team prepares for the "breakout" to get out of the cave and deal adequately with the accumulated enemy masses. Useful are Shields Generators, Satchel Charges and lots of grenades. The team may also decide to leave the bunker sealed and instead let the Driller dig a tunnel towards the Escape Pod once it's fully powered up.

Caution: If Bulk Detonators are part of the spawn list in your current mission, then you should think twice about using this strategy. Bulk Detonators have the nasty habit of digging through dirt towards your team, with the chance of royally messing up your neat bunker in the process, if your team is not careful and doesn't kite the Bulk Detonator away from the bunker. This is also the case with a randomly appearing Dreadnought, so better watch out.

Meta complexity:

This meta is a variation on the Bunker-Meta. Do exactly as described in the Bunker-Meta and have your Driller drill a lengthy tunnel below the objective (or to the side, if the objective is right next to a wall). Instead of sealing off the entrance, call in a supply pod inside the cave (be sure to make it big enough in the beginning) and let the Engineer seal off the small tunnel it made when arriving.

He must come through this hollow way!

One player activates the objective as usual, returns to the cave, and the entire team focuses on the entrance to fight off the bugs. Funneling all the enemies through one narrow path lets your team dispatch them with ease, and the supply pod makes sure that your team has enough ammo for the entire duration of the objective. Weapons with blowthrough rounds, and grenades are particularly effective and should usually suffice to holf off most enemies. The Gunner can also use his shield at critical times to prevent the team from being overrun, if the enemy spawns should become too crazy.

Today, no Dwarf dies!!

Unlike the Bunker-Meta, you won't have to deal with all the enemies when leaving your cave, as you have slaughtered them all during the timer. Both metas have their respective advantages and disadvantages, so use the one that works best for your team!

Meta complexity:

The Uplink and/or the Fuel Cells are often in unfavourable positions that are hard to defend. Instead of building a neat bunker (see Bunker-Meta) or using the 300-Meta, it can often make more sense to only bury the Uplink/Fuel Cells. Digging them in can be done easily with the pickaxe. As soon as it is completely buried, one of the players activates it and the Engineer seals the hole with a platform so that no one falls into it. The advantage of this meta is that the team now has more space to defend and a better view of the opponents.

There was an UPLINK here. It's gone now.

Meta complexity:

This metastrategy is a reversal of the One-On-The-Run-Meta. Depending on team composition, personal preferences and the circumstances of the mission, one of the two strategies may be more useful and it should be considered before starting the defense part of the mission which of the two strategies will be used.

In this metastrategy, one player remains in the circle to defend (ideally a Gunner or an Engineer) for the progress bar to recharge, albeit slowly. The other three players move freely outside the circle and use their mobility, weapons and wits to keep the incoming opponents away from the defending player. If necessary, Field Generators or Sentries will help the defender, though he normally does not need to fear an attack if this strategy is properly executed.

A lone Gunner getting ready to defend the position, while the rest of the team freely roams the map!

Meta complexity:

Big glyphids are hard to beat? Wrong! With this metastrategy you defeat Praetorians and even Dreadnoughts with ease without breaking a sweat and with minimal risk. This metastrategy uses supply pods as a deadly weapon against large glyphids. It can be done in several variants, depending on team composition, mission type, available resources, etc.

A direct hit with a supply pod takes off one full health bar, so Glyphid Praetorians are killed instantly. If Glyphid Dreadnoughts get hit while still having at least some armor (yellow bar), the armor gets destroyed, and they get some additional health damage. Otherwise, it's a one-hit-kill too. Two called in supply drops on a Dreadnought are an instant kill as well. In summary, you always need one hit for Praetorians and one or two hits for Dreadnoughts, depending on the preliminary work that was done.

In Elimination missions, where the Dreadnoughts are still in cocoons at the start of the round, a simple variant of this metastrategy can be applied: Two players call a supply drop below the cocoon. Right before the first supply drop is about to hit the cocoon, the team destroys it so that the Dreadnought spawns. Now the two pods hit him in quick succession, and he's done. The Scout's IFG grenades can help to prevent him from moving too far when he hatches.


Meta complexity:

Dwarves are actually not flight animals, but this meta is definitely worth considering. This meta only works in the Biome Azure Wead and therefore has very specific uses.

During a swarm, look out for the next Cave Angel and hang on it. Now you steer it in such a way that you stay in the air during the entire time during the swarm (e.g. flying in a circle all the time). The other dwarves in the team take care of the enemies, which is a nifty way of saving precious ammo. As soon as the area is clear, you can land safely and continue with the mission. You just have to be careful not to fly against walls and that you are not shot down by flying bugs.


I don't know about angels, but it's fear that gives dwarves wings!

Meta complexity:

After landing, one player always stays within the drop pod to prevent it from disappearing. This player remains in the drop pod throughout the entire round and can also be replaced by another player, as long as there is at least one player in the drop pod at all times, so that it doesn't disappear. The player in it can of course shoot from the inside at the enemies outside and thus support his team.

Another advantage of this strategy is that some opponents are distracted by the player remaining in the drop pod and are focused on attacking him, while the other players are not attacked or recognized as valid targets.


Once the mine head has been launched and the timer for the escape pod begins ticking down, all players retreat inside the initial drop pod, which now serves as a shelter to wait out the timer. When the timer expires and the escape pod finally lands, all players leave the drop pod at the same time and rush to the escape pod.


This meta works best in Point Extraction missions, but can also be used to great effectiveness in all other mission types.

Meta complexity:

This metastrategy is only known to very few hardcore DRG players, which is very surprising, because it is extremely effective when used correctly.

The Stealth-Meta requires that no flashlights are to be used under any circumstances during the entire mission. Since they are automatically activated when a mission is started, they must be deactivated immediately by holding down the F key after the loading screen (preferably already in the drop pod) to ensure the maximum efficiency of this metastrategy. The Scout's Flare Gun may not be used for the entire mission as well.

The whole team now moves carefully through the mission and tries to avoid any enemy. Be careful not to run, as fast movements can attract the attention of the bugs and, depending on the surface, can cause loud noises. Also, no supply pods should be called because they usually alert all bugs in the current part of the cave. The use of the pickaxe is generally possible without any problems, but the drills of the Driller usually cause too much noise, so pickaxes should be used when breaking through compacted dirt to the next section of the cave.

There are three dwarves and a Subata hidden in this screenshot!

In general, it must be ensured that enemies are circumvented carefully and are not startled by quick movements and loud noises. For example, the sticky goo in Fungus Bogs can dampen the noise of movements. With this strategy, large parts of a mission can be completed without fighting, as long as the team coordinates, bypasses enemies and simultaneously eliminates nearby opponents so that no alarm is raised. However, as soon as supply pods or the Escape Pod are called in, logically, pretty much all bugs in a cave get alerted and the mission turns loud.

Meta complexity:

This metastrategy aims at saving the collected resources at all costs and with minimal risk.

When the drop pod is called, one player, ideally the Scout, is the only one going back to the drop pod. All other players stay in place and bait and kill the spawning enemies, so the Scout can reach the drop pod unharmed.

By going all alone, the Scout should encounter minimal enemy spawns, if any at all, since the enemies are focusing on the other three players.

The Scout can also concentrate on reaching the drop pod without having to look out and possible rescue downed players with the risk of compromising the whole operation by doing so.

Once the Scout has safely reached the drop pod, all other players use satchel charges and/or grenades to down themselves, so the drop pod can leave immediately.

Since at least one player escaped, all players will receive 100% of the collected resources. The bonus for all players being alive is minimal and can safely be ignored in the big picture.

Meta complexity:

This meta is based on the realization that it makes the most sense to press the escape button on Molly immediately as it becomes available. As soon as you hear the words "Good Job, mission complete!" instantly hit the button to call in the drop pod. Experienced players are so good at calling the drop pod, they press the button while Mission Control is still talking.

The reasoning behind this metastrategy is clear: The amount of extra credits and/or crafting materials you would get by extending the mission is almost never really worth it.

This is especially true for mission types like Egg Hunt, Point Extraction, Salvage and Elimination, which either consist of a plethora of funless tunnels or you can see the entire map right from the beginning anyway. Even in Expedition the extra stuff is negligible, as you only get minor extra XP and/or minerals.

This also applies to meeting secondary objectives. Going past the primary objective for credits or XP just isn't worth it, unless they are easy to reach and can be quickly grabbed and deposited into the M.U.L.E. Since most of the stuff required for secondary objectives is often hidden in annoying spots (especially fossils), extracting ASAP is always a good idea. If you missed some secondary stuff, try to get them on your way back if it's not too much of a hassle, otherwise concentrate on escaping first and foremost.

In summary, one can say that there is little point to staying. Don't waste an hour on every round so people can search every nook and cranny and wait for them to dig everything they can. It's a huge waste of time and the longer you spend looking for something the higher the chance of another swarm and the further the way to the drop pod. The meager yield of some materials and XP is not worth the extra 30 minutes in which you can easily finish another mission and probably get a lot more rewards.

Meta complexity:

It is clear, that not every strategy might work within your current team setup, so some adjustments of the described meta strategies may be necessary in order to fully embrace said advantages.

Feel free to try out these meta strategies and share your experiences with the community. We will keep a close eye on the future of DRG and will continue to develop and share new meta strategies as they surface.

This is especially important for those people, who play DRG on a competitive level at official e-sports tournaments and/or doing official speedruns.

When the upcoming "Beard Royale" and/or "Barrel Royale" gamemode(s) finally drops, we will be adding a corresponding PvP meta section to this guide, so make sure to stay up to date!

Minerals and Sediments!