Item and Upgrade Tiers — Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor Guide

Optimize your Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor runs by understanding item and upgrade tiers. Learn how to best utilize different item levels for survival and build.

Understanding the different tiers of items and upgrades in Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is crucial for optimizing your builds and surviving increasingly difficult waves of alien bugs. This section breaks down how items are categorized and how to best utilize them throughout your runs.

Item Tiers Explained

Items in Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor are generally categorized into four tiers, indicated by their color and rarity:

• Common (Grey): These are your basic starting items or early-game finds. They offer foundational bonuses but are quickly outclassed.
• Uncommon (Green): A step up from Common, Uncommon items provide more significant stat boosts or utility. They are good for filling out your build in the mid-game.
• Rare (Blue): Rare items offer substantial improvements and often introduce unique synergistic effects. Prioritize picking these up when they appear.
• Epic (Purple): The highest tier of standard items, Epic items provide game-changing bonuses, powerful active abilities, or massive stat increases. These are often the core of a strong build.

Upgrade Tiers and Synergies

Beyond the initial item rarity, items can be upgraded multiple times within a run. Each upgrade typically increases the item's base stats. However, the true power lies in synergistic upgrades.

• Stat Increases: Upgrades will boost primary stats like Damage, Rate of Fire, Projectile Speed, and Area of Effect.
• Passive Effects: As items level up, they can unlock passive effects such as increased critical hit chance, lifesteal, or bonus experience gain.
• Synergistic Upgrades: Certain upgrades will interact with other items or your character's abilities. For example, an upgrade to your Cryo Cannon might cause enemies hit by your Shotgun to slow down, even if the Shotgun itself doesn't have a direct slow effect. Pay close attention to the descriptions!

Strategic Item Acquisition

Your item acquisition strategy should adapt to the current stage of your run:

• Early Game (First few minutes): Focus on picking up any available items to establish a baseline. Prioritize items that complement your chosen Dwarf's starting weapon or abilities. For example, if playing as the Driller, look for upgrades that enhance area damage or crowd control.
• Mid Game (5-10 minutes): Start actively seeking out Uncommon and Rare items. Begin to identify potential synergies between your equipped items. Don't be afraid to experiment with different item combinations. If you find a powerful Epic item, consider building around it.
• Late Game (10+ minutes): Your goal is to maximize the power of your chosen build. Prioritize Epic items and ensure your key synergistic items are heavily upgraded. Look for upgrades that offer significant damage multipliers or defensive capabilities to handle the increasingly dense enemy waves and elite threats.

Key Items to Look For (Examples)

While the item pool can vary, here are some examples of items and their potential impact:

• Item: Plasma Cutter
  • Tier: Starts Common, can be upgraded to Rare/Epic.
  • Location: Found in item drops.
  • Strategy: Excellent for piercing through groups of enemies. Upgrades often focus on increasing projectile count or adding a burning effect, making it a strong early-to-mid-game choice.
• Item: Shield Generator Mk. II
  • Tier: Typically Rare or Epic.
  • Location: Found in item drops.
  • Strategy: Provides a temporary shield that absorbs damage. Upgrades can increase shield duration, reduce cooldown, or even grant a small burst of damage upon activation. Essential for survivability against large swarms.
• Item: Overclocked Drills
  • Tier: Can be Uncommon to Epic depending on the specific overclock.
  • Location: Found in item drops.
  • Strategy: Enhances the Driller's primary drilling ability. Look for upgrades that increase drill speed, damage, or add a lingering damage-over-time effect. Synergizes well with other area-of-effect or crowd-control items.

By understanding these tiers and actively pursuing synergistic upgrades, you'll significantly increase your chances of successfully extracting from even the most hostile environments.