Driller
Sludge Blast Build
This is one of the strongest area control build the Driller has, closely paired to the Sticky Fuel build with the Flamethrower. While single target damage may be lacking, the amount of damage over time this build can apply on enemies as they try to reach you is extremely high. When paired with any team of fellow dwarves, single target target damage is not of much importance. Our secondary weapon does still help with key enemy targets like Acid Spitters that may be out of range of our Sludge Pump, or walking on the ceiling and does good damage rather quickly. While this build does work solo, it is recommended to play with a team as it really shines when not needing to spend excessive amounts of ammo on any one target. This build really does suit the role of Crowd Control and Area Denial when it comes to the driller and can be really fun to lay down goo onto any enemy and watch them decay.
Weapons
Corrosive Sludge Pump
T1A – 
High Capacity Tanks (+25 Magazine Size)
T2A – 
Dyse Nozzle (+24 Area Damage (Charged Shots))
T3B – 
More Goo Canisters (+40 Max Ammo)
T4A – 
Spillback Extension (-1 Ammo cost for Charged Shots)
T5B – 
Targets Explode (+8.8 DPS on Corrosive Damage over time, +4 DPS on Sludge Puddles)
Sludge Blast (Charge Shots change to a “shotgun” blast instead of a large projectile. +100% Projectile Velocity, -50% Charge Shot Area Damage, -40 Max Ammo, +0.6 Reload Speed)
This is a great area control weapon that works really with with pretty much any of your fellow dwarves builds. The overclock, and perk choice all have 1 major focus, Charge Shots. Charge Shots will pretty much be the only thing you shoot with this build. The overclock turns the charge shot into a projectile shotgun type weapon, while our perks increase it’s damage and reduce the ammo cost of each shot, effectively allowing us to shoot more with the same amount of ammo. This is a great area control weapon as any enemies walking into the puddles will start taking increased damage thanks to T5B selection. Put enough goo on the ground and into enemies, and none of them will be able to gross the corrosive grounds.
Alternate
Colette Wave Cooker
T1A – 
Convex Lens (+2 Damage)
T2A – 
Heat Sink (-20% Heat Generation)
T3A – 
Densification Ray (Enemies hit, -50% movement speed for 1 second)
T4A – 
Wide Lens Add-On (Press Reload to toggle Wide Lens. +25% shot width, but +110% Heat Generation)
T5B – 
Boiler Ray (Enemies killed have 50% chance to explode dealing 100 damage to nearby enemies)
Mega Power Supply (+100 Magazine Size, +3 Rate of Fire, -50% Cooling Rate, +1s Overheat Duration)
This weapon have great range and deals great damage at a fast rate. It’s downside is that it can overheat if not kept in check, making us vulnerable as we wait for it to cooldown. The Overclock for this weapon help increase it’s ammo and rate of fire, both help us stay in fights longer and deal damage faster. The downsides of this overclock can be somewhat ignored, if we never overheat (if kept in check) we ignore entirely the longer cooldown period. T5B also adds a chance for an explosion on enemy death, dealing extra damage to nearby enemies. This pairs really well with the Corrosive Sludge Pump as it deals with crowd control, this secondary can help deal with key enemy targets that may be further away.
Equipment
Satchel Charge
T1C – 
Bigger Charge (+250 Damage)
T2A – 
Kill Switch (Disarm and pick up charges)
T3A – 
Extra Satchel Charge (+1 Max Ammo)
T4B – 
Concussive Blast (+10m Stagger Range)
Satchels are great for cave clearing, but also work very nicely for large hordes and tough enemies. The perks really speak for themselves, increase damage, Stun chance, Max Ammo. Best to use against large hordes and Praetorians, but be careful as these can down allies with 1 explosion.
Reinforced Power Drills
T1B – 
Hardened Drill Tips (+50% Mining Rate)
T2A – 
Magnetic Refrigeration (+1 Cooling Rate)
T3A – 
Supercharged Motor (+50% Mining Rate)
T4A – 
Increase Tank Pressure (+6 Max Ammo)
We don’t really use these as weapons, they are not very strong compared to other options we have (our actual weapons) unless the enemy is really close to death and we want to regain health with Vampire perk. Focus on using these to create tunnels quickly, getting resources, or making a defensible location during hordes. Really helpful for Morkite Refining missions and drilling directly back to the Drop Pod instead of running through the cave again.
Mole Armor Rig
T1A – 
Improved Generator (-1 Second Shield Recharge Delay)
T2B – 
Healthy (+20 Max Health)
T3A – 
Temperature Insulation (+50% Fire Resistance)
T4C – 
Breathing Room (+3 Second Revive Invulnerability)
Armor is pretty flexible in perk choice, I enjoyed the following perk combination. It will always be more beneficial to take T2B (Healthy) for the increase in health, rather then shield, which only gives +5. Shield also regenerates, while health does not unless you gather red sugar or a re-supply pod. I also found T4C to be helpful especially on harder difficulties were you might be revived in the middle of a horde of enemies, the extra seconds in invulnerability will really help to get to a safe distance to re-group.
Impact Axe
Easily the best grenade option for the Driller, easily out performs other grenades and fills the gap for single target damage. We also have the largest capacity of grenades with this option. This is particularly strong vs Praetorians/Oppressors as it Stuns them in place for a few moments. When paired with Vampire Passive perk, we can regain health from a distance on enemy kills.
Passive Perks
Born Ready
Resupplier
Elemental Insulation
Vampire
Born Ready : A really nice perk for Driller specifically, since the reload speed his heavy weapons can be a bit slow, especially in a pinch, it makes it really nice to both reload quickly, and not be left defenseless. When you’re out of ammo, swap to your secondary, after 5 or so seconds you’ll hear a verbal notification that the reload is done.
Resupplier : Another great perk that I recommend across all classes. If resupplying 50% faster wasn’t good enough to have in a pinch, gaining 25% more health each time is just the cherry on top. One of the best passive perks to have in my opinion.
Elemental Insulation : An optional choice, but a relatively strong one depending on the cave biome you’re in. Take 30% less damage from all elemental sources. This includes; Fire/Frost/Electricity/Poison/Radiation/Heat and Cold.
Vampire : Highly recommend this perk on all Driller builds since the Driller has multiple sources that can activate Vampire that other classes don’t have. You regain health on any melee kills of Grunts or tougher enemies (does not activate on swarmers). While the pickaxe can of course activate it on any class, the Driller specifically has different choices. This pairs extremely well with Iron Will perk. The Driller’s Reinforced Power Drills can activate Vampire, and the throwable Impact Axe can also activate Vampire.
Active Perks
Iron Will
Field Medic
Dash
Heightened Sense
Iron Will : Once per mission, you can revive yourself for 12 seconds before going back down. This may not sound like a great perk at first, but it can be a game saver. While on it’s own, not very strong, you can revive allies who can then revive you in turn. Alternatively, even in a solo game, there is a way you can stay alive, effectively turning this into a permanent self revive option. If you gather health within the 12 seconds, you will stay alive. This can be from Red Sugar, Resupply pods, or other means (Vampire Passive Perk). This perk is pretty strong on any class to keep for emergency situations. Recommended saving it’s use until absolutely necessary.
Field Medic: 100% a group game perk, do not use if playing solo. This perk should definitely be equipped when playing in a group game. The ability to revive allies 30%, fear enemies after reviving an ally, on top of the activation option of instantly reviving an ally, this perk can save games on its own.
Dash : Gain a very short burst of speed that can be used every 25 seconds (at max rank). This burst of speed ignores any slow effects you may be suffering, which can be really helpful when stuck in goo or any other slowing effects. You can even Dash while holding heavy objects like Aquarqs. This is particularly strong on slower classes, like the Driller, in order to keep up with the team, or to escape a tight situation quickly.
Heightened Sense : Based on personal preference. If you play solo you can rely on Bosco to help you out of being grabbed, usually by a cave leech. For group games, as a Driller with limited range weapon options, it can be useful to have an escape button for emergency situations to escape being grabbed. This perk can easily be skipped if playing with a coordinated group.
