I recently completed the game on Guardian IV difficulty, and after checking some of the forums, I saw that some players were struggling to unlock higher difficulties and especially to clear the game on Guardian IV.
While this may not be too in-depth a guide, I can share a simple build idea that worked for me very consistently. Both Solo and in Co-op.
To those who are already knowledgeable about the game: Engineer Minion Squad build. That’s all. For those who need further details, let me elaborate on a few components.
Class
Сrеdit gоеs to Ice !
I recommend using the Engineer class for this. There are quite a few reasons, but the biggest one is that the drones distract the enemies which takes a lot of heat off of you.
And the fact that this class is super versatile with gameplay is a bonus (I was able to get the achievement for maximum armour bonus on Engineer as well).
You can build tanky, you can build for the blaster, you can go for weapon damage builds, or you can go for the drone craziness.
Weapons
- To make things easier, we will be using the buddy bot as our secondary weapon (more minions to distract the enemies = more good).
- I also like to use primary weapons that can quickly dispatch mobs. A favourite of mine is the Tesla Rifle with its Ricochet perk.
But feel free to use any primary that helps you kill mobs quickly.
- Boss damage will be dealt with later in the guide.
Item Recommendations
- Healing efficiency is a great thing to get. If you get the item, and one upgrade from the ability perks, you should be fine.
- Any and all shock damage items are good: we are leaning towards shock in the build, expanded upon further below
- Anything that lets you mark enemies: Best for bosses. Adds a lot to the overall damage output and will save you an ability perk.
Ability Perk Recommendations
- Dronezerker is amazing. Lets the drone take more aggro, whilst increasing their damage output.
- Targeting Protocol lets you command the drones better. Very very helpful for boss fights, or to focus damage elites.
These two put together are excellent for sustained damage from drones whilst helping with their upkeep. Would 100% recommend.
Other perks you can select based on your gameplay preference:
- Elemental Buddies with Electro : My favourite way to use drones. With the firerate from Dronezerker, enemies get shocked very very quickly, bosses included. If paired with a shock weapon, it provides a lot of CC against tough opponents.
- Family Swarm : To double down on the drone raw damage output and more distractions for enemies. Be mindful of the upkeep though, as the drones get squishy with each addition.
- Geared Buddies : Easiest way to get extra damage and marks on enemies. Would recommend other perks if you have a consistent way of applying mark.
Strategy
- Pick the buddy-bot at the run start. Clear all the way to Oasis.
- Upgrade buddy-bot to fantastic at oasis, and start leveling it up whenever possible. (It will be magical if you get one with Cryo. MOAR CC!)
- Deploy both buddy-bots at the start of each encounter and refresh every 10-12 seconds. Both bots can typically be deployed simultaneously. Keep refreshing as and when they time out.
- Whilst your army of drones and bots are fighting, you eliminate high priority targets first: Snipers, elites, turrets, etc. Whatever can kill you quickly needs to die at the earliest. Mark works wonders here.
- If the room has a problematic enemy, use blaster to get the drones to engage on said enemy and put a mark on the enemy if you can. Then flank and deal with other problems and watch as your drones melt away the big one.
- Keep using your blaster as soon as the CD ends to keep generating more scrap, hence leading to more drone upkeep.
This is all that is needed. Worked on every boss, and every encounter without much difficulty. You will get even better with practice!
This will also teach you about positioning and to play aggressively for healing cells when necessary.
Cleared Guardian IV all the way up to Iris’ 2nd phase with this. Then got obliterated anyways, as always… She straight up ignored the bots and drones and hunted me down. Didn’t have the DPS to burst her down and at 42 I think I’m just getting too slow to dodge constant AOE attacks for extended periods of time.
I think I’m just going to accept that I’m not good enough to finish Guardian IV. Sucks to clear the rest of the game quite consistently, then end up dying in the end anyways.
Thanks for putting the guide together though! Definitely an interesting approach.
Hey, try getting to Iris with recon and the double decoy upgrade + french fries for the low cd on the Q, chances are the boss wont focus you for 25% of the fight. You will deal way less damage compared to the build on this guide, probably wont get a S on every map, but you should win on Guardian IV.
I used this build up to Guardian III, switched build purely for completion of achievs.
Not sure you can get S rank with build based sololy on crowd controll
the idea here is not necessarily crowd control, but also aggro control.
CC thing comes into play when you get cryo on buddy bot (or even on drones). Here you will be dealing damage primarily with weapons, while your minions aggro mobs and keep them slowed with CC for you to finish.
If you get the Cryo crit upgrade and the one that allows to freeze faster, that can work wonders for damage whilst also keeping the CC ongoing.
I was able to get S on all difficulties with this build. Keep trying and you will too!
Great guide, thanks!
One question though, in part 5 you said “Keep using your blaster as soon as the CD ends”. What does CD stand for?
CD = Cooldown
Nice guide, I used the Ranger until Guardian III, but I finished with Engi and I gotta say when you finish the build you absolutely melt everything.