Perfect team compositions for haz 4-5 that would make karl proud

DRG offers a huge range of different playstyles for each class, which is amazing in itself, motivates players in a long term and grants tons of fun experimenting. However, I found that especially on high haz dives are the most fun when a team is well composed and everyone works together like a well oiled machine. In this regard, some builds/playstyles are generally more useful than others, which is why I thought I'd put together a little overview of what I consider the perfect team composition for high haz games and ask you honorable miners on your oppinion.

Driller: wave breaker, escapist and scout's left hand. His main goal in combat is freezing targets so the rest of the team can take them out with ease. That takes the pressure of large waves to a minimum, saves tons of ammo and won't let bigger bugs become threats. Off combat he makes terrain accessible to the whole team both on the way in and out, which includes clearing environmental threats like volcanos, geysirs and toxic mushrooms. In his spare time he remote-mines everything that the scout is far enough away from. Equipment: Cryo with focus on freezing power is a must, epc with tcf as well. Axes are most useful for your burst potential, just like good old c4..

Engineer: killing machine and arena builder. The engineer preps areas for heavy combat with turrets, mines and bug repellent platforms, channeling hostiles to choke points the team can focus on. Strategic platform placement further not only helps the scout while mining but also everyone else from not dying from gravity. In combat, he deals serious damage when aiming well and bursts out rediculous damage when the bugs dare to get too close to each other. Equipment: shotgun with magnetic pellet alignment is a beast, both the breach cutter and the fat boy PGL let you rake in kills faster than anyone else. Use proximity mines proactively.

Gunner: walking fortress and heavy hitter. While Engi's kill count will almost always be higher than yours due to his bursting, you are the one do deliver consistently high damage to high priority targets and also to swarms, doing most of the work. When working together with a driller you can withstand any swarm without your lazy teammates. Shields can not only be used defensively to hold the teams position when the stream of enemies gets too dense or for urgent resurvives, but also in an offensive way to block the enemies path and even make them turn around to expose their delicate butts. Ziplines help you stay away from teeth and claws and are the best escape route for you and your team when moving downhill. Equipment: although taka-take seems to be the heavier option, brrrr will out-damage it quickly if used right: lead storm on the minigun melts both swarms and heavy enemies like ice cream under the hair dryer even with no cryo cannon around. The bulldog acts as a hand held sniper rifle and deletes pesky bugs on ceilings or, with elephant rounds, even big targets like no problem.

Scout: hypermobile expert at not dying, torchboy and lifesaver. While the team takes care of pest control, you bring in the minerals from otherwise inaccessible places. The deal looks like this: they supply you with platforms and fire cover, you grant them permanent light and instand resurvives at any time. By the way: platforms are nice and save some time, but overall optional with grapple/power attack and adequate fall stop technology. Combat wise you won't make much of a dent, but cryo grenades and the boomstick help you handle sticky situations on your own well. Those you seek out though, if you get overwhelmed all alone means your hearing needs a medical examination and your grapling hook might have caught some rust too. Equipment: a raw damage focused main weapon does well enough. The boomstick with special powder not only saves your life if you slip while grappling, it also brings some nice weakpoint damage with a surprisingly high amount of ammo. Cryos grenades put swarms on a time-out while you resurvive or nullify the danger of team wipes by bulks that got too close. Field medic and iron will are strict requirements for the inofficial medic class.

The whole team: dwarves together strong, communication is key. At least one dwarf needs iron will, field medic should be equipped on all classes. Unfortunately the hp buff of fully unlocked armor rigs isn't apparent to everyone, make sure to max this item out as the very first on each class. Stick together as best as you can, always know the point you all will fall back to if a swarm hits you unexpectedly: resupply pods, a lot of plasticrete, molly and turrets are good indicators. Be mindful of your fellow miner's build, ammo economy and positioning, help them before it's too late. Ping not only to shift focus of your team, but also to warn them about possible dangers or merely inform them about map layout. Also, as a high rank player, asking a question doesn't equal insecurity, it means you want the team to be on the same page. Communication is necessary to work together well, constructive critique shouldn't be taken personal but also be offered in a affirmative way. The v key has a crazy wide range of possible applications, use it aggressively.

So fellow dwarves: what's your oppinion? Did I miss something? Does something seem way off to you? I hope you found this useful, regardless of the color and stiffness of your beard. Now go make Karl proud, rock and Stone!