What's the Deal with Bunkers? | Deep Rock Galactic

Bunkers have seemingly become the most controversial and divisive topic in the Deep Rock community; but how did this come to be? Join me as I take a Deep Dive into the bunker strategy. I'll be covering the best (and worst) bunkers layouts, debunking some incredibly frustrating bunker myths, and hopefully finding some common ground between those for and against bunkers. Rock & Stone!
EMERGENCY BUNKER TUTORIAL:
• DEEP ROCK GALACTIC: EM...
UNDER BUNKIE TUTORIAL:
• DEEP ROCK GALACTIC: UN...
ON THE TOPIC OF BUNKERS (by ‪@AxisKronos‬):
• ON THE TOPIC OF BUNKER...
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[@Keyce0013]

Technically speaking, everything the Driller does with his drills is boring.

[@CaptainPrincess]

ayyyyyyyyy

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Well I can't not pin that

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

Would this make a full driller team a Boring Company?

[@Keyce0013]

@@DrillingInTheNameOf My day has been made!

[@a177rhythm2]

While stuff the Engineer does is riveting.

[@obscuriguity4365]

as a scout player my main issue with the bunker is that im going to be trapped in a confined space with a driller

[@MelodicCrusader]

I hear ya, mate. I'm a scout main and my mate's a driller main

[@megawl2086]

@@MelodicCrusader how many times did he blow you up with a satchel or a HE grenade?

[@0mn1P4wn4g3]

Play other classes. I don't get the point of playing this game if you're just going to stick to one class. Also you aren't trapped, so I'm not sure why you'd think that. You're literally the most mobile class, if you want to kite enemies you certainly can.

[@AveragePearEnjoyer]

@Le funny does funny yeah, scout isn't a front line fighter. He is a backline fighter. The bug's backline, that is.

[@obscuriguity4365]

@@0mn1P4wn4g3 it was a joke comment playing off the popular meme that a driller loves to kill scouts with a satchel charge. thats all it was.

[@user-in4nq6ex6h]

I love this game because it allows you, who is clearly a driller at heart, to use bunkies. It also allows AxisKronos, who is clearly a scout at heart, to run and gun. Neither of you are negatively affecting the other, and are playing exactly how you want to

[@spectralaria8648]

I wouldnt say thats entirely true, ive been kicked before for not joining a bunker (it wasnt a useful one either, it was on the normal DD and we were completely fine)

[@Djinnistorm]

@@spectralaria8648 that wasn't the game not allowing you to do the strategy you want, it was other players.

[@galvint2]

Is there a dood that does gunners? I want this but for ziplines.

[@user-in4nq6ex6h]

@@galvint2 I've considered compiling some gunner tips (I consider myself a gunner at heart, Legendary 3 gang) but never got around to it. I think a lot of this is because gunners are a very fun-oriented bunch. Fun, to us, is shooting bugs and protecting the team. Statistical analysis of builds is fun too, for sure, but as dwarves OUR conclusions about OUR loadouts (and as gunners, gun stats are the ones that matter) are the only ones we will consider. I could talk about how fun I find Burning Hell for a good hour but that is only cathartic to me, not anyone else like DITNO's Bunkie tutorials

[@spectralaria8648]

@@Djinnistorm I was referring to OP saying "neither of you are negatively affecting the other" which may be true for DITNO and Axis but ive been in situations where it isnt.

[@Terminarch]

One of my favorite experiences in all of gaming was at the end of a harsh haz5. The drop pod spawned in the ceiling. We had one of each class and all of us used our own class mechanics to make our own unique path up there simultaneously. It was glorious.

[@irpsicologiayeducaciongrup8251]

absolute Rock And Stone moment

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Genuinely curious if I was there. Had that exact same thing happen and we were all laughing about it. I think I even made a TikTok with the footage.

[@yerfriendlyneighborhoodsco3337]

i imagine looked epic...aside from gunner and his glorious mighty granny lift of power...being a bit anti climactic, Arnie screaming all the way to the top

[@emberthecatgirl8796]

My very first public lobby I got thrown in with dwarves that didn’t consider ammo concervation a problem, so I drilled through 100 meters of solid rock straight to the drop pod while having a firing squad keeping my back clear, I fell in love with the game then and there… Then I got friendly fired and then kicked for 3 missions in a row and got reminded that Eastern Europe is still the webspace equivalent of a drednaught’s orfice.

[@clippted.]

Ah nah what did gunner do 😂

[@alanmaharg6488]

I think the “Bunkers spawn Bulks” myth is rooted in superstition, being that you will remember how a bulk team wiped you when you were in the worst possible place for that scenario to occur. It’s like that feeling you get when the one time it pours rain on you on a routine walk is the one time you didn’t bring an umbrella.

[@vmk2466]

Confirmation bias

[@pyritepirate3991]

I'd also like to mix in the POSSIBILITY that some drillers didn't get the memo and just stayed in the bunker instead of doing the objective. So a bulk det spawn went from a possibility to a inevitability.

[@thatoneguy9993]

Bunkers spawn bulks is something the dwarves in universe would believe

[@adamofblastworks1517]

Also because of *course* a bulk det would spawn the one fricken time you use a bunker, because the universe hates you, and because we can't have nice things.

[@mattsullivan2458]

Go to settings to activate windows.

[@deamooz9810]

👉massgrave dоt dev

[@CoolSs]

"Just do the following: 1-Right click on desktop > display settings 2-select notifications & actions tab 3-turn off "show me the windows welcome experience..." and "get tips, tricks, and suggestions..." 4- Restart " copied from reddit (from dabesns)

[@BeHappyTo]

settings? just use activator

[@howawlyfalloookenhool7495]

Sometimes works. Sometimes not. Another route: Run cmd as admin enter the following: slmgr -ato

[@ajaxdossd948]

​@BeHappyTo YES what is it mass activation on github or something

[@Kostej]

I think the most important thing is to do your mission by any means necessary... and have fun. and don't cheat. Rock and Stone !!!

[@robmcgahan8664]

Well said Dwarven Brother! Rock and Stone!

[@afellowcrusader2888]

Dude Fr, I came across a scout player who had infinite ammo and fire rate and almost crashed the game with flares and electro bolts on the crossbow, safe to say I blew up the guy with a c4 at the drop pod… rock and stone!

[@binjimonanimations]

Does installing a vine boom sound mod for exploders count as cheating? Either way, rock and stone!

[@kapsaysin]

​@@binjimonanimationsHell no! It's a required mod!

[@Iteration456-8_codename_goblin]

Cheating is not rock and stone Unless it’s used to spam fat boys in which case I encourage this abuse of power

[@jacobjerny7502]

That section about Oppresors and their Ai is actually really interesting. I wonder if GSG would ever consider changing their pathing ai to make them into true bunker busters?

[@danshakuimo]

Ultra Elite Deep Dives time

[@paulkocherhans608]

I run berserker just for those oppressors, they come into my bunker...they die ;D

[@Appletank8]

That would again, require detecting what is a bunker or not. Sure, they could technically dig a straight line to where you are, but bugs spawning under people’s feet may not be what devs want to happen too often.

[@Drummerx04]

​@@Appletank8 not really, just change the logic on the pathing to add a few conditions under which they dig. For example, an oppressor would dig if they spawn such a position that it would be comparably fast to dig straight for you. This might cause them to dig unnecessarily, but bulks already can do that.

[@neil2444]

@@Drummerx04 The programming would have to do something a little more complicated than simply determining *if* there is a path, but also whether that path is considerably larger than a direct path (via digging). I don't know if I would like that though. Cheap tactics aside, making a bunker with an entrance seems like it should be a legitimate strategy.

[@jsj0520]

The only time I’ve legitimately used bunkers is during elite deep dives. And my team was completely on board with them (I was the driller and made a normal bunkie in a wall with an open entrance / exit), and we even had an elimination mission during it so we were forced to fight in the open. On a normal Haz 5 mission I have no need for bunkers, I am competent enough and I genuinely can not remember the last time my random teammates insisted we use a bunker. Bunkers are most definitely a form of skill / tactic expression as much as the movement, what build you decide to use and general mechanical skill. And if you are honestly mad at people playing a PvE game the way they want to play it then go ahead and die mad because there is fucking nothing you can do about it.

[@clairifedverified2513]

Unfathomably based take

[@f1fanatic241]

To be fair, depending on their objective, I can most definitely do something about it. I’ll probably die mad jizzing so

[@mlowd5753]

@@f1fanatic241 AYO

[@thesussadin]

Fr, we tried multiple times on a rough edd and eventually said, "f it, we need a bunker." And got through that week

[@hmpang4996]

based

[@shanehunt3019]

My only issue with bunkers is that it's entirely on the driller to be aware. Given the social archetype drillers occupy it's 90% doomed and 10% the smoothest run you ever had.

[@klatnyelox9140]

the only issue I've ever had with bunkers is when the protection objective spawns in an entirely cursed location, I'm talking no cover for you, and many obscured angles for bugs to approach from. So you bunker, even predrill an OH FUCK escape tunnel, and the engi hates it, stays on top, refuses to close it in, and dooms everyone because they wont sit in the improved defense point while since the top is open you're in the same kill-box you were in to begin with but with less escape. If you don't like the strat in general that's fine, but sometimes the cave gen is just fucked

[@rousrouslan4023]

@@klatnyelox9140 The difference is enemies come from only one small tunnel you can nuke everything in it even bulk detonator, but yes predrilled escape is must have

[@krypt1ccc739]

If you understand how drg enemies spawn you can track if there's enemies such as bulks in the spawn pool or not which factors into my decision to bunkie.

[@agent5657]

This ^

[@sarumane5380]

Is there a place where I can read up on how the game spawns enemies?

[@trucid2]

How?

[@agent5657]

@@sarumane5380 unsure but, if you see any kind of enemy then you know they are in the spawnpool, like if you spawn in a mission and see a single cave Leech then you can let your team know that "alright leeches are in the spawn pool"

[@sarumane5380]

@@agent5657 Ok but how does that help with Bulk Detonators? Not like you constantly get multiple of those per mission...

[@JaySwag77]

Loving the calm, thoughtful, kindness-focused dialogue! Rock and Stone.

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

💛

[@gdrad]

Greenbeard here. I think the talk surrounding at bunkers has helped me realize I need to consider controlling terrain better in general. Which is what bunkers sound like, one tool in terrain control. Though I'm also wondering if a "shelf" is viable. Find a wall, carve out a wide "room" with one side open facing the objective that needs covering. I think it would allow some funneling, but also some room to manuever. Also, you could actually cover a scout zipping about.

[@SnakeHoundMachine]

the shelf is very viable, especially if a defense objective is next to a wall. Shelves are best used when you have an engineer with upgraded platforms to provide a roof that forces mobs to route around it to the sides

[@necr0va]

this is generally what you should be doing as driller if you're not going to bunker. by creating a "shelf", you're increasing sightlines and providing more room for your teammates.

[@StealingTimeAtWork]

@@SnakeHoundMachine This is my preferred go-to. Cuts off all of those ranged enemies that would otherwise be hammering you from above too.

[@phoenixr2360]

This is what I do. I've evolved into a player who values good sightlines and room to maneuver above all else, so I will often satchel and epc out a quick scoop in the wall just to give everybody more room and a bit of cover... without compromising sightlines. It's extremely useful. As a new driller, the advice that helped me the most was "always be looking for problems you can solve." Pillar blocking line of sight? Awkward uplink spot right next to a ledge? Cramped spot right around a minehead? Delete that terrain until your team can see!

[@jake.rubach]

This is literally what I call a cope cave. It holds up even on modded 6x2 and 7x2 hazards. Very effective when paired with bug repellant from engi

[@ReapeeRon]

Great video as always! When I get questions of why I don't use bunkers, it's usually because I forget to and I have heard the coward sentiment before. Which I find pretty funny, because in just about every game I I play running away is a pretty good strategy, and 1 that I use all the time.

[@AKThompson]

Kiting is something you do for the entire combat loop tho

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Thanks Ron!!

[@MusNothus]

Haha that is a really good point that no one accuses people of being cowards for running away. I basically never use bunkers anymore except when DINTO and I are messing around in the game, and sadly it's in large part because I don't know how the rest of the team will feel about bunkering and I don't feel like potentially getting flak for even suggesting it. But the main thing I like about bunkering from time to time is just variety. The core gameplay loop in DRG is super fun, but I still like to find ways to come up with new ways to do things to keep it interesting, which is also a reason why I like your various challenge videos, @ReapeeRon.

[@brandonhowe5017]

Imagine being called a coward for standing your ground instead of running away. Logic these days...

[@gratefulgamer7907]

But to counter that argument would you rather be a coward, or would you rather die to the hundreds of glyphids swarming you from all sides all at once?

[@N8ertot]

Best recent addition to the bunkie experience is the Springloaded Ripper grenade, which if you position yourself right near the entrance tunnel to a bunkie, and throw it on a perpendicular angle relative to the drilled tunnel, you can create a pretty effective "Bug Blender."

[@kokorochacarero8003]

Combine it with the sludge pump with the enhanced slowing puddles for maximum blending

[@derpsquad3306]

"Tonight on 'Will It Blend?' Glyphid Grunts, Glyphid Exploders, a particularly fat Glyphid Praetorian, and a megachonk Crausus Detonator!"

[@gael.7593]

Rare Springloaded Ripper Grenade W

[@DonkeyDongs9000]

I'm surprised you didn't mention Shield Disruption missions and deep dives! I can't tell you how many times giving into the madness and becoming a filthy panic bunkering lunatic that leaves seemingly random (but strategic!) bunkers throughout the map really made a difference for my team.

[@viktoriyaserebryakov2755]

Yo that's me.

[@mogullll]

I naturally stumbled upon that first worst bunker idea and immediately had the ground blown out beneath my entire team by a bulk detonator not realising there was a tunnel right below us

[@adamofblastworks1517]

They will trigger in proximity through walls, with no line of sight? Great. Good to know.

[@josephsaint2652]

DRG - Game about dwarfs digging holes and mining gold DRG's most controversial topics. - Dwarfs digging holes and mining gold *Confused rock and stone noses* ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@artemyburakh12]

I so missed your proper DRG videos. Thank you for the astonishing quality of content and great quality of voice which makes your videos even more interesting to watch. So wish KZbin was your fulltime job so you would make long videos more often than once per 2 months

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Thank you my friend! I wish I could do that as well, ha. End of the year is always hectic in my business, so hopefully I can get more content out in the next couple of months. I have so many videos planned, just not enough time to work on them.

[@artemyburakh12]

@@DrillingInTheNameOf lots of people use Patreon for that purpose. Have you ever thought of it as an option?

[@agent5657]

Bunkers are completely fine, just obviously take into consideration the current spawn pool and the moment you hear a oppressor you should drill your team to safety, but that aside, bunkering is fun sometimes! But I don't do it much at all.

[@MeepChangeling]

No? Just go kill it. NBD. Oppressors are not any actual problem. Especialy if you're a gunner with bullet hell and know to just shoot a wall behind the oppressor.

[@Kaltsit-]

It’s situational. Most of the time, with most enemies, they’ll funnel. Higher tier enemies cause a higher risk when you’re bunkering. But it dominates lower tiers. So it just means, do it if you want.

[@emmaraccoon0189]

This is actually the first time I'm learning about bunkers, while inadvertently always tunneling out a bunker in solos. I do tend to make bunkers to sit in for the end of liquid morkite missions, aquarq extractions, and salvage missions. I am however mostly a solo player and dont hop on public servers.

[@llmkursk8254]

I once ended up in a natural bunker situation, as on a Salvage Operation both the Black Box and the later Refueler spawned in a tunnel below the drop pod. While the refuel created a second tunnel and made it less of a bunker situation, it was still interesting how all the bugs took the short path through the tunnels down into the objectives instead of spawning in the tunnel around me.

[@user-sy6yy3sl4j]

Recently on a haz5+ mission a bunker saved us multiple times during swarms and were really ammo efficient and after that I praised that driller for knowing how a bunker works.

[@lavetissene339]

One time, we were playing industrial sabotage in the salt pits. Our gunner was using the coilgun. When we called down the hacking pod, the game mistook one of the blast holes from the coild gun for valid terrain and spawned the pod in the wall. We were essentially forced to use a bunker. You'll never guess what broke in.

[@gibarel]

Bunkers are an easy thing for how effective they are, when my squad learned to bunker we immediately began having an easier time on haz 4. But it made us lazy so we stopped it for a while, and we improved a lot. The main that helped us was understanding that we need to use all our tools, not just our preferred weapon, use the secondary, use the melee, the grenades, everything. We might not be completely ready for haz 5 and it's been I while since we played, but i believe we might be able to.

[@mostlikelysmarterthanyou5031]

I see a lot of parallels between this and the gold controversy. Some say mining gold is bad because it inefficient while some say its good because its fun. I think what the community needs to realize is that if u like doing bunkers do them (as long as it doesn't force any teammates to do them as well) and if u don't like bunkers don't do them. In all the video I watched about the gold controversy they all started saying something along the lines of "If u enjoy mining gold, thats fine, you can play however you want" and I think that applies here too, so as long as a player that likes bunkers doesn't force other teammates to bunker with them by doing the OG bunker or something I don't really see why people care so much.

[@lovinglydull]

Honestly the bunker discourse goes over my head, considering I'm a new player and the most sophisticated my defensive strategies have been as a Driller is digging trenches around the Caretaker so that I can get a balance between defensive positioning and the ability to move away from the homing bombs. But discovering this video, as well as your tutorials, has helped me devise more strategies as a player, and instilled in me a desire to try them out in public (I still usually play on private games) Good video, wonderful attitude!

[@airfryer2793]

Lol, all my teammates died during the caretaker battle and I jumped into a hole and finished it of.

[@packmanias3389]

During a caretaker fight, as a driller, you mostly wants to drop c4 on it to destroy It's shield To do that you ask your engi to make a bridge or drill a hole in the ceilling For the cover, It's better to just drill tunnel that goes from one cave to the other so your team can move freely around the boss cave, and Also carve some room inside the walls for safe ressuply room

[@ShadowFang1996]

Although I'm normally not the biggest fan of bunkers, I will always make a two way tunnel in a Caretaker Boss fight for the sole purpose of having a safe place to resupply.

[@TheUndeadslayer221]

There is one other kind of bunker (if you could call it that) that I have come to call the "trap tunnel", which is a "bunker" that I use to lure Mactera into a confined space so I can C4 the whole group. This method is one that I use purely to help not blow myself up with C4 by accident.

[@gs7089]

The only times I made bunkers were when I had to carry greenbeards through EDDs. There were complications like bad terrain or low O2, and I could see that there was a very high chance that none of us would make it through the incoming swarm. Those were some memorable games.

[@youtubewatcher6719]

Normally, I prefer not to bunker because I find the mad scramble around the caves more fun. But when shit hits the fan and it becomes clear that your options are either to make a well-constructed bunker or lose the mission, you need to bunker. And besides, it’s actually pretty fun to quick-build a bunker right as a swarm starts to build around you. The whole team covering your back as you work, then quickly retreating into the finished product to defend is really cinematic.

[@Ahmad_code]

I do want to add that each level spawns only a certain number of different types of enemies, so if you do see a bulk earlier in the same level, I don't think it's a good idea to bunker as it's in the spawn pool and may spawn again

[@lowtideluke]

Love seeing the production quality on your videos continue to get better and better. Really well done. Rock & stone!

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Much appreciated! It's all trial and error, but I'm glad it's coming along!

[@Lurowene]

hands down best DRG channel I've loved your vids but your attitude in general to the playerbase is flawless

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Thank you my friend!

[@SMT-ks8yp]

First, I don't know about spawn rates, but once I had a weird underbunkie with long ass entrance, and oppressors for some reason beelined for it while completely ignoring everyone outside. Had fun shooting their exposed butts. Second, digging in is the most dwarven strategy ever. Dodging and running makes you a leaf lover. Third, rock and stone!

[@monkeylicker7179]

Rock and stone brother!

[@canofham9760]

Me and my friends just got into this game and have already put so many hours in and barely understand like 70 percent of the game. Honestly it just makes it even better. Love these videos too

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Thank you my friend! Happy to help!

[@endruv_2287]

I like how this is the biggest controversy this game has. Considering the shit other games go through

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

😆 so true

[@PiggyKillerQ]

My favorite emergency bunker strat is just point drills down, and do a single helix downwards. much worse than emergency bunker for team play, but it does channel bugs into one place and requires less thought. It has kept me alive.

[@andrewbowman3508]

Been playing DRG for years and this is the first time I've ever heard of bunkers. A couple days ago, I had a driller who did the "worst" bunker, and I immediately knew it was stupid, but not for the reasons given here. I thought it was clever that he dropped the objective down, but didn't really understand how that helped anything. Then we all jumped down with it, and it kinda made sense. But then he started clearing out a big room around it, and I said "stop it! You're just making more space for bugs to tunnel in!" I don't know if I was correct, but I'm glad to see I was right that I was right to call-out a bad idea.

[@comet.x]

main reason i don't like bunkers is how insanely effective they are, but also claustrophobic. I play rock carver driller and manipulate terrain to my advantage all the time, but i often think the beauty of this game is the chaos it can cause, and bunkers just remove the chaos. I do think either oppressor ai should be changed, or we should get a more anti bunker enemy. Not even to destroy bunkers and make them a useless strategy, just to make building and using bunkers more interesting than holding m1 down a tunnel and making a new hole if something real bad comes. If oppressors had a bull charge attack that resisted slowdown, it'd be really cool, make oppressors more scary than the ignorable enemy that they currently are, and make bunker gameplay way more active.

[@psyneur9182]

4:00 all these downsides are exactly why i like doing the sealed-in bunker so much, you never know whats gonna happen and the chaos when you/something else breaks it open is very fun :D

[@grizzlybeartacos]

I do think bunkers have their place, as a big driller fanboy I do love so much more effectively leveling terrain and clearing sightlines while playing vanilla. that said I've seen some advanced teamwork happen on modded difficulty where driller, gunner, and engi move through terrain in a dynamic bunker sort of situation while scout clears objectives or just a prereq for not immediately dying.

[@bast4rdlyreaper]

I love playing driller, and i hate bunkers. The way i like to "use" them in a fun way, is to make a "Theater or Gallery Bunker" which is drilling 3 rock knocks into the wall, attaching a C4 to the rear ceiling of the tunnel, and detonating it. Then drilling out the walls, and the engineer can place bug repellent platforms on the top. Its way more fun, and players are able to freely enter and exit the bunker. But allow players to fight without the ability for the bugs to flank the team. Perhaps ill make a guide video about it.

[@Margis6]

I've played a lot of DRG and it's pretty rare that players make bunkers. When they do I'm down for it because it's just fun to play the game and roll with whatever happens. People don't rely on it enough to ruin the game, only enough to mix it up. I personally usually terraform the battlefield when Drillering.

[@99Pierogies]

I'm still pretty new, only about 45 hours, and I haven't seen a single bunkie. I mostly play on haz 3 tho

[@Margis6]

@@99Pierogies I've mostly played Hazard 4 and I've found it the same. Have not seen it yet in the Haz 5's that I've played. Haven't played in a while but can't wait to get back to it!

[@patricianscum2309]

The only time I've personally utilized a bunker was when our team was travelling in the middle of a tunnel to a cave further down, a swarm was coming and I checked the map. It was too far to get to the next cave and get set up so I asked the driller to bunker. He did, and it sufficed and we moved on. I will say though that bunkers are extremely boring if not necessary as a last resort. Bunkers are risky, and its extremely fun to take on that risk when an oppressor comes into play, but when it comes down to it, I'm playing a cave exploration game, I do not want to bunker unless my hand is forced.

[@joshuaanderson7511]

I feel as though rather than increase in nitra spawns ( which is possible ) your team just got more efficient overall. I notice noobs double dipping all the time bc they have used all the ammo in one swarm. Meanwhile, I can play through a short mission as gunner with no resups needed.

[@user-lv8dn8gw9z]

As a greenbeard, I don't think there's any ryhme or reason to nitra spawns, in some missions I see a nitra vein everytime I turn a corner and in others I see one maybe every 3 or 4 rooms (all same difficulty cuz I haven't started doing haz 4 yet)

[@fbmb1337]

I'll be honest I always assumed the whole "bunkers spawn detonators" thing was (or probably started as) more of a Murphy's Law type of joke. (You know, 'If everything that can go wrong will, then obviously bulkers and opressors will only spawn more if you bunker.') Anyways my approach to bunkers is the same as almost every other game altering choice during a mission: ask the team first, then its all good.

[@canaldecasta]

I dont get why people get so worked up. Had this 200+ scout lecturing a "low" level engie about platforms and stuff. He did not use the flare gun at all. Beard may be grey but their brain as green as a leaf lover special

[@Linventor]

Bunkers have their place in one's toolkit. Sure, it may not be as _exhilarating_ as zippin' all over the place, but I'm not about to deny that a bunker was the only reason my team made it through a particularly nasty Mactera Plague. Wasn't even that boring - sure, we weren't _doing_ much in there - driller had opted for a sealed bunker - but it was still quite tense, what with the firing squad of mactera buzzin' around outside. Tbh we probably woulda been better off with a standard unsealed bunker, especially considering we lost two dwarves in the dash to the pod.

[@whydoievenbothertoputthish2199]

Tbh just digging better pathways for everyone helps out alot more imo. So you can use the terrain more to your teams advantage in general. Like if theres a small connection between tunnels just connect the two. If your gonna use certain elevation because your gonna be there alot just dig some stairs in advance not just on the spot. Etc make certain entrances wides if theres not much dirt to be removed it just takes a small second and can always help on the way back as making an easy way back is always good force of habit. :P

[@BirdMoose]

I don't play as much driller now, but my favorite bunker was my 'horseshoe' bunker where I'd dig along the side of a room or tunnel in a horseshoe or 'n' shape, leaving the 2nd connecting edge just barely unfinished so I or even my non-driller teammates could break out in 1-2 hits and have a quick escape. There's something fun to me about filling the map with little side tunnels like an ant hill during a massive swarm and just running between them.

[@LunaBit985]

for the bunkers spawn detonators, I've always heard it as if the entire team is completely closed off, like the really bad bunker you showed right before then the game spawns oppressors and bulks to tunnel into the room.

[@Mazurecki56]

And as the dev themselves said, there is no function for the game to spawn any particular enemy that depends on action you take as a team of dwarves. It's literally a myth and debunked by the devs.

[@LunaBit985]

@@Mazurecki56 probrably confirmation bias and negativity bias playing together so it seems that its the case when it really isn't. I know that know, but that's what I've always thought, and a fully enclosed bunker is basically a death sentence anyway, so I never really tested it.

[@titanuranus2136]

Best case: bunkers trivialise the game or mean certain death, there is little in between, you rely on the driller, no optimal alternative escape stategy without driller. Also bulks often mean death. Often on mini mule missions everyone but driller is sat there doing nothing whilst driller digs a bunker. Very few drillers decide to dig the bunker before it is actually needed and a wave will usually spawns in that time, defeating the point in making a bunker. Instead driller could open up an area massivly, 3 resupply means 10 C4 and a shed load of drill fuel, yet few utilise this.

[@tdc455]

My only real issue with bunkers is that if people decide to do it and you don't want to, it makes the game harder for you if you wanna play more actively.

[@connorboyle2585]

2:15 first game, first swarm, tunneled into a wall to create a choke point and held down m1 like I was playing TF2 pyro. I don't bunker so much anymore after the first bulk detonator I ran into dug the floor out from under me and turned by bunker into a trapdoor spider's pit, but I definitely still see the value in it as a strategy. Edit: should mention that due to my god awful internet I mostly play with the best ai companion to ever exist rather than real people, which I don't think works super well with bunkers.

[@xylophone1128]

Bunkers arnt my cup of tea, I think they are boring and one dimensional. But that's just me. I love that this game can be approached in so many ways, its what keeps me coming back after 500 hours. I really enjoy your videos, Rock and Stone!

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Rock & Stone my friend!

[@GamingForTheRecentlyDeceased]

I'm currently enjoying mini bunkies where I get a mob to chase me. Drill into the wall and release the rolling shredder in the tunnel, then run out. I also do the same with Dreads because the dig animation gives my team ample time to attack its weak point. I don't ever use regular bunkers, I really enjoy running and gunning. Except one time on the 3rd stage, I was carrying 3 new players through an elite deep dive. They were haz 2 players and really wanted to complete just 1 EDD. It worked, it was effective and I'm glad they could pass the mission and share in the celebration. DRG is a great game where a little communication goes a long way. I generally play how the host has described the server. I generally avoid gold but if a host says mine everything, I oblige. Great game with a great community.

[@Lozoot2]

I've got over 500 hours and have promoted all classes to at least Diamond 1, and when I'm bored I jump in with random haz1 greenbeards because I love showing them the ropes and really introducing them to the game as an experience, like my friend who got me into the game did before me. Like you said, Hoxxes is a tough enough place on its own - we fight bugs, not beards. Rock and Stone!

[@vindurza]

First time I've heard this strategy and driller is one of my favorite classes to play

[@NathanStin]

I love my bunkers. Why? Im a dwarf.

[@MageScience]

i like the idea that this game is very diverse in playerbase, in the same game i encountered a scout who moved at mach seven and defied the laws of inertia at every room, and a bunker driller who helped me as a new player get used to the game mechanics and gave me an understanding of how the different enemies and missions function.

[@MusNothus]

"Debunking bunker bunk"

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

"Bunk Off!"

[@WahrerKuroKiba]

4:56 I remember trying this strat with some randoms and one of them just kept digging the objective down into my bunker and wouldnt stop no matter if we told him not to, and someone even shot at him to get him to stop, it didnt matter man that was a frustrating experience

[@Fibblejoe]

One reason I don't use bunkers with my friend is that he recently started playing scout and one of his favorite activities is lighting preatorian gas with his fire shotgun. With me in it. With no warning. And he also makes the bunkers incredibly small and will usually end up blasting me with friendly fire.

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

In all honesty, that seems like a pretty fair scout/driller role reversal lol

[@21scandium42]

I'm pretty new to the game and I started using bunkers purely by accident. Whenever I'm on a dreadnaught mission, before we pop the egg I build what I called the panic room which was just a resupply in a square room with two tunnels leading to it, one closer to the dreadnaught spawn and one further away so that when you ran in one route to get away the dreadnaught will path towards the quicker tunnel giving you time to grab the resupply and leave through the other tunnel. If you make the tunnel small enough they have to dig to you, slowing them down even more.

[@cbwmechbot]

I can vouch for learning new things by bunkering. It helped me better understand and take advantage of Driller's ability to morph terrain. It's come in handy with things like hacking pods, whether they drop in a very unhelpful spot or in a tiny tunnel, I can change the terrain for be more in the team's favor.

[@justincasebro1567]

Great stuff as always man, love your creative approach to every vid. Content is always on point and well delivered.

[@Est.-.]

a friend of mine saw this video yesterday and today he saved an elite dive with a well placed bunkie, thanks for the thorough vid mate

[@imperiallarch7610]

As a new player, it is interesting to hear that nitra is more prevalent now. I was in an onsite refining mission the other day where, I swear to Karl, there was exactly enough nitra in the cave for one single resupply, and we didn't even find the last bit of it until we had finished refining and were being totally overrun because we were all out of ammo. I eventually managed to find the last nitra vein, deposit, call the resupply, and rez the other players who had fallen to the swarm, but it was *hella* tight. And it was only like haz 3!

[@dragonjo7550]

as a player who just usually plays most games defensively/tanky, when i got into this game the tunneling flamethrower DoT became my jam. sticky flames and a drillers tunnel are one of the best ways to make it through a swarm i otherwise would get absolutely abused by as a low mobility character. bunkers are a natural evolution really.

[@starwarsfan7726]

im a very new greenbeard, having only just recently promoted each class once, and me and my friend play pretty exclusively together. so when we play and use bunkers, we arent using them to hold down a swarm (unless someone is afk), we use it as a minibase. example, industrial sabotage. set up a bunker by the caretaker, drop a bunch of resupplies for overkill reasons, and we use it as a place we can safely grab gear. if im off working on a boss, and he needs ammo asap, i can keep zipping around the cave while he grabs stuff in the back.

[@selthafour6948]

Rock and STONE I crave the embrace of my bunkie.

[@hazelberry]

I know this is an old video but I've always used a different version of the under bunkie where you make a tunnel back up to the surface so that enemies actually funnel into it rather than just letting enemies accumulate or dig. It's very effective and still works to this day, but it is vulnerable to roly polies. But I usually run sludge pump so that handles them pretty well.

[@northernsun6003]

Holy shit that activate windows bit was actually really funny and the watermark appears in the video afterwards!

[@MrBlackNorton]

Talking about some unannounced wave spawn, correct me if I'm wrong on this: other than announced waves from mission control when pop an egg (1 wave for 4, 2 waves for 6, 3 waves for 8 eggs), there's unannounced small wave for pop every single egg, just a group of a dozen or so bugs, but if unprepared can be ambushed; also, walk into the range of mini-mule can triger an unannounced wave, normally small numbers but can be tough on haz 5, especially two mini-mules are close and both get triggered at the same time; also, when walk close to a power plant on sabotage the first time trigger a wave of patrol bots or shredders; when done with hacking two power plants and head back to caretaker there will always spawn 3 patrol bots.

[@darkehartplays]

I don't play Driller very much but when I do I usually only need to flatten terrain or sometimes I'll make resupply depots in the walls, especially for Caretaker fights. But at the same time, I periodically practice making bunkers of various sizes, because I want to be able to make one on demand whenever the situation calls for it. It's just one tool of many, so I dunno why people are so worked up over it.

[@lucafrix66]

There's been plenty of occasions of my playtime where a quick bunker can really help with a tough situation. Mactera swarms are one where I just want to put something above my head so that the tri jaws aren't raining on me. Or when I played a lot and was doing Omen solo I would dig a resupply bunker (as engi) just so I had a fall back point if things got hot.

[@aegawaergaerga1794]

I watched the video - I have only ever done one bunker with a group - didn’t make it. So i came up with a idea -- the wedge-- the idea is hard to write and make sense but just - make a basic bunker with enough space for the team (using the drills or c4) then make a 3 drill sized horizontal tunnel going diagonaly up from the bunker to the surface. Now you are in a bunker with a somewhat wide funnel for enemy to come into. plenty of space - safe - and NO CONTRAVERSAL BECAUSE I JUST CAME UP WITH IT

[@paulpickett4522]

Nice music choice at the end ^.^ Thanks for a great video!

[@greepanormus887]

I really really appreciated the wholesomeness of this video's message💘 well put and with the right amount of harshness towards those that really like to bully people for playing how they prefer subbed!

[@Blakkrazor69]

We try to run the same plan when it comes to bunker use. Two bunkers made about 30 - 40 meters apart then quick joined at the back by the driller so we have a loop to run mobs around through.

[@MinnesotaCouchpotato]

This was a very interesting video.I like the idea of bunkering. As an engineer main I tend to look for natural bunker-like rock formations to set up my turrets to ride out swarms.

[@AveragePearEnjoyer]

I usually don't bunker, but I like clearing out solo egg missions as driller using a bunker adjacent strat. Bring a ground coverage built sludge pump and a epc with t5a. Drop, get 80 nitra, put a sachel charge on an egg. Tell bosco to pop an egg, then pop as many eggs as possible (easy to get 3 even with a half baked plan) Ping one last egg for bosco, (makes 6 eggs) press the big red button, then drill a bunker. The slowdown effect is so strong that even tanky targets like oppressors and bulks have a hard time getting you as you spray acid, set it on fire, use axes and c4 for anything that gets past, and dig your tunnel further, sometimes looping back and popping more eggs through the walls mid swarm. Very fast, reliable, and fun. Not needed or efficient for many other situations tho.

[@GordonGordon]

Dude, this is such a fun video. Thanks for dispelling all the myths! Oh, and the 3rd person footage is awesome.

[@Dankhard_Schmidt]

I find bunkering fun, seeing all the teams damage types and techniques coming together in unison, knowing if we faulter, the whole bunker becomes swarmed

[@AoBaiGaming]

I like bunkies because they make collecting the gold dropped by the Golden Bugs mutator really easy. Especially if you use an EPC mining blast at the entrance of the tunnel to your bunker to make a little gold pocket for the goodies to fall into.

[@temetrex9324]

The Chad Mobile Bug Killers vs the Chad Fortification Bug Killers I mean Me and another engie built a cheese bunker / alcove by an obj. It's fun having the repellant platforms. Plus i mean when I play driller the only thing stopping me from carving out the whole map is the fuel limits.

[@deetopiansky]

Sealed bunkers certainly appear to spawn Bulks from my experience. Especially on Salvage missions. The devs did not mention, nor were they asked about 'sealed' bunkers. 3.5k hours in the game, Driller Main /w over 2500 completed Driller missions. I am a team player and will prep a proper bunker /w pickaxe-able side exit when asked. While I primarily play on Haz5 apart from doing the weekly Deep Dives; I appreciate new players and those trying new builds that may not be especially experienced. In almost all circumstances (in vanilla DRG) open LOS in all directions is superior to a bunker. Drilling out 2m/blocks behind and jump height above the objective (if it's close to a wall) is all that's needed. This prevents the most prevalent problem in Black Box/Salvage/area defense objectives; enemies crowding in from behind/above. The longer it takes to prep an area, the more spawns you're bond to deal with; the more ammo/fuel you'll use, etc. Bunkering is a powerful strategy; but allowing freedom of movement is better than suppressing it, and open space allows for better practice aiming as well as experience in dealing with different enemies; as opposed to holding M1 down a hallway. I guess you could get more used to reload time or avoiding friendly fire? They work, but they take work and they're boring while offering little to no player growth. -Now ask me if I'm not jumping in one or building one on my own in a modded viewer spawns server when someone from their chat tosses in a grabber swarm on Haz5.

[@Hambs23]

So, I've played a decent amount of DRG, and while I'm still learning, usually I just "get" what I can do with my current class just by looking at the terrain and my tools. There was this one time at the end of a mini MULE Salvage mission where one of my teammates asked me to "drill around the antenna box so we have more space to fight", and after I did it I responded with "never thought of doing that". Now I do it every time because it's rare for me to not have extra unused fuel on those types of mission, and it's mildly helpful to have some extra space. So yeah, just to validate your point even more, because it's an online game, you'll eventually come across a popular strategy sooner or later. I never heard anyone ask me to do a bunker (or bunkie, whatever), but did try to figure out how fast and useful it would be to make a "room" with just drilling when I first picked up Driller. Honestly I find it fascinating that you can use the Drill + C4 to do it so fast. If anything it's one of the many ways to really make use of those tools that isn't exactly the default. I don't think I'd use it even now that I know of it, because I really like to C4 enemies and have them in hand to rescue a dwarf or when I have no more ammo. But still, really cool that you can do it. Also, is it weird that my two favorite classes are Driller and Scout?

[@birchwwolf]

the bunker i see the most now, i call the Bus Shelter: carve a semi-circle out of a wall and pop platforms overtop. have rarely encountered anything other than this style of bunker over the past year. i wonder how much of it compromising; the nitra spawn rate increasing; and twitch streaming making communication a bit thinner to execute.

[@X1erra]

I still think about bunkering from time to time, but because we basically have little to no excuse of having no long ranged weapons (Engie with Diffractor Shard, Driller with Collete) or know how to use the shield and repellant to deal with all sorts of threats, bunkering has sort of fade away as a strategy. But I still come up with it from time to time when things get dicey and it's every man for himself at that point.

[@TheStarMachine2000]

I love building a bunkie, calling in a resupply or two, crossing a pair of throwing axes at the entrance, and announcing that the Deeper Abyss Bar is open for business!

[@theavera9ejoe]

Bunker up team, swarm incoming! Lovely video as always, glad to see such a positive outlook and great argument for this awesome strat

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Thank you my friend!

[@Oðrun]

This is the sort of video that I subscribed to your channel to enjoy in the first place. Rock and Stone, brother.

[@r0m988]

Slapping the fuzzy dices a bunch of time prior to mission will increase chances of pod landing on a crassus though. :P

[@DrillingInTheNameOf]

Damn... that would actually be a really cool Easter egg.

[@GBS4893]

I loved the little end scene xD

[@Jako95]

I personally use bunkers because it’s a nice change of pace. Running and gunning is fun, but sometimes I wanna hunker down in a makeshift bunker with my friends and just squeeze the trigger while the bugs all pour into a choke point. On higher difficulties (or In elite dives) it feels like fighting back an oncoming tornado

[@danielzawacki4192]

bunkering helped me solo the "Karl would be Proud!" achievement. Generally speaking, from a tactical point of view, I tend to prefer to see as much of what my enemy is doing as possible, so I generally tend to not like the bunker playstyle. It's just not my normal preference. However, it is an undeniably effective use of the terrain, and can REALLY help conserve ammo, avoid unnecessary downs, and generally smooth out some of the tougher moments. If a teammate wants to bunker up, I'll hop in and lend my firepower to the bunker's defense, but I'm never going to be the guy that suggests it first. Also - While I don't buy the idea that bunkers spawn det's I do seem to recall a contradiction to the "spawn script is strictly deterministic" statement - didn't the dev's add to the likeliehood of ranged enemies spawning, and the targeting priority of ranged enemies to more proactively knock off dwarfs camping on zip lines?

[@federtm2]

I've noticed an increase in nitra, and I think it is an improvement. Ammo is about the only tool we have to survive. We have enough things to worry about down there xD if on top of that we have to ration our ammo. Less shooting in the end.