Overview
This guide includes : a personal tier list for all the hunters and monsters, class rankings, playstyle and advice for each character, build suggestions, perk review, how to start as a non-Founder, Combos and useful links and resources.Last updated on 10/28/2016
Disclaimer
The list is mainly aimed at solo players and is about the characters with the most consistency, best match-ups, ease of use regardless of perk setups, regardless of team composition.
It is subject to change, and will be updated according to my feelings about characters and balance changes coming with new patches.
For more information, please refer to the Character playstyle and advice sections and FAQ section to know the reasoning behind my character placements.
Hunter Tier list
- Electro Griffin, Parnell, Paladin Parnell, Sunny, Hank, Emet, Griffin
A tier
- Caira, Val, Bucket, Abe, Crow, Rogue Val, Lennox, Hyde
B tier
- Torvald, Renegade Abe, Tech sgt. Hank, Markov, Blitz Markov, Slim, Maggie, Jack, Quantum Caira
C tier
- Cabot, Wasteland Maggie, Lazarus, Kala, Battle Cabot
*10/28/2016 update*
-Battle Cabot placed, as you might expect he’s quite terrible, I was even considering putting him in D tier.
-Some strange buffs, Caira got massively buffed in the 2 last patches, Emet got a buff (?!) and a nerf in the last one, as long as small buffs to Val and P.Parnell who were already really strong.
-I wasn’t already a fan of the “new” Slim, who was deemed OP by a lot of people for some reason, imo “old” Slim was much stronger, and since he got severely hit by the nerf bat one more time in the last patch, I don’t think he’s really good at all, especially considering literally all other medics got buffed.
-Some welcomed buffs to Q.Caira and R.Val, I honestly think that Q.Caira isn’t that bad anymore and I had surprisingly good results with her the last few times I played her. I’d rather have her in my team than the new Slim for example.
-Sunny got nerfed slightly and lost a few places, R.Abe however got continuously nerfed in the recent updates and I don’t feel he is that good of a pick in solo queue.
-Been playing a plethora of Lennox games one patch ago, and I feel like she’s amazing, she just got toned back a little, but I guess she’s still a very decent pick, even against Kraken.
-I haven’t been too impressed by the “new” W.Maggie, I think she’s still pretty bad and her damage just got decreased by a huge amount too in the last update.
Class ranking
- Parnell > Lennox, Hyde > Torvald, R.Abe, Markov, B.Markov
Medic
- P.Parnell, Emet > Caira, Val, R.Val >> Slim, Q.Caira > Lazarus
Trapper
- E.Griffin, Griffin > Abe, Crow > Maggie > Jack > W.Maggie
Support
- Hank, Sunny > Bucket > T.Hank > Cabot, Kala > B.Cabot
Monster Tier List
- Kraken, Meteor Goliath, Goliath
A tier
- Gorgon, Elder Kraken, Glacial Behemoth, Behemoth
B tier
- Wraith
-*10/28/16 Update*
-Haven’t played the Glacial Behemoth and the “new” Wraith all that much, but from what I’ve seen, Bobsicle looks pretty strong while the Wraith is still fairly weak, even with her new passive. I decided to up Behemoth to A tier.
Character playstyle & advice – Assaults (1/2)
- Markov
As Markov as with almost any other Assault, you should constantly use your primary weapon until it’s depleted, then place / replace your mines on choke points (cavern entries, escape route for the monster, around Emet / Bucket turrets, etc) or on high vantage points and escape paths, this way if your Medic or Support is focused, they can run to them and force the monster to either take the damage, change focus, or use abilities to get rid of them. Your secondary weapon does very low damage so use it almost only for chasing when the monster is out of armor, or during your primary weapon cooldown time if your mines are already set.
***Build suggestions*** 
Markov’s high damage output on his railgun and mines will benefit from the Damage perks, but Acidic and/or Energy perks can probably be just as effective here. The 2nd build is one of my favorite default build on Assaults, sacrificing some Damage for more jetpack, thus giving you better positioning for staying in range of the monster, and better chasing potential while tracking the monster. One thing I hate with Assaults is arriving 20 seconds too late at a dome fight and see half of your team die before you’re even there.
- Parnell
Another prime pick, Parnell is super versatile and just does very good damage overall. Be sure to always stay quite close to the monster to maximize your shotgun damage, use your Super Solider skill when you’re sure it’s gonna pay off (close to the monster, jetpack gauge full), and constantly swap between your 2 weapons as fast as possible. You should count in your head the number of shots you fire to be better prepared to instantly swap between weapons (10 shotgun rounds and 5 rockets). Remember that it also provides movement speed and jump height boost, so it’s always nice to use it during the chase, especially as soon as you’re out of the dropship for example. Gunslinger perks and/or Damage are the obvious perks for him.
***Build suggestions***
Parnell is probably the best recipient for swapping speed perks, while the last golden perk is up to your preference. I chose Acidic rounds since it’ll synergise well with the shotgun pellets, and will keep the monster’s armor from regenerating. If you don’t have these perks yet, using Markov’s builds will be fine though.
- Hyde
***Build suggestions***
Same reasons as for Markov, except one or 2 Acidic rounds in there would probably be a good choice as well and would profit Hyde a lot more than Markov. Your choice.
- Blitz Markov
Was by far at the top of the list a few patches ago. Now his railgun range got swapped with Markov’s, and his damage got hit pretty hard. Still a decent pick, but needs Capacity perks to shine. Be aware though that you might lose your channeling charges when getting hit sometimes for some reason, so positionning is key with B.Markov.
***Build suggestions***
The best candidate for Capacity perks. They’ll allow you to get the most out of the “golden beam” for max damage. The bronze damage perk is up to your liking though and won’t make a big difference anyway. Gunslinger or Afterburners would have been a good choice as well, for instance.
Character playstyle & advice – Assaults (2/2)
- Lennox
As Lennox, you should aim at keeping your Plasma stacks up, but you also need to be pretty fast since it’ll run out if you don’t hit anything. Jetpack perks of any kind work well on her. Her thunder strike is a nice gap closer though, good during chasing as well (do it from high up to cover more ground), has very nice damage, but her autocannon is quite weak and will make you wanna go cry in a corner every time you’ll face a Kraken. Since the lastest patch however, her autocannon has been buffed quite significantly, making it a more reliable weapon against flyers (especially with full damage perks), and overall made Lennox a more consistent pick.
***Build suggestions*** 
A tricky one to build. I usually prefer running max Jetpack recharge for always being able to be up the monster’s a.rse, but those perks will prove almost useless against Kraken for example. The others builds will totally opt for the other approach, maximising your damage with the Autocannon and Leap. Probably more reliable but you’ll be slow as hell.
- Torvald
Very inconsistent but not unplayable. Use your shrapnell grenade as soon as the battle starts, then try to get some mortars in, then switch to your shotgun and spray away, as close as you can. Still has mediocre damage regardless, and has even more trouble against flying and fast moving targets (Krakens, Wraith and Gorgon). Has great synergy with Lazarus since you can use the Mortar strikes to punish a monster that would want to camp a corpse.
***Build suggestions*** 
Since Torvald can gain from basically anything (damage amp, reload speed, swap speed, DoT, etc), I’m pretty sure any combination of damage perks would work well, so just choose the one your prefer. I personally had the most success with the first Energy perk build.
- Renegade Abe
The newest variant of Abe, proving to be a big threat for the monster and is definitely on-par with the best Assaults. His damage can be inconsistent and even look weak on occasions, but he’s the only Assault that brings that much utility (damage amplification, damage reduction, dot), so he obviously works better with an organised team, preferably with high-damage hunters (E.griffin, Abe, Crow, Sunny, etc) and hunters with CC. He’s a nightmare for the monster even when running after a dome fight, because he can still inflicts big DoT damage half-way accross the map, but suffers from having a weak self-shield and could supposedly be focused and killed swiftly. Gunslinger (switching speed) and Reload perks will do wonders with R.Abe, as you’ll want to constantly use and cycle through all of your weapons (typically : shoot dart, unload shotgun, throw grenade, then unload 2 or 3 clips of shotgun, then dart again). Use the right-click when close enough, and the left-click Dot fire otherwise.
***Build suggestions***
R.Abe bascially needs to switch and reload weapons really fast to maximise damage, which this build tends to emphasize even more. I’ve tried Damage and Acidic perks on him, but without too much success.
Character playstyle & advice – Medics (1/2)
- Rogue Val
During combat, surviving with R.Val is really easy, especially with a Bucket or a Sunny, if you’re getting focused, try to keep firing at the monster while dodging the skillshots you can avoid, as it really adds up with your team’s damage as well. If you have to keep healing one of your teammate, stay in range of your medgun (30m) as your passive aura has the same range, when it runs out, rotate your 2 weapons and empty your clips quickly, then get back to your medgun which should be recharged.
***Build suggestions*** 
A bunch of different builds depending on what you’re looking for. The first 2 builds are evasive builds, which are my favorite. Rogue Val’s heals are short range (both medgun and aura), so you’ll need to often boost in to be in line of sight to heal your team, while still giving a bunch of jetpack to dodge the monster if you need to, or more chase potential for “tranq/poison marking” the monster more easily. The 3rd build focuses on giving you more healing potential, which R.Val usually lacks, especially if you have offensive supports like Cabot or Kala. I’ve seen people using offensive perks like Gunslinger or Acidic rounds, but I think it’s overkill and not really productive for R.Val.
- Emet
Was already solid pre-patch but now is a serious threat to the monster. Can be risky and inconsistent to play solo with random pubs though, since your team will need good awareness of where your buoys are, and also has some hard matchups (Goliath and Gorgon) who can easily wipe your buoys with their AOE and burst you down before you can heal back.
He’s the king of heals and get stupidly high amounts of healing per game, but as with any “deployable” character, you might have fights where you can’t even get started, especially “forced” fights by the monster, fights where some of your teammates are split, etc.
As Emet, you want to scatter your buoys at different spots (slightly high terrain like small rocks work too) so the monster can’t destroy them all at once. When you’ll pop your healing burst, you want your teammates to be affected by all of them, so putting in a “triangle formation’ will be ideal (thanks to Mr. n for the info). Ping them at your teammates if need be. Keep throwing these buoys to make sure there’s always 2 or 3 on the battlefield. I’ve played several games where I didn’t do a single damage to the monster with my weapon and just kept throwing buoys all the time, so keep throwing them.
Run to them if you’re getting focused, stay in range of your support while running, and throw a buoy ahead so it can heal you when it drops, dash from one buoy to another and spam your healing burst, it’s on incredibly short cooldown, so abuse it. Note that you can also directly heal a teammate by throwing a buoy at him and using the burst mid-air, you don’t need it to fully deploy.
Remember to use your respawn beacon when you can as well, ideally away from the monster’s vision, as it can be a real game-changer especially during stage 3 fights. Remember that you can also get sneaky revives by just throwing a buoy next to a downed teammate. This even works for yourself, if you happen to die mid-air, you’ll still have time to act and throw a buoy where you’re gonna land, which, if the monster didn’t notice, might just heal you back up. You’re still able to use your healing burst while down too, so keep that in mind.
***Build suggestions***
I think Emet will gain a lot from being able to dash more, whether it is to get in range of his teammates to throw his buoys on time, or for his own survival, dashing from one buoy to the other. I prefer those builds to the “tinkerbell” one for Emet, and also find that he doesn’t profit much from Cooldown or reload perks.
- Caira
***Build suggestions*** 
Caira’s healing potential is only limited by how fast she can spam her grenades, which the first 2 builds focus on. Then choosing either Afterburners or Gunslinger for your bronze perk is up to you (Gunslinger will allow you to shoot 2 Napalm grenades before switching to Healing). The last build is more of a troll build, but will allow Caira to run and survive a lot by just running, which can be pretty powerful especially with the “solo player” additional movement speed buff. Your heals will still be kind of weak though, so I found the first 2 builds to be a lot more effective. Moreover, the reload perks also work on your acceleration field (it counts as your “3rd weapon”) and will decrease its initial 60 sec cooldown dramatically.
Character playstyle & advice – Medics (2/2)
- Val
***Build suggestions*** 
Val’s main worry is survivability, and all of these 3 builds are there to make up for her fragility.
The infamous “tinkerbell” build, even recently nerfed, is still quite effective and one of your best bet for surviving solo. The 2nd build allows you to use your healing burst more frequently, probably better if you have a support that can protect you effectively, and the last build is just pure damage reduction, which I’m not a huge fan of, but it can work.
- Lazarus
A hard medic to master, but can be quite powerful once you do. Has good survivability and a very good healing burst and solid damage for a medic, but his reviving ability can be denied quite easily. The new dropship mechanic really hurts his early gameplan to avoid strikes. Don’t forget that your jetpack will give away position while stealthed, same with teammates healing / shielding you. Awareness and critical thinking will be key as a Lazarus player, as you’ll need to figure out if you’ll be able to revive a teammate or not in a matter of seconds.
***Build suggestions***
Being able to alleviate Laz’s main weakness, which is healing his teammates, seemed to me like key to make him work. I thought about using Reload perks (to decrease the cooldown on his cloaking ability) or more offensive perks to increase his already sky-high damage but it never quite worked for me. Feel free to try them out though.
- Slim
His drone can sneakily revive a downed teammated from afar though. Has a super easy matchup against Behemoth (big target, deals mostly AOE damage), but will struggle against more burst-heavy monsters. Can be a healing powerhouse if left unattended, especially with a good defensive support (like Hank), which will let you outheal pretty much any damage.
***Build suggestions*** 
Ever seen I tried the Energy build on Slim, I couldn’t play anything else with him. They seem to increase his healing potential by a huge amount (providing you can land your shots), and adds to both his own survivability and his team’s. I used to pick the Tinkerbell build on him which is fine, as well as the Damage reduction build, which makes him tankier and allows him to shoot and heal more.
- Quantum Caira
She has pretty good solo survivability (spamming fields at your feet, popping the damage reduction + healing burst and just running, good enough cooldown on both), but she has trouble healing her teammates consistently. If a monster keeps focusing someone and bumping him all over the place, he’ll down him in no time. Compared to regular Caira, she also needs to be pretty close to the fight since her damage reduction aura and her healing burst are short range. Her reload times are noticeably longer than with her regular counterpart, which means you’ll have more time switching to her proton fields and do damage while the healing fields are recharging, allowing you to get up to 2 to 5k damage per game, which is decent for a medic. It also adds to the damage dealt by her Healing burst (more or less 200 damage per burst). On the other hand, the cooldown on her damage reduction is much shorter than on the acceleration boost (34 seconds vs 60 seconds respectively), so feel free to use it less sparingly.
***Build suggestions***
Unlike regular Caira, I’ve found that Energy perks work for me better than the reload build, probably because having 4 healing fields at once seemed more beneficial than being able to shoot another 3 faster. Besides, her damage reduction being on a much shorter cooldown, the reload perks look less alluring. Both builds still work, and the difference in healing between the two is minimal anyway.
- Paladin Parnell
The new Medic is finally here, and, well, and he’s quite a powerhouse. Expect him to be nerfed in the upcoming patches. P.Parnell possesses the mechanics of several medics combined in the body of an Assault. He’s extremely tanky and his Healing burst will almost heal him completely, ala Rogue Vala, but lacks her aura. His Shotgun will let him reduce the cooldown of it by shooting the monster, just like Slim, and his Rocket launcher can Aoe Heal as well as regen himself if shot at his feet, similar to Caira. These tools easily make him the tankiest Medic in the game, and should the monster decide to focus him down, he’ll take a ridiculous amount of damage from the shotgun (at least for a Medic).
His heal potential, however, is nothing to write home about, and so, as P.Parnell, you’ll want to spam your healing rockets at your team. Save your Rage mode for when one of your ally is getting really low. If the monster turns on you, switch to the Shotgun and keep spamming your healing burst, just as if you were playing Slim.
I found the main issue with P.Parnell is that he has trouble healing his teammates if they are in mid-air. Every other medic has a way to heal them in the air, whether it is with their healing burst or their weapons/abilities, but Parnell doesn’t. You’ll have to aim at the hunters with your rockets and intercept them, which can be difficult, especially if your team is using “tinkerbell” builds.
***Build suggestions***
Being extremely tanky already, P.Parnell shouldn’t need defensive perk, so increasing his healing potential seemed paramount, and Reload perks appear to be the obvious choice, considering the original reload time on his rockets is quite long, and having access to his Righteous Fury more often is a nice added bonus. Energy Perks would not affect its duration though, and would only add 2 rounds to his shotgun, and 1 round to his rockets, which is not very optimal in my opinion. I could maybe see an Acidic Rounds perk in there, but so far I had a lot of success with the Reload perks.
Character playstyle & advice – Trappers (1/2)
- Electro Griffin
One of the most annoying trapper to play monster against. He’s trading some range on his sound spikes and Harpoon for raw damage on it and slow bullets on his SMG. Very easy to play as well, spray your SMG to slow the monster down, during reloading, switch to your Harpoon and stick it into the monster’s back (he loves it). Rinse and repeat. Hitting that harpoon will decide and separate the good E.Griffin players from the bad, so make sure to get in range before firing it. Try to place your sound spikes in choke points at the edges of the map where the monster is sure to pass through, but don’t waste too much time at the beginning placing them, Planet scanner and a coordinated team should be plenty enough to find the monster anyway. You’ll need good jetpack management though since you’ll always have to quite close to the monster to make up for the range of your weapons. Jetpack recharge perks will help with that.
***Build suggestions*** 
You’ll see those 3 builds for pretty much all the trappers. In my opinion, trappers should be the fastest member in your team and will benefit a lot from either the full Jetpack recharge build or the movement speed build (which I’m not very fond of, but I’ve seen people using it successfully). Besides, they’ll allow you to position yourself better during combat, letting you land your slow bullets and harpoons more consistently, or also evade the monster, should he decide to turn on you and focus you down. The last build is a more offensive build, drastically increasing your DPS thanks to the high rate of fire of your SMG. Feel free to experiment and pick any combination of those perks together, and come up with your own favorite build.
- Abe
Abe might have problems finding the monster the first time, but is the best at chasing him after the first dome thanks to his tracking darts. Don’t miss those shots, and shoot him as soon as the dome falls. They last forever.
***Build suggestions***
Same reasoning behind E.Griffin’s builds.
- Maggie
The most versatile trapper, and a pain in the a.rse to play against as a monster. Might have issues against Kraken however. She’s got decent damage from her SMG, good CC with her 3 harpoon traps, and a 5th member that can act as a revive bot. Bing that fast, her SMG will profit the most from Acidic rounds perks and hunters that can apply a damage amp sweetspot (Val, Laz, Torvald). Quite easy to play as well, as you just need to place your traps next to the monster (not in his path or they’ll get destroyed), then pick your SMG and empty your clip, then swap back to traps and place one down again and so on. You should use your traps where the fight is taking place, not at the other end of the dome, like I’ve seen some players do. They’re not Markov’s mines, you don’t trap choke points with them, see them as a form of mild CC kind of like Abe’s grenade or Griffin’s harpoons, CC to buy your medic or whoever is getting focused some time to survive. Place them smartly though, as they’ll get destroyed easily if you don’t, you need to put them where the monster is going to go, but on his path, near edges, or even on small elevated rocks (like for Sunny’s drone).
***Build suggestions***
Cf. E.griffin’s build suggestions.
- Griffin
Like Electro griffin but weaker, especially since the nerfs. Still a very solid pick, as long as you can land your harpoon. Has great CC but has very little damage output, and his sound spikes are nice but largely outclassed by your Planet scanner for tracking. Same as Maggie, his fast-firing rifle will benefit from Acidic rounds and weakness spots (Val, Torvald, Laz).
***Build suggestions***
Cf. E.griffin’s build suggestions.
Character playstyle & advice – Trappers (2/2)
- Crow
The problem with Crow is the same as Kala, you shouldn’t use his armor-piercing shots at all during combat, except when running after the monster when the dome falls and during some stage 3 relay fights. As a trapper, you’re not the primary damage dealer, you should help your team get that armor down as quickly as possible so that your Assault can start doing real damage to the monster’s health bar. His primary fire is also quite damaging, so use it at all times. Playing him should be shooting a fully charged slow beam to the monster while reloading, then unloading your primary weapon once or twice if you’re fast enough, then swapping back to the slow gun.
***Build suggestions***
Cf. E.griffin’s build suggestions.
- Wasteland Maggie
Like Maggie, but weaker as well. Can only place one trap but has a huge range compared to normal Maggie’s, and has a DoT. Daisy will occasionally favor dealing damage (which is absymal) to the monster rather than reviving, and her SMG does pretty much the same damage as Maggie’s for some reason. Her end-game damage stats are supposedly bugged though (not sure if it’s been fixed), hence the abnormally low numbers, so don’t freak out when trying her out. She plays exactly as Maggie.
***Build suggestions***
Cf. E.griffin’s build suggestions.
- Jack
A weaker version of Griffin. Has next to no damage, slow tracking ability with a rather high cooldown, and his trademark reflector is very inconsistent and runs out quickly, not to mention you need to be in front of the monster for it to remotely work, so the monster can outright ignore you most of the time. Right now it doesn’t even work properly against Kraken (you should be able to bring him down to the ground). Playing Jack can prove difficult, with him you should stand next to your medic and/or support that is likely to get focused, and use your reflector to push the monster away. It can even stop some of their abilities dead in their tracks (like Wraith’s warp blast or abduction, Goliath’s leap). Once your reflector is depleted, switch to and unload your dual guns, and use your Survey Satellite when it’s up even when fighting, it can deal a single 200 damage to the monster, which is nothing to scoff at (thanks to AzoaR for the tip).
***Build suggestions***
The only trapper I would consider Reload perks. They increase the amount of time you can use his Reflector, as well as decrease the cooldown on his Satellite by a good margin, and of course the reload speed of your guns. Really effective on him.
Character playstyle & advice – Supports (1/2)
- Sunny
***Build suggestions***
Most of the time, Sunny’s problem will be her own protection and she tends to be focused a lot, so that’s why I like picking Jetpack recharge or afterburners perks (which basically make your dashes as strong as the boost you provide to your team) to help her with that, letting you run and boost around your shield drone for a longer period of time. They will also help you stick with your team while you’re boosting them during the chase, which is invaluable. I think her shielding potential is already quite high as it is, that’s why I wouldn’t run Cooldown perks on her. While using the afterburner build, keep in mind that can you dash upwards as well, by releasing any direction key and pressing Jump twice, it can essentially serve as a form of “tinkerbell” evade maneuver.
- Bucket
Truly shines in an organised team with an adequate medic (typically Rogue Val or Lazarus), but can find himself useless with a random team. You need to be quite close to the hunters you want to use the recharge on, so put your turrets down, scatter them, I see way too many Bucket players cluttering all their turrets in one spot and shooting from the other end of the map. Turrets have really long range, so put them at different spots, ask your team to fight around them especially the person you wanna use your recharge on. Recharge can give you 2 shielding bursts instantly, so don’t be afraid to use one Shield burst right at the beginning of the fight to sponge some damage, then wait for your medic to use his Healing burst, then use Recharge.
Note that the recharge actually reduces a a (supposedly) fixed amount of seconds to the Class Abilities, and not just only once, which can allow your Medic to use more than 2 Healing Bursts in a row if they’re fast enough, particularly the one with natural short CD, like Emet (thanks to Ryan for the tip).
It can also let your trapper use 2 planet scanners in a row while tracking the monster. Note that while you’re trying to find the monster, it’s a good idea to leave a turret in choke points on the map (caves, corridors, etc), like you do with Griffin and his spikes for example. If the monster shows up, the turret will start damaging him and you’ll see the damage numbers appearing on your screen through the walls.
***Build suggestions*** 
Another tricky character to build. With Bucket, I noticed I wouldn’t be focused as much as with other Supports for some reason, so I like running at least one Acidic perk, which helps his DPS on both his rocket launcher and turrets, while still having some defensive perks. If you have trouble surviving with him though, the tinkerbell build should help you out.
- Hank
A staple in any team and is pretty easy to play, the only tricky part being landing his orbital barrage correctly. Very good if your medic has trouble surviving (eg. Slim, Emet or Val). You might wanna keep your orbital just as a threat for the monster to not camp a corpse for example, and take your time to find the best moment to land it. Fire your gun if nobody in your team is at risk. Good monsters should and will focus you however, so survivability perks should be considered. Remember that you can use your orbital as a means to defend yourself as well, by aiming it at a spot where you can run to, forcing the monster to either take the damage or switch target.
***Build suggestions*** 
Same as Sunny, you’ll find yourself being targeted by the monster quite often while playing Hank, which is the reason behind the tinkerbell build, plus it’ll you stay in line of sight of your teammates more easily by just floating around. The Reload perks will also decrease the cooldown on the Orbital Barrage by quite a huge amount, as well as allowing your shield projector to recharge faster. The last build is the typical “support” build, which allows you to use the Shield burst more often, even though I feel like Hank’s shielding potential is already extremely strong without them. Your call.
Character playstyle & advice – Supports (2/2)
- Tech Sergeant Hank
***Build suggestions***
Pretty much the same builds as Hank, except I would consider the Reload perks since his shield projector is weaker and the cooldown on the drill is higher.
- Cabot
Also pretty good in organised teams, especially with a premade Assault (especially long range and those with constant DPS, like Markov, Parnell) and damaging trappers (Abe and Crow). Has splendid damage on his railrun (it can even fire through walls), especially if you can headshot the monster consistently, but is pretty vulnerable, and can’t shield his team other than with his class ability, avoid picking him with fragile medics (Val, Slim, Caira). A monster with offensive perks will likely tear through your team, so be careful. Use his Dust tagging only while tracking the monster, or if he’s hiding in the dome. Comes in handy when fighting Wraith, or to complement Trappers that have a tough time tracking the monster (Abe, E.Griffin). Consider picking cooldown perks on him if you need extra protection for your team, or go full glass cannon with Reload perks. Using the Damage amplifier with him will require good coordination with your Assault and good positional and ability cooldown awareness on your part. Activating the amplifier just before the monster hits a mine, before an Orbital or Mortar strikes land, or when your Assault’s primary weapon is recharged will make the difference between good and average Cabot players. I still see some Cabot players use it as soon as they can, even if no one is around (particularly if the Assault is not here). Prefer shooting your railgun and do the damage yourself in these cases. (Thanks to Mr. n again for the ton of great info).
***Build suggestions***
First build to protect your team better, 2nd build is glasscannon and allows you to spam the damage amp more and reload your Railgun much faster. Last build is tinkerbell and is for your own survivability. Choose according to what your team needs.
- Kala
Like with Crow, I think you shouldn’t use her armor-piercing ability altogether, as her left-click mines do way too much damage and reload super fast to not spam it. Try to aim at a surface next to the monster so they start glowing red, then start homing to the monster to maximize your damage. This way you can catch the monster even without line of sight by firing at a surface near him (the domes counts too). Be careful not to fire directly in the monster’s path, as your mines can be destroyed just like Kraken’s ones, and some monsters like Goliath and his Fire breath can easily get rid of them.
Thanks to her stellar DPS, you can act as a 2nd Assault and just get the armor down manually. Damage perks work well on her. You should use her armor-reducer only while immediately chasing a monster after a dome fight if he recovered some armor, or during stage 3 fights when the monster is really low on health.
***Build suggestions***
These 2 builds focus on either further increasing Kala’s strength (her amazing damage output) or decreasing her weakness (shield potential). Using Acidic Rounds instead of Damage perks would be a good replacement as well for almost the same results.
If you prefer using her armor-reducer during fights, then forget about the Damage build and go for Cooldown reduction.
- Battle Cabot
Evolve’s very last hunter, and sadly a forgettable one. Being an offensive Support is already a flaw in regards to Evolve’s metagame, but being a hard-to-play one isn’t helping. His cloaking ability takes some time to deploy and can’t be used as an effective protection for you or your teammates, unlike Laz’s cloak or other Support’s shield abilities, trading those for pure damage, which isn’t anything to write home about anyway, and unreliable at that. His Shield Burst is hands down the worst in the game: it’s weak, has a slow-ish missile speed, small AoE hitbox, has to be careflly aimed, long cooldown, and can be interrupted by anything that gets in its trajectory, including other teammates (that happened a lot to me during my playtime with B.Cabot). As far as I saw, his railgun also lost the ability to shoot through walls and terrain (not 100% sure, correct me if I’m wrong there).
***Build suggestions***
B.Cabot’s best build would be to just pick another character, but if you really hate yourself and want to play him, I could see going full reload perks (to help the cooldown on your 2nd and 3rd ability, as well as the reload speed on your railgun) or going class ability CDR as your best options.
Monster playstyle & advice (1/3)
- Kraken
The Kraken is very mobile, so you’ll want to consistenly move around in a dome fight, as well as keeping an eye on your traversal bar. Kraken doesn’t really fly, he glides, so he’ll slowly go down if you don’t pay attention, and a grounded Kraken is a dead Kraken. Remember that pressing jump twice will make you boost yourself upwards (just like dashing up as a Hunter). Your left-click attacks are projectiles (the infamous “snowballs“) and are very powerful, make sure to aim and hit them as a lot of your damage will actually come from them, so spam them as long as you can.
With the Kraken, hitting or missing your skillshots will most likely decide the outcome of fights, as one well-placed Lightning Strike can completely turn the tide of a battle.
If you find the hunters being able to dodge them regularly, try to not be predictable with it. You can change your target slightly before it lands, so feigning aiming at hunter and change target at the last moment, then throw your burst on that last target can pay off.
Your mines do a good amount of damage and can slow the hunters during the chase, so keep leaving them in your wake. Hunters can destroy them before they actually do damage though, so if that happens, it can be a good idea to wait for all of your mines to be charged and throw them all at once to make it harder to track and destroy, or launch them after a Vortex for example.
Speaking of which, one of Kraken’s most dangerous asset is to be able to fight “on the fly”, even when fleeing from a dome, as he can quickly turn while still flying backwards and still throw his abilities from afar. This tactic can net you a few sneaky strikes without the hunters realising what happened if they’re not being careful.
I’ve tried several build orders for the Kraken, and in my opinion, capitalizing on his long range abilities worked for me best, so typically I’d pick 2 points in Lightning Strike, one in Vortex and mines, avoiding upgrading Aftershock altogether. I’ve seen several people getting just one point in it though, or sometimes even upgrading it, it probably can be a good idea to level it up completely at Stage 2 or 3 as a change of plan, especially if the hunters are good at dodging your lightning strikes.
***Build suggestions*** 
Since the snowballs are already very effective, pairing them with a golden Grounder perk will increase their damage and prevent the hunters from dodging your skillshots as easily, which is amazing on Kraken.
Cooldown reduction or Damage reduction are also nice go-to builds that can either increase your DPS or make up for Kraken’s relative fragility. Feel free to experiment and pick hybrids of these builds to better suit your playstyle.
- Meteor Goliath
Meteor Goliath is one of the easiest and most effective monster to play, but he’s susceptible to CC and some hunter techniques, like tinkerbelling or “roaching” (going up and down high terrain, or juking around it). Being a big target, a good Griggin/E.Griffin can be the bane of your existence. So try to keep the cooldown of the enemy trapper’s in mind (like the harpoon’s reload times) and use your “charging” abilities, like the leap or the charge while it’s on cooldown, otherwise you’ll be prone to be stopped dead in your tracks each time. If the enemy trapper has a slow, use those charging abilities instead while being affected by it to still be able to move towards your target.
M.Goliath is an auto-attack monster, and his heavy swing does some serious damage, so you’ll want to sneak in a melee attack or 2 while cycling through your abilities. Remember that you can also aim your skillshots (rock and leap) by holding the button or key, which can give you time to aim, or maybe bait a dodge before throwing your ability.
During the chase, making the most of your traversal and charging abilities will be key to evolving fast an winning fast. Always make sure to use your traversal when it’s up, and aim slightly up when using to do a bigger leap into the air. The higher you’ll aim, the taller the jump will be and vice-versa, so try to aim for that 45° angle to get to best forward momentum. Use your leap and charge as “traversals” as well, while the flame breath should be enough to take out the fauna swiftly.
Building the M.Goliath usually goes down to 2 paths: upgrading your skillshot abilities (rock and leap) or the non-skillshots (flame breath and charge). The 2nd is the safest is usually the way to go at first to test the enemy team, especially since M.Goliath’s flame breath is so strong and deadly, but if the hunters are running a solid defensive comp (such as a Hank/Val or Slim, Bucket/Laz or R.Val, etc) you might have trouble getting through it, so putting a few more points into your rock and leap (that do more damage than the others) can be a good idea, providing you can land those.
Typically I would get one point in everything at Stage 1, then max out Breath and one point in charge at Stage 2, and then upgrade the last skills accordingly to what I need at Stage 3.
***Build suggestions*** 
Cooldown reduction makes a lot sense on both Goliaths since they’ll give them additional regen on their charging abilities, effectively killing 2 birds with one stone.
Mutated Claws really add to his already lethal melee attacks, while using the silver FlySwatter perk will help you deal with the tinkerbell strategy to some extent.
Finally the universal Damage reduction perks are also a good choice on him since it’ll add to his bulkiness. Don’t hesitate to mix things up and try combinations of those perks together depending on what you prefer.
- Goliath
Since the recent patches however, Goliath has been buffed and tweaked slightly to make his abilities behave a bit differently than Meteor. His skillshots abilities are now more rewarding and more reliable, especially the splash of the rock. His flame breath does more instantenous damage, but is weaker when taking all the DoT damage from Meteor into consideration, so maxing rock and leap on the Goliath can make more sense.
Stage 1, I would still get a point in everything, then maxing either the rock or charge at Stage 2, finally maxing either the leap or the fire breath at Stage 3 depending on the hunter comp.
***Build suggestions***
Same as M.Goliath.
Monster playstyle & advice (2/3)
- Gorgon
During the feeding phase, remember to lay spider eggs everytime it’s on cooldown to slow down the hunters, use the acid spit to kill the fauna and then spiderman your way out with your traversal. It has a deceptive range and can be used on any surface even if it’s very far away. Note that can you can also “stick” and hang to a wall without falling, which can be used a way to juke the hunters in another direction if they’re closeby, a risky bet but it can pay off, especially right after a planet scanner for example.
As the Gorgon, combo’ing effectively is your best chance at down’ing a hunter the fastest possible.
For that, you’ll want to launch your spider egg trap, then fire your web snare to prevent the hunters escaping it and make them lose vision of it, and then use your acid spit. You can also use your acid spit before the egg trap to force them to use their boost to avoid it, and then throw the spider, depending on what you’ve maxed out. It’s really important as a Gorgon player to make a mental note of how much jetpack fuel your targets still have, to be able to focus down them once they’re out of boost.
The Gorgon will also hugely benefit from fighting in tight spaces, like caves, where the hunters won’t have much room to move around, and it’s a good idea sometimes to try to wait for the hunters and force a fight in such spaces if you feel confident, as a way to test out the hunters, especially against hunters with deployables (like Emet, Markov, Sunny, etc). Forcing fights will prevent the hunters from deploying their tools right at the start and give you some precious seconds to focus down one or 2 targets.
For the same reason, Gorgon can have some issues fighting at the relay at Stage 3 because the hunters will have time to prepare and use their deployables before you’re even there.
The most popular build order for the Gorgon is definitely maxing out the Acid spit and Egg first, and then the Vortex, completely ignoring the Mimic skill. However, I’ve seen some Gorgon players use that quite effectively, and since the last patch and the “deployable” nerf, the Mimic is the only tool of the hers that can dispose of them, so things might change a bit from now on for Gorgon players.
***Build suggestions***
As usual, maxing out the cooldown reduction perks or the damage reduction perks will prove to be a solid choice for the Gorgon just as for any other monsters. Using the silver FlySwatter perk if you have trouble against tinkerbell tactics is a good idea as well.
- Elder Kraken
As for building him, you can go the regular Kraken path and ignore Aftershock completely, maxing out Lightning Strike and Death Spiral, and then the Missile, or actually upgrading the Aftershock (since it can do a tremendous amount of damage to additional linked targets), since you’ll be fight at melee range most of the time. Remember that you can press Ctrl to drop down from the sky while using it, which can create a quick surprise attack from above an cause massive damage, especially right after a Death Spiral, as the visual effects can drastically impair the hunter’s vision. It does sound trivial but it is something to take into account.
Finally, just like almost any other monsters, the Elder Kraken profits from fighting in narrow spaces like caves, where dodging is rendered difficult.
***Build suggestions***
I really like going Cooldown reduction on E.Kraken because they help his overall DPS and help him get that tidbit of damage he usually lacks to down a target. Armor perks are still a sensible choice, and while I’ve seen people use Traversal Regen (since he apparently has the fastest Traversal in the game) or Paralyzing attack perks on him, I haven’t tried them myself, so I’m not going to expand on them.
Monster playstyle & advice (3/3)
- Wraith
As the Wraith, you want to avoid exposed battle for too long and make use of her mobility to temporarily flee from the fight and regenerate your armor in the dome. Her traversal is extremely fast and covers a great distance, so make sure to use it during combat as well.
When engaging, use both your Decoy and Supernova (which will apply to the clone too) to create confusion, then try to isolate a target using the huge pushback of Warp Blast, dash to it and finish it off. Everytime you get domed, you should quickly scout for small places where you can retreat to (small caves, hidden places behind rocks, behind / inside buildings), channel your armor back, and get into the fight again. Ideally, you’ll want to get a strike or 2 per dome, to ensure you’ll win at the later stages. Abudction can also let you quickly capture and dispose of one target, but it can easily be dodged and leaves you completely open for a few seconds.
The Wraith thrives off of forced fights where you can isolate one or 2 targets off the fight, going head-on into the middle of a competent enough hunter team will most of the time end in your armor and health melting in seconds.
Some things to be aware of about your Decoy though, using a skin won’t apply to your decoy so the Hunters can easily tell which one is the real one, flame and poison DoTs also reveals you, as well as Val’s Tranq gun for example, so watch out for that.
Make sure to use all of your deceitful tools during the chase as well. Wraith’s traversal is very fast, and her Warp Blast can be use as a 4th one too. Use the decoy in the hunters’ direction just to pester them and slow them down, sneak into a different direction right after to cover your tracks (since the decoy leaves its own behind too, thanks to Polopropustná membrána for the tip), and make use of natural terrain like water to lead the hunters into wrong directions. Be wary of the Planet Scanner though, prefer using these tactics a few seconds after it’s been used, while it’s on cooldown. Don’t hesitate to often watch behind you and roughly scout the location of the hunters tracking you. If you can catch a lone hunter (like the trapper trying to cut you off, or a slow Medic trying to catch up with his team), just go for him, sneak attack him and get a free strike.
In regards to building the Wraith, I like putting 2 points into the Warp blast and get Decoy and Supernova at Stage 1, then max Warp Blast and the 2 other afterwards, while ignoring Abduction altogether. A second build I’ve seen some Wraith players use surprisingly effectively is maxing out Abduction at Stage 2 or 3, which increases its range by a massive amount, allowing you to pick unaware targets from awfully far. A trickier playstyle, but it can definitely pay off.
***Build suggestions*** 
Since the bulk of the damage from the Wraith comes from melee attacks, using Grounder perks is a godsend, but won’t improve your already low durability. If that’s a concern to you, going Damage Reduction will help, but you’ll have issues going through a defensive comp.
- Behemoth
Unfortunately, Tongue Grab is usually very telegraphed and just as easily dodged, so try to spot a hunter who is out of boost and tongue grab him. Remember that your rolling traversal also deals damage and can be used both for killing the fauna and damage and catch a hunter out of position, like using a Goliath’s Charge.
Combo’ing your abilities with Behemoth will be key as well, as you can chain a Sneak attack right after a tongue grab for example, or start a fissure to zone the hunter, then tongue grab someone, then rock wall him out. You can also roll into a hunter out of position and directly trap him with a Rock Wall.
Building the Behemoth is a complex thing. Ideally, you’d want at least 2 points in your Rock wall to be effective, don’t bother putting only one point in it, but you also want all of your other abilities to combo correctly, as well as max out your damaging skills of course. So Stage 1 would be something like 2 points in Fissure and 2 in Lava, then get 2 points in Rock Wall and one in Tongue Grab, and finally maxing out Fissure and Lava Bomb at Stage 3. That means you really want to avoid Stage 1 fights (although easier said than done with Behemoth). You can start with 1 point in everything at Stage 1 one, or at least one point in Tongue Grab, but you’ll still be pretty weak.
***Build suggestions***
Increasing its already stellar defensive with Damage reduction perks seem like an obvious choice, but you’ll just lack damage overall. Getting a Golden grounder perk can help get easier Tongue Grab combos, providing you actually use Behemoth’s melee attacks. Finally the CDR perks can help reduce the long cooldown of the behemoth, thus increasing his DPS. Your call.
Getting started as a non-Founder
So you just started the game as a f2p player, and you’re getting discouraged by your losing streak and the measly 30 keys you get per game? Here’s a a few tips to make your journey a bit less painful :
- Do the tutorials. All of them. They’ll provide you with some starting money, 2 characters, and knowledge about the game.
- Login everyday if you can, complete a few games to finish your daily challenges (beating Coop vs IA will count too, if you have trouble winning at first)
- Start playing the free rotation characters, try to play all of them at least once. You’ll be rewarded good money for level’ing them, get perks and badges (yay!), and will unlock various Hidden challenges per class.
Check out oX’raiqv‘s amazing Steam guide too see how to get those rewards : link in the Useful link and resources section.
- Buy the cheapest characters in the store. You can now even try them out first beforehand. They’re usually easy to pick up and effective characters, and you’ll eventually get even more level’up rewards, perks and Hidden challenges by playing them. In f2p games, playing every character is usually key to be a better player, so if you want to improve, get to work.
- Save up for characters and perks you really want. If you love a free rotation character to death, then feel free to buy it, but refrain from buying characters all the time, you want to save up to get some perks too. They’re expensive, but quite essential to be a better player as well, as the boost they provide, especially as a monster, is significant.
Refer to Grimwind‘s fantastic Steam guide to see how to unlock the perks you want by level’up : link in the Useful link and resources section.
You can also check it yourself in the game’s menus by scrolling down on each character’s profile.I would advise to focus on getting perks that work for every class and character at first, ideally I would pick Jetpack perks (that’s what I did). Either the Rocket Lord, Bohrium Battery or Extra Fuel tank, or any mix of the 3 for Hunters, and Insatiable Hunger and Heavy Armor perks for Monsters. You’ll be able to move on to more aggressive perks later on.Upgrade each of your perk to level 3 on each rank as soon as you can, and figure out what characters you own you could play to unlock perks that would help your playstyle.
Typically, you can avoid buying Bronze and Silver perks (at least 1 or 2 levels) at first, so you might want to start use your savings on the Gold ones. Don’t be afraid to spend them, as getting perks should virtually make you play better, hence win more and get more money back (hopefully).
- It’s a good idea to check out guides, video tutorials on Youtube (even the old ones from TRS), wikis, twitch channels of good players to learn more about the game, and help you decide what to buy as well.
Hunter Perk review
Since the effect of perks is definitely more subtle and is tied to the character you’re using and your playstyle, tagging them as S or C tier wouldn’t make too much sense, so I’ll just make 3 different categories to classify them, depending on their overall usefulness.
Which means that this section should help you decide which perks you should invest in at first. If you’re a new player, focus on getting the “always useful” perks, then if you’ve picked up a character that needs specific perks to shine, then you may start to invest in the “situational” perks.
Note that I used the gold and silver icons out of convenience, but that includes their bronze or silver equivalents as well.
Hunter Perks
- Always useful – Bhorium Battery, Rocket King, Overthrusters, Acidic Rounds, High Energy Fuel
Perks you can’t exactly go wrong with, and will pretty much work with any character.
The Jetpack perks wil also greatly add to your survivability, ideal for fragile targets, whether you prefer to dodge vertically (by just jumping and hovering with the Extra fuel / Rocket man perks), or horizontally by dashing around (Rocket man / Battery perks).
I timed how long it takes for the Jetpack to fully recharge depending on perks, here are the results, note that the Jetpack only starts recharging once you’re on the ground :
Recharge time without perks : 16.2s
Recharge time with the Silver Perk : 13.5s
Recharge time with the Gold perk : 11.8s
Recharge time with both Silver and Gold Perks : 10.5 sec
Recharge time with Bronze Rocketman Perk + both Jetpack Perks : 9.9s
I decided to change the Extra Force perks for the Acidic rounds, because afer some experimentation and thanks to Mantler’s advice, I feel like the Acidic rounds will provide a more reliable damage boost for any character if you need one, even if your damage output is low to begin with, whereas Extra Force will only benefit hunters with high inherent DPS (mostly Assaults). The damage overtime will also prevent the monster’s armor from regenerating for a few seconds, which is invaluable when chasing (thanks to Mantler again for the info).
- Situational – Mutated Celerity, Superior Energy, Command, Speedloader, Lethal Force, Bounty Hunter
Those perks won’t work for anybody, but will show their true potential on several characters and builds.
I’m not a huge fan of Enhanced Celerity and I’d rather choose jetpack perks over them most of time, but I’ve tried them and they work, especially on trappers and characters that like to run, like Caira.
Leadership is best used typically with fragile characters with long cooldown class abilities, namely supports and medics (both Vals, Lazarus, offensive supports to give more shields, etc).
The other perks are mostly damage amplification but can be more efficient for some chars than others. Energy will benefit Blitz Markov and both Cairas for instance (but won’t increase the duration of 3rd abilities such as Laz’s cloak, Parnell’s rage mode, Caira’s acceleration field, etc), while Reloader will be better for clips that slowly deplete (Val’s Medgun, Hank’s shield recharge, Jack’s Reflector) and to reduce the cooldown of your 3rd weapon / ability (like Hank’s Orbital barrage, Bucket’s mechanized recharge, both Caira’s fields, etc). They won’t decrease the cooldown on your Class ability however, only the Cooldown perks will.
Finally the Gunslinger perk is obviously used on character that like switching gears a lot (Parnell, Griffins, R.Abe), and the Extra force will profit those with high natural damage (Lennox, Parnell, Hyde, Markov, Kala, etc).
- If there’s no other choice – Cybernetic Implants, Ultravision, Nanotech Regeneration
I honestly feel like Cybernetic Legs is not that bad, but right now it’s just completely outclassed by the Extra Fuel and Rocket Man perks.
I guess Infravision can have its uses too as a Trapper, but you’ll sacrifice combat stats for a mediocre tracking ability. Lastly, Regeneration sounds good on paper, but it’ll only kick in if you haven’t taken any damage for 3 seconds. And even then, the numbers are quite weak (directly taken from Grimwind’s guide, time needed to get fully healed : 20 Health per second = 1 minute and 20 seconds, 40 Health per second = 40 seconds, 60 Health per second = 27 seconds). Pick Enhanced Defense if you want survivability perks.
As an added bonus, here are the total silver key price to buy the all the perks and skins in the game (thanks to ☺ Tanki ☺ for the info) :
T1 Hunter perks: 42000 keys
T2 Hunter perks: 176400 keys
T3 Hunter perks: 201600 keys
T1 Monster perks: 42000 keys
T2 Monster perks: 133200 keys
T3 Monster perks: 186600 keys
Hunter skins: 175900 keys
Hunter weapon skins: 381000 keys
Monster skinss: 387200 keys
Combos & Synergy
*Some good combinations of hunters*
Laz + Hyde
Laz + Torvald
Laz + Hank/Tech Sgt Hank
Any hunters with strong area denial abilities that can punish the monster for camping a corpse like Hyde, Torvald, or both Hanks are very good picks with a Lazarus.
Cabot + Blitz Markov
Cabot + Parnell
Cabot + Abe
Cabot + Crow
Cabot will obviously benefit a lot from high-damage hunters, such as Abe, Crow, and the high burst Assaults like Blitz Markov or Parnell. Some damaging medics like Paladin Parnell or Lazarus could be considered as well.
Renegade Abe + Abe
Renegade Abe + Crow
Renegade Abe + Sunny
Renegade Abe + Kala
For the exact same reason as above, R.Abe’s damage amp will profit to high-damage hunters.
Bucket + Rogue Val
Bucket + Lazarus
Bucket’s mechanized recharge is one of the best ability to combo with high cooldown Class ability hunters, Rogue Val and Lazarus being among the best candidates.
Kala + Laz
Kala + Val
Kala’s teleport pads can create some handy escapes for medics who have trouble surviving, like Val, who will also make up for Kala’s lack of shielding potential. Lazarus is another great combination, since he can go stealth mode and run to the teleport to escape, and even heal from outside the dome with his strong Healing Burst if the team is close enough.
Hank + Slim
Hank + Val
Hank + Paladin Parnell
Hank’s shielding potential is so good that he can make for some borderline broken compositions if he’s paired with fragile medics with high healing power. P.Parnell isn’t exactly fragile, but Hank can make up for the lack of heals and make P.Parnell almost invincible.
E.Griffin / Griffin + Hank / T.Hank
Both Hanks will have an easier time landing their Orbital thanks to Griffins’ harpoons. Ideally, it’s up to the Griffin player to time their harpoon correctly after Hank has aimed his Orbital so that it stops the monster right where it’s going to land.
Sunny + Emet
Sunny + Caira
Sunny + Rogue Val
Sunny + Paladin Parnell
Sunny’s jetpack boost will benefit the medics that like to dash around to survive, Emet probably being the best at it (especially powerful if there’s several high rocks you can dash to in the dome) It can also gives R.Val and P.Parnell just enough time to get the cooldown on their Healing aura back, while her drone can make up for their “weaker” heals.
Val, Laz, Torvald + Maggie/Wasteland Maggie
Val, Laz, Torvald + Griffin
Val, Laz, Torvald + Hank
Val, Laz, Torvald + Parnell
Those 3 hunters share the same weak spot mechanic, which will give a nice damage boost to the hunters with precise rifles, like the ones aforementioned. This is a non-exhaustive list though, and there’s definitely a few more hunters that could fit the bill.
Lennox + Crow, Abe, Val
Lennox can quickly become a liability if played in random team comps, which is why playing with Hunters that can deal better with her worst matchups (typically Kraken, Wraith, and maybe Gorgon) will alleviate her weaknesses. I chose Crow, Abe and Val there as examples since they’re great picks against Kraken, but you definitely have more mileage than only these 3 picks, as long as you don’t choose more hunters that get countered by Kraken, which is a scenario is see way too often.
*Combos to avoid*
Bucket + Paladin Parnell
Bucket is probably for letting your Medic be able to get that burst of heal thanks to the mechanized recharge. However, since Paladin’s Parnell won’t heal your teammates, and is on a relatively long cooldown, it will only allow him to survive a little longer, which is usually not an issue to begin with.
Rogue Val + Kala
Rogue Val + Cabot
Rogue Val’s main weakness is her subpar healing, and even if her damage is solid to compensate, picking aggressive Supports with her will most of the time not end well for your team.
Slim + Kala
Slim, Val + Cabot, Battle Cabot
Very similar thinking as above, playing high-heal / low defense medics such as Slim with aggressive supports is risky, and one bad dome with no high vantage points can easily result in the death of your team. If you’re support, wise up and pick a defensive hunter that will make them shine. You’ll earn their love in the process.
Renegade Abe + W.Maggie, Jack, Griffin, …, any hunters with low damage output
Cabot + W.Maggie, Jack, Griffin, Torvald, …, any hunters with low damage ouput
Playing damage amplification Hunters can be a risky bet, especially Cabot, so you’ll want to maximise your damage by picking hunters with solid damage and great burst (listed in the section above). A contrario, picking hunters with low damage output like the ones mentioned will prove counterproductive.
Val + Torvald, Hyde
Laz + Torvald, Lennox
The weak spot damage amp mechanic can seem trivial at first, but you’d be surprised by the damage it can add at the end of the day. For that reason, you’d better play Hunters that can actually use it, and thus avoid the ones that literally won’t (like Hyde or Lennox, maybe Markovs too) or Torvald, since he already has an ability that does the same thing. Not that big of a deal, but it’s just about optimising.
Lennox + Maggie, Jack, Paladin Parnell
Following the same reasoning behind Lennox’s matchups from earlier (and more particularly Kraken), picking Lennox into a comp that already gets countered by the Kraken is having a death wish. Those 3 other hunters are the first that came to mind, but half of the cast probably has issues fighting the Kraken too, so if you see them piling up in your team on the character select screen, pick something that can deal with him more easily, just in case.
Caira, Paladin Parnell + Hunters with Tinkerbell builds
Caira and P.Parnell share the same “rocket” healing mechanics, which require them to fire on the ground where their teammates are to heal them. That means that if you have one in your team, don’t pick tinkerbell builds and stop jumping around everywhere, prefer dodging laterally while staying on the ground, and go up and down terrain as evasive maneuvers to make your medic’s life easier.
Useful links & resources – Lore, numbers and stats
I’ve seen several people asking for where they could find more information on the game’s lore or in-game stats and numbers, so I figured I’d add them to my guide while I’m at it :
- Evolve timeline/lore/info megathread : [link]
- Evolve Hunter Stories : [link]
- The science on Monsters – a theory on origin and intent : [link]
- LoneWolfHBS’s Youtube channel, containing most of the conversations between hunters : https://www.youtube.com/user/LoneWolfHBS
Numbers statistics (health, damage values, cooldown time, etc)
- [link] : outdated, contains info of Legacy Evolve, but a bunch of the numbers still apply
- [link] : up-to-date, but is missing some information
Store & Goodies
- store.2k.com : 2k store with a bunch of Evolve goodies, including those cute little figures like the Hank one you saw a bit before. They also have these magnificent Val leggings for $75. I’d totally wear those.
Community Media
Other informative or entertaining community media I used during the creation of the guide :
- Grimwind’s Perk Steam guide : [link]
- Nyarlathotep’s Rank Badge Steam guide : [link]
- oX’raiqv’s Hidden Challenges Steam Guide : [link]
- Illius’ Monster Steam Guide : [link]
- GhostRobo’s Youtube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/user/GhostRobo
- GrizzleMarine’s Youtube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQyQU_iVXIwz3t7YqbRkERg
- Somewhat Awesome Games’ Youtube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGqz-as3tFGhYeIcpFkdfyw
- Madcowqq’s Youtube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/user/MaddCowQQ
- Turtle Rocks Studios’ Twitch channel : [link]
- Ryke676’s Twitch Channel : [link]
- Superbadjuju’s Twitch Channel : [link]
- Predalien’s Twitch Channel : [link]
- wdyftw’s Twitch Channel : [link]
- Evolve’s tumblr with plenty of artwork : http://evolvegame.tumblr.com/
FAQ – conducted by Torvald
- Is this a guide for beginner players?
-Yes.
Well mostly, but I’m sure anyone can find interesting information in the other sections. As I said before it’s also mainly for solo players.
- Are you going to update your guide in the future?
-No.
Since Evolve’s support is officially ended, I guess that means that’s gonna be the end of the updates on my guide. I’ll probably still tune a few things here and there, but that’s about it.
- You’re list is ♥♥♥♥, X is better than Y, im rite and
your wrong
-No.
Tier lists are made by one or several people, they’re personal and will obviously vary from one list to another, and through time and patches, especially in this type of asymmetric games where one match can result in something completely different in the next one, despite taking place in the same conditions.
That’s how tier lists work. Super Smash Bros Melee’s tier list is still even getting updated recently, despite being a 15 years old game, and pros still have different opinions and placements for many characters.
Also that’s not a question.
- Your builds are ♥♥♥♥.
- My favorite character is low tier, does that mean he’s bad, should I stop playing him ?
-No.
I think almost all the characters can be made viable by playing them correctly, bar maybe a few. If you really like playing a character and do well with him, just stick with him. Who knows, he might even be buffed to top tier in future updates.
- Why is X placed higher / lower than Y?
-Read the playstyle and advice section.
- I play X character a lot, can I help you with your advice section, change your mind on his placement on the list?
-Yes.
If it’s a constructive answer and reasoning, then sure, feel free to add it in the comments. I don’t pretend to be an expert at every character in the game and to know everything about it, but I’ve done some homework. I’m completely open to ideas and criticism as long as you have valuable, properly worded insight. Try it sometime, it’s not that hard.
- Where do you find all these pictures?
-Google.
Closing words & Credits
This tier list is personal and has been made through my own experience and discussions with different players on different forums about the game.
As I’ve been mainly playing solo during my early playtime, this guide is aimed primarily at other solo players, refer to the advice sections for more info on solo vs organised team placement for characters.
I’ll keep updating the list following the updates and nerfs/buffs, and also if my opinion on a specific character ends up changing over time. I’ll also probably make a general tips section like how to find the monster easier.
Feel free to argue about some of the placements in the comments. Hope this guide helped some of you, let me know if it did 😉
I’ll be trying to give credits to all the authors of the pictures I’ve been using in this guide. If you’re the author of one of them and have not been credited (or want your picture removed), please let me know in the comment section. I made some of them myself (most of the comical pictures), so if you want to use them for yourself, feel free.
Iseanna (Rogue val thumbnail, “Griffina”) [link]
hyyerr-being (Caira with monster keyring) http://hyyerr-being.tumblr.com/
markitox_rox3 (know your enemy poster)
azminuar (sailor moon team)
h1kar1ko (Val and Caira kissing) [link]
ricadofox (Slim with Kraken) [link]
TheTroon (Val manga-style) [link]
Grimiore2 (Kraken monster-hunter style) [link]
r-3h (Stacraft Goliath portrait) [link]
sadania (Gorgon scuplture) [link]
Scott Flanders (Goliath vs hunters black & white diaporama) [link]
zetsumeininja (beach scene) [link]
Saki (Evil Ryu’s axe kick loop gif) [link]
Ciprian (hand drawn Slim) http://cipriananimations.tumblr.com/
Bot (Kraken vs Bucket drawing) [link]
Lukacuki (red banner with hunters and goliath) [link]
Brhombus (Kraken fighting hunters) http://brhombus.tumblr.com/
Quirkly (Torval) [link]
sandara (Evolve chibi monsters) [link]
TRS (official artworks, screenshots) [link]
Additional thanks to GALAXY for proofreading and layout fixing, Leeroy Jenkins, Mesiak, Waste of Space the Lennox Main, Mr. n, Mantler, AzoaR, ☺ Tanki ☺ and HBK8877 for their input on characters.
*Last updated 10/28/2016*
*To come – tips for tracking the monster, matchup charts*
