Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor - Weapons tier list (February 2026) - Boomsticks and Cryo Grenades
First of all, I want to say that I’ve spent countless hours playing games like Halls of Torment and Valhalla Survival. Unfortunately, I’ve gotten older, but on the bright side, that means I have a lot of experience with this genre. So I always have a general idea of how I want to play.
As for Deep Rock Galactic, I didn’t go in blind. I read and watched a lot of tier lists when I started playing.
The list I agree with the most is the one made by the user Nevermore2346. Maybe with a few small changes. Of course, there’s no list everyone agrees on. Each of us has our own style, and in the end, something that works for me might not work for someone else. That’s just how it is.
Still, this list will give you a very good idea of the current meta in the game. But enough with the introduction—let’s take a look at the best weapons in the game and talk a bit more specifically about some of them.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor - Weapons Tier List
| Tier | Weapon |
|---|---|
| S | Jury-Rigged Boomstick, Cryo Grenade, M1000 Classic, Drak-25 Plasma Carbine, "Thunderhead" Heavy Autocannon, ArmsKore Coil Gun, LMG Gun Platform, "Warthog" Auto 210, Krakatoa Sentinel, Cryo Cannon, Tactical Leadburster |
| A | Voltaic Shock Fence, Zhukov NUK17, Nishanka Boltshark X-80, BRT7 Burst Fire Gun, Seismic Repulsor, "Hurricane" Guided Rocket System, CRSPR Flamethrower, Colette Wave Cooker |
| B | TH-OR Bug Taser, Deepcore GK2, Firefly Hunter Drone, LOK-1 Smart Rifle, Deepcore PGL, Shard Diffractor, Subata 120, Impact Axe, K1-P Viper Drone |
| C | Voltaic Stun Sweeper, Arc-Tek Cryo Guard, Hi-Volt Thunderbird, Breach Cutter, Plasma Burster, Shredder Swarm Grenade, Corrosive Sludge Pump |
| D | "Lead Storm" Powered Minigun, Incendiary Grenade, "Stubby" Voltaic SMG, Neurotoxin Grenade, Experimental Plasma Charger |
| F | "Bulldog" Heavy Revolver |
In the next pages, we’ll talk in a bit more detail about some specific weapons from each tier.
1
S Tier
About the Jury-Rigged Boomstick
The Boomstick in DRG Survivor is the Scout’s basic close-ranged shotgun. It hits really hard, knocks enemies back, has only two shots, and takes a while to reload.It fires 7 pellets that can pierce a few enemies and does the most damage when you’re right in their face. Its overclocks let you change the damage type, shoot farther, load more shells, or turn it into one giant, super-piercing shot with Thick Boy.
About the Cryo Grenade
The Cryo Grenade is the Scout’s simple but super useful freeze grenade. It goes off quickly, has a good blast radius, and is great for slowing or freezing groups of enemies.Mastery gives it extra damage, and the overclocks let you change how it works—bigger explosions, splitting into mini grenades, breaking terrain, pulling enemies in, or a super?powered version that makes the grenade stronger but weakens your other weapons.
Overall, it’s a reliable crowd control tool with plenty of ways to customise it.
About the Tactical Leadburster
The Tactical Leadburster is the Gunner’s Rank?6 throwable that shoots out bullets in a spiral after a short delay.It fires quickly, keeps going for a bit, and deals steady damage without knocking enemies back.
Mastery gives it extra damage, and the overclocks let you adjust things like fire rate, duration, piercing, or even change how the whole grenade works.
Overall, it’s a strong area control tool with plenty of ways to customise it.
2
A Tier
About the Zhukov NUK17
The Zhukov NUK17 is the Recon Scout’s starter SMG, and it shoots in four diagonal directions at the same time, so it’s great for clearing enemies around you.It fires quickly, reloads fast, and gets a +12% damage boost from mastery. Its overclocks let you swap damage types, increase magazine size, fire even faster, or change the shooting pattern for more coverage or more damage.
About the "Hurricane" Guided Rocket System
The Hurricane shoots 9 homing rockets at a time, and it reloads right after firing, so that long 6-second reload isn’t as bad as it looks.The rockets fly over terrain, which makes the weapon really safe and reliable. With mastery, you get more damage and a bigger blast radius, and the overclocks let you add more rockets, bigger explosions, faster reloads, or huge damage if you don’t mind your other weapons getting weaker.
Overall, it’s a heavy but straightforward launcher that hits hard and upgrades well, though it doesn’t work great with status effect builds.
3
B Tier
About the Deepcore GK2
The Deepcore GK2 is the Scout’s Rank 1 burst rifle. It releases steady kinetic damage, three-shot bursts, and reliable targeting of the closest enemy.Mastery gives +12% damage, and its overclocks let you push it toward raw DPS, crit builds, piercing shots, elemental damage (Electric or Cold), or a massive damage/fire rate boost with The Favourite at the cost of your other weapons.
About the LOK-1 Smart Riffle
The LOK?1 is the Engineer’s Rank?6 smart rifle that locks onto enemies and fires homing shots for you. It hits pretty hard, shoots at a decent pace, and can pierce through multiple targets.You can upgrade it to shoot faster, hold more ammo, change its damage type, or make it pierce even more, but some upgrades slow it down a bit. It's basically an easy-to-use, auto-aim rifle that cleans up enemies around you
4
C Tier
About the "Stubby" Voltaic SMG
The Stubby Voltaic SMG is the Engineer’s starting electric SMG. It fires fast, hits multiple enemies, and zaps anything nearby with electrical damage.Mastery gives it a +12% damage boost, and its overclocks let you fire faster, reload quicker, improve accuracy, or add special effects like explosions when you reload. One standout overclock even lets you shoot friendly targets to trigger a small electric blast around them.
5
D Tier
About the Experimental Plasma Charger
The Experimental Plasma Charger (EPC) is the Driller’s Rank 27 plasma launcher that fires big bouncing plasma shots, making it great for hitting groups of enemies.It hits very hard but fires slowly, with only one shot per reload. Some upgrades still boost its fire rate, but only a little. Its status effects (like burn or slow) only get stronger if you use the right overclocks, and Drippin Balls is especially strong because its trail damage scales with your main shot. Mastery gives a +12% damage boost, and the overclocks let you add burn, slow, pull enemies in, split the shot, or just crank up the raw damage.
Alright, it looks like this article is getting dangerously long, so I’ll wrap it up here. I hope this helped you get a better overall idea of the meta in Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor.
And now that you're done with our Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor tier list, why not check out some of our others? We've got a MU: Pocket Knights tier list and an Eternal Sword Pact tier list, for example.
