If there’s one thing Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor makes absolutely clear, it’s that weapon choice defines your run. Every gun can be made to work if you lean into its strengths, but not every gun is created equal, and overclocks will push weapons into completely different playstyles. Since Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 1.0 Weapon Guide, we’ve got a fairly balanced arsenal, but some tools rise above the rest, and a few feel like they’re still struggling to find their place. Let’s break them down.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 1.0 Weapon Guide
Deepcore GK2
The Deepcore GK2 is the definition of “average.” It’s rarely bad, but also rarely spectacular. Scouts often find themselves running it because it plays nicely in all-projectile or hybrid medium-range builds. Think of it as a trusty sidearm that covers the basics, not as your main carry weapon.
Overclock-wise, High Caliber Rounds is the standout. Piercing helps tremendously with swarm control, and the modest damage boost pushes DPS just enough to keep pace. Refrigerated Gunpowder deserves a nod as well—it shifts the weapon into a freezing tool, which buys enormous breathing room. If you already have pierce from other sources, cold can easily outperform raw damage. Electric bullets and small damage bumps feel fine but uninspiring, while gimmicks like Big Game Hunter tend to backfire—this gun is for clearing space, not sniping bosses.
When you want raw DPS, unstable overclocks are the answer. Lead Wrapped Ammo can practically double your output, but you’ll chew through ammo faster. The Favorite works only if you’re leaning fully into the GK2 as your carry—otherwise, the tradeoffs hurt too much.
Jury Rigged Boomstick
If the GK2 is steady, the Boomstick is the brawler’s weapon. It excels at clearing your personal space, blasting glyphids off you, and keeping breathing room open. On Scout, it often becomes your “oh no” button.
What makes the Boomstick special is how well its overclocks line up. Bigger Mags is arguably one of the strongest OC fits in the entire game, massively boosting DPS and crowd knockback uptime. Cryo (Refrigerated Gunpowder) and electric (Battery Bullets) conversions remain excellent if you’re angling for elemental synergies.
Among unstable OCs, Mini-Pellets shines. Turning each shot into a cloud of death means fodder enemies simply melt. Thick Boy is the flashy option, converting the gun into a railgun-like shot. It’s fun, but the wasted damage on single targets often makes it less practical than the spray-and-pray of Mini-Pellets.
Cryo Grenade
Grenades in Survivor fill more of a support role, but the Cryo Grenade is one of the most reliable tools in the kit. Freezing swarms in place makes otherwise dangerous waves trivial and buys space for mining or repositioning.
Cluster Grenades is the headline overclock here. Splitting into three smaller blasts essentially triples your coverage, and the math works out to be one of the most broken multipliers in the entire game. Compact Explosives expands the radius, which is great for swarm control, while A Little More Oomph! shifts it toward single-target value. True TNT is situational—amazing in mining-focused builds, near worthless otherwise.
For unstable picks, Gravitational Core adds hilarious control by sucking enemies into a freezing vortex, though the pull can mess with positioning. And, as always, The Favorite works only if grenades are your hard carry, which they usually aren’t.
Zhukov NUK17
The Zhukov sits in an odd but fun spot. It’s a bullet spammer with naturally good crowd control when positioned well, but it struggles if you don’t manage its firing arcs carefully. Think of it as a room-clearer rather than a precision tool.
Elemental OCs once again add flexibility: Refrigerated Gunpowder synergizes beautifully with Death Spiral, locking entire swarms in place while they’re shredded. Electric is a decent fallback. Utility OCs like Explosive Reload give breathing room if you’re running it as a sidearm rather than a main gun.
The real prize is Death Spiral. By converting the bullet spray into a perfect spiral, you eliminate firing pattern dead zones, guaranteeing that nothing can slip past. This turns the Zhukov from “solid” into “excellent.” Omni Barrel is the alternative—higher stats and 8-way spread. It’s strong, but Spiral tends to be smoother and safer.
M1000 Classic
This rifle is the crown jewel of the arsenal. With monstrous piercing, automatic boss targeting, and the ability to thin out swarms, the M1000 is easily one of the strongest guns in the game. The only real drawback is that it doesn’t defend your personal space well.
The gun splits into two playstyles depending on unstable OCs. Sawn Off makes it a close-range menace, firing a fan of bullets to clear space while still shredding larger enemies. Thick Boy, on the other hand, turns it into a sniper nuke—perfect for boss-killing and leveraging shrapnel chains to delete entire waves at once.
Balanced overclocks depend on which build you pick. For Sawn Off, fire rate remains king, with reload speed secondary. For Thick Boy, bigger mags suddenly become essential, since clip size scales directly into your piercing nuke damage. Elemental overclocks like Pan Fried look tempting but rarely add meaningful value when enemies die in one hit anyway.
Voltaic Stun Sweeper
Not every weapon can be a winner. The Voltaic Stun Sweeper struggles in almost every category—it doesn’t hit hard, it doesn’t cover space, and its crowd control is weak compared to Cryo or Zhukov setups. Its main utility is stacking electric debuffs, so it can work as a support weapon in specialist builds. But in general, if you have stronger alternatives unlocked, you’ll rarely want to run this.
Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 1.0’s weapon balance pushes you to specialize. The M1000 Classic stands out as the strongest carry weapon, with Boomstick and Zhukov providing personal space and swarm control. GK2 remains steady but unspectacular, while Cryo Grenades add a layer of tactical crowd control that can save entire runs. If you’re experimenting, remember that overclocks can completely redefine how a weapon plays—sometimes turning “average” into “amazing.”