The Rogue Core Guardian class immediately appealed to me in Deep Rock Galactic’s roguelike spinoff. The fantasy of playing as a protective tank with the best crowd control in the game for holding back enemies is always a fun trope, and it was a natural transition for me as someone who loves playing tank in other games like World of Warcraft or Overwatch.
If holding the frontline, bolstering the team’s defenses, or even going all-out as an AoE juggernaut sounds fun (it is), here are some tips and builds for the Rogue Core Guardian class.
How does the Rogue Core Guardian play?
The Guardian’s base kit is all about defensive utility and keeping the team topped up. He excels at controlling hordes and bigger threats, but often has to choose which to empower. Unlike the other classes like the Falconer, the Rogue Core Guardian shares two charges between his abilities and a separate cooldown on his signature ability. It’s important to understand his abilities to determine what’s best for the situation.
Concussive Barrage: Guardian fires multiple bombs that shred armor and stun.
Repulsion Field: The Guardian creates a field around him that repels enemies for a few seconds, causing the aliens to run away from the area.
Armor Beacon: Places a defensive zone that restores up to 50% of max armor. Lasts for 15 seconds with a long 2-minute cooldown timer.
Rogue Core Guardian’s base abilities are so good at controlling the battlefield that you’ll want to dedicate Workshop upgrades to make them better. Look at your current team and see which ability you’ll need more.
If the team lacks single-target damage, then you’ll need more points into Concussive Barrage for more time against armored and long-range enemies, as well as bosses. Meanwhile, if the team lacks a horde clearer like the Slicer, you’ll need more upgrades on the Repulsion Field to clear more space. This can also be used as a clutch tool to revive teammates, but make sure that you’ve taken care of the long-range aliens first.
For the Armor Beacon, don’t just throw this down whenever you see a teammate with low armor. There are always Armor Stations or Munitions Crates in the area, which also replenish armor. The lengthy cooldown means you’ll want to keep this during intense moments, like while repairing the elevator or in claustrophobic situations.
Rogue Core Guardian Builds
Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core is a roguelike, so builds are highly dependent on upgrades gained during the expedition. However, the Guardian’s bio deck gives him built-in synergies with defensive and AoE-focused upgrades. Additionally, his Concussive Barrage gives him a natural way to stun enemies. In general, the Rogue Core Guardian is happy to take upgrades that reduce his ability cooldown.
Dedicated Frontliner
The Rogue Core Guardian naturally builds into this archetype with his easy access to crowd control and armor restoration. Focus on making runs as smooth as butter for your teammates. Remember that the Guardian is all about preventing damage in the first place, rather than healing it. This is the most reliable Guardian build for clearing harder difficulties.
| Upgrade | Rarity | Effect |
| Daunting | Bio-Booster | Enemies within a close range move slower |
| Sturdiness | Bio-Booster | 20% more armor |
| Adrenaline Charger | Common | Getting hit replenishes ability and power attack cooldown |
| Cool Precision | Common | Weakpoint hits replenish ability and power attack cooldown |
| Sweet Surrender | Uncommon | Chance to create a red sugar chunk when killing a medium or larger sized enemy |
| Steadfast Surge | Uncommon | Standing Still provides ability and power attack recharge rate. |
| Flux Conduit | Uncommon | Ability Recharge rate per armor missing |
| Provoking | Epic | While your health is above 25%, you attack more aggro |
For this build, keep an eye out for ability recharge and cooldown reduction the most. These stats will ensure maximum uptime on the Guardian’s crowd control abilities. You can also take upgrades that interact with stun to combo with the Concussive Barrage.
Next, you can support your team by taking upgrades that create sugar chunks, providing a steady source of healing throughout the run. Additionally, make sure that you’re also bulking up with defensive upgrades since you’ll need the extra health to take a few hits while reviving teammates.
The Explosive Crowd Clearer
The Rogue Core Guardian is not only an efficient protector, but he can also throw down with AoE damage to clear the room. This is largely because of his Devastation Bio-Booster deck, giving him bonuses to AoE radius and can even spread damage to nearby enemies. The most important upgrade here is Aftermath, as his area damage leaves a small AoE in the ground that pulses for a few seconds.
| Upgrade | Rarity | Effect |
| Aftermath | Bio-Booster | Area damage leaves an AoE that deals 100% of initial damage over six seconds |
| Explosive Shots | Bio-Booster | Direct damage weapons deal up to 25% of their damage in a 1.5 meter radius |
| Boom! You’re Dead! | Uncommon | Killing enemies makes them explode |
| Blood Rush | Rare | More damage per 10% of current health |
| Critical Hit Chance | Epic | 10% more critical hjit |
The idea with this Rogue Core Guardian build is to stack as many AoE synergies as possible, and it’s important that your weapon also pairs well with these upgrades. Focus on using funneling Concussive Grenades at the workshop with more damage and projectiles, while also searching for Equipment Crate rewards for better weapons. Clear the crowds and let your teammates deal with the tougher enemies.
