Surviving in Hoxxes has never been easy, and in Deep Rock Galactic Survivor every run comes down to how well you manage those first few stages.
This Deep Rock Galactic Survivor 1.0 Guide takes you step by step through a full five-stage run, explaining what to look out for, when to take risks, and how to keep your dwarf alive until the bitter end.
Deep Rock Galactic Survivor 1.0 Guide & Walkthrough (2025)
Stage 1: The Drop (Levels 1–5)
Your very first seconds matter more than you might think. On the way down, don’t just zone out — keep your eyes on the cavern backdrop. Rare minerals, Huuli Hoarders, and hidden objectives often reveal themselves before you even land. Once boots hit the dirt, focus on gold, nitra, and morkite first. These minerals snowball your early levels far faster than aimless bug-hunting. If the mission’s secondary objective is something like apoca blooms or boolo caps, snag them when convenient, but don’t waste time running across the map for one plant.
Loot bugs are tempting, but at level one they’re not worth much. Same goes for meta minerals — they give decent XP, but you’re mining them for the level boost, not the upgrades. Your true goal here is simple: hit level 5 quickly and unlock your second weapon. The difference between one gun and two is massive; think of it as your first real power spike. Ideally, you’ll be ready just as the first supply drop appears.
When choosing that second weapon, ask yourself:
- Do I want to force a specific build or just pick what’s strong?
- Should my weapons share tags for synergy, or is raw power better?
- Am I leaning into my class’s bonuses or just patching weak spots?
There isn’t a single “right” answer — this game is built on flexibility. That said, weapons that can carry an entire run on their own are always safe picks. Some standouts include: M1000 Classic, Thunderhead Autocannon, Warthog Shotgun, Hurricane Rocket System, Colette Wave Cooker, Corrosive Sludge Pump, and the K1-P Viper Drone.
By the time you reach the supply pod, mini-elites will usually be on your tail. Clear the landing zone fast and, if possible, kite enemies under the pod’s drop zone so it crushes them. The supply pod doesn’t hurt you, so standing dead center is perfectly safe.
Early Artifacts
Artifacts are a huge part of every run. A good baseline rule: if something offers 20% damage or more, it’s excellent. Don’t be shy about rerolling once or twice if the shop hands you garbage.
Some fantastic early artifacts include: Pickled Nitra, Gold-Tipped Bullets, BLT Ration, Squint-ee Goggles, Diver’s Manual, DRG Coupons, and the Weapon Box. Artifacts like Turbo Encabulator, Energy Bars, Pay-2-Win Console, or Multi-Tool are long-term investments — not very useful right away, but game-breaking if you survive later stages.
If you’re chasing elites early, you can save the supply drop for bonus damage, though most players drop it right away to secure the area. It’s a judgement call every run.
Stage 1 Mid-Game
Once the pod is down, your job is simple: mine everything. Gold, nitra, and secondaries all matter. Anything you leave behind is free power wasted. The tricky part is balancing greed with safety. Running nonstop from vein to vein sounds perfect, but the longer you ignore swarms, the bigger the bug ball behind you grows.
The key is to pick your fights. Stop in favorable terrain, use exploders as living bombs, and only double back for XP orbs if the trade is worth it. As a rule of thumb, 30 gold or 15 nitra equals about one level’s value. Early levels are so cheap that XP is king here, but once mid-stages hit, minerals outscale it.
Efficient pathing separates good runs from dead dwarves. Hug the map edge first to uncover terrain on the radar, then sweep the center last. Avoid getting trapped in corners or peninsulas — those spots are death traps when a big wave spawns.
Stage 1 Endgame
Here’s the big dilemma: do you kill the elites fast for a loot crate, or keep farming minerals and XP until the stage ends? There’s no universal answer. Personally, I focus on XP in stages 1–2 and then shift to elite rushing once my build is established.
Remember: XP scales poorly later. Five levels in stage 1 may only translate to one level by stage 5. Gold and nitra, however, are always valuable — upgrades don’t get more expensive as the game goes on.
When the drop pod arrives, don’t sprint straight in. Use the final 30 seconds to mine stray veins, scoop XP, or even regen health. Standing on the pod ramp makes you untouchable to most enemies, so squeeze every drop of value out of the stage before leaving.
The Shop
The shop between stages is where your run really takes shape. Spend aggressively unless you have artifacts that reward hoarding. A few rules of thumb:
Gold Upgrades: Rare or better tag upgrades that affect multiple weapons are almost always worth it. Utility buffs can also be game-changers.
Nitra Upgrades: Focus on upgrades that push toward overclocks. Even lower-rarity choices can be better late if they get you closer to critical breakpoints.
Legendary vs. Epic: Don’t assume legendaries are always best. Sometimes epic or even rare upgrades give more raw efficiency.
Rerolling: Costs start cheap but scale quickly (about ×1.4 each roll). Usually, rerolling once or twice is optimal.
Pin upgrades cautiously. Pin too many of one resource and you can strand yourself with unusable currency. Always consider your pinned choices when planning the next stage.
One last note: don’t waste gold on heals. DRGS’s regen system heals more when you’re low, so it’s almost always smarter to spend gold on strength. Unless you’re on death’s door, trust regen or red sugar instead.
Stage 2: The Build Takes Shape
By now, you’ll usually unlock your fourth weapon, which locks you into your build path. Weapon synergy becomes critical here, so think carefully before spending gold in the shop. Sometimes it’s worth holding cash to reroll weapon options instead.
Enemies hit harder in stage 2, so the “use health as a resource” mindset from stage 1 becomes riskier. Mining efficiency still matters, but survival begins to take priority.
Stage 3–4: Mid-Run Grind
The pace slows. XP levels trickle in, which means gold and nitra become your best scaling tools. By stage 4, entire seas of XP dots may only give you one level. At this point, prioritize minerals over dots almost every time.
This is also when you should decide your endgame build. Push at least one weapon to level 18 for its unstable overclock. Don’t spread resources too thin across three weapons unless you’re confident in lucky rolls.
Playstyle should shift as well. Early deaths are no big deal — restart and try again. Late deaths waste 30+ minutes, so be more cautious with each stage.
Stage 5: The Final Test
Stage 5 is where everything is put to the test, and the Dreadnought fight is the true gatekeeper. Stats show that miners are more likely to die here than anywhere else. That’s why every build must answer one question: “Can I burn down a single target fast?” If not, rethink your setup.
Mining is still worth it for rerolls and spare resources, but level-ups are rare now. Push overclocks if possible and lean into survivability — move speed and health buffers can save a run against the Dreadnought’s burst.
Boss Strategies
- Supply Drop: Best saved for the boss. Against a solo dread, it chunks about 20% HP. Against twins, it’s weaker but still clears adds.
- Arena Control: Mine out open spaces. Tight corridors are death traps when a dread pounces.
- Single Dreadnought: Expect pounce openers. Watch for double-pounce chains. Extra move speed is huge here. When stalagmites appear at half health, don’t panic — carve a way out or dodge within the rows.
- Dread Twins: Trickier. Position projectile weapons to pierce both. Kite them through shock fences or turret setups. Try to damage both evenly, but don’t risk your life for perfect balance. They will heal at least once — just reposition and resume DPS. Always track the pouncing twin; off-screen jumps can one-shot careless players.
Beat the dread and you’ve done it — a full clear! Few things feel better than surviving five brutal stages in Deep Rock Galactic Survivor. As the dwarves say: “Rock and Stone!” (and yes, beer and sandwiches are waiting back at the Space Rig).