- Deep Rock Galactic Rogue Core all classes: five playable dwarves with unique gadgets and upgrades.
- Spotter currently ranks strongest thanks to guaranteed-crit marking darts.
- Slicer dominates with an energy sword that cleaves entire swarms.
- Guardian is the tank, stunning and fearing enemies for easy revives.
- Falconer is the weakest for now but features a pettable drone bird.
- Retcon rounds out the roster with Rewind, a full resource reset that rewards aggressive play.
Deep Rock Galactic Rogue Core All Classes Overview
Unlike Deep Rock Galactic's rigid class structure, Rogue Core gives every dwarf access to a shared weapon pool. What separates the classes are their gadgets and class-specific upgrades, which align closely with each class identity. This makes adding new classes in future updates far easier than in the base game.
Video Highlights:
- All five classes share weapons; gadgets and upgrades create the differences
- Spotter's marking dart enables guaranteed crits for the whole team
- Slicer's energy sword has 2-3x the reach of a pickaxe power attack
- Guardian can stun bosses and fear entire waves
- Retcon's Contingency Plan can rescue a fully downed squad
All classes also pick from four perk-style character upgrades, such as increased health, armor, crit chance, or reduced fall damage. On top of that, runs keep scaling in pressure—once the mission timer hits the red skull, enemies pour in without letup until you escape or die. Class choice determines how well you survive that final chaos.
Even though every class shares the same weapon pool, each class gets its own exclusive upgrade list. A Spotter with +30% crit damage performs very differently from a Falconer with the same gun, so pick your class around your preferred playstyle, not the weapons.
Class Tier Rankings & Comparison
Here is how the five classes stack up in the current Early Access build.
| Class | Tier | Role | Key Gadget | Power Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotter | S | Support / DPS hybrid | Marking dart, 3 charges | ★★★★★ |
| Slicer | A | Melee brawler | Energy sword | ★★★★☆ |
| Guardian | A | Tank / Crowd control | Shotgun glove + AOE fear | ★★★★☆ |
| Falconer | B | Utility / off-DPS | Drone bird, 5 charges | ★★★☆☆ |
| Retcon | A | Time-rewind hybrid | Rewind + Contingency Plan | ★★★★☆ |
| Class | Best Upgrade Examples | Playstyle Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Spotter | +10% crit chance, +30% crit damage, crit refunds ammo, stuns on crit | Easy |
| Slicer | Axeman (faster, stronger pickaxe), temp health on melee kill, sword cooldown on kill | Medium |
| Guardian | Reduced damage facing enemies, more stun chance, crowd control boosts | Easy |
| Falconer | Bird charges on hit, bonus damage after bird deploy, faster bird cooldown | Medium |
| Retcon | Ammo and grenade reset on Rewind, health and armor stacking, Ticking Bombs | Hard |
Spotter: Best Overall
- Guaranteed crits on marked targets
- Works with nearly any build
- Crit-based ammo refund
Slicer: Best Melee
- 180-degree cleave with long reach
- Temp health sustain from kills
- Highest difficulty run cleared with pickaxe and sword only
Guardian: Best Tank
- Stuns almost everything, including bosses
- AOE fear for safe revives
- Carries late-game swarm pressure
Falconer: Needs a Buff
- First female dwarf in Deep Rock
- Bird offers reliable stuns early
- Damage falls off in late stages
Retcon: Second-Chance Hybrid
- Full reset of ammo, grenades, health, and armor on Rewind
- Contingency Plan revives the entire squad
- Rewards maximum aggression
These rankings reflect the current Early Access build. The Spotter may be toned down, Guardian's boss stuns may be removed, and Retcon's Rewind loop may see cooldown changes as updates roll on. Expect balance shifts.
Class-by-Class Deep Dive
Spotter
Spotter's active ability grants three charges of a dart similar to the M1000's Marked for Death. Fire it directly at an enemy to mark that target—anyone shooting it gets guaranteed crits. Alternatively, shoot the ground near enemies to splash-mark and highlight anything caught in or crossing the lingering area, forcing them to take extra damage. Combined with upgrades like crit-refund-ammo and stun-on-crit, Spotter rarely runs dry and amplifies the whole squad.
Slicer
The Slicer wields an energy sword that counts as melee damage—powerful because nearly everything in the game is weak to melee. The blade reaches 2-3x farther than a pickaxe power attack and sweeps roughly 180 degrees, cleaving entire hordes. Its narrow hitbox can miss low enemies on uneven ground, but the pickaxe-to-sword combo cycle (pickaxe, power attack, sword, repeat) deletes groups almost instantly. Temp health on kill (up to 100 stored) gives remarkable sustain.
Guardian
The Guardian's gadget has two modes: left-click fires explosive stun balls (three uses, capable of stunning even the detonator and the main boss), while holding right-click projects a continuous AOE fear that pushes everything away until the bar depletes or you cancel it. This makes Guardian the revive king—fear the swarm, pick up your teammate. Its upgrade pool leans tanky, stacking more crowd control on an already CC-heavy kit.
Falconer
The Falconer commands a drone bird (yes, you can pet it). Left-click sends it to a focused target or random nearby enemies; it deals modest damage but has a high stun chance—strong early, weaker once late-stage swarms overwhelm single-target stuns. Her best upgrade adds bird charges on every weapon hit, so pairing her with fast guns like the Stubby or burst pistol keeps the bird permanently airborne. Think of it as Engineer's turret strapped to a Scout boomerang.
Retcon
Retcon is the time-rewind hybrid of the roster. Her signature Rewind ability recalls her to where she activated it, restoring starting ammo, grenades, health, and armor—every bullet spent and hit taken during the window is essentially free. Rage follows the reset with a 100% damage boost, and Contingency Plan is the only ability that can rescue a fully downed squad. She rewards players who plan around the reset timer and commit to aggressive pushes.
Pair a Spotter with a Slicer: the Spotter marks a priority target for guaranteed crits while the Slicer cleaves the chaff. Add a Guardian for revive insurance during red-skull waves.
How to Pick Your Class: Step-by-Step
Assess Your Squad
Coordinate with teammates first. If nobody picked Guardian, strongly consider it—AOE fear is the single best tool for surviving the red-skull endgame swarm.
Match Your Playstyle
Prefer shooting? Pick Spotter. Love melee? Slicer rewards aggressive swarm-cleaving. Want utility? Falconer's bird stuns shine in early stages.
Choose Weapons That Fit
Since the weapon pool is shared, pick guns that feed your upgrades. Fast-firing weapons maximize Spotter's crit refund and Falconer's charge-on-hit.
Select Character Upgrades
Fill your four perk slots based on class role: health and armor for Guardian, crit chance for Spotter, fall damage reduction for explorers.
Adapt to Run Luck
Like any roguelike, drops can carry any class. A Falconer with 70% crit chance and a fast high-damage weapon plays like a top-tier pick—stay flexible.
For solo runs, Slicer's temp health sustain and melee cleave make it the most self-sufficient pick. In team play, Spotter's marks amplify everyone's damage output the most.
Preparation Checklist
Master Every Class:
- Test Spotter's ground-dart marking vs. direct-target marking
- Learn the pickaxe-power attack-sword combo on Slicer
- Practice Guardian's fear-cancel timing for efficient revives
- Pet the Falconer's bird at least once per run
- Complete a max-difficulty run with each class
When the mission icon turns to a red skull, enemies spawn endlessly until you escape or die. Save Guardian fear charges, Spotter darts, and bird charges for this phase—never burn them early.
FAQ
Q: How many classes are in Deep Rock Galactic Rogue Core?
There are currently five classes in Early Access: Spotter, Slicer, Guardian, Falconer, and Retcon. Because all classes share the same weapon pool, adding more in future updates should be straightforward.
Q: Why pick different classes if they share the same weapons?
Each class gets exclusive gadget abilities and its own upgrade pool. Spotter gets crit-based upgrades, Slicer gets melee upgrades, Guardian gets tanky crowd control, and Falconer gets bird-focused upgrades. The shared weapons play very differently depending on which class wields them.
Q: Which is the best class in Deep Rock Galactic Rogue Core?
Spotter is generally considered the strongest right now because its marking darts guarantee crits for the entire team and it has three charges. Guardian and Slicer are close behind, while Falconer is the weakest until its bird damage gets a potential buff.
Q: Who is the Falconer?
The Falconer is notable as the first female dwarf in the Deep Rock universe. She commands a pettable drone bird with five charges that stuns enemies reliably, and her upgrades focus on keeping the bird active as often as possible.