"That's a clean-burning Hell, I tell you what."

Driller as a Class:

Driller is a solid contender for strongest class in the game, both solo and team, due to crowd control and dig speed. All Driller primaries can quickly deal with a crowd of bugs, and swarms of relatively weak enemies are far more common and generally more dangerous than a few strong ones. Regarding mobility, the Driller can go anywhere in the caves and can do it in such a way as to allow the entire team to follow. While every class can dig with the pickaxe, the ability of the Reinforced Power Drills to dig on a tactical timescale allows the Driller to reject the terrain-as-found and substitute their own. No cliff is too high nor pit too deep for an ad hoc stairwell, and no twisting cave can't be shortcut. Satchel Charges make the Driller a danger to themselves and others, but are quite useful when an explosion or excavation is needed.

Specifics:

This is a generalist loadout suitable for all mission types, solo and team. Primary focus is on ammo efficiency, achieved through rapid target ignition and -when needed- temperature shock. While it may not be optimal for every single enemy type, ammo efficiency gives it the flexibility to compensate for any weaknesses by simply throwing more fire at the problem.

CRSPR Flamethrower:

• The Driller has resistance to flame damage and so many things on Hoxxes are flammable! Bugs, praetorian/oppressor gas, fungus gas (great for clearing fields of them), webs, neurotoxin clouds... Robots will instantly explode at max heat. Korkok sprouts stop shooting when on fire. Flames also pass through enemies, allowing for incredible swarm clearing power. For animation cancelling, reloading is complete as soon as the tank is pushed down, before it is twisted. The CRSPR ignores armor and weakpoints, so it is equally effective from any angle. T2 Triple Filtered Fuel is the key upgrade for this loadout.
• Overclock: Compact Feed Valves for the extra ammo. This loadout relies on direct application of heat to targets and so ammunition provides the most benefit.
• T1 High Pressure Ejector (range) helps with the rather short range of the CRSPR, and overcomes the major downside of Compact Feed Valves.
• T2 Triple Filtered Fuel (heat) ignites targets quickly by doubling the heat output. Low-health enemies are quickly destroyed by direct damage and damage over time, while high-health enemies are made ready for temperature shock.
• T3 More Fuel (ammo) gives the CRSPR more staying power to keep on burnin'.
• T4 It Burns! (fear) turns the CRSPR from a good crowd control weapon to a great crowd control weapon. Fear also stops most enemies from attacking (even mid-attack, for duration attacks like Praetorians have), and stops Mactera from dodging.
• T5 Heat Radiance (heat) almost instantly ignites most enemies that get too close (<= 4m).

Colette Wave Cooker:

• The Wave Cooker has fairly low damage but good range and many discrete rays for dealing with swarms of weak enemies (great for rockpox blisters, too). The Wave Cooker ignores armor and weakpoints, so it is equally effective from any angle (it can also take out exploders from any angle, without causing them to explode). T5 Exothermic Reactor is the key upgrade for this loadout.
• Overclock: Mega Power Supply for the ammo and higher rate of fire. This loadout uses the Wave Cooker for weak swarms, rockpox blisters, and for triggering temperature shock. More ammunition means more of all that, and higher rate of fire induces temperature shock more quickly.
• T1 Magnetron Tube (ammo) gives staying power. The Wave Cooker for this loadout is not focused on damage and it already has a decent spread, so ammo is really all it needs.
• T2 Larger Power Supply (rate) allows for higher DPS and faster temperature shock. The Wave Cooker’s heat generation is a bit unusual in that it does not depend on rate of fire at all, so a higher rate effectively reduces heat per shot.
• T3 Temperature Amplifier (temperature) can ignite an entire group of targets if even a few of them are already on fire.
• T4 Power Supply Overdrive (rate and focus) allows the Wave Cooker to reach an even higher rate of fire when needed.
• T5 Exothermic Reactor allows the Wave Cooker and CRSPR combo to easily deal with larger targets (up to and including Oppressors & Bulks): quickly ignite enemies with the CRSPR, then temperature shock them with the Wave Cooker for massive instant damage. This combo isn't as fast as weapons dealing direct damage to weakpoints with bonuses, but it is efficient and it works from any angle because it ignores armor and weakpoints. Surprisingly effective against stabbervines, which have no visible heat meter but burn nonetheless.

Misc:

• Reinforced Power Drills not only dig terrain, but also: stun & frighten enemies (great vs Stalkers), tear armor, open ebonuts, block cave leech grabs, block septic spreader projectiles (but move before the sub-projectiles splatter), block spitballer and korlok projectiles, block flying rocks during Escort missions, and are a valid source of melee for Vampire. Drilling under a turret controller allows the Driller to hack with impunity. Core Stone crust and Heartstone beamers are drillable.
• Satchel Charges are great for getting through the Caretaker or Hiveguard armor phase, clearing terrain, removing geysers/volcanoes, or even just as an ad hoc grenade. The default explosion radius is large enough to damage all the Caretaker vents and even the Caretaker eyes if dropped on top. It is also very effective at hitting all active Omen weakpoints if placed on the center module. If placed on something that is removed, Satchel Charges will continue to float in place, making them very useful against Core Stones.
  • The optimal Satchel Charge configuration to maximize both total carried damage potential and resupply damage potential is one damage upgrade (T1) and one ammunition upgrade (T3).
• Impact Axes (grenade/throwable) help out with single target damage (especially robots and flying enemies), and triggers Vampire. They can also be useful for clearing environmental hazards, which can sometimes take multiple axes but which does not expend them: webs, thorny vines, exploding plants, and even electrifying crystals and opening meteorites. They do open morkite seeds but are expended in the process. Pick up any axes that didn't deal enough damage to be expended, and throw any excess axes before resupplying because they can be picked back up later. To throw axes faster, animation cancel with the pickaxe between throws.

Regarding drill distance:

• It is safe to drill 11 knocks before overheating. Horizontally, this configuration will get about 3.64 m / L.
• Drill distance at other angles is interesting due to the terrain break geometry.
  • At a 45 degree downwards angle, 4.27 m / L.
  • At a 45-degree upwards angle while jumping, 5.10 m / L.
  • At an 80-degree upwards angle, drilling 2 knocks at at time while climbing, drill distance can easily exceed 8 m / L.
• For the sake of an easy estimate when drilling to the pod, assume a drilling efficiency of 3 M / L horizontal and 4 M / L angled to allow for some course corrections.

Ammunition for this configuration: