by lixl06 on 09/01/2025

"Thunderhead" Heavy Autocannon
Armskore Coil Gun
Zipline Launcher
Shield Generator
Reinforced Impact Suit
Pickaxe
Loadout Guide
Hello fellow gunners/miners!
I've yet again experimented a bit, this time with gunners weapons. I gotta say, Rotary overdrive is fun and the minigun vibe is fun, but the spinup killed my runs more than once, even with Lighter Barrel Assembly. Thats why I thought, what would happen, if...
- the primary had no spinup time before firing...
- the primary had the same stopping power as the leadstorm but is more forgiving if you don't aim precisly on point...
- both primary and secondary can be used to kill chonky bugs and control swarms at the same time...
Well, this happened: Behold, the guide to this loadout
The elephant in the room
Yes, I'm talking about the Thunderhead. Big bertha is for raw damage so get closeup and personal with those pesky bugs!
It might seem stupid from me to go with more magazine capacity in T1 than more ammo, but you can hold down mb1 longer. And if you get so unfortunate to forget to equip born ready with this build, it's more forgiving, since the reload speed is... lets just say it takes 3 business days... So: run born ready! For T2 I went with more accuracy so your shots wont go flying into the terrain and miss the bugs completely. More damage in T3 cause when you hit those bugs the direct damage will double or tripple when hitting weakpoints (depending on the bugs you are shooting). More armor breaking in T4 for a more efficient Twin Dreadnought fight and normal Dreadnought fight, plus you can give praetorians a fresh haircut and make this glowing weakpoint more visible. :) In T5 I went for the feedback loop so if you do have to hold down mb1 for a little longer, theres more punch behind your shots. You could go for the damage resistance as well for better survivability, the choice is yours.
The Handheld Warcrime
One of downsides of the Thunderhead is its lack of long ranged precise shots. Thats where the coil gun comes into play. With Triple Tech Chambers you are able to get 2 more bangs for less reloads.
By combining this with the Controled Magnetic Flow, you are able to have one hell of a crowd control weapon with great ammo efficieny. To make it more effective than just a gust of wind and alt+f4'ing those bugs, I went for the extra coil in T1, just to make those shots worth their money. If you happen to have to kill something chonkier, just hold down longer and you got yourself 425 direct damage, enough to outdamage a guard on haz 5.5 while not even hitting the weakspot or leave a praetorian with half of its hp on hazard 5 when you hit the weakspot all 3 times. In T3 I went with stun, so bugs will stay longer in the trail, thus more DoT. For T4, damage reduction worked best, you already have a trail of damaging air in front of you when you shoot, and for higher hazards, taking less damage will let you survive longer. In T5 you can go for a wider trail or for an electric trail. Even the Necro Catalyst is a valid option if you go for a fire inflicting primary.
Your trusty tools
Zipline
Depends on your preferences, this one is my favourite way. If you cant deside between more range and a greater angle, look at the biome and try to think how the caves will generate. More open and gigantic rooms => more range; more cluttered/blocked rooms => greater angle
Shield generator
Same goes for the Shield generator, I prefer this one, 'cause 8 seconds of shielding is very nice, enough time to revive a teammate or just to catch another breath in intense missions. The range upgrade in T1 is helpful too, to fit all your teammates in that shield, without it being too narrow.
Armor
You know the drill, I like dis, you can choose as you like.
Grenade
Can the leadburster even be called "grenade"? Well... I don't think so. It's more of a... throwable "screw everything in that general area" device. It is magnificent at killing bulks and a well placed one can delete entire swarms. I call it... spray and pray
"Sir, there movement in that area!" | "Roger, removing that area"
Well, that's it lads. If you got ideas for improvement, leave a comment. Til the next one.
Happy Rock and Stoning lixl06