Best Gloomstalker builds

[Tenjen]

1: Cookout Multitasker Build
Primary: Cookout shotgun
2ndary: the grenade pistol
Grenades: personal preference but gas/incendiary are great at area denial.
Loadout: MG and Gat turrets (or rocket sentry) with Quasar and gas rover.
Ideal Armor (in descending order): Siege Ready, Med-Kit, Dem Protects, Extra Padding, Unflinching

The cookout staggers and burns the new enemies quite effectively at close to mid range, marking them if they stealth and keeping them off your back if they get close. From a distance the spread is good enough to hit multiple targets. Use your turrets for fire support, both they and your gas rover will counter flanking. Your Quasar will come in handy for any large enemies. With an enemy with numerous with this much mobility, stagger is crucial to you and your team. This will keep the swarms off you and your allies so they have more time to mow them down. You have some effective to counter bug breaches but you will push back the horde spawning out of the triple bug breaches. The rocket sentry can be a good alternative to one of the bullet turrets due to its long range if you find an elevated position. It will either take out large groups of small enemies, a small group of big enemies or hurt/kill heavies/elites but do not throw it down when they're already in your face.

2: DAKKA/Bullet Hose
Primary: Lib Carbine/Penetrator/StA-52/Tenderizer
2ndary: the grenade pistol
Grenades: personal preference but gas/incendiary are great at area denial. Keeping a seeker out for anything that gets close out of sight might be wise.
Loadout: MG and Gat turrets with either the MG or Starlwart (HMG if you prefer but its not as ideal) sppt weapon and gun rover. If someone can share an MG with you, go with the HMG emplacement instead.
Ideal Armor (in descending order): Siege Ready, Engineering, Med-Kit, Extra Padding, Dem Protects, Unflinching

This build is simply: you unload a torrent of bullets. Triple bug breaches? Bullets. So many bullets. The new enemies offer a target rich environment. You can have a rover, turrets and a MG gun simultaneously firing at the swarm, protecting your back but make sure to protect them and your team in turn. The tide will not be able to overcome you when your tide is more fearsome. If someone else is bringing an MG or some type and are willing to call one down later, go with the HMG emplacement. Chances are good you will find an MG on the map too. Keep in mind you will be vulnerable to heavies without an HMG or HMG emplacement, so make sure more than one of your allies has anti-heavy options already if you don't bring them. Make sure you have at least one though even if you do bring them. You should all be traveling together anyway.

An alternative to this build is the laser equivalent with the sickle or 2Edge sickle (use inflammable armor), laser canon and laser rover. This is up to your personal preference.

3: Light Explosives Build
Primary: Cbow/Purifier/Punisher Plasma
2ndary: Preferred emergency non-Gimmick close range option
Grenades: Gas, seeker, flak, impact.
Loadout: The main point here is to have the grenade launcher and supply backpack. The remaining two slots will have to be an anti-group calldown and an anti-elite calldown of your own preference and playstyle.
Ideal Armor (in descending order): Fortified, engineering or siege ready.

The crossbow and GL are premiere weapons in this target rich environment and grenades dont care if enemies are in stealth, so if you see a blur, just let loose. but you're going to want to be careful when the enemies get up into your face. You'll need explosive resistance to handle that and you'll have plenty of supplies to keep you well supplied and happy, so just go wild with the grenades and stick close to your friends to avoid the gloomstalkers getting upclose as much as possible. Have a pistol capable of dealing with them at close range fast and dirty. Remember to share some supplies with your team mates when they need it.

While you can switch out the GL and backpack for the AC, which is very effective in flak mode, I find that even efficient AC reloading and resupply cannot keep up with how many enemies want to jump right up your ass at any single moment. You will constantly run dry. Same applies even more to the airburst launcher.

4: Flame Build.
Primary: Torcher, cookout, breaker incendiary
2ndary: the grenade pistol
Grenades: incendiary/incendiary impact
Loadout: Flame turret, Napalm Barrage, Napalm airstrike, Flamethrower
Ideal Armor (in descending order): Inflammable

ya ol'flame specialization. Just torch and burn everything. Flames are great area denial and everything here is great for the large Bug Breaches. The flamethrower can handle small to heavy enemies, tho perhaps let a friend with heavy explosive ordinance handle titans. The gloom swarm have vast map filling multitudes and like to get in close so flames are great for them. Flame turret to protect a path, Napalm airstrike to wall off an avenue of approach, Barrage to erase enormous hordes from the general landscape. Its crucial to wear the fire resistant armor because enemies WILL get close to you and you WILL get lit on fire.

5: Heavy Explosives Build: Gloom Version
For those who insist on bringing the Recoilless Rifle or equivalent to be your teams anti-heavy, keep in mind to make sure you have atleast 2 allies with focused wave clearing.
Primary: Automatics and shotguns, anything with lots of ammo, ideally fast firing. The sickle and double edge sickle are good too. The xbow is the exception.
Loadout: RR aside, you need call downs that deal with large groups. A mix of your favorite barrages, airburst strikes, napalm, straffing run, cluster bombs, gas strike and the 500kg sorta. Ideally 1 anti-horde, 1 strat that hurts both horde/heavies (500kg/airstrike/straff) and 1 that focuses heavies if you want.
Grenades: Back yourself up with thermite to help yourself in a tight spot because your RR will take time to reload and so will your strats. You are extremely vulnerable after a shot and you need to get heavies down quick so your allies can take out the stalkers coming for you. Synergy.
Armor: go with your preferred armor but if you have the 2xEdge sickle go with Inflammable.

6: Spartan Specialist Build
Do not choose this if you arent good at being melee. Ballistic shield + the stun lance or baton. Stun lance if you prefer range and precise stabs, baton if you prefer wide sweeping strikes upclose. Axe works too if you have it. Recent changes make the ballistic shield better against melee enemies. Peak physique Armor is necessary. Follow my prior advice for any of the loadouts and slots above as per your personal preference but I advise something which balances out your melee. Go with 1 sustained-attack anti-horde call down and 1 call down effective against both heavies and their supporting gloomstalkers hordes like the airstrike or strafing run. Your final slot should be a single slot sppt weapons like the Eats or a quasar.

7: Madman
Take the cookout build and replace the quasar with either EATS or the Commando. You'll want something disposable cause you're going to be bringing the Hellbomb backpack so in all likelihood you're going to be disposable too, or well... more so than your usual diver. Its surprisingly effective. Take light or medium armor with extra padding or medkit if you want to the point fast with or without the intention of surviving, Dem protects if you like to gamble, or even Integrated explosives if you want to be nuts. If you are nuts, then why not bring the FRV and just drive to where you're about to explode?

General logic:
Armor: Go with medium and Heavy. You can't outrun them and they reposition faster than you. They sprint faster than even the light armor run and the small ones will either leap at you from afar or the closest larger one infront will overcharge to get ahead of you and block your way so the others can catch up. Keep in mind that multiple stalkers will be flanking you when you try to run or hold position too long. If you have good team mates they will be covering your back but how often do you get those? Point is, you need to keep moving at a steady pace while laying down constant fire.

Primaries: In general you want weapons with lots of ammo that spit out it out hard and fast. Explosive and staggering weapons are an exception. Otherwise, having to reload often between a few steady shots is death.

Grenades: personal preference but gas/incendiary are great at area denial. Keep aware of what your teammates have covered or more importantly, dont have covered. No need to go with the above if thermite is lacking.

2ndary: the grenade pistol for holes unless you alternatives to close them, in which case go with your preference to back yourself up REALLY QUICK in emergencies when something or many somethings get in your face.

Loadout: outside of support weapons, take emplacements only if you have a rover and trust your team to cover you. Mechs might seem effective sure but there are simply too many enemies and they will run dry fast, compared to any other option which will refresh fast and be used often. Sustained attack call downs will be great like the barrages, napalm, airburst, gatling,and gas strike for both open areas and Bug Breaches. Cluster bombs, strafing run, airstrike and 500kg's are good too to quickly clear an area with mixed units cause heavies/elites with gloomstalkers supporting them are the worst. Lean more towards anti-heavy if your allies are lacking it in their builds. Otherwise, always have atleast one option that hurts elites and hordes together over a wide area but not just elites, so dont go with the railcanon, OPS and 110mm.

If you can handle them responsibly, go ahead and bring the Tesla and mines. However do not bring either of the mortar turrets, the enemies will get close to you at multiple points and the mortar turrets will either slow you down or straight up kill you. Repeatedly.

The FRV is personal preference but it is good at relatively safely getting around the map and away from these bugs to travel between points. If you or a teammate are a good driver that is.

If you have personal preferences, go ahead and bring them up below.

[Commancho]

Thematic builds are fun, but if you don't bring at least 2 anti-heavy stratgems and thermit grenade for 7 LVL and above then you are being carried. New bugs didnt change nothing in my loadout. Its just a freakin ministalker that dies from two pistol shots.

[Tenjen]

Originally posted by Commancho:

Thematic builds are fun, but if you don't bring at least 2 anti-heavy stratgems and thermit grenade for 7 LVL and above then you are being carried. New bugs didnt change nothing in my loadout. Its just a freakin ministalker that dies from two pistol shots.

They're not thematic builds, I always round them off a bit with something to deal with anti-heavy and when they arent, I mention to make sure others are covering for what it lacks and to keep them safe.

its not just "a mini stalker", its 20 mini and medium stalkers with 20 more behind. Heavies/elites are the easiest thing to deal with in these fights so long as you keep the gloomstalkers in check and away from your anti-heavy.

Im running these at level 9 and 10 while considering what my team is bringing.

[Commancho]

Originally posted by Tenjen:

its not just "a mini stalker", its 20 mini and medium stalkers with 20 more behind. Heavies/elites are the easiest thing to deal with in these fights so long as you keep the gloomstalkers in check and away from your anti-heavy.

They are low armored, low health. I see them as low threat, but I don't run and gun blindly into nests, especialy on foggy, swampy maps. The main issue is teammates with stupid habits that cost reinforcements. No build will make up for that :D

[MayMay]

No Scorcher? the thing can single handedly solo 4 Stalker, it's good vs Spewer as well. Medium pen + Explosive = absolute unit for stalker killer.

Blitzer should be on the top list as well. You are unkillable if you pick blitzer with shield. the only way you are going to die with this build is your teammate turret or them dropping 500kg on you. I never for over 10 matches with this build, solo farming all the sample in the map only to die by teammate barrage on me.

[Tenjen]

Originally posted by Commancho:

Originally posted by Tenjen:

its not just "a mini stalker", its 20 mini and medium stalkers with 20 more behind. Heavies/elites are the easiest thing to deal with in these fights so long as you keep the gloomstalkers in check and away from your anti-heavy.

They are low armored, low health. I see them as low threat, but I don't run and gun blindly into nests, especialy on foggy, swampy maps. The main issue is teammates with stupid habits that cost reinforcements. No build will make up for that :D

You'd be wrong then, and this topic isnt a podium for you to grandstand, its for those who need advice adapting to the new enemies. It doesnt matter what you see as low threat. You're not relevant here, you're not the main character. You're just here making unnecessary comments and empty statements. The topic has nothing to do with bad teammates, its silly to even bring it up.

From all the topics and comments all over, its clear some people need to know the variety of builds, relative to what everyone else in their squad is using, are available to deal with the stalkers. The three types of stalkers appearing in large swarms need a proper response due to their speed, abilities and stealth. We're all better off for people being more aware.

Theres always an anti-heavy guy. Hell theres often multiple. Which is why horde builds specific to the new units are important to point out. So its insipid to comment "bring thermite and multiple anti-heavy strats". When I've already mentioned preferences and balance.

[MeGa]

Very interesting post!

[Tenjen]

Originally posted by MayMay:

No Scorcher? the thing can single handedly solo 4 Stalker, it's good vs Spewer as well. Medium pen + Explosive = absolute unit for stalker killer.

Blitzer should be on the top list as well. You are unkillable if you pick blitzer with shield. the only way you are going to die with this build is your teammate turret or them dropping 500kg on you. I never for over 10 matches with this build, solo farming all the sample in the map only to die by teammate barrage on me.

These weapons have indeed proven to be very effective but I left it to the reader to realize they fit the bill for my general description of the ideal weapons you can choose to go with.

[megareader5000]

You don't need the "best" anything, just play the game

[Commancho]

Originally posted by Tenjen:

You'd be wrong then, and this topic isnt a podium for you to grandstand, its for those who need advice adapting to the new enemies. It doesnt matter what you see as low threat. You're not relevant here, you're not the main character. You're just here making unnecessary comments and empty statements. The topic has nothing to do with bad teammates, its silly to even bring it up.

Sorry to break your bubble, but no build will save you from bad positioning amd bad reflexes. You can lack in one, but if you fail in two then you get bad results. The threat is moving fast, killing fast and dying fast. Threat that can go invisible and bypass your turrets. Positioning and clearing slowly the area meter after meter and tactical retreat to drop napalm strikes when there is too many bug breaches in the area is a key, but children wanna play run'n'gun COD style and then come here after first failed mission and shut "BUGS TOO HARD" without any reflection.

[Tenjen]

Originally posted by Commancho:

Sorry to break your bubble, but no build will save you from bad positioning amd bad reflexes. You can lack in one, but if you fail in two then you get bad results. The threat is moving fast, killing fast and dying fast. Threat that can go invisible and bypass your turrets. Positioning and clearing slowly the area meter after meter and tactical retreat to drop napalm strikes when there is too many bug breaches in the area is a key, but children wanna play run'n'gun COD style and then come here after first failed mission and shut "BUGS TOO HARD" without any reflection.

Bubble? dude wtf are you talking. Theres no bubble. None of this is relevant to the topic. People who play that way arent relevant to the topic, this is to reach out to rest. Sharing builds to adapt to the current scenario is basic stuff, why are you stroking yourself here?

"You're just here making unnecessary comments and empty statements."

[MayMay]

Originally posted by Commancho:

Originally posted by Tenjen:

You'd be wrong then, and this topic isnt a podium for you to grandstand, its for those who need advice adapting to the new enemies. It doesnt matter what you see as low threat. You're not relevant here, you're not the main character. You're just here making unnecessary comments and empty statements. The topic has nothing to do with bad teammates, its silly to even bring it up.

Sorry to break your bubble, but no build will save you from bad positioning amd bad reflexes. You can lack in one, but if you fail in two then you get bad results. The threat is moving fast, killing fast and dying fast. Threat that can go invisible and bypass your turrets. Positioning and clearing slowly the area meter after meter and tactical retreat to drop napalm strikes when there is too many bug breaches in the area is a key, but children wanna play run'n'gun COD style and then come here after first failed mission and shut "BUGS TOO HARD" without any reflection.

you can fight entire horde even with titan, charger, stalker and hunter. all chasing you with Blitzer + shield build. you are unkillable unless you really intentionally try to die.

[Commancho]

Originally posted by MayMay:

you can fight entire horde even with titan, charger, stalker and hunter. all chasing you with Blitzer + shield build. you are unkillable unless you really intentionally try to die.

Yes, if you have good positioning.

[sel]

would not recommend tenderizer in your loadout. the low mag size is really noticeable, you are better off taking a lower damage, higher capacity rifle. Lib penetrator is probably the better pick.

Tenderizers high damage is very alluring, but its a total trap that leaves with you a gun you have to reload every 5 seconds, its the only gun I ever consistently run out of ammo with.
Running it semi auto helps, but at that point just use one of the 2 DMRs.

also loadouts with no anti-tank weapons are a death sentence. at difficulty 10, bile titans and chargers are everywhere, relying on your teammates to bring AT and ACTUALLY USE IT, is too large of a gamble, and if your AT guy dies, then you die too.

I think this a fundamental flaw with the game, its basically mandatory to have one guy with a recoilless rifle, and at dif 10, everyone is practically required to have EATs or a RR. Which totally ruins loadout variety and balance.

[Khloros]

Damn son you wrote a whole lot of text when you could have just said
Cookout + GL + ammo pack
or
Corssbow/blitzer + Stalwart with optional ammo pack.
Rest of your stats are freebies.

[Tenjen]

Originally posted by Khloros:

Damn son you wrote a whole lot of text when you could have just said
Cookout + GL + ammo pack
or
Corssbow/blitzer + Stalwart with optional ammo pack.
Rest of your stats are freebies.

That's reserved for the comment sections of topics with a small explanation of why it's good. If one is to post a topic however, one needs to properly disect the benefits and options of a build.