Ever since mining got hit with removals ages ago, it seems that players got the idea that the job wasn’t particularly strong when it came to fighting actual threats.
Now, obviously, it’s not a chemist or roboticist, but even without all their old overpowered toys, the job is actually extremely powerful compared to most others. The clear difference is that it takes actual thought and planning to fight now, and you cannot overpower anyone properly equipped by walking into their face and stat-checking…but this shouldn’t be possible to begin with.
So, to prevent you from running up to the nukie with a PKA that does absolutely nothing, or to prevent a random crew member punching you to death while you try to pickaxe them, here’s a guide on actually robusting people.
Notably, miner has a lot of different playstyles and ways to fight.
Loadout 1: Manhunter
Mining has access to powerful weapons through hunting and looting the ashwalker camp. These are more than enough to deal with crew and can go survive decently against most antagonists. It’s a mid-range loadout.
The gear:
• Slay some watchers and goliaths and craft a heavy armor set, bone bracers and talisman/codpiece.
• Craft a sword and shield next.
• Finish up with a few watcher bolas.
What you get: very high protection that isn’t situational unlike miner armor, high-powered bola siimlar to antagonist ones, great blocking capabilities with shield, and a decent weapon with the sword. The playstyle is thus clear - bola someone, move in, block whatever they try to do and whack them to death. It works. If you’re crazy, you can try to use the bow too, but I don’t recommend it.
Weaknesses: Bola is your only ranged option, and as your opener, if it is dodged or countered, you have no followup against anyone who can shoot you. Explosions and mechs will also kill you.
Loadout 2: Dead Space
Relying purely on your own equipment and a breach, you can create a scenario where you hold the high ground. A very situational but very powerful way to score kills, works great in declarations of war.
The gear:
• 4x cooldown PKA, easily gotten from the lathe and locker.
• Any spacesuit. The best you can find is likely the SWAT suit from cargo if you’re an antagonist or in war, but otherwise, grab what makes sense like evas or a modsuit.
• Create your zone of dominion by breaching some maints or building on part of a station. For optimal conditions, your zone is a series of short, twisting 1x1 or 1x2 halls, breached, but the floors should be lined with iron rods to counter low-gravity. The bigger the area, the more space you’re strong in. For controlling breaches easily, holofirelock.
Note that this playstyle is extremely flavorful, but reliance on breaches makes it best suited for an antagonist or invasion counterplay.
What you get: Full PKA damage in optimal conditions if anyone dares enter your no-no zone. You can fight extremely powerful opponents with this and come out the victor due to raw damage and explosion damage type.
Weaknesses: Without the narrow spaces, your mid-range shots are dodged incredibly easily by just fleeing and shooting, so this is reliant on terrain advantage. In an open space, expect to lose to anyone with a gun unless you have failsafes. A mech will also fuck you up and make you regret this.
Loadout 3: Sentry Trap
Use artifacts to bring someone into oblivion out of nowhere. Do not use this to actually fight people, use it to kill them.
The gear:
• Hierophant club.
• Eye of god, spooky lantern, or antagonist thermal visor.
What you get: Extremely cheap and potent kill/damage setup with no counterplay beyond having thermals of your own.
How it works: Hide in a location where your targets are visible but cannot see you, thanks to thermals. Maints next to halls is great, so is a walled-off tile. Punch yourself to near-crit, then use the hierophant on your target once they pass by, making sure to actually target them. They will be hit with an ultra-fast chaser for repeated damage, without even knowing where the source is. At this point, you can try to follow them for more chasers and a confirmed kill, inject a pen/core and move in with other gear, or simply wait for more targets.
Weaknesses: This is not a fighting loadout. Hierophant is only a threat at near-crit, which also means a punch will kill you unless you applied your heals first. You can’t pocket-carry a hiero for this either, so it’s basically reserved for this gimmick. I’ll repeat - don’t fight people head on with this!
With this, we clear the main three playstyles you can do, but mining has access to a lot of supplementary equipment that can work in any loadout, usable to form a full playstyle. These are optional, some are not always available, etc.
Supplementary Equipment
• Jump Boots: Found in your vendor for 2000 points, these boots are a phenomenal knowledge check and equlizer. On use, they launch you into a target, going over tables. On hit, you are both knocked down and disarmed. The reason it is a knowledge check is that simply having throw enabled fully counters this. In a 1v1, it equalizes - you can both pick up whatever your opponent drops. In any other situation, the side with more people often wins. Always use it empty-handed for obvious reasons.
• Jump Boots x2: A mind-game against robust people who pass the knowledge check. By carrying a second pair in your hands and dashing with it first, you can immediately activate the ones on your feet after they catch you, and disarm them anyway. Hilarious.
• Plasma Cutter: A horrible sidearm that you can buy for 4000 points. Low fire rate, low damage, and generally low impact. People can simply run from you unless boxed in, and real gunmen will outdamage you. The one saving grace is high ammo and a chance to delimb, so always aim for the legs. Consider this an emergency weapon. Buy it if zombies break out to nugget them.
• Meat Hook: Cheap pull and knockdown that needs you to land a high-cooldown projectile. Great for literally fishing in an opponent if you have other teammates, or pulling them into a trapped area, such as bonfires with a fireproof suit, or worse. Very gimmicky, but fits in belt.
• Stetchkin: Found in the xeno hive or east of syndicate shuttle. It’s a gun. Rather mediocre, but sometimes you need a gun. Better sidearm than the plasma cutter! Can be considered gamy to have unless prompted by a threat, but nothing stops you from getting it and hiding it somewhere for an emergency. Who am I kidding, the QM won’t give a fuck. It’s not really that strong.
• Katana: Found rarely in the abandoned crate in your base. Worth checking for, as this can even be fun to use against fauna. Ridiculous melee option that can actually beat antags straight up, but it’s full on RNG here. I hate gacha personally, do you?
• Resonator: Found in the base, and better ones are printed later. Can leave traps that work well in maints if you know the timings to detonate them over people. Particularly fun for the dead space playstyle. Also an extremely strong weapon if someone tries to DPS check you in melee without actually dodging the detonations. If they just strafe, they win though.
• Heals: Mining pens and cores are strong heals that most crew can’t use, but pale in comparison with actual chemistry or antagonist heal kits/powers. Save cores for high bleed, save pens for high damage.
• Cubes: Random drop from tendrils. The cube is an instant teleport to the other cube, and should not exist. Before it gets the nerf it deserves, use it to instantly escape when you’re losing. (hi coders, give this a use time, thanks)
• Syndicate Modsuit: Random drop from a legion. If you get this, you just win, I guess. Ridiculous RNG though. You’ll get it on a peaceful round and sigh about how useless it is.
• Gibtonite: Put it into a crate. Detonate while alone, close crate, then drag crate into target and run.
• Nanite Beaker: Regenerative nanites from syndicate base sleepers, grinded into a beaker. One of the best heals in the game and borderline overpowered.