GUIDE
Why play CD2?
For CD1 players and anyone hearing about CD2 for the first time: how it differs, why it’s fun, and what each class does.
CD1 vs CD2
Older CD1 difficulties are mostly built around big periodic waves: a large wave every few minutes. The usual answer is to bunker: dig a tunnel, get inside so bugs can only come through the entrance, and hold there.
CD2 difficulties on the Big Chart are built around constant pressure and pacing instead: there’s no break to hide in, nitra runs out if you stall (you get nitra starved), and all four dwarves have a job. CD2 files can also carry rules (numbers that react to the mission) and brand-new enemies. If you’re coming from CD1, the playstyle change is the big adjustment.
I prefer CD2: everyone has a clear job and you push together.
| Wave-based CD1 difficulties | Pacing-based CD2 difficulties | |
|---|---|---|
| How enemies come | Big periodic waves, one every few minutes | Constant pressure, no break |
| Typical play | Dig a bunker and hold it | Fight in the open while advancing |
| What it tests | Can you hold the bunker | Push speed; stall and you run out of nitra for resupplies |
| Roles | Three hold the bunker; the scout handles nitra and stationaries outside | Everyone has a job; the gunner handles stationary enemies |
| Mission taste | Mining (Morkite) is played less | Mining is common, since it’s all about push speed |
Playstyle, roles and loadouts
How CD1 bunkering works
Take a Salvage mission: the scout marks where the mule is, the driller digs over (or digs a bunker once there), and the team stays inside clearing bugs. When a wave comes you hold the bunker; once it’s cleared you go back out.
Meanwhile the scout is usually alone outside doing three things: marking the mule, collecting nitra, and clearing as many stationaries on the map as possible.
Why bunkering doesn’t work in CD2
CD2 pressure never lets up. Bunker for a while and you can’t push back out; you also can’t collect nitra in there, so resupplies dry up fast. In CD2 you keep moving forward, and pacing is what matters.
What each class does
Gunner
Coil Gun plus Hurricane with the Plasma Burster Missiles overclock. The coil gun scares bugs off and the Hurricane stuns and clears trash. The gunner’s job is protecting himself and the team.
Lead Storm minigun with Burning Hell and T5 Hot Bullets, plus the Bulldog revolver with Volatile Bullets. Ignite stationary enemies and HVTs (Goo Bombers, Menaces and so on) with the minigun, then finish them with the Bulldog.
This setup protects no one and can’t scare bugs, so the rest of the team has to protect the gunner instead.
Engineer
LOK-1 with Explosive Chemical Rounds plus the PGL with Fat Boy. When a natural wave spawns, nuke the spawn point; in some difficulties it’s also used on bosses.
Primary can still be LOK-1 with ECR, with T3 Repellant Additive on the platform gun to steer bugs where you want them. Or use Stubby with Micro-Conductor Add-On, and skip Repellant in that case. Secondary is the Breach Cutter with Roll Control; build below.
Fat Boy is too ammo-hungry under constant pressure and doesn’t protect the team, so CD2 swaps to the Breach Cutter. Stubby with MCAO shines in narrow tunnels: bugs crossing it are slowed and take damage over time. It’s much weaker in open areas, and it’s bad against single targets and flyers, so the cutter covers that.
Driller
Often the flamethrower with Scorching Tide, for killing bosses like Dreadnoughts.
Mainly clears trash. Flamethrower with Sticky Fuel, which keeps burning wherever you spray it, or the Corrosive Sludge Pump. With Sticky Fuel, the Experimental Plasma Charger with Persistent Plasma is a common secondary and great against flyers; with Sludge, the Colette Wave Cooker pairs well.
Fayree’s tip: if your engineer runs MCAO, don’t also bring Sticky Fuel; take Sludge instead. He also notes Sludge is usually strong. Bosses are generally rarer in CD2, depending on the difficulty.
Scout
Works alone outside: marks the mule, collects nitra and clears stationaries across the map.
Boomstick with T5 White Phosphorus Shells and the Shaped Shells overclock. It ignites almost any stationary enemy or priority target instantly, setting up the gunner’s Volatile Bullets.
The engineer’s Breach Cutter build
Breach Cutter with the Roll Control overclock, upgrades:
- High Capacity Magazine
- Loosened Node Cohesion
- Quick Deploy
- Disruptive Frequency Tuning
- Plasma Trail
Steer the beam across as many bugs as possible to stun them. This lets the engineer protect himself and the gunner, and it handles flying enemies too.
For the full reasoning behind these loadouts, read Fayree’s team composition guide →
What else CD2 difficulties can do
CD2 difficulties can contain rules: numbers react to what’s happening in the mission, and authors can create brand-new enemies. A few examples:
DL Blitz
Every 45 seconds an extra wave hits, and it’s bigger the more ammo your team is carrying. When someone goes down, that wave’s timer freezes for 15 seconds so you can pick them up.
Nitra Rush!
Every resupply you call makes the bugs a little faster and unlocks a nastier enemy, announced right on screen. Depositing Gold earns small perks back, like cheaper resupplies.
Eclipse
An on-screen THREAT bar keeps draining; when it empties, the level goes up and enemies get more numerous and faster. Every 50 Gold your team deposits refills about 90 seconds of it, which buys time but can’t take you back down a level.
Into the Dark
The cave cycles between day and night. At night your flashlight and lights fade, enemies get more numerous and faster, and a Blood Moon calls in extra bugs. Red and yellow swarmers warn you when the light is about to change.
Interstellar
Authors can build new enemies. The Mactera Joker splits into decoy clones that keep coming back until you find and kill the real one. The Battle Blimp fires rockets and drops a crew of crawlers when it goes down.
K.O.N.G.
Killing fast builds momentum. More momentum makes bugs faster but also boosts your regen and revive health, and the longer someone stays down, the slower the enemies get.