Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core launched into Early Access with five Reclaimer classes, and picking the wrong one for your playstyle can make the caves of Hoxxes IV feel a lot more punishing than they need to be. The good news: every Reclaimer has a real job to do. The bad news: two of them require enough game knowledge that starting with them is a fast way to waste a run. This guide ranks all five, breaks down their abilities, and tells you exactly which one to pick first.
S-Tier Classes
Slicer
Slicer is the melee Reclaimer, and its identity is exactly what the name suggests. Slicer's sword generates a horizontal slice dealing 560 damage, making it one of the strongest AoE abilities in the current build. Blitz acts as a gravity-defying escape tool, and Shield Belt adds ranged protection for Slicer and nearby allies.
Slicer's 560-damage AoE slice
The reason Slicer ranks first overall, comes down to tempo. Slicer ends fights before they spiral. Guardian is reactive, stepping in when things go wrong. Slicer stops things from going wrong as fast. In a roguelite where one bad swarm can collapse a run, that difference matters.
The tradeoff is positioning discipline. Playing Slicer like a tank is a reliable way to donate a run. The class rewards players who engage aggressively, read enemy spacing, and pull back before overextending. Early on it feels risky. After a few runs, it starts feeling like the class that decides when the fight ends.
Slicer punishes bad movement fast. Diving into a dense swarm without an exit route is the most common way new Slicer players lose runs.
Guardian
Guardian shares S tier with Slicer for different reasons. Where Slicer wins through aggression, Guardian wins through consistency. Guardian's kit includes Concussive Barrage for damage and stun, Repulsion Zone for pushing enemies back, and Armor Beacon, which replenishes armor to damaged allies without requiring supply cache dependency.
Guardian makes a strong case as the best first pick specifically because it teaches the game. Spacing, threat prioritization, teammate positioning, when to hold ground versus retreat: Guardian forces awareness of all of these. Those skills transfer directly to every other Reclaimer. Learning on Guardian makes the eventual switch to Slicer noticeably cleaner.
In co-op, Guardian jumps to the top of the rankings. Team utility matters more than personal carry power in group runs, and no Reclaimer provides more stable team value. Random squads benefit from having a Guardian regardless of what the other players bring.
A-Tier Classes
Spotter
Spotter is the marksman and target-control Reclaimer. Its Crit Dart has three charges and can either mark individual enemies for +100% crit chance or create a zone where all enemies inside take increased crit damage. Sonar Radar scans for resources, enemies, and allies, while Ranger's Pocket supplies the whole team with extra ammo.
The honest limitation: Spotter's best tools require teammates who can capitalize on them. A marked priority target is easier to delete when three other Reclaimers are shooting at it. Solo, Spotter is functional but not optimal. In a coordinated squad, it can change the pace of a fight by softening the most dangerous enemy in the room before it reaches the team.
Spotter pairs especially well with Slicer. Slicer wants clean openings and softened targets. Spotter creates exactly those moments.
Falconer
Falconer brings an airborne drone that searches for nearby enemies at a marked location and deals damage. Thunder Rod creates an electric zone dealing +100% Electric damage to enemies inside, and Remote Drone Revive lets the Shock Drone revive a fallen teammate without another player sprinting into danger.
The remote revive tool is Falconer's most underrated asset in co-op. Recovering a teammate from a dangerous position without risking a second down can preserve a run that would otherwise end.
B-Tier Classes
Retcon
Retcon is the most mechanically demanding Reclaimer in the current build. Its Rewind Time ability can undo damage, lost ammo, and other negative states, but the timing window requires real game knowledge to use correctly. Rage scales with damage taken, meaning it rewards aggressive play but punishes players who take hits without building toward the payoff. Contingency Plan provides a last-resort revival with full armor and health.
The problem for this class is consistency. Slicer provides immediate pressure. Guardian provides immediate safety. Retcon asks players to think ahead, recognize danger before it peaks, and use the rewind at exactly the right moment. A mistimed rewind after the situation has already collapsed is just a stylish way to make the same mistake twice.
Retcon is not a bad Reclaimer. It is a second or third class, not a first. After enough runs to understand enemy patterns and room flow, the rewind mechanic becomes genuinely powerful. Before that, it is the class most likely to feel broken when the issue is actually timing.
Which class should you pick first?
The answer from both sources is consistent: Guardian for new players, Slicer for players confident in their movement and aggression.
The simplest path: start with Guardian, switch to Slicer once the game's enemy patterns feel familiar. After those two, Spotter and Falconer open up strong co-op options, and Retcon becomes worth learning once the run structure feels second nature.
All five Reclaimers at launch
If you plan to run co-op with friends, the Rogue Core co-op guide covers exactly how to set up lobbies and coordinate with up to four players. For performance on PC before you commit to a class, the best graphics settings guide is worth checking first to make sure the game runs cleanly.
Best squad pairings for co-op
There are three main 2-player pairings worth knowing:
- Guardian + Slicer: The cleanest duo. Safety meets kill speed. Guardian keeps the run stable while Slicer ends fights fast.
- Guardian + Spotter: Safer and better for controlled fights. Less raw damage but stronger target management.
- Spotter + Slicer: Highest damage potential of any pairing, but demands more from both players. Spotter sets up crits, Slicer cashes them in.
For full four-player squads, having one Guardian as the team anchor is almost always the right call regardless of what the other three bring.
Retcon becomes more viable in co-op when at least one other player is running Guardian. The extra armor support gives Retcon more room to set up its rewind without the run collapsing around it.
For more strategies, builds, and mechanic breakdowns across every Reclaimer, the full Rogue Core guide collection has everything you need to push deeper into Hoxxes IV.