Nothing reinforces the importance of teamwork more than the menace and threat of a creature 10 times your size, which is what you face in 2K’s Evolve. In its foursome of hunters, the class names could not be more straightforward: assault, medic, Support, Trapper. If you play with squads regularly, then you know already know three of the four roles. The Trapper is unique and highly valued in Evolve as it’s specialized in keeping the Monster in a confined space. Moreover, a Trapper has useful tools that make locating the Monster easier.
Evolve encourages experimentation beyond one’s class comfort zones. Each of the four classes needs to be represented in a given match. Every hunter is multitalented and equipped with enough gear to be a useful contributor in any match. It helps that every squad mate has at least one weapon or tool that is directly harmful to the Monster. Offense is not exclusive to the assault class. So even if you always argue with your best friend on who plays the ‘tank’, you’d be surprised how some of Evolve’s non-assault hunters also function like tanks.
ASSAULT
The assault hunter is for those who thrive on the front lines and get a thrill from watching a monster’s lifebar decrease with every pull of the trigger. All three assault hunters have two potent weapons as well as their own unique utility accessory, which opens up tactical opportunities.
The assault class wouldn’t be complete without some durability to complement their damage-dealing prowess. That’s why every assault hunter comes with a personal shield. Due to their limited time use and subsequent cooldowns, these shields are best saved once the monster is trapped and a close fight is assured.
MARKOV
Markov makes for a fitting starter hunter since he doesn’t need to be right at the monster’s face to make an impact. The centerpiece of his effectiveness is his lightning gun, which is both highly consistent and accurate. It also features a target lock-on which enhances its usefulness. Obviously, the trade-off is that its use is finite, and needs time to recharge. While the lightning gun charges, you can hang back and arm the assault rifle. What this rifle lacks in firepower (compared to the lightning gun) it makes up for in ranged accuracy. The assault rifle also has more flexibility in targeting vital points like the monster’s head or any targets marked by Val.
The assault rifle is the most familiar armament you’ll find in Evolve. It’s only appropriate that Markov also has a utility item that is equally traditional: the proximity mine, known in the game as arc mines. Any seasoned shooter fan should know the mines’ tactical benefits. As a group, these mines can work as a barrier to protect support and medic classes. For general field use, these mines can help chip away at a monster’s health bar if you place them in the maps’ chokepoints.
Markov is well-rounded enough that he’s a reliable hunter to come back to even after you’ve unlocked Hyde and Parnell. Aside from being less destructive than Parnell, Markov doesn’t have any distinct weaknesses and any skilled player controlling the monster would know this. Fellow hunters should be mindful that Markov might be singled out on a regular basis.
HYDE
If you’re also a multitasker who prefers tank classes, Hyde will suit your needs. His strengths lie in the potency of his flamethrower and the high firing rate of his minigun. Making the most of him involves using both weapons in a given fight. The means firing the minigun while the lasting effect of the flamethrower is still dealing damage. If you’re exceptionally dexterous, you can stack these with his toxic grenades into one brief but lethal combination.
Hyde’s weak at long range accuracy, so he’s best suited for players who like staying close to the monster. He’s not completely useless in retreat or in hot pursuit of an escaping monster. While his firearms are best used at short distances, his toxic grenades are meant for long throws. You should also warn your buddies since these grenades are one of the few weapons that adversely affects other hunters.
PARNELL
Just because there aren’t recon or engineer classes doesn’t mean shotguns don’t have a place in Evolve. You do get the The combat shotgun with Parnell, which is one of multiple components that makes him not only a tank but also a brute. A shotgun-wielding Parnell pairs extremely well with Hank’s shield projector, a match that can make short work of novice players controlling a monster.
What’s the only thing better than the satisfying kick and high damage of a shotgun? How about a salvo of multiple rockets? Compared to Bucket’s player-guided rocket, Parnell’s multifire rocket launcher fires in a straight line and has a higher clip capacity. These rockets are especially useful against monster eggs, which makes Parnell the recommended assault hunter in Nest mode.
With a roster as large as Evolve’s, one hunter was bound to have some sort of berzerk capability. You’ll find it with Parnell and his berserker suit, which amps up some of his stats, including speed. This ability also brings out his only weakness. Using the suit increases his fire rate, but decreases reload times and the activation of this ability takes 20% off his health. Still, if you want an assault class hunter ‘taken to 11’, Parnell is your guy.
TRAPPER
The Trapper is a unique class in Evolve and with great reason. Without someone to wrangle and disorient the beast, fights against monsters merely become one-dimensional affairs of exchanging blows. That is why the Trapper’s class ability is a temporary dome, also known as The Mobile Arena, which can contain a Monster for easier takedowns. First-timers are welcome to practice with the dome in single player since it might take a round or two to get used to timing its release. If you miss the Monster, you have to wait for the mobile arena ability to recharge
MAGGIE (plus DAISY)
If you’re a pet-loving trapper, go with Maggie. She is paired with a trusty monster-sniffing Trapjaw named Daisy. Daisy turns the group into a team of five, even if she lacks offensive abilities. Her sniffing talents alone are immensely useful in tracking down monsters. Following Daisy is also one of the character mastery requirements so be sure to position Maggie behind Daisy every so often.
Daisy’s usefulness switches from pursuer to reviver once the monster is trapped. With several licks of her tongue, she can resuscitate a downed hunter, provided the teammate is nearby. And in the case where your foursome is unlucky enough to be wiped out, Daisy can buy time while everyone waits to restart the airdrop sequence, provided Daisy can keep herself alive as well.
When the dome is activated and the search for the monster shifts to a fight, Maggie can focus on limiting the beast’s range of movement with her harpoon traps. Unlike Griffin’s harpoon gun which works like a lasso, Maggie can drop up to five traps throughout the map which activate without her supervision. A well-spread set of traps in a close-knit battle can be especially troublesome for a monster.
As weaknesses go, Maggie lacks offensive options, especially at long range. Her machine pistol is functional up close and has a high fire rate but don’t expect to get much usefulness from a distance.
GRIFFIN
There’s no hunter in Evolve who best emulates the look of a ‘big game hunter’ than Griffin. It goes beyond his safari hat and his overgrown facial hair. He turns a pursuit into a classic hunt with his harpoon gun, which can tether a monster at 40 meters. Being an expert with this gun means positioning yourself behind the monster when you use it, preferably when your fellow hunters are distracting the creature. Your squad will admire your talents further if you have the presence of mind to use the gun as the monster is escaping. Not only do you present another opportunity for your team to deal more damage, you’ll also force the monster to spend additional effort to break free.
No matter the size of the enemy, nothing beats radar to get visibility on the opposition. Griffin does not have a bloodhound for a pet, but he does specialize in echolocation with his sound spikes. He can deploy up to five of these devices at a time and if spread apart well enough, can cover over 50% of any map.
Like Markov, Griffin has no notable shortcomings while not having any remarkable stats. Even if he’s the unfortunate target of a single-minded monster, at least Griffin makes for an effective decoy while the rest of the hunters prepare for a final push to victory.
ABE
As a contrast to the close-distance benefits of Griffin’s harpoon gun, Abe’s tracking darts takes the hunt across long range. If the dome is active, these darts make it impossible for the monster to escape in whatever few hiding place are left. Another dart should be ready by the time the dome deactivates so you can mark the Monster before it disappears. There’s nothing more time consuming in Evolve than restarting the whole search cycle. And if the person controlling the Monster loves to evolve, be sure to hit the local wildlife with these darts. Any marked creature that the Monster consumes will make the beast visible in the GPS. There’s no reason to hold back on firing these darts.
Once trapped in the dome, Abe can juggle between slowing down the Monster with his stasis grenades and hurting the monster with his custom shotgun. Not only does the grenade keep the monster locked down, it’s also an effective distraction tool that lasts 15 seconds each. The shotgun is a finesse weapon worth getting used to, since its accuracy is based on how slow or fast you pull the trigger.
Abe is also another Trapper with no distinct weakness, though if you play alongside Cabot often enough, you risk getting spoiled by his damage amplifier. Abe’s custom shotgun is already the most powerful trapper firearm; Cabot’s amp makes it lethal. Can you go back to using Abe without that firepower boost?
MEDIC
The always essential healer, the medic is a perpetual multitasker in Evolve, even before the Monster is trapped. Keeping an eye on everyone’s health might be the main responsibility, but skilled users of the medics know how to make the most of their time by being an offensive contributor as well.
A match can get so chaotic that medics each have multiple healing options. Along with the healing burst class ability, each medic’s respective gear includes at least one healing type. The healing burst has a limited area of effect, but if you don’t have time to rally the wounded, this class ability has a reasonably short cooldown period.
VAL
If you value collaborating with others more often than your average FPS fan, Val is your go-to hunter. Her armor-piercing sniper rifle is not only deadly, but it also reinforces teamwork. Every hit Val lands becomes a target that incurs double its normal damage when fired on by other hunters. This is crucial when weapon effectiveness is based on which monster body part you hit. This compounding damage benefit is also useful against the eggs in nest mode. Val’s only downside is that her rifle is single-bolt, so you need to reload in between rounds.
She also has a monster-pursuit weapon that makes the trapper envious: the tranquilizer gun. As its name indicates, this weapon can slow down the monster, useful before the mobile arena is activated or during a speedy retreat.
Val is a fitting gateway medic because she not only has the healing burst, but also a medgun, which fires a line-of-sight healing ray. That means 100% accuracy as long as there’s no object to break the beam and Val stays within 60 meters of her target. Pair her with Hank and his shield projector and any hunter on low health should have little to worry about. This also makes it hard for the monster to decide on who to go after first.
LAZARUS
Unlike the other medics, Lazarus does not have a ranged healing tool, so he is best used by those who want the lethality of a sniper but also have the guts to jump briefly into the frontlines to use the healing burst.
He gets his name from his most valued utility item, the lazarus device. With this, he can revive downed hunters faster than anyone and it even gives him a brief window of time (about 20 seconds) to resurrect a dead hunter. Furthermore, all revives or resurrects with the lazarus device do not incur the incapacitation strikes that lower the hunters’ maximum health and bring them one step closer to respawning in the dropship. Be mindful of this should your team decide to divide and conquer during the rescue and nest modes. Lazarus’ time might be served better by sticking to the mission objectives rather than helping a downed hunter at the other end of the map.
Note that if you want to take advantage of both the revival skills of Lazarus and Daisy in a given match, you’re out of luck. Given that this healing tag team makes for a borderline exploit, Daisy’s resuscitation ability is inactive if Lazarus is part of the team.
Given Lazarus’ special revival abilities, a smart monster would single him out for extermination. A well-functioning team should always be mindful of Lazarus’ location in relation to the monster.
He is also the only non-support hunter who has a cloaking ability. If Lazarus consistently pairs up with his support class teammate, he can use his personal cloak while the support’s cloak recharges. Lazarus can potentially spend the majority of the hunt as a ghost, especially since his silenced sniper rifle doesn’t leave any tracers. If you enjoy stealth but would prefer not using the support class, go with Lazarus.
Note that one of Lazarus’ character mastery requirements involves two steps. You need to revive some of the local creatures while cloaked, which is not recommended in the middle of a monster takedown. This is worth working on because completing all three items in Lazarus’ character mastery checklist unlocks one of Evolve’s best hunters: Caira.
CAIRA
As a medic with “tank” like traits, it’s fitting that Caira’s the final character you unlock in this class. That’s not to say she’s overpowered. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself arguing with your friends on who gets to use her next, and not because she’s a charming wildlife geek.
Her adrenal boost alone is a game changer as it activates a speed boost that affects her and any hunters close by. It’s never not helpful at any point of the match though you can imagine how it’s immensely useful at the start of a hunt. If you’re a monster, you’d do well to run far from the landing site, since a speed-enhanced team can end the match in less than a minute. If you form a team that also includes Daisy, victory in 30 seconds is not unlikely.
Add Hank to the team, and you have a complementary hunter who can shield-protect Caira while she dispenses healing grenades. Like Val, Caira can heal from multiple distances. Val has the pin-point accuracy of the medgun while Caira has a larger area of effect with her healing grenades. And when all the hunters’ health needs are met, she can switch her grenade launcher rounds to napalm, which are as lethal as they sound.
The closest thing Caira has to a weakness is the pervasive temptation for the player to work as a lone wolf. Between the potency of her grenades and her speed boosts, the user has to know when scouting ahead is useful and when to fall back. Lone wolves don’t survive long in Evolve.
SUPPORT
With shooters in general, the support class has always been the go-to role for those who want to make meaningful team contributions without the desire to be on the frontlines. In Evolve, a skilled support hunter can be crucial in keeping a team alive. Such a user knows to hold off on the firearms until all the teammates are taken care of.
As the Predator film series proved, the stakes of the hunt is heightened when there’s cloaking involved. The cloaking field is the support’s class ability and is especially useful to the team since any nearby hunters get to benefit from this limited concealment time. The catch is that taking damage as well as the use of your jetpack or items will break the invisibility.
HANK
If you’re the valued team member who gets more out of helping your fellow hunter with defensive measures, using Hank is as gratifying as any of Evolve’s three medics. It starts with his shield projector, which is so useful, it absorbs any and all damage. So it stays a fair fight, the projector only works on one hunter at a time, has a cooldown period, and the monster can see which hunter is protected so it can make better use of its time.
If you can keep everyone’s health bars above 75%, now would be a good time to focus on offense. Hunk’s laser cutter is almost as potent as any main weapon from the assault class, with precision that complements the sniper target marks made by Val.
Given the exactness of the laser, it’s fitting that Hank is also responsible for the less accurate, but devastating orbital barrage. Its large area of impact is apt for the size of the monsters although it can also damage friendlies. It is especially effective in injuring the monster during metamorphosis and clearing out large wildlife. The orbital barrage has its tactical advantages if you can think beyond straightforward monster targeting. By putting the barrage target in between the monster and a downed teammate, you can use it to deter the monster. This will also provide you a brief window to cloak and revive the incapacitated hunter.
One of Hank’s character mastery requirements is to shield other hunters from damage. Note that it is not enough to have the shield activated. Enemies have to attack the shield in order for Hank to improve this section of character mastery.
BUCKET
As the only robot on the team, Bucket is a novel addition to the roster, but that’s not to say he isn’t useful. Mastering him needs a bit of finesse, which means knowing how to best use his unusual capabilities. If you pride yourself on being versatile and being skilled with any hunter, plan more time with Bucket. Like Dhalsim in Street Fighter, that extra time spent will be worth it. He’s also recommended if you get a rush from being the first to spot the elusive monster.
Not unlike the automated guns in Aliens, Bucket has his own sentry guns. These can be deployed to both guard an area or alert hunters of the monster’s location. If the foursome includes Griffin, these guns can make up for the spots that Griffin’s sound spikes cannot cover. Both the sound spikes and sentry guns are limited to five concurrent deployments each.
And while these guns aren’t especially potent compared to the game’s other weapons, they can make a dent in battle as well as serve as a distraction tool against the monster.
Bucket is all about literal out-of-body experiences. His most useful weapon in a fight is the guided missile launcher. As you’d expect, this missile’s flight path can be controlled, useful in a close fight when the monster is around a corner. Bucket is most valued as a monster-marking drone, where he can scout ahead of the team by way of his floating head. Unsurprisingly, using the UAV leaves Bucket’s body vulnerable, so a skilled user knows how to balance time between remote surveillance and keeping up with the rest of the hunters on foot.
CABOT
Based on Evolve’s cutscenes, Cabot carries himself like the leader of the hunters, but one who is content in the support role. He brings a much valued damage amplifier into the fight, which makes him everyone’s favorite hunter in the field, especially assault hunters. Its potency is offset by its short-range, so it would be in your best interest to not attract the monster’s attention.
Cabot’s dust tagging utility is a valued complement to the trapper’s tools. It’s best used once the monster scatters birds, since the dust has the potential of marking the creature as well as other smaller beasts.
The monsters are lucky that the other hunters don’t have the firepower of Cabot’s railgun. Between his dust tagging and Abe’s tracking darts. Cabot can troll an unsuspecting monster on the other side of a wall with this armament. Like most railguns in games, Cabot’s is best wielded in the hands of someone who can manage its charge time. Not having multiple weapons is a shortcoming for Cabot, though you would be surprised how much time passes if you simply focus on using the damage amplifier on all your squadmates. Everyone gets the rush of increased firepower and they have you to thank.
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