How to play each class in Darwin Project

There are three classes you can choose from before you start your game in Darwin Project. Each of them comes with a different playstyle and offers a unique way to approach how you survive during that match. It’s important to note how each of them plays so you know how well they complement your overall style during a match.

Each class can only equip two of its four abilities during a match.

How to Play Jet Wings

Jet Wings give you the versatility of having a pair of wings on your back to fly across the battlefield. It’s a fun way to jump around the map.

Your standard ability allows you to glide in front of you and fly forward at a slow rate. If you make sure you have enough room to cross a gap or jump between lodges, it’s a great way to traverse the map and stay out of reach of a player’s ax. If you clash ax attacks with another player, you can use it to regain your balance quickly and return to the fight.

The first two abilities you start out with are Meteor and Blast Off. Meteor slams you into the ground while you’re high in the air, pushing enemies away from you. Blast Off shoots you straight up into the air, providing you with a great opportunity to use Meteor on any opponents below you. You may also want to use it to avoid incoming arrows or if you’re caught off guard from a competitor’s attack.

You gain Teleport at Jet Wings level 3 and Ice Bolt at level 10. Teleport immediately places you at the highlighted location. Ice Bolt fires out an attack that when it hits an opponent, they stop in their tracks for a short amount of time.

Those who want to play Jet Wings will want to stay on the move, and it’s ideal for anyone who wants to remain mobile during a fight. Meteor and Blast Off are excellent starting abilities, but Ice Bolt can be a gamechanger if you use it on an unsuspecting foe.

Grapple Gauntlet

Do you want to zip across a battlefield? The grapple gauntlet is perfect for that, allowing you to use a thin zipline to connect to almost any object and then fling toward it, flying through the air like a bolt of lightning. You can use it to cross large spaces or close the distance between you and an opponent. You can upgrade it to increase how many times you can use it.

The first two abilities for this class, Barrier and Lockdown, are all about staying close to your enemy. Barrier creates a shield around you that protects you from damage. You want to active it right before a fight because your enemy will have a hard time breaking through it until it goes down. Lockdown creates a massive shield around you, preventing any players entering it, but you and any opponents inside of it can’t leave it either. If you want to keep things between you and someone else, you can do it.

You gain the Turret ability at class level 3, and then Ice Bolt at level 10. You throw down the turret to protect you during a fight and assist you in widdling down an enemy. Unfortunately, it’s not mobile, so if you have it you may want to couple it with the Lockdown ability. Ice Bolt stops someone from moving, making it an excellent ability to combo with your basic grapple and then prevent them from getting away.

The Grapple Gauntlet class is all about being close to your enemy and preventing them from leaving your sight. You have several available combos, such as using Barrier with Ice Bolt, Lockdown with Turret, and Barrier and Ice Bolt. When you reach level 10, it’s all about fighting the correct combination for how you like to play and fight.

Headhunter Drone

Need a helping hand during the match? The Headhunter Drone class comes with a flying bird companion you can send off to fetch supplies for you while you carry on fighting someone—or running away. The drone will fetch the item for you and bring it to your position. It has a short cooldown too, but it’s an interesting ability.

The first two abilities you receive with the class are Radar and Invisibility. Radar fires out a radar pulse showing you where other enemies are on your mini-map. Invisibility turns you and your drone invisible for a short amount of time. While you’re invisible, you can still have your drone go out to fetch supplies for you or kill animals.

At class level 3 you gain the Turret, and at level 10 you can Shrink. The turret is much like the one from the Grapple Gauntlet class where it goes down where you place it and helps you take out any adversaries nearby. Shrink is a unique ability that shrinks your body down to a smaller size, but you also do less damage.

This class feels like one where you’re going to hunt your enemies down and ambush them, but it could easily blow up in your face. The Radar ability helps notify you of any enemies nearby and if they left any clues. If you want to truly sneak up on your enemy, Invisibility seems like the best bet, which you may want to couple with Turret. You can throw down your turret and then go invisible, leaving your enemy to contend with the large gun while you sneak up on them. If you have invisibility, you likely won’t have any need for shrink, so make sure not pair these two together.

When you reach level 10 with any of the classes, it’s all about finding the right combo that feels correct for you. You can mix and match each class’ four abilities to fit your playstyle while you fight to survive in Darwin Project.