How to Survive Haunted Caves in Deep Rock Galactic

Image: Ghost Ship Games, Coffee Stain Publishing via HGG / Koby Gibson Ross

Human Made

My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

One of the best parts of Deep Rock Galactic is the high amount of replayability each mission offers. Despite there only being eight in total, each and every venture into Hoxxes IV feels different from the last. The randomly generated terrain is the biggest contributor to this, but mission modifiers certainly help. Unless it’s the Haunted Caves modifier — every Deep Rock Galactic player dreads that one.

While the Haunted Cave modifier is one of the most unique and interesting mission modifiers, it’s also easily one of the most annoying and difficult ones to deal with. If you’ve been struggling with that modifier, don’t worry. Our guide will help you overcome any Haunted Cave mission.

Surviving Haunted Caves in Deep Rock Galactic

So without further ado, let’s get right into the main article!

What is the Haunted Cave Modifier?

Haunted Caves warning and modifier in Deep Rock Galactic — **The modifier in question. |** *Image: Ghost Ship Games, Coffee Stain Publishing via HGG / Koby Gibson Ross*

As previously mentioned, “Haunted Cave” is a mission modifier that’s sometimes applied to missions in Deep Rock Galactic. It does two things. First, it increases your hazard bonus by 30%. What this does is increase the number of minerals and XP you will be rewarded with upon mission completion. As you can imagine, having a high-hazard bonus is very beneficial.

However, while you will be getting a bigger hazard bonus, you’ll also have to deal with the modifier’s unique enemy — the ghost of a Bulk Detonator. During the mission, you and your fellow dwarves will be stalked by this (somewhat) silent, translucent enemy who’s constantly trying to explode next to you! Oh, it’s also invincible and can burrow to your location.

The only warning you’ll get is a small ominous sound effect once it’s too close for comfort. While it’s rather slow, it’s unrelenting and can reach your team anywhere on the map.

On its own, the ghost is fairly manageable. The problem is keeping track of the ghost while you’re dealing with a swarm or if you’re forced to linger in any area for more than a few seconds (like a narrow tunnel).

If you don’t have enough time or breathing room to escape, you’re probably going to be caught in the ghost’s blast radius. While the ghost doesn’t hit as hard as a normal Bulk Detonator, you’re still likely to go down if you’ve taken any damage. Since you can’t kill or conventionally CC the ghost in any manner, reviving your teammates tends to become even more problematic than usual.

How to Handle the Ghost

Inhibitor Field Grenades — **Your best friend for dealing with ghosts. |** *Image: Ghost Ship Games, Coffee Stain Publishing via HGG / Koby Gibson Ross*

In my playtime, I’ve found two neat tricks you can do to avoid getting killed by the ghostly creature. If you are playing with other players and not solo, it’s a good idea to find someone who can volunteer to act as bait for the creature. The ghost will silently stalk the nearest dwarf it can find.

So if you have one player lead him away from the team, the rest of you will be safe to mine and kill bugs without worry. We recommend sending the Scout, who can easily escape with his Grappling Hook, or the Driller, who can dig his way to safety.

While the ghost can’t be stunned, it is vulnerable to slowing effects. The most common and easiest way to slow it down is with the Scout’s Inhibitor Field Grenades. These special grenades emanate a rather long-lasting slowing field wherever they’re thrown.

Alternative slowing methods include applying Electrocute or Cold to the ghost. Using the Electro Stubby build on the Engineer is an incredibly easy and ammo-efficient way to keep the ghost slowed. In a pinch, you can have a Driller with the Cryo Cannon or a Scout with Cryo Grenades freeze the ghost, as well. That said, the latter this generally isn’t recommended due to the ammo costs needed to keep it frozen for more than a second.

Join the High Ground

We hope you enjoyed reading this guide on how to survive and conquer the Haunted Caves ghost in Deep Rock Galactic. Do you still have questions for us? Feel free to fire away down in the comments section below! And make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more great content on DRG and other great titles.

Happy Gaming!