Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | How to Play Gunner

Aliens Fireteam Elite is a squad-based shooter where you take on the role of a Colonial Marine, humanity's frontline against Xenomorph threats.

This guide is about the Gunner class, including its role in a Fireteam, primary weapons, skills, and how to play the class to make the most of its strengths.

Overview of the Gunner

The Gunner is the quintessential Colonial Marine. Every basic marine receives training in the fundamentals that make the Gunner a reliable choice: core skills that are essential to most encounters and the adaptability to handle a variety of situations. 

The Gunner functions as a jack-of-all-trades, able to adapt to nearly any circumstance during a mission. Being able to attack and move around easily makes the Gunner class an excellent choice for people who are new to the game.

Weapon Archetypes

The Gunner has access to two primary weapon archetypes: Rifles and CQW weapons. Under Rifles, the Gunner can wield everything from fully automatic rifles to sniper rifles, DMRs, and more, which is ideal for medium to long-range engagements and provides strong versatility. 

CQW weapons cover close-quarters combat and include shotguns and submachine guns; these handle enemies that get up close and personal. Together, these two archetypes give the Gunner the flexibility to take on foes at nearly any distance.

Abilities and Kit Perk

Every class in Aliens Fireteam Elite has access to two kit abilities and one kit perk. The Gunner's first kit ability, Overclock, is a buff that, when activated, greatly increases fire rate for you and nearby allies and also improves reload speed, making it an excellent damage-dealing support tool for the entire Fireteam. 

The second kit ability, Frag Grenade, is a basic explosive that detonates on impact, dealing damage in a large radius while interrupting and knocking back foes.

The kit perk, Stay on Target, grants stacks when damage is dealt to opponents; these stacks increase overall damage but will begin to fall off when damage stops.

Stay on Target can stack up to 10 times, and the amount of bonus damage is visible via the indicator near the aim reticle on the HUD.

Ability Customization and Builds

All abilities and kit perks can be augmented and modified to specialize the Gunner for different roles, such as increased team support or pure damage output.

This guide covers the beginner fundamentals; more in-depth build guidance can refine these choices toward specific playstyles as progression unlocks additional perks and options. 

Strengths and Weaknesses

The Gunner's main strength is dealing hard damage and using Overclock and Stay on Target to increase damage done by the whole Fireteam.

Another significant benefit is that the Gunner can use both Rifles and Close-Quarter Weapons (CQW) to fight enemies at almost any range successfully.

The main drawback is a playstyle requirement rather than a mechanical shortcoming: the Gunner benefits from aggressive play to keep Stay on Target stacks active and maintain maximum damage.

Outside of that need for sustained aggression, the Gunner presents very few downsides, making it an excellent beginner-friendly class and a solid, balanced choice for any Fireteam.

Progression and Perks

As you finish missions and gain experience, the Gunner gets more perks and unlocks that let you make your builds and roles more specific.

You can find builds that focus on staying alive, helping your team, or doing a lot of damage by trying out different Overclock boosts, grenade effects, and perk synergies. This depends on the task requirements and your preferred approach.

Also, check our other Aliens: Fireteam Elite guides below:

• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Beginner's Guide | Gameplay Tips for All Classes
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | Everything About Horde Mode
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | How to Play Doc
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | How to Play Phalanx
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | How to Play Recon
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | How to Play Demolisher
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | How to Play Technician
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | Phalanx Class Build for Extreme and Insane Difficulty
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | Recon Class Build for Extreme and Insane Difficulty
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | Doc Class Build for Extreme and Insane Difficulty
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | Technician Class Build for Extreme and Insane Difficulty
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | Demolisher Class Build for Extreme and Insane Difficulty
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | Gunner Class Build for Extreme and Insane Difficulty
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite Guide | Lancer Class Build for Extreme and Insane Difficulty