There are quite a few popular builds in Once Human now, but the Fast Gunner build seems to be quite underrated, despite the massive amount of damage that it can do. This build can easily dish out over 100k of damage per second.
Does that sound like your kind of build? Then this Fast Gunner build guide is the right article for you. As always, I’ll go in-depth into the build, do various testing, and give you my opinions on how to make it even stronger.
Enjoy.
How good is the MG4 Fast Gunner Build?
To give you an idea, my initial testing has already produced over 65k in damage per second (dps) and around 900k damage in a single magazine. This is without calibrating any armor, upgrading any mods, and using normal Tungsten ammunition. As a reference, my fully built-out Shrapnel build only manages about 55k under the same circumstances.
There is no better single-point damage PVE build in the game. It’s an absolute boss-melter, and if you want the highest damage share in those epic boss battles, this is your build. But it does have its strengths and weaknesses.
Fast Gunner Build Strengths
- Great at dealing massive damage – 1.9 million in about 40 seconds, peaking at over 65k dps.
- Good for bursting down bosses in monoliths, silos, or Prime Wars.
- Best for dealing weak spot damage, with each weak spot hit making you even stronger.
- Rooms full of enemies will give you an endless mag with the Ruthless Reaper mod.
Fast Gunner Build Weaknesses
- Struggles against enemies who have no weak spot, or where the weak spot is harder to hit.
- Not as effective as Shrapnel against the Manibus.
- It can burn a lot of ammo very fast.
- Durability runs out quickly, you might need a spare gun or some All-purpose hands to fix your gear.
- You have to get pretty close to your enemies — accuracy is not this build’s strong point.
How the MG4-Predator Fast Gunner Build works
As with most builds, you’ll want to make use of Bull’s eye to get the most out of it. So the sequence is as follows.
- Step 1: Hit your target with a Bull’s Eye weapon until it’s marked.
- Step 2: Switch to your main (the MG4 in this case) while summoning your Deviation.
- Step 3: Shoot the enemy in the weak spot, and never take your finger off the trigger.
That’s right, this is a weak spot build, which means your damage will be lower if you’re facing enemies with no weak spot, or if you’re having trouble hitting the weak spots. This means that it’s a little harder to use than the point-and-shoot Shrapnel build, but it can deal far more damage when done right.
So let’s get into the actual build, shall we?
Which weapons and weapon mods to use for the Fast Gunner build
Which Primary weapon is best for the Fast Gunner build?
There is only one Primary weapon that makes sense, and that’s the MG4 Predator.
![The MG4 Predator in the inventory screen of a player, used for the fast gunner build.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/The-MG4-Predator-for-the-Fast-Gunner-build-in-Once-Human.jpg)
It’s core effects are as follows:
- 40% Chance to trigger Fast Gunner on hit.
- Whenever Fast Gunner stacks reach a multiple of 5, gain infinite ammo for 0.5 seconds.
- Hitting the same target consecutively grants weapons damage of 2% per hit, up to 40%. This resets when you switch targets.
- +40% attack when you have more than 50% of your magazine left (so it makes sense to reload when your magazine reaches half-capacity.
As you can tell, this build requires you to lay down a lot of fire very quickly — and it is incredibly satisfying when you’re pumping rounds out while using no rounds.
Where to get the MG4 Predator in Once Human
You can obtain the Predator from the Wish Machine but hitting G and purchasing it from the Blueprint Shop. It costs 8,000 Starchrom, but it’s a bargain for what you’re getting. Though you’ll also need to buy other kit, and I ended up spending 20,000 Starchrom on everything.
Which Calibration is best for the MG4 Fast Gunner build?
![The Rapid Machine Gun calibration on the MG4 Predator, offering a guide to the Fast Gunner build.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/The-rapid-weapon-calibration-for-the-predator-with-details.jpg)
For optimal performance, the Rapid calibration with double weak spot damage works great. Steady Machine Gun could also work, but stay away from the Assault calibration, as you’ll want your magazine capacity as high as possible.
Which Mod works best for the Fast Gunner build?
Precision Rush is the best weapon mod for this build, as it has the most added damage potential, with up to 45 percent additional damage. Shoot Out is the next best mod, with up to 30 percent additional damage, and Shooting Blitz can be viable, but it only adds an extra 15 percent to weapon damage.
For all your mods in the Fast Gunner build, you’ll want to prioritize the following in your sub-stats, in this order:
- Weak spot damage
- Weapon damage
- Magazine capacity
- Damage to great ones
Where to get the Precision Rush mod?
The most reliable place to get this mod is from Arachsiam. Yes, I’m sorry. Though it can also drop from Prime War chests, which is where I got mine, thankfully.
Best Accessories for the Fast Gunner build
Whatever accessories you choose, you’ll want to prioritize Stability and Accuracy. Here’s how I’ve set mine up.
Accessory | Name | Effect |
Muzzle | Hammer Compensator | Accuracy +9, Stability +19 |
Optic | Compact Reflex Sight | Aiming speed +10 percent, Stability +12 |
Tactics | Cobra Grip | Accuracy +20 |
Magazine | Calibrated LMG Drum Mag | Reload Speed +9, Accuracy +8 |
Best Secondary Weapon for the Fast Gunner build
![The Bingo Sniper rifle's attributes highlighted by an arrow, showing why it's good for the Fast Gunner build.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/The-bingo-sniper-rifle-for-the-fast-gunner-build-with-attributes-highlighted.jpg)
You can choose from three different secondary weapons. The AWS Bingo is best, since switching to this weapon guarantees that your next hit will trigger the Bull’s Eye. That means you can switch whenever you need to mark a target, and it’s best to grab this weapon when facing a boss.
The alternative to this is the Recurve Crossbow that can also trigger the Bull’s Eye, but it has to hit a weakspot in order to work. The Vulnerability Amplifier mod works best for both of these weapons.
The DE.50 Wildfire is best for clearing a room full of enemies, since it has a chance to spread the Bull’s Eye, and paring it with the Spreading Marks mod works great for this.
You can find both of these mods… at the spider. They also drop from Arachsiam or from Prime War chests.
Which Armor should you use with the Fast Gunner build?
![A player's gear screen, showing the best gear set to use for the fast gunner build.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Player-gear-set-in-inventory-screen-showing-gear-that-compliments-the-fast-gunner-build.jpg)
The most critical piece of armor you’ll need for the build is the Oasis Mask, which you can purchase from the Wish Machine for 8,000 Starchrom. It increases your max Fast Gunner stacks by 10, and adds an additional 1% of damage per stack (which essentially doubles the damage).
Next, you have a choice. You could equip any of the following combinations to suit your play style:
- 4-piece Renegade, 1-piece Lonewolf. (10% extra mag capacity)
- 4-piece Renegade, 1-piece Bastille. (10% extra damage when HP is above 70%)
- 3-piece Renegade, 2-piece Agent Set. (10% extra weakspot damage, but sacrifice up to 30% of magazine)
Personally, I went with the first option. And don’t be fooled. While the Renegade shoes are named “Renegade Pants” in game, they are indeed shoes.
![Renegade shoes in a player's inventory, though they are misspelled as Renegade pants.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Renegade-shoes-in-player-inventory-that-are-misspelled-as-renegade-pants.jpg)
Right, let’s go through which mods you’ll want to equip for each piece of armor.
Best Mods for Fast Gunner build in Once Human
Here I’ll cover which mods are best for the variation of the Fast Gunner build that I’m going with. After this section I’ll have a handy table with where you can find all of the mods.
Keep in mind, there’s always room to improve these builds, so never stop testing (if you can afford the ammo!).
Best Helmet Mod for the Fast Gunner build
Precise Strike is the best mod for your Helmet with this build. It gives you plus 12 percent weakspot damage every time you hit a weakspot, for three seconds. It can also stack three times, so on your third round, you’ll already be enjoying an extra 36 percent weakspot damage.
Alternatively, you could also use a Momentum Up mod if you get incredible sub-stats on it, but for the most part, Precise Strike is best.
Best Top Mod for the Fast Gunner build
The best mod is the Weakspot DMG Bonus (blue mod). This is best for when you really want to min-max your build. But as you may know, I play PVE and I’m not too worried, so I’ve gone with a defensive gold mod that has the best sub stats I could find.
If you didn’t recycle all of your Weakspot DMG Bonus mods though, definitely use one in this build to get the most dps out of it and melt bosses that little bit faster.
Best Mask Mod for the Fast Gunner Build
On your mask there’s only really one solid option, and that’s the Gunslinger mod. It gives you an additional 30 percent weakspot damage when you’re in the Fast Gunner state.
In case you can’t find a Gunslinger mod at all, the Blitzkrieg mod is an alternative option, but it would have to have great sub stats to make it viable in this build, where it’s all about weakspot damage.
Best Gloves Mod for the Fast Gunner Build
This is a no-brainer. You can get a gold Weakspot DMG Boost mod on your gloves. Say no more. However, if you do have a Munitions Amplifier, they’re also good — but again, it would have to have amazing sub stats in order to make it a better option than the Weakspot DMG Boost mod.
If you prefer building a crit-damage-based build out of your Fast Gunner set up, then Crit Amplifier becomes a viable choice.
Best Pants Mod for the Fast Gunner Build
For your pants there’s only one good option, and that’s Bullet Siphon. It’ll give you an extra 16 percent weapon damage after using 20 rounds of your magazine. Unstoppable may sound like a good alternative, but with the way this weapon sprays, hitting anything consistently from more than 20 meters is going to be a challenge.
If you’re focusing on a Crit-focused build, you could swap this out for a Deadshot mod.
Best Shoes Mod for the Fast Gunner Build
I like using Ruthless Reaper on the shoes. It’s not the best, but it helps when you run into a room full of enemies. You’ll have an endless magazine when faced with large groups of enemies, and I do love the whole endless magazine idea.
However, if you want more damage out of your build, Covered advance or Slow and Steady are solid options, just make sure they have decent sub stats to get the most out of them. Slow and Steady can be a little annoying, since you’ll always have to be healed up to full in order to get the damage bonus.
Where can you find all the mods for the Fast Gunner Build?
Mod Name | Where to find it |
Precise Strike | Securement Silo Alpha (Hard or Pro) |
Weakspot DMG Bonus | Securement Silo Sigma (Normal) |
Gunslinger | Securement silo EX1 (Hard or Pro) |
Weakspot DMG Boost | Securement Silo Sigma (Hard or Pro) |
Bullet Siphon | Securement Silo PSI (Hard or Pro) |
Covered Advance | Securement Silo PHI (Hard or Pro) |
With that all done, there’s one thing left to do — optimize your cradle.
Best Cradle for the Fast Gunner build
The Memetics Cradle can add a lot of damage to your build if set up correctly. Here’s how to set yours up when running the Fast Gunner Build.
![A player's cradle override screen in Once Human, showing the best cradle setup for the Fast Gunner build.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Player-cradle-in-once-human-set-up-for-the-fast-gunner-build.jpg)
Your core cradle perks include:
- Automatic Weapon Enchancement
- Deviation Master
- Tactical Combo
- Steady Hand
- Bounty Hunter
- Sprint
That leaves us with two slots. I like to use the Long-Range Enhancement, simply because there aren’t massively better options. I also use Master Tactician, but almost always forget to pop a grenade out in order to get the buff.
Testing the Fast Gunner Build
Before you go, this was my initial damage test before I did anything to the build. It was bare bones and I used normal Tungsten ammo.
![Player attacking a training dummy in Once Human, showing off the Fast Gunner build's damage per second and damage per magazine.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Player-attacking-training-dummy-showing-fast-gunner-build-dps.jpg)
After upgrading some mods and calibrating some armor (not fully done yet), I decided to run another test, this time with the Lethal AP ammo. The result is impressive.
![A player tests the Fast Gunner build against a training dummy in Once Human.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/A-player-testing-the-fast-gunner-build-against-a-training-dummy.jpg)
With all of this set up, you should have yourself a very strong build that can melt bosses in no time at all. Fully kitted, you should be reaching well over 100k dps with this build.
But testing this on a dummy only gets you so far. Which is why I recruited a friend on a Bingo sniper build to help me with some testing. And we’re taking on the Shadow Hound in Pro mode.
The first round ended with my friend as the MVP, and with me only dealing 1.2 million damage with my full shrapnel build.
![The Shadow Hound victory screen, showing the total damage share of the player with the Shrapnel build.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Post-shadow-hound-screen-showing-shrapnel-build-damage-share.jpg)
The next round, I switched to the Fast Gunner build. None of my armor is calibrated yet, none of my mods are maxed out — it’s still a bare-bones build. And I managed 1.7 million damage and took the MVP in this round.
![The Shadow Hound victory screen in Once Human, showing the total damage dealt by the Fast Gunner player.](https://cms.upcomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Post-shadow-hound-screen-showing-fast-gunner-build-damage-share.jpg)
The Fast Gunner build is crazy strong against bosses with weak spots. It’s also a lot of fun when facing hordes of enemies. So go ahead, enjoy yourself!
Published: Aug 12, 2024 12:22 pm