Evolve Tech Sergeant Hank Guide

Evolve Stage 2 Tech Sergeant Hank Guide by HalfBloodPrince

Hey guys, this is VehementVulcan (or HalfBloodPrince in-game) with the first in my series of guides to teach you everything you need to know to become an awe-inspiring Support player. I have 150+ hours on Support between Vanilla Evolve and Stage 2, and I play every support. I decided to make this guide series to compile all the information I could about the correct way to play these characters into one easy-to-access location. That being said, I do not pretend to be an expert on every aspect of every character, so my word is not law. Anyways, on to the first guide: Tech Sergeant Hank.

Pros:

  • Useful both in and out of combat
  • Lots of shields
  • Serious zone control
  • You get to shoot your gun at the monster :D (decent damage)
  • Versatile
  • Easy to learn and master
  • Beard

Cons:

  • Low mobility
  • Can be focused
  • Not as useful as other supports inside the dome
  • Decision making is key
  • Somewhat reliant on team to CC monster for orbital drill

I chose to write my first guide about Tech Sergeant Hank since he is the easiest support to play in my opinion. But, do not confuse this low skill floor with low potential! Tech Sergeant Hank is consistently seen in high level play, from ranked games to tournaments.

Before we truly begin, we must ask the question: Why pick Tech Sergeant Hank? Well, apart from the awesome beard, Tech Sergeant Hank brings a lot to the team every time he drops onto Shear. He is a defensive support (a title he shares with OG Hank and Sunny), but the most offensive hunter of the defensive subclass. Tech Sergeant Hank can permanently shield his teammates before a fight even begins with his Shield Charger and Shield Burst. He can provide even more shielding during the fight with his Shield Burst, and provide massive damage with his Orbital Drill. Finally, Tech Sergeant Hank’s trusty Laser Cannon is always ready to provide consistent damage.

For those of you that are not familiar with Tech Sergeant Hank’s kit, I will briefly explain each tool in his arsenal (for simplicity’s sake, as well a relevance after many patches, I will not include many specific numbers, all of which can be found on the Evolve Wikia here, info is also available on the Official Wiki here).

A Beard You Could Lose a Sandwich in: Tech Sergeant Hank’s Abilities

Tech Sergeant Hank’s primary weapon (1) is the Laser Cannon. This weapon functions similarly to a handheld minigun. It has a slight delay, or spin up time, before it begins firing. It has a high rate of fire and functions on a recharge system rather than a reload. It is accurate up to medium-long ranges (100 meters), which makes it great for chipping away at the monster as it tries to escape. The Laser Cannon does respectable damage. It will not enable you to single-handedly shred the monster, but consistent firing provides damage that is hard for the monster to ignore (yes, even you, Bob).

Tech Sergeant Hank’s secondary item (2) is the Shield Charger. This device forms a tether when targeted at an ally, which slowly builds up shielding on the ally while the tether exists. The tether can manually cancelled, or broken or line of sight with the tethered ally is lost. This shield builds up to a maximum value, at which point using the Shield Charger on that ally will neither consume charge nor build shield. The Shield Charger’s shields are permanent until damage removes them. The Shield Charger also uses a recharge system rather than reload.

Tech Sergeant Hank’s tertiary item (3) is the Orbital Drill. The drill allows you to target an area on the environment and, after a short delay, a giant laser comes down from the sky (yeah, you heard me right), dealing heavy damage to targets beneath it (Note: the laser neither damages, nor displaces your teammates in any way, unlike OG Hank’s Orbital Barrage). Once the beam appears, it locks on the monster and slowly tracks its movement for 9.5 seconds. The tracking is relatively slow, making crowd control important for maximum laser damage. The Drill cannot be called in a covered area, and the tracking laser will also be blocked if the monster enters a covered area (although it continues to track).

Finally, we come to the Support Class Ability (4), Shield Burst. When used, this ability instantly grants a shield to all nearby (~30 meters) allies. The shield is quite large and does not decay. This ability has a relatively short cooldown, so it can usually be used twice per dome.

Jumping Out of a Perfectly Good Spaceship: What to do During the Hunt

Your first and most important job on Tech Sergeant Hank is to build up shields before finding the monster to provide your entire team with greater survivability. To do this, you may have to communicate with your team a bit. You need to spend about 30 seconds hunting next to each hunter in turn to give them full shields. Since hunter squads usually operate in groups of two (Medic-Assault and Trapper-Support), you will have to mix the groups up midway through the hunt to maximise shielding.

I shield Trapper immediately after drop (since they have a speed boost with planet scanner and may get too far ahead of Tech Sergeant Hank for him to catch up easily). I then move to shielding the medic (this shield is the most important, since medic will most likely be focused inside the dome). I leave the assault for last, since they already have the best survivability and their Defense Matrix does not reduce damage done to shields. Each Tech Sergeant Hank has his or her own method to shielding, so do what feels natural and logical to you.

You’re Locked in Here With Me: Fighting Under the Dome

Once the dome goes down, you should be using your laser cannon and shield charger intermittently. The laser cannon does decent damage and has a huge capacity, making it very easy to distract the monster with consistent, annoying damage. When someone is really in trouble or loses all of their shields, switch over to the shield charger and buff them up. The shield builds up very slowly, but every little bit of survivability goes a long way in Evolve. When you see one of your teammates backed into a corner, downed, or the monster about to get trapped (harpoons), quickly switch to your orbital drill and drop it right on the monster’s head. This will do massive damage and force to monster to move, giving your team some breathing room. And, unlike orbital barrage, it tracks the monster if it tries to jump out of the way (yay!). Shield burst should be used when someone is getting focused down too hard for the medic to heal, when the whole team is about to get hit by AOE damage, or for personal survivability (you get focused a surprising amount as Tech Sergeant Hank by lower level monsters). Do damage when you can, but always prioritize keeping your team alive above all else.

Like all supports, positioning is key on Tech Sergeant Hank. Ideally, you want to find a good vantage point 20-30 meters away from the fight. Be far enough that the monster has to take time to go get you if he chooses to focus you, but not so far that you cannot enter the fight to shield, distract, and damage when the situation calls for it. Being above the fight not only means you have great lines of sight to shoot the monster, but also to shield teammates and call in that game-winning Orbital Drill. If the monster does choose to focus you, run to your Assault. His damage is your best chance of peeling the monster off.

Keep Your Friends Close: Synergies With Other Hunters

disclaimer This is not rating how “good” or high winrate a combo is, simply specific skill interactions with Tech Sergeant Hank.

Medics

  • Lazarus has great synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. This is mostly due to the Orbital Drill being able to force monsters away from downed hunters or dead bodies, giving Laz the opportunity he needs to work his magic.
  • Caira has decent synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. She benefits from the extra survivability from shields and Tech Sergeant Hank could always use more mobility from the speedboost.
  • Val has decent synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank since he gives her survivability and shields give her time to heal hunters.
  • Rouge Val has good synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. Together, their AOE shields and heals make the entire team hard to kill (susceptible to burst on a single target).
  • Slim has no special synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. AOE shields and heals like Rouge Val, but less effective.
  • E.M.E.T. has no special synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. Stronger combo than Slim but worse than Rogue Val. (I love E.M.E.T as a character)

Trappers

  • Griffin has great synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. This is because his harpoon gun can hold the monster in place while the Orbital Drill deals massive damage.
  • Maggie has great synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. Her harpoon traps can hold the monster in place for Orbital Drill.
  • Wasteland Maggie has good synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. Her Fire Harpoon Mine can (on occasion) hold the monster in place for orbital drill.
  • Abe has good synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. His stasis grenades can slow the monster enough to let your Orbital Drill track easily.
  • Crow has good synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. His stasis gun can slow the monster for Orbital Drill
  • Jack has decent synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. His repulsor can be used to hold the monster in position for Orbital Drill.

Assaults

  • Markov has no special synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. Zone control with mines.
  • Blitz Markov has no special synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. Some Zone control with mines.
  • Hyde has decent synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank. This toxic grenades can give even more Zone control to direct the monster with Orbital Drill.
  • Parnell has no special synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank.
  • Torvald has no special synergy with Tech Sergeant Hank.
  • Lennox has no special synergy with tech Sergeant Hank.

And Your Enemies Closer: Monster Matchups

  • OG Goliath is a middle of the road matchup for Tech Sergeant Hank. Goliath’s high single target burst can cut through Tech Sergeant Hank’s shields quite easily, but Goliath makes a decent target for Orbital Laser, especially when crowd controlled.
  • Meteor Goliath is slightly easier, as its damage is more AOE and DOT focused, which are easier for Tech Sergeant Hank to deal with.
  • Kraken is a decent matchup for Tech Sergeant Hank. His shields block a lot of AOE damage from Kraken and it is hard for Kraken to avoid Orbital Drill in combat.
  • Elder Kraken can swing either way, depending on the skills of the players. It is easier for Elder Kraken to dodge Orbital Drill.
  • Wraith is a tougher matchup for Tech Sergeant Hank. It can have high single target burst and can be extremely difficult to hit with Orbital Drill.
  • Behemoth (RIP Bob) is a pretty easy matchup for Tech Sergeant Hank. All AOE damage to be blocked by shield and very easy Orbital Drills
  • Gorgon is a skill matchup. Gorgon is mostly AOE but has decent burst and is hard to hit with Orbital Drill.

Oh, Well That Helps: Perks

My Setup:

  • T1: Afterburners (Jetpack Boost Thrust) give you a little more mobility in chasing the monster and a little boost to dodge abilities
  • T2: Leadership (Class Ability Cooldown) gives lower cooldown on shield burst, your main support for your teammates in fights
  • T3: Command (Class Ability Cooldown) see above

Alternatives:

  • T1: Enhanced Celerity (movement speed) run faster and chase the monster
  • T1: Gunslinger (item swap speed) swap faster in fights
  • T2: Bounty Hunter (item swap speed) see above
  • T2: Enhanced Defence (Damage Reduction) take less damage
  • T2: Energy (capacity) more capacity for bigger shields and more consistent damage
  • T2: Reloader (reload speed) faster recharge on Orbital Drill, Laser Cannon, and Shield Charger
  • T3: Unbreakable Defence (damage reduction) see above
  • T3: Superior Energy (capacity) see above
  • T3: Speedloader (reload speed) see above

*note: jetpack perks of any kind are always helpful and personal preference

That is all for this guide! Makes sure to keep your eyes open for more guides to come, and happy hunting!

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