Proxy Guide

*A guide by Eox*

Hello there ! Well, I have only a bit more than 100 hours in game, but I spent most of those hours playing Proxy, and I don't think I am bad with her. So I guess I can try to make a guide about her. Don't hesitate to tell me what you find wrong or to give additional information if needed !

## WHO IS PROXY ?

Proxy is an Engineer Merc in Dirty Bomb, a glass cannon able to travel on the battlefield with fast speed, that packs a lot of burst damage with her shotgun, but can also take a run and gun playstyle with a SMG weapon. She is able to throw mines on the battlefield, useful to protect objective or to set deadly ambushes. Of course, she is also able to repair objectives faster. Like all other engineers.

Let's have a look at her stats : Proxy

## UTILITY

Proxy's ability to reach objectives quickly makes her a very good choice in offense, without being useless in defense (mines can do a very good work while defending). While fighting, she's best used at ambushes and flanking. You must avoid direct combat as much as possible ! Being able to find a way to suprise your opponents is the main quality of a Proxy player.

However, she's really quick to down, and can't count on her mines to cover her efficently (unlike bushwhacker, who can still count a bit on his sentry). If working on an objective, she'll really need her team for a successful objective play. Mines are countered by awareness, and may not work that well against experienced players. They also need a small time before activation, but you can "trigger" them manually just by shooting at them, which will highly increase the damage you can do if you manage to get in the back of the enemy team.

## TIPS

As I said previously, you need to ambush or flank enemies. Because you are one of the most fragile mercs available, you really don't want to go head to head with someone, even with your high speed. So use the movement system as much as you can, and always try to surprise your opponents. Even if there's no alternate routes available, there are often boxes or small obstacles that you can jump over : this is part of the surprise factor. For example, in the corridor on the first part of Terminal (the one indoor with the open window where a sniper will often be set), there's a huge box, where players are often hiding. You can use the wall to jump on that box and take unsuspecting players out. Be creative ! This worth for all the mercs though.

Be as unpredictable as possible. It's also worth for your movement ! Mobility is the key. Try do dodge like a madcap and don't hesitate about using walls for it.

Mines will be efficient if your enemies can't see them. Always try to put your mines on dead angles where your opponents will only see them too late (or not at all), or in unsuspected locations (I managed one day to kill a bushwhacker by setting a mine on his own turret while he was looking away, repairing another objective. I had a good laugh when he came back to get his sentry). Another efficient way to use mine is to pass behind enemy lines and set mines behind them while your team distracts them. Then, you can either wait for the enemy team to "accidentally" activate it or trigger the mine by yourself by shooting the mine.

Because the objective is the main thing to defend, experienced players will always take into account that the objective is full of mines. Due to this, putting a mine at the objective may not be the best idea (however, it will still slow down the enemy team), so it's more advised to set your mines in a frequented way to the objective rather than at the objective spot itself. You have two mines, so you can cover to exit points alone !

Avoid to set your mines to near of each other : your mines can trigger each other so if one guy triggers one of your mines, both will be triggered. Of course, if you want to trigger a chain reaction, you can still try it, but I do not guarantee the efficiency.

Those two mines can also be used like an alarm. If one mine explodes, a text will always be displayed, telling you that you earned 10 xp for a mine being triggered, so you can use it to detect enemy offensives.

Because you have very low health, you are not suited to use the turrets dispensed around the map for a long time. Don't stay at them too long. However, those turret may be good spots for mines. Set a mine near the turret, or on it's path. So players trying to get your team with it will get a nasty surprise.

You can also use your mines to damage the enemy EV, which can be useful if the skyhammers got a bit too busy. From my own experience, two well placed mines will more or less damage the EV for 1/3 of it's health bar. Think about it.

**Tips from APRenpsy**

Several Tips I like to include myself as a Proxy player which I have learned from others or invented myself.

1. Place mines on anything that you think a enemy will run too. Downed enemies are a really good target for mining. Medi-Stations, Mounted MGs, heck even ammo packs.

1. Corner bait, a little trick I commonly use. Very simple to perform, find enemy, get enemies' attention, take a little damage to make the bait more juicy, run around a corner, aim shotgun at head level, blast enemies' faces off.

(Notes: Only works well against one enemy at a time, can be performed with SMG but is noticeably harder so stick with shotguns.)

1. Corner bait explosive version, same as before this time performed with a proxy mine place behind that corner ahead of time. Or you can use the self detonation trick by just shooting the proxy when they get close enough.

## LOADOUT CARDS

WARNING : the following part will highly take into account my own opinions. You are free to disagree of course.

Like every other Mercs, you can access up to 8 "full" Loadout Cards (with 3 perks) :

* R51 Venerable Close Assault (Quick Draw, Quick Slash, Springy)
* H11 Superb Close Assault (Drilled, Enigma, Cool)
* KE12 Supreme Operative (Try Hard, Pineapple Juggler, Double Time)
* R22 Turbo Close Assault (Flying Pig, Double Time, Looter)
* H22 Turbo Close Assault (Try Hard, Springy, Enigma)
* KE21 Elite Operative (Fail Safe, Pineapple Juggler, Chopper)
* R23 Adept Close Assault (Quick Slash, Looter, Cool)
* KE53 Elite Operative (Guardian Angel, Drilled, Quick Draw)

If you need it, here's the legend :

Primary : R = Remburg 7, H = Hollunds 800, KE = Hochfir SMG

Secondary : 1 = MP 400, 2 = Tolen MP, 5 = DE .50

Melee : 1 = Beckhill Combat Knife, 2 = Stilnotto Stiletto, 3 = Cricket Bat

(Thanks to @Zenity for the loadout list : http://forums.dirtybomb.nexon.net/discussion/1876/list-of-loadouts-wip/p1 )

* **R51 Venerable Close Assault (Quick Draw, Quick Slash, Springy)**

A loadout that I particularly appreciate, but is also in my opinion the most difficult loadout to use : you are left with the Remburg 7 and the DE .50 as a secondary, which is a totally unbalanced combination (lots of firepower, way too few ammo). That loadout packs a lot of punch but you'll be disarmed very quickly. Fortunately for you, the loadout combines Quick Draw with Quick Slash, allowing you to switch weapons quickly and increasing your knife DPS, so if you work your knife play you should end fine. Springy is also a pretty nice perk to have on Proxy, no momentum for the second jump may oftenly save your life. This is clearly a build made for short range fights, so expect some difficulties if you have to fight at longer ranges (unless you're a madcap with the DE .50). Make every shots count. I wouln't really recommand that loadout, and actually I barely think it's viable, but if you like using your melee weapon you may have a blast.

* **H11 Superb Close Assault (Drilled, Enigma, Cool)**

The Hollunds + MP 400 combination is pretty nice, and the Drilled augment makes wonders (less reload time = less time disarmed !). However, Enigma is a bit meh at the moment (so far it only works against Vassili), and Cool is clearly not suited for your gameply (you are way too squishy. You'll more likely end dead before even seeing any red color on the turret if you stay on it). The loadout overall is okayish in my opinion, you may find way better.

* **KE12 Supreme Operative (Try Hard, Pineapple Juggler, Double Time)**

A lot of players says that SMG Proxy is much more powerful. Unfortunately, it's not that loadout that will prove it. The MP 400 is redundant with the Hochfir SMG, and augments are far from being top notch. Try Hard is just despicable. It rewards you for being bad or just unlucky : if you're good enough you may not even see it triggering, and it's like an augment slot wasted. Pineapple Juggler could have been pretty if airstrikes wouldn't take so little time to explode and if Fragger wasn't able to cook his nades. But right now it'll really feel like a wasted slot. Double Time, which allows you to reload while sprinting, is fine in my opinion, but is clearly not enough to save the whole loadout.

* **R22 Turbo Close Assault (Flying Pig, Double Time, Looter)**

A pretty good loadout in my opinion. The weapons available are balancing each other (Remburg 7 and Tolen MP : so you'll be able to fight pretty easily), and the perks, without being excellent, are still kinda good. Flying Pig will negate your fall damage, which will allow you to perform some ambushes easier. Double Time will allow you to reload while sprinting, and looter rewards you for killing supports and medics with ammo or health packs. A lovely hit and run oriented loadout in my opinion.

* **H22 Turbo Close Assault (Try Hard, Springy, Enigma)**

Try Hard is back, for the bad and the worst ! You also get Springy and Enigma. That loadout is more or less a sidegrade of the H11 Superb Close Assault in my opinion. H11 gets drilled, but Cool is pretty much useless. This one has three working perks, but they are far from being the most useful. I don't need to explain it more : that loadout is meh.

* **KE21 Elite Operative (Fail Safe, Pineapple Juggler, Chopper)**

You know what's amazing with that loadout ? They managed to make it even worse than the last SMG loadout ! You already know what I think about Pineapple Juggle. Chopper (+20% melee damage) is okayish at best, and Fail Safe sounds like huge joke, and not even a fun one. Less damage from your mines ? I seriously doubt that you are silly enough to get harmed by your own mines... That loadout is an insult to your player status : avoid it like a zombie plague.

* **R23 Adept Close Assault (Quick Slash, Looter, Cool)**

Remember what I said about Quick Slash when I was talking about the R51 Venerable Close Assault ? Well, it was only good because you had it paired with Quick Draw, and you had to count on your melee to save ammo with that loadout. With the R23 Adept Class Assault loadout, you end up with something pretty meh... But you have the cricket bat as a melee weapon after all, that hits kinda hard with light strikes, so it's not that bad (it's still meh though). Looter is good, Cool is not. At the end, it's not such a good loadout.

* **KE53 Elite Operative (Guardian Angel, Drilled, Quick Draw)**

Now we're talking ! Remember all the failures that were those past SMG Proxy loadouts ? Cry no more SMG Proxy fan, because the saviour is here ! KE53 Elite Operative feels so good, you may not even believe it exists. Drilled AND Quick Draw on the same loadout ? You though it was a legend ? It wasn't. Add with this the Guardian Angel loadout for the clumsy player (a bit crutchy, but fine for team play), and the non redundant secondary : this is for sure one of the best Proxy Loadouts available in my opinion, if not the best. If you want to play SMG Proxy, don't think anymore : it's that one you need ! Good luck to get one though, because you can only drop it as a gold card.