Abilities
Trench’s active ability is a barbed wire grenade. He can throw this grenade a moderate distance away from himself to deploy a decent sized barbed wire field that will slow down enemies who try to move through it, though it will not damage them. Enemies will also make noise while pushing through the barbed wire, which can reveal their location to you or your team. The barbed wire grenade is a great tool for solo holding a site or blocking off a popular choke point from enemy intrusions.
His passive ability is called Gadget Up. The ability allows Trench to carry an additional gadget, i.e. an extra grenade or piece of utility. This alone is helpful for the rogue, since he can carry extra utility, however this ability can get kind of broken when paired with Dahlia’s passive ability Buddy System which lets her adopt the passive of one of her teammates. If she links with Trench, she can also carry extra utility as well which is possibly the most broken rogue combo in the game, so keep that in mind when selecting your team composition.
Trench’s Loadout
HRM-30KS Assault Rifle
The first weapon available to Trench is the HRM-30KS Assault Rifle. This automatic rifle is effective at medium ranges, and can be used at longer ranges if you tap fire to reduce the overall spread of the bullets. At its lowest tier, it has a relatively small magazine which can only hold 20 bullets with a reload time coming in at 1.9 seconds.
At the base level, the HRM deals 24 damage to the body and 23 damage to the body at range, so it will take five shots to down an unarmored enemy. If you upgrade the HRM to tier 1, it will deal 27 damage at range, which means it will take four shots to the body to kill an unarmored opponent. Upgrading the weapon to tier 2 will increase its hip fire occurrence, and upgrading it to tier 3 will reduce its recoil and add a suppressor. When the recoil is properly controlled, the HRM-30ks can be an effective weapon for medium range and close range encounters.
MX-R battle rifle
The other weapon available to Trench is the MX-R battle rifle. This semi-automatic battle rifle is designed primarily for long range combat, and is most deadly when you can master the skill of ducking in and out of cover while landing headshots. This weapon features a 12 round magazine with a 2 second reload.
At its base level, the MX-R DMR deals 32 damage to the body and 27 damage at range, which means it can kill in four body shots at any range by default. If you upgrade it to tier 1, the magazine size increases to 18 shots, if you upgrade it to tier 2 the range damage of the MX-R increases to 32.5, and at Tier 3 the weapon sees a reduction in its recoil and the addition of a suppressor. At no point along the upgrade path is this weapon able to kill in less than four body shots, however, if you can land headshots this weapon becomes a very real threat.
Executioner
Pistol wise, Trench is equipped with the standard Executioner pistol, which deals 32 damage to the body, 15 damage at range. Upgrading the pistol will increase its magazine size from 12 to 16 at tier 1, and increase its handling from 28 to 34 at tier 2.
Baseball bat
Finally, Trench carries a baseball bat for his melee weapon. It can deal 40 body damage, and 100 throw damage. You can upgrade it to tier 1 to improve its lunge distance and you can upgrade it to tier 2 to improve its body damage from 40 to 65. Honestly, the melee weapons are rarely worth investing in, unless you are just trying to have some fun.
Active Protection System
Trench can carry a useful gadget called the Active Protection System. This system will automatically destroy incoming enemy grenades and explosives. This gadget makes Trench a great character to bunker down with, since it is more difficult for enemies to use grenades to force him out of position. At the base level, this gadget negates a single projectile. At tier one, its effective range goes up and it can block an extra projectile. When upgraded to tier 2, you can carry two Active Protection Systems, which ends up being three systems when you factor in Trench’s passive ability.
Tear gas grenade
Trench has access to a tear gas grenade for his other gadget. The tear gas grenade does exactly what it sounds like it would do, it deploys a cloud of tear gas that disorients enemies who run through it, with the exception of Anvil who is immune from disorient effects. If you upgrade this ability to tier 1, the gas will last longer. At tier 2, you will be able to carry two tear gas grenades. It’s an okay option, but if you have to choose between it and the Active Protection System, choose the Active Protection System.
Perks
Trench has access to the following perks:
- Berserker – Gain the ability to reload while sprinting
- Shredder Rounds – Deal more damage to equipment and carry more ammunition
- Helping Hands – Revive teammates faster
- Bounce Back – Reduce your health regeneration delay
- Head Strong – Gain an additional 25 armor
- Tracker Rounds – Damaging an enemy with a firearm will reveal them to your team
Buy order
Here is one suggested buy order for Trench over the first five rounds:
- In the first round, you should buy nothing
- Second round buy your primary weapon
- Third round upgrade your primary weapon
- Fourth round buy the Active Protection System
- Fifth Round start buying perks with either Bounce Back or Headstrong
This initial buy order will get you an upgraded primary weapon going into the third round. This is crucial to Trench, since ultimately your survival rests upon your ability to win aim duels, often against multiple assailants. His best piece of equipment is definitely the Active Protection system, especially since with your passive you will have two of them right off the bat, so buying that should be your next priority. After you have acquired that, you should start building up the perks like Bounce Back and Head Strong that add to your tankiness and ability to bunker down on a site.
Tips and Tricks
- Use two Active Protection Systems in the same spot to really secure a location. Typically a player would need to upgrade their APS gadget to tier 2 in order to access two systems. However, since Trench’s passive allows him to carry an extra piece of equipment, Trench can have his double APS system much sooner than other defensive players like Anvil. If you upgrade the APS gadget to tier 2, you will be able to drop three APS systems, making you nearly unassailable with grenades.
- Try out his DMR instead of his assault rifle. Although intuitively many players lean toward his automatic rifle, his DMR is the better weapon for Trench’s playstyle. It has incredible damage potential while only requiring players to quickly peek out of cover to take shots. Since you will be spending a lot of time behind cover, it would behoove you to have a weapon that is effective at a variety of ranges, and hits hard while limiting your exposure to enemy fire.
- When playing Trench on offense, sometimes it’s better to save your barbed wire until after the bomb is planted. You can use it to block the enemy team from reentering the site. Not only will it be an annoyance to the enemy team, it will also provide crucial intelligence about where the enemy might be to you and your team, which can often be the difference between winning or losing a round.
