Say hello to one of the free mercs given to you when you first start playing Dirty Bomb. His name is Skyhammer and he's an ammo-throwing, airstrike-tossing, assault rifle-shooting mercenary who is the most well rounded mercenary in the game. Whenever you're having trouble playing another mercenary you can always fall back to Skyhammer. Your team could always use another airstrike.

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Airstrike
The Air Strike Marker can be thrown to designate an area that, after a short wait, will be decimated with a barrage of high explosives dropped by an overhead drone. If the location does not have a clear path to the sky, it will detonate, dealing some damage and starting a shorter cooldown.

Ammo Pack
These can be dropped on the floor or thrown directly at teammates. Picking up an ammo pack instantly refils your reserve ammo to full.

Here are all of the possible loadouts you can use with Skyhammer.



Here are the best loadouts for Skyhammer per primary weapon.

The best loadout - hands down - for Skyhammer is the M92 Elite Rifleman. Guardian Angel warns you of other airstrikes. Explodydendron increases your airstrike radius. Drilled gives you a quicker reload time.













The best BR-16 loadout is the B92 Aggressive Rifleman. Chopper's bonus is negligible, but does provide you with 15% stronger melee attacks. Explodydendron increases your airstrike radius. Quick Draw gives you a 30% bonus to weapon swapping, which means you can react more quickly if you're caught out by an enemy with a knife in your hand.











The best Timik-47 loadout is the T63 Elite Rifleman. While the only bonus of this Timik loadout is Explodydendron, Fail Safe can help shield you from your own airstrike explosions by a bit if you happen to run near them. The other Timik loadouts do not provide any bonuses which you will find helpful while playing.

Skyhammer has a plethora of augments, like many other mercs, but of course can only use a predefined set of three per loadout card.

Here they are.

Receive an audio warning whenever enemy artillery or airstrikes are incoming on your position
This augment is very useful to any player who has a hard time spotting out incoming artillery or airstrikes. Whenever there is an artillery or airstrike marker near you, a quick, high-pitched beeping noise will play for a few seconds to inform you of incoming airstrikes. This augment is extremely handy if you don't notice the airstrike marker or you had your attention elsewhere.

10% increase to blast radius to AoE abilities

Explodydendron turns the battlefield into a scary and desolate no mans land. The increased 10% blast radius increases the reach of each bomb of the airstrike, meaning that more space will be dangerous for the enemy to go near. With this augment, you can really have an upper hand on the battlefield. This is why the above best loadouts all have explodydendron.

20% reduction to reload time

A decrease of your reload time is one of the most optimal augments any merc can have. The less time you spend reloading allows you to keep putting fire downrange to support your teammates.

Allows you to quickly pick-up and throw nearby grenades

Probably the most unused augment in the game, pineapple juggler allows you to pickup grenades thrown by Fragger and only grenades thrown by Fragger. The problem with that is most Fragger players are smart enough to cook their grenades so that you will never have a chance to toss one back. Avoid loadout cards with this augment.

30% reduction to the time taken to raise and lower weapons

While other augments are easily preferred over Quick Draw, many loadouts that have Quick Draw are not always put aside so easily. Switching weapons more quickly allows you to react to engagements with a speed that will surprise your enemy.

Reduces the effect taken from your own explosives by 30%

Another augment that plays a personal passive benefit that tends to go unnoticed, Fail Safe protects you quite well from your explosives. 30% plays a big role and can protect you from explosive suicide if you happen to end up in a situation where you are in close proximity to one of your explosives.

15% increase to melee damage

While only useful in CQB, Chopper serves a role for melee weapon finishing kills. When in a CQB firefight, you may tend to pull out your melee weapon instead of trying to finish off your opponent with bullets. The increased damage can give you some extra breathing space in terms of where the enemy's health should be for your melee attack to kill them in one hit.

Gain 10HP for each death you suffer without getting a kill, up to a maximum of 30HP

Try Hard is an augment mainly seen in loadout cards with very minimal benefits. The bonus of Try Hard can be alluring, but it requires you to die up to 3 times without netting a single kill. In a game like Dirty Bomb, where the spawn timer is 25 seconds, you'll find yourself at a disadvantage attempting to use this augment to gain an advantage. The risk of this augment isn't worth the reward it offers.

Increase the time it takes Mounted MGs to overheat by 50%

Generally seen as useful, this augment is quite situational. Not because some maps may not have a mounted MG, but because it's dependent on whether or not you're going to use the mounted MG to your benefit. If you're a player who likes to latch on to an MG for a brief period of time and attempt to mow down everything in your path, then this augment may serve you well. Otherwise, it's not an augment worth worrying about having.

Increases melee attack speed by 25%

Not much to say about this augment. Increasing your melee attack speed is extremely situational and does not serve much benefit compared to other augments seen in some of the better loadout cards.

20% cooldown reduction to support abilities

A 20% reduction turns your 7/10 second ammo pack cooldown into a 5/8 second cooldown. While this may be beneficial if your teammates constantly need ammo, it's not exactly something you should be required to have. The cooldown timer on ammo packs is plenty lenient enough already that this augment doesn't provide a huge impact.

Killing an enemy Fire Support Merc will drop a small Ammo Pack, killing an enemy Medic will drop a small Health Pack.
Looter is an augment which provides you a little bonus for killing off medics and fire support mercenaries. The ammo pack benefit is unlikely to be appreciated when the class you're playing with this augment is a fire support, but one can always appreciate earning a free medkit drop, which will heal 30hp on your person when picked up.

Improves any repair tools and disarm rates by 20%

Mechanic can be the deciding factor on whether or not that bomb gets defused in the nick of time. One should not overlook defusing the C4 if they have this augment on their loadout card. Mechanic is a very beneficial augment if you have no engineer mercenaries on your team.

Increase the max number of ammo packs by 1

Having 5 ammo packs instead of 4 to throw around is a pretty impressive bonus, but not exactly an augment you'd require. It would work well in tandem with Extra Supplies and only one of Skyhammer's loadout cards has this combination (B61 Collaborative Rifleman), but it is a BR-16 loadout. Your team fares well enough with your mercenary only being able to give away 4 ammo packs at a time and you don't have to worry about having another one unless you really require it.

Skyhammer, like every other mercenary, has a selection of 3 possible primary weapons. Each weapon serves their own role and can change how you play Skyhammer.

The most well-rounded weapon in Dirty Bomb is given to Skyhammer as his default weapon. If all else fails, you can always fall back on the M4A1 and rely on its high accuracy and fair damage. After all, Skyhammer is completely free for you to use at all times - provided you have him in your squad.

As an all-rounder weapon, the M4A1 can be useful at nearly every range. At further ranges, you may have to aim down sights and control the recoil that the gun spits out as your bullets go downrange. Spread is not a factor when you aim down your sights, so you only have to focus on controlling your recoil.

The M4A1's damage is also something to note. At 14 damage per body shot, it will take you 8 shots to kill an enemy. Headshots do double damage - 28 - so you only have to put down half as many shots - 4 - provided all shots are headshots. The difference between headshots and body shots is monumental and changes how quickly you earn kills.

The recoil of the M4A1 is light. It is noticeable, but very easy to keep under control. While hip-firing your spread increases which makes your bullets become more random and harder to keep on target. When this happens and you begin to miss shots, you should take a moment to find cover or stop firing for just a moment to let the spread reset so you can keep your shot accuracy on top. You could also opt to aim down your sights, but in a firefight this causes you to adjust your aim more to keep your crosshair on your enemy. Both have their advantages and disadvantages so use whichever technique seems optimal at the time.

Employ usage of the M4A1 at medium ranges and always keep your weapon at head level so you can maximize damage in a firefight. The less time you spend adjusting your aim, the more time you have to lay down shots and acquire kills.

To deal with spread becoming too much to handle while in a firefight, try to find cover to jump behind for just a quick moment to let your spread reset so you can maintain your accuracy. It's best to minimize random elements in a firefight and spread makes your shots random, so it's best to control this.

The reload time of the M4A1 is speedy, but it will put you out of a fight for 2 seconds, so reload behind cover and away from enemy presence. Try not to reload immediately after every firefight you engage in because another enemy may be nearby and catch you with your mag at your feet.

A rifle uncommonly seen among Skyhammer players is the Timik-47. While it appears to be better than the M4A1 in terms of DPS, its recoil is higher than average, which provides this rifle with a niche role of close quarters battle (CQB).

The Timik-47 excels at CQB. Assault rifles generally outclass SMGs and shotguns by having a range advantage on them, but the Timik-47 stands its own in close range situations. At further ranges the Timik may be harder to control due to recoil, so it's best to work with this gun as a CQB weapon.

Compared to the other two weapons available for Skyhammer, the Timik-47 has the strongest recoil of the two. You'll notice immediately when engaging in firefights both in hip-firing and aiming down sights that the spread increases rapidly and the recoil shoots up more than expected. Working with the Timik-47 can be a challenge when it feels like the gun is trying to work against you.

The reason the Timik-47 is the best CQB rifle for Skyhammer is due to its higher fire rate compared to the M4A1. Coupled with the strong recoil, the Timik-47 elicits a certain play style from players using this gun.

At mid and long ranges, the Timik-47 should be burst fired to keep recoil down to a minimum. Going full auto at these ranges will cause your bullets to miss your target more often than not. Attempting to control the recoil of the Timik will prove futile as the spread while hipfiring will always get the best of you.

Use the Timik to cover your teammates attempting plants and defuses, they will appreciate the guardian (you) looking out for them. The Timik-47 can prove to be an extremely useful close range defending weapon, so use it wisely and you will be rewarded well for your smart use.

Resi's personal favorite rifle in Dirty Bomb, this is a burst fire rifle which punishes the user for poor accuracy. That said, if you are able to master the BR-16, you will have no problems infuriating your foes with this rifle's ability to quickly acquire kills.

The BR-16 is a powerful rifle in the hands of someone who does not miss their shots. Aim for the head and put your shots down range and your enemies will be dead within mere milliseconds. This burst rifle will punish you for missing your shots by increasing spread as you continue to fire more shots in an attempt to nail the kills you're looking for. Be careful not to let this rifle get the better of you and play it smart. The burst fire element of this weapon can keep you from being effective in CQB and very far ranges.

This gun is very well suited for mid range encounters and with its high shot damage and burst capability, it can lead an enemy to lose health so quickly they won't even notice it being taken away from them.

The recoil of the BR-16 is light and very easy to control. When aiming down sights you can continually ring out shots without having to adjust your aim too much, which means you will stand a decent chance at ranges that may be out of reach for simple hip fire.

While spread doesn't increase too rapidly while firing, the spread can increase to a point which causes all 3 bursts to miss the enemy entirely. When this happens, it's best to take a moment away from battle to let the spread reset so you can return to the fight and send down 3 accurate shots which will eat away at enemy health. Generally the spread shouldn't be an issue so feel free to spam it around, but if you run into issues, be wise about letting spread reset.

The BR-16 is a powerful area of denial weapon. Employ it at mid ranges and keep your weapon at head level so when you engage in a firefight, you can drop enemies so quickly they'll accuse you of cheating.
In CQB situations, the BR-16 can keep you alive provided you're quick to land headshots at close range, ending an enemy in moments. At close range with the burst fire of the BR-16 and the 30 damage per headshot, you can end the life of mercs with less than 90hp within the blink of an eye.

With a magazine size of only 27 bullets, the BR-16 only has 9 shots that can be taken before you're required to reload. The reload time is short, at only 2 seconds, but being forced to reload in intense situations can be a huge detriment to your performance. Try your best to keep behind cover while firing the BR-16 and you will have nothing to worry about when it comes to being forced to reload.

Improving your aim can turn you into an extremely effective killing machine with the BR-16. So much so, in fact, that people will accuse you of cheating due to your ability to kill so quickly. The BR-16 is a weapon people do not expect to be so powerful, but its burst fire capability gives it the quickest time to kill enemies. Do not underestimate this weapon.

Skyhammer is a fire support class who has the ability to lay down airstrikes. These airstrikes can disable an EV in mere seconds and wipe up crowds of enemies in the blink of an eye. All-in-all, the airstrike is a powerful tool which should be used at the appropriate opportunity. It can save matches.


60 Sec75 Dmg

Skyhammer's airstrike has a cooldown of 60 seconds. One minute in a match like Dirty Bomb is a huge factor to take into account before you throw down an airstrike. If it's wasted, you have wait another minute to throw another one. Without an airstrike, you may lose an objective or area of importance due to cooldown.

Once thrown, a horizontal line will be drawn on the ground which indicates the direction the airstrike will go as it rains down on the field. Airstrikes will land from right to left perpendicular to where you threw them.


20 Sec75 Dmg

If the airstrike marker is thrown and lands in an area which is under a roof, the marker will explode and give you a 20 second cooldown. By taking note of this you may use the airstrike marker as a grenade that deals 75 damage. As a grenade, its cooldown is 15 seconds less than that of Fragger's grenades. This can be very useful in maps where there are not many open areas for you to rain down explosive damage with an airstrike. Take note of the marker's low damage.

Save your airstrikes for situations that call for them. A moving EV is always begging for an airstrike and if your airstrike is on a cool down, your team will be disappointed that they can't stop the EV from making its way towards its intended destination.

Use the airstrike as an area of denial tool. If your team is making a push towards a C4 plant zone, it's best to throw an airstrike around this area to prevent enemies from being able to come into the zone and preventing your team from planting the bomb. As well, you can use this area of denial technique to protect the planted C4 from being defused.

The airstrike breaks through glass ceilings, so if you see glass above you, you can be sure that your airstrike will penetrate through and kill enemies who believe they have cover under the glass.

Using the airstrike marker indoors allows you to use the marker as a grenade which gives you a 20 second cool down instead of 60 seconds. Use the airstrike marker as a grenade in maps with very few open areas and to do damage to crowds of players. The marker is weaker than Fragger's grenades, so in most cases you won't land any kills, but may be able to use it as a finisher.

In short, use the airstrike ability as an area of denial tool, an EV killer, and as a grenade in roof-heavy maps.

A good Skyhammer player knows that they should be tossing out ammo to teammates whenever possible. Being mindful to have ammo packs at the ready will earn your team's appreciation due to filling their empty mags so they can keep up on the battlefield for longer than usual.


4 ammo packs8/10 seconds

As a fire support merc with ammo packs, Skyhammer is given 4 maximum packs to throw around to teammates. The Extra Ammo augment gives Skyhammer 5 ammo packs to throw around.

Direct player hits with Ammo Packs reduce the target's ability Cool Down Time by 15%. If your ammo pack is not a direct hit (thrown on the ground), your Cool Down Time is 10 seconds instead of 8. Making sure your ammo packs are direct hits give you a quicker Cool Down Time on being able to throw out your next ammo pack and you are also rewarded with 10xp for your efforts to be a good team player.

Ammo packs fill up all reserve ammunition to maximum. Playing as a mercenary with ammo giving capability, you should always be tossing out ammo. Your teammates will find it when they most need it.

While playing, your teammates may have an ammo icon above their heads. This means they are desperately low on ammunition and you should toss an ammo pack their way. They'll thank you for your help by shooting more enemies as a way to impress you.

As you've read throughout this guide, you are given a very good idea of Skyhammer's many roles on the field as a fire support merc. He does fire support, he gives you ammo, he's just lovely, really.

Jokes aside, Skyhammer is a very strong merc with his 120HP, rifles, and airstrikes. Add on the fact that he can always keep himself and his team fully stocked on ammunition it makes Skyhammer an essential merc to have on the field.

Choose your favorite loadout (or use one of the best loadouts showcased above) and play based on the advice given throughout this guide and you'll find yourself being an extremely effective mercenary that will be respected by your teammates and feared by the enemy.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there, kick some ass, throw some ammo, and lay down some airstrikes!