I still panic when a Hulk is close, but they’re honestly not too dangerous if you don’t try and melee them unprepared.
-> Easiest way = Unloading a weapon in burst mode from a very short distance turns them into paste, just like it does to pretty much anything else in game. From a distance? They’re nothing really but hitpoints, so the railgun should mutilate it if you can aim it well enough and reload before he reaches you.
-> Kart-Fusub[/sub] works on them insanely well. (G)rab a shopping cart, maneuver it between you and your attacker. They’re forced to climb onto it (like climbing through a window) and you get a free swipe or two at them. Step back, force them to reclimb on the cart at you again, repeat (Its the melee Cata equivalent to stepping backwards and firing ranged in DCSS). I’ve killed a brute this way with a day-1 character with zero skills to see if it was possible/overpowered tactically. A hulk isn’t too much harder as long as he doesn’t do his Kool-Aid Man “Oh Yeah!” rush attack and demolish the cart on you.
-> With layered survivor gear and a good practiced melee character (I think I had around 6 or 7 skill in Dodge, Melee, and my weapon skill) you can go toe-to-toe with one and pretty much walk away. I think I took a couple solid hits, but from full health I never dropped below green in anything even with Glass Jaw.
