I really like the look of the build you recommended to ramenos. I'm going to give it a shot, do you have any advice in terms of skill progression for a playthrough on Normal w/Oddity?
What skills should I focus on in 1-10, 10-20, 20-30?
ramenos really wanted to be sneaky and use grenades, so I set aside a bunch of points for that. If I were recommending a pure and "perfect" psi build it wouldn't have any throwing and probably not much stealth at all, if any. It would also have Snooping in place of Nimble. But if you also like the idea of being sneaky and then making a lot of noise abruptly with grenades, cool - you'll do fine.
In a nutshell: crafting last
Level 1, max: 4 psi schools, hacking, lockpicking, persuasion, mercantile. hack/pick is for loot that you'll get when going on the first quest. Persuade/mercantile is for the *surprising* amount of stuff you can get in SGS right off the bat.
Levels 2-10: get Thought Control to 35 real points then you can stop for a bit if you want. Keep maxing other psi schools (if you intend to cap TM at 60, obviously stop at 60) and lockpicking. Hack to 40 real points at least. Persuade to 25 real points; no Mercantile; Mechanics and Tailoring to 50 effective so you can start making improved repair kits. 10-12 real points in Chemistry (molotovs + mutated dog leather armor). You can start picking up Stealth and/or Throwing as you free up points.
11-16: Bio to 60-70 effective so you can make focus stim, aegis, and start carrying around ampules so you don't have to lug heavy intestines, crawler stingers, and such around with you. Pull Hacking up to ~50 real points. Thought Control to 75 (
at level 13, exactly)and stop; max other psi schools and lockpicking (unless obviously you meant to cap TM earlier). Start investing in Electronics so you can make improved repair kits and a good psi headband (keep your eye on Bio requirements).
17-25: Begin to pull up crafting as you need it. Intimidation to 25-50 real points (depending on how much gear micro you're willing to do). Pull up Mercantile to unlock trader inventories. Finish lockpicking; keep working other psi schools.
26+: Finish Hacking, Persuasion, crafting, and whatever else you've got left. Keep maxing metathermics and psychokinesis.
There's a little wiggle room of course. You luck out and get a really good psi muffler, maybe you rush elec/bio to make a psi headband sooner, that sort of thing.
