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Development Log / Re: Dev Log #74: 10-Year Anniversary Update (1.3)
« Last post by McFighter07 on May 28, 2026, 02:04:37 am »I love all of these changes, in particular the harder DOM, new shader, and the INT stacking buffs. Pure class!







I think it's not a good idea to waste two feat slots on grenades. Those are only meant to be used for crowd control and your pistol or sniper should do the damage. Even high-tier HE and Frag are not that powerful and you can only throw a single one in a turn anyway.
When I was planning out a pistol build, I invited Traps into the setup instead. They seemed so much better, since I could still toss any Flash or Molotov if needed and they seemed immensely better + Traps doesn't cost AP if you prepared the battlefield in advance while stealthed + you can put down as much as you want. They can even trigger each other, so multiple can go off. And you have all kinds, from Crawler poisoned BT, to Incendiary (guaranteed Fear + Ambush trigger) or you can just put 3 Frags together to guarantee the kill. Trap Expert is awesome and Quick Tinkering is super helpful against incoming melee's. And so does Kneecap Shot with the pistol. Therefore I would either focus on that (especially without PSI).
On the other hand, as I tuned the build, I realized, the sniper and the pistol make a really nice pair. Sharpshooter benefits both guns and so does all the CC ability. This led me to prioritize the rifle and just use the pistol as a sidearm. Mainly for two reasons: cheap Kneecap Shots and getting the Initiative bonus with Gunslinger. The sniper rifle simply outclassed the pistol when it came to dealing damage and soon I realized that devoting into this gun completely, would make me a lot more efficient as well.
See, the more you use the rifle, the better it becomes. In every scenario, it's just better to use that instead of anything else. It's a special weapon that is unique in a sense that it lowers your cooldowns when you kil something with it due to Shooting Spree. So to maximize the gains, you just need to drop enemies with Snipe and Aim Shot, throw a Molotov and mop up the rest with regular crits due to them being lid up and Ambush kicks in. You get AP refunds from Shooting Spree + Rapid Reloader and cooldown reduction with each kill, to use Snipe and Aim Shot more. Which again does the reductions for you - it's a cycle that can be boosted even further with Temporal Increments. So the sniper rifle is not just an opener sidearm - it should be your main instrument. Using any other weapon (even the pistol) will just break the cycle in battle, it won't benefit you in the ways mentioned above, thus never be the better option. I started out with a pistol, but came to the conclusion that full devotion to the rifle is the way to go. Once you experience it, fighting against waves of crowds will be your favorite thing due to just how satisfying it is. Every action has meaning, every bullet gives results. The one shot per enemy policy is something you can rely and plan with. It's awesome. Also you're nowhere near harms way, due to the superior range - often giving you several turns of advantage (sometimes even drop combat mode while falling back after restealth, then again that is even possbible with a Flashbang) instead of pistoling from point blank and getting hit next turn.
Here's the build:
https://stygiansoftware.com/forums/index.php?topic=10837.0
It is specialized to boosting AP and cooldown reduction with using Thermodynamic Destabilization to turn the tides immediately at the start. Can switch out Premeditation or maybe Advanced Psy Empathy to Polymath if you want due to the recent update that makes decent crafting require more skill points.
I think it's not a good idea to waste two feat slots on grenades. Those are only meant to be used for crowd control and your pistol or sniper should do the damage. Even high-tier HE and Frag are not that powerful and you can only throw a single one in a turn anyway.
When I was planning out a pistol build, I invited Traps into the setup instead. They seemed so much better, since I could still toss any Flash or Molotov if needed and they seemed immensely better + Traps doesn't cost AP if you prepared the battlefield in advance while stealthed + you can put down as much as you want. They can even trigger each other, so multiple can go off. And you have all kinds, from Crawler poisoned BT, to Incendiary (guaranteed Fear + Ambush trigger) or you can just put 3 Frags together to guarantee the kill. Trap Expert is awesome and Quick Tinkering is super helpful against incoming melee's. And so does Kneecap Shot with the pistol. Therefore I would either focus on that (especially without PSI).
On the other hand, as I tuned the build, I realized, the sniper and the pistol make a really nice pair. Sharpshooter benefits both guns and so does all the CC ability. This led me to prioritize the rifle and just use the pistol as a sidearm. Mainly for two reasons: cheap Kneecap Shots and getting the Initiative bonus with Gunslinger. The sniper rifle simply outclassed the pistol when it came to dealing damage and soon I realized that devoting into this gun completely, would make me a lot more efficient as well.
See, the more you use the rifle, the better it becomes. In every scenario, it's just better to use that instead of anything else. It's a special weapon that is unique in a sense that it lowers your cooldowns when you kil something with it due to Shooting Spree. So to maximize the gains, you just need to drop enemies with Snipe and Aim Shot, throw a Molotov and mop up the rest with regular crits due to them being lid up and Ambush kicks in. You get AP refunds from Shooting Spree + Rapid Reloader and cooldown reduction with each kill, to use Snipe and Aim Shot more. Which again does the reductions for you - it's a cycle that can be boosted even further with Temporal Increments. So the sniper rifle is not just an opener sidearm - it should be your main instrument. Using any other weapon (even the pistol) will just break the cycle in battle, it won't benefit you in the ways mentioned above, thus never be the better option. I started out with a pistol, but came to the conclusion that full devotion to the rifle is the way to go. Once you experience it, fighting against waves of crowds will be your favorite thing due to just how satisfying it is. Every action has meaning, every bullet gives results. The one shot per enemy policy is something you can rely and plan with. It's awesome. Also you're nowhere near harms way, due to the superior range - often giving you several turns of advantage (sometimes even drop combat mode while falling back after restealth, then again that is even possbible with a Flashbang) instead of pistoling from point blank and getting hit next turn.
Here's the build:
https://stygiansoftware.com/forums/index.php?topic=10837.0
It is specialized to boosting AP and cooldown reduction with using Thermodynamic Destabilization to turn the tides immediately at the start. Can switch out Premeditation or maybe Advanced Psy Empathy to Polymath if you want due to the recent update that makes decent crafting require more skill points.
Generally you are better off with throwing gauntlet and using throwing knives to restore AP. But honestly it does not matter what you put into your offhand with firearm pistols build. They are that strong.
As for specifics.
Polymath feels like waste.
10 int for specialist .. its very strong feat sure. But power from it comes so late I generally prefer not to pick it and have easeir early/mid game (Which are the hardest on DOM).
I would take gunslinger earlier. In place of recklessness maybe?