Snipe is definitely a must - the opening should commence while stealthed from an already dark spot (which is a lot easier with a rifle due to it's range) for Ambush, then turn on Shooting Spree and proceed to claim the mandatory -2 member tax on the enemy with Snipe + Aim Shot. Snipe is invaluable for mobs that are immune to crits and also does even more damage that Aim Shot. If you can avoid being targeted during the enemy turn (by standing behind cover of out of their attack range for example), then just end your turn with Stealth whenever you can, so you can Snipe again in the next. Interloper is an absolute must for moving out of cover after starting with otherwise zero MP and the speed bonus when moving around boosts your Stealth in such a way that no skill points can. You just pass by enemies that would otherwise detect you much faster due to it. Once you grab that, you never want to stealth without it, I would highly recommend you to integrate that into your build and would easily switch out Sprint for it.
As for psi, TM is the most important, but I like Metathermics due to just how powerful Thermo-D is. And you can enjoy it at it's maximum 100% effectiveness with just 140 points. It is super satisfying to cause that much havoc against muties or Ironheads around a barrel, taking out multiple enemies with a single shot and hear the explosion and each death sound in chorus all at once. Also the fire damage on actively burning enemies (that are also under Fear for 3 turns) are literally walking corpses due to the DoT fire damage coming from a shot with such high damage. It's spectacular and I can never get bored of it. I remember soloing the final assault against the Protectorate with the Drones and popped a Dreadnought with Thermo-D and my speakers nearly exploded too. I reloaded several times to experience it again before moving on with the mission. It's just that good.
And for robots, armor piercing bullets just kills them. If they come from a sniper rifle I mean. Because at the end of the day, it's best to use your AP for shots and your psi points for Contractions and Increments.
But I admit, Psychokinesis has a few things going for it as well when it comes to crowd control and it would be interesting to see what it can grow to. Yet since our WIL is not high, we won't be masters of that, while we use Thermo-D to the same efficiency as someone with effective 320 points and 18 WIL. And it pairs great with the rifle as it's ideal to drain the HP of the tankiest mob of the enemy group.
Been a blast this build:
https://underrail.info/build/?EgUFBwMLBQhkAF0AAAAAZEtdAAAxACAwCgBkAGQAAAArARk5fzUCwr1-M0vCheKvvALir70B37w at lvl 18 now.
I still have Protectorate missions to do, but otherwise everything has mostly been cleared. Psychokinesis works like a charm. Drop the imprint for easy traps, the telekinetic chains are awesome to lock down someone big, electrokinesis works like a charm. TM gives buffs for great actions.
Only problem that I've been having was the idea of a second gun. What to use? Sniper takes down easily 3 enemies in the first round. If someone gets close, I've been using the refurbished W&S revolver, but it's 32AP a pop. Not that great.
Was wondering if I should invest in Commando, Suppressive fire, Spec ops and something, to get a perception kind of SMG backup. That would give an edge if someone gets close, or if there's a blob of enemies to shoot. Might actually go that way, cause I use psi only for CC, so I really see no point in investing in that. I see more potential with adding stuff to SMG, cause it's light and easy to use. AR could also work, but.... hmmmm...
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