Temporal Sniper build

[Vokial]

Picking up this game again and I just want the good people here to take a look at what I have in mind and share their opinions, maybe submit any corrections to things I overlooked.



https://underrail.info/build/?HgUHBwMLBQjCoFAAAAAAwqBDQ1BDaXArIWkAAABdOAA0KBcBHh01M35LK8KHKiR_AhYwwrXip74K4q-8BOKvvQHfvw

As you can see, the build is pretty spread out, not too much min-maxing here, a bit of a jack-of-all trades character. Guns and Stealth is maxed out obviously, can craft and throw all incendiary, gas and special grenades (+ plasma) and craft endgame equipment. Able to hack or pick most locks and harvest enemy traps as well.
Included Pickpocket to access more stuff like money, ammunition, meds, quest items and of course oddities.
Regarding Temporal skill, since 70 base points is a given I realized it's worth to invest a bit more for an effective 100 as that seems to be the treshold from which gives a hefty boost to Dilation, Rewind and most importantly Recurrence. I forsee that the latter ability will be amazing to cast on bosses after a chunky Snipe at 165%.
I also have 8 INT and 5 PSI to reinforce this - give enough slots, regeneration and skill points for crafting, psionic and social skills. In addition, the character will now be able to use the Hypno Goggles for an additional +30 skill points and have the full hidden stock from Constantine with the Large Waist Pack.
But due to the 3 CON, I plan on using Infused Pig Leather Overcoat and Boots instead of a Regenerative Tac-Vest and Ninja Tabis (finiding good quality Pig Leather could be a problem however). Better resistances yet lower DT, more HP but no regeneration and less move speed. Wielding a Smart Rapid Spearhead with the Anatomically-Aware Scope and an also 7.62mm Smart Rapid Falchion.

My main question regarding this is that will I be okay on Dominating with 13 PER - I mean I guess I could just go with 3 PSI, but the difference in Guns between 13 and 15 will still only be merely 27 points.
Still in order to mitigate this, I'm a bit intriqued by the Synesthetic Refocus boosting PER with 2 or even 3 points when focused. That sounds amazing on it's own, even without the -30% psi cost reduction and +70 detection bonus which are also lovely and appreciated. Sounds amazing as long as we're in a nicely lid-up area where we don't need night vision.

What do you guys think?

[Valor]

I think snipe is bait, dont use it. Cant crit and crits will be very important for you. Better get Ambush earlier.
As for armour, I would opt for infused rathound just for those places where you cant get ambush to work.

Pistol is imho bad offhand as your dex is low. I would use a shotty and later just have Hodduform for easier ambush (darkness works even in offhand, also helps with ranged defence).
Even if you choose to use pistol as offhand, I would not take a feat for it if you want to focus on snipers 99% of the time.

Getting Strafe so late will be very painfull.

[Niko]

I saw gunslinger in your sniper build, and I was intrigued enough to comment and take a look at it a bit more carefully and make some adjustments. I feel this can be easily tweaked into something very fun and powerful.

Valor is kinda right. Strafe late won't do you too much good late; so do not take Strafe at all instead, as you can just go with pistols when you need to move around - sniper becomes the sidearm in these scenarios. Snipe however is a guaranteed one-shot, and not a bait as it is put in the other comment. Snipe is the best combat opener in the game and always a good fit in sniper builds, as is ambush - you want them both early!

https://underrail.info/build/?HgUJBwMNAwbCoFcAAAAAwqAyMgAAc3gUKGQANwDCoAAARRcBGRY1An7DkitLwofChTcqM8KkwrXipLYC4q-8BOKvvQHivYQF378
For clarity: 5/7/7/3/9/3/6 (4 Per, 8 Dex, 12 Dex, 16-24 Per)

*edit: of course, if your desire is to try out the goggles, the levels 16-24 can very well be used for taking Will instead of Per. It is just extra damage anyway, and it does not matter if you overkill by 400 dmg or 300 dmg, honestly. Even extra +2 stat boost could very well be Int for one extra innervation slot. Also the Dex breakpoint might just as well be fine-tuned at these levels for whatever base AP pistol you prefer to use.

Here I put together something of a pistol-sniper hybrid with faster flashbangs (Grenadier and Spec Ops +2) for extra flavor. With LTI you can overlap incapacitation, which is absolutely gross.
I did not want to change your original build too much, but instead dropped some of the early feats to streamline the power curve a little. Some feats that were postponed in the draft were dropped altogether, as they would not make sense to be picked in the twenties / late game. Stats were also adjusted as I feel Int and Will, while very nice to have in excess, could not be justified in favor of not reaching both Bullet Time and Snipe asap.

Perception is not the problem on Dominating, darkness(!) and weapon skill vs enemy evasion is. Night-vision is definitely a must have, as is having multiple ways to drop enemy evasion to 0, with root/stun/incapacitation. Flashbangs, ambush, nets, pistols up-close, also grab Telekinetic Proxy (55 psychokinesis) psi skill to light up your hard-to-hit targets without flares, without triggering combat, or even Telekinetic Grounding (30 psychokinesis) for 100% root.

[Vokial]

I took Strafe with my level up just to see how it is now that I actually have a rifle. Yet my tests show that it only mitigates 10% instead of 15%. Using a Spearhead, Strafe should completely elliminate the aiming penalty after moving right? That was never the case. My chance to hit the target was 95% (I've chosen an easy one). Then I move a tile away and it is 90%. This is a letdown and just reinforces me to reload and drop it just get Sharpshooter instead and save a slot, focus on shooting while keeping still with a Reaper.

Anyway, I won't be using a shotgun which would require me to invest in STR with tons of feats and sure as hell won't be using some spear.
Snipe is awesome. It's damage is scaling with Stealth so it gets better with each level up while my armor and boots will also contribute to the damage. On opened up areas I was able to Snipe, Aimed Shot and then disengage two rounds where I was able to re-stealth again. Repositioned myself and repeat. I also learned that with Flashbangs, I am able to re-stealth on spot and even END COMBAT TO QUICKSAVE MID BATTLE. That is waaay to OP.

Anyway, the main topic I wanted to talk about is to defend Pistols. They lack the damage output, but the with the introduction of the rifle and Shooting Spree to shoot twice, there's no point. It is an unconditional firearm, it doesn't have any STR requirement and I am able to shoot for less AP with Gunslinter - which gives me a very sweet Initiative bonus. I'm just roaming around with my handgun on default and able to shoot first all the time as with Paranoia (that is a very nice anti-Crawler perk for many reasons), my Initiative is 31. I initially looked at Trigger Happy, but Paranoia gives me so much more in exchange for that -2 point.
Pistols can be quite pleasant if they crit, but their main role is to provide utility. Their range is near double of the shotguns which is absolutely crutial for Kneecap Shots to stop incoming melee's. Are more precise, doesn't have any stat requirement, cost far less to shoot (especially with Gunslinger), gives huge Initiative bonus, gets a hefty damage increase from Sharpshooter - which now benefits BOTH my guns.
Though I'm not going to take Bullet Time as it will just give me a single extra shot per battle at the cost of a feat-; and 2 stat points. Ideally, I won't fire much with it, it's just to dish out that occasional Kneecap Shot.

Ambush seems great as there are a lot of bandits circling around lid up barrels, so I will definitely intend to pick it up in the future. Using Flares more is something I should be doing probably as well. However, Hit and Run while seem great to use but it implies me moving first to the point to use up most of my MP and shoot afterwards with the criteria to have a fatal shot. Upon observing, I rarely found any usecase for this and I don't want to tailor my approach around this. Even in cornerfights I always had enough MP to move back to cover. Which reminds me to mention the importance of Interloper. After restealthing behind a corner, it gives me 15 MP to step out and Snipe again the next round. That is very useful to have, as without it I was left without any MP and had to move using my precious AP. Also, the move speed while being stealthed is amazing. It really boosts my ability to carefully maneuveur between enemies and get far away from them before they notice me. Can't wait to get Quick Tinkering and just drop a Bear Trap in front of an enemy then dash away quickly, so that when combat begins, they will be stopped immediately allowing to distance myself better in confined areas. BTW 50 biology will be just enough to produce Crawler poisons, so that's great:) Nimble gives me more Stealth (thus more damage) and MP. Grenadier seems good as I just dipped into Molotovs and Gas Grenades. Their utility is great, but Frag and HE seems lame - the damage is far to small. But all in all, I rarely use grenades to be honest, so I might drop Grenadier in favor of something else, like Opportunist or Future Orientation.

[Valor]

I took Strafe with my level up just to see how it is now that I actually have a rifle. Yet my tests show that it only mitigates 10% instead of 15%. Using a Spearhead, Strafe should completely elliminate the aiming penalty after moving right? That was never the case. My chance to hit the target was 95% (I've chosen an easy one). Then I move a tile away and it is 90%. This is a letdown and just reinforces me to reload and drop it just get Sharpshooter instead and save a slot, focus on shooting while keeping still with a Reaper.

Anyway, I won't be using a shotgun which would require me to invest in STR with tons of feats and sure as hell won't be using some spear.
Snipe is awesome. It's damage is scaling with Stealth so it gets better with each level up while my armor and boots will also contribute to the damage. On opened up areas I was able to Snipe, Aimed Shot and then disengage two rounds where I was able to re-stealth again. Repositioned myself and repeat. I also learned that with Flashbangs, I am able to re-stealth on spot and even END COMBAT TO QUICKSAVE MID BATTLE. That is waaay to OP.

Anyway, the main topic I wanted to talk about is to defend Pistols. They lack the damage output, but the with the introduction of the rifle and Shooting Spree to shoot twice, there's no point. It is an unconditional firearm, it doesn't have any STR requirement and I am able to shoot for less AP with Gunslinter - which gives me a very sweet Initiative bonus. I'm just roaming around with my handgun on default and able to shoot first all the time as with Paranoia (that is a very nice anti-Crawler perk for many reasons), my Initiative is 31. I initially looked at Trigger Happy, but Paranoia gives me so much more in exchange for that -2 point.
Pistols can be quite pleasant if they crit, but their main role is to provide utility. Their range is near double of the shotguns which is absolutely crutial for Kneecap Shots to stop incoming melee's. Are more precise, doesn't have any stat requirement, cost far less to shoot (especially with Gunslinger), gives huge Initiative bonus, gets a hefty damage increase from Sharpshooter - which now benefits BOTH my guns.
Though I'm not going to take Bullet Time as it will just give me a single extra shot per battle at the cost of a feat-; and 2 stat points. Ideally, I won't fire much with it, it's just to dish out that occasional Kneecap Shot.

Ambush seems great as there are a lot of bandits circling around lid up barrels, so I will definitely intend to pick it up in the future. Using Flares more is something I should be doing probably as well. However, Hit and Run while seem great to use but it implies me moving first to the point to use up most of my MP and shoot afterwards with the criteria to have a fatal shot. Upon observing, I rarely found any usecase for this and I don't want to tailor my approach around this. Even in cornerfights I always had enough MP to move back to cover. Which reminds me to mention the importance of Interloper. After restealthing behind a corner, it gives me 15 MP to step out and Snipe again the next round. That is very useful to have, as without it I was left without any MP and had to move using my precious AP. Also, the move speed while being stealthed is amazing. It really boosts my ability to carefully maneuveur between enemies and get far away from them before they notice me. Can't wait to get Quick Tinkering and just drop a Bear Trap in front of an enemy then dash away quickly, so that when combat begins, they will be stopped immediately allowing to distance myself better in confined areas. BTW 50 biology will be just enough to produce Crawler poisons, so that's great:) Nimble gives me more Stealth (thus more damage) and MP. Grenadier seems good as I just dipped into Molotovs and Gas Grenades. Their utility is great, but Frag and HE seems lame - the damage is far to small. But all in all, I rarely use grenades to be honest, so I might drop Grenadier in favor of something else, like Opportunist or Future Orientation.

First strafe - the 90% can be due to lack of skill or lightning (nightvision goggles ftw). Hard to judge. But I am 100% sure it negates 15%. Best way to judge is to move one tile back and then forward to original tile, just to loose focus.

Shotty - Many shotguns require 5 STR which you already have. And when used at closer range no feats are really required. Shotguns already deal high damage (way higher than pistols can ever hope for). I find them way more reliable than pistols with low dex builds. As for AP cost - depends on pistol caliber, but shotties cost 20 AP. Rapid 7.62 falchion goes a bit lower, but not that much.

Snipe - When each of your shots is guaranteed critical hit (ambush), snipe deals less damage then normal shot. Simple as that, just wasted feat.

[Vokial]

My experience is that I cannot utilize Ambush all that much. With each shot being critical hits, there won't be all that much need for Snipe yes, but that's nowhere near the case and in order to set it up is often just too much effort. It definitely has it's uses, but assuming that all your hits are critical, so you don't even need offensive abilities (not even Aimed Shot in this case I guess), is kinda far fetched.

[Valor]

Still snipe is once per combat if setup properly, dealing less damage than aimed shot. Only advantage of snipe is that it works well vs enemies immune to crits, which are few and far inbetween. Just not worth the feat as utility is extremely low. If it was free attack like special tactics for crossbows I would support it 100%.

[Vokial]

I revised the build a bit since.
In order to bring out the absolute most of this build, it has to be like so:

• With a heavy heart, I let go the wonderful Paranoia feat in favor of Sprint and the Pickpocketing skill to boost Temporal Manipulation to 150 thus reducing the probability of Dilation to 30% and not having to worry about it happening. While further boosting the effect of Recurrence is welcome.
• Another change is to lower WILL to a controversial 4. That is the minimum to reach 150 on TM while using the hereby gained stat point to increase DEX. This will allow me to shoot my 7.62 Falchion for 11AP or a .44 Hammerer for 20AP.
• Also while still keeping the intent to use a Leather overcoat made from Infused Pig Leather to reach 4 CON and a HP bonus of +90-95, the character should fashion an Infused Cave Hooper Leather Tabi Boots to lower the cooldown of Sprint and get +1 to AGI so it will be the same as DEX. I always found Sprint to be mediocre due to it's 10 turn cooldown, but with a base of 5 that is further down due to Future Oriented Increment so it can be almost always in effect.
• Yeah, so we're no longer specializing on Critical Power, but focusing on Temporal Feats now - namely Future Orientation and to reduce the cooldown of various other abilities. This will allow me to cast Increment every second round for it's base AP cost (if not Premeditated). And that exponentially boosts the effectiveness of the character.
  
  CONSTANTLY be under the influence of Contraction (with a significantly reduced Dilation chance).
  Sprint could be on 2 rounds out of 3, and just use attack abilities all the time, even throw grenades and lay traps a lot more often should the need arise as their cooldowns are also affected with Increment and Grenadier. The option to restealth every second round for Snipe and activate Shooting Spree a lot more often.
  Specialization on Premeditation and Kneecap Shot cooldowns are also passively reduced with one turn - yet these two can be exchanged with PT Acceleration to have 72AP per round.