Energy/chem pistol build: Synergistic Glass Cannon of All Trades (with videos!)

[hilf]

Yeah, for carrying loot Pack Rathound is better than 2-3 points of strength.

10 PER is for Sharpshooter, detecting more secrets without any boosts and since it's a primary combat stat i wanted it to be at decent value.

The only armour STR unlocks is riot gear with shield (metal is out of the question). It's not too good of an armour at the moment, at least not for this build. As Ploluap 5 STR is enough for riot gear + shield but 4 is enough if you make the shield from psi beetle carapace which is the lightest version possible and also helps with psi cost.

[zion563]

Hi-I see 2 builds listed one has a 2016 date but says updated for Expedition and another from December 2017-which one are you using? Did you adjust from Destroyers comment and in your "a few things I forgot to mention " post that build is that pertaining to I'm trying to go through the thread and got confused as to what comment was for which build listing. Thanks-3 pages of thread I got thoroughly confused sorry

[hilf]

I'm sorry it confused you. Updated build is in the first post. I put the game version in my builds, the up to date one has version 1.1. I've added an information it is for Expedition.

[Antignition]

Was playing a variation of this build up until level 10 (on hard difficulty) and got kinda fed up with it.

Start:

Str: 3
Dex: 10 (+2)
Agi: 6
Con: 3
Per: 8
Will: 3
Int: 7

After discussing the build options with a few others - I decided I liked the idea of more mobility and having the sprint feat, so I pulled from PER/INT. I also put a few points in Evasion.

I'm regularly getting my ass kicked and I think a lot of that is due to poor feat selection.

1. Aimed Shot
1. Sprint
2. Nimble
4. Grenadier
6. Paranoia
8. Ambush
10. Pack Rathound

I think removing one of Sprint/Nimble, Paranoia, and Pack Rathound for feats like Cooked Shot, Mad Chemist, and Opportunist would have served me better.

I also think maybe I should invest more in Traps, but Quick Tinkering has been nerfed and I'm not sure I want to invest in Psi. I'm also finding this build to have no real room for extra feats.

I'm about to re-roll a new character with some slight changes and I'm still torn on the AGI vs PER/INT debacle. Do you have any thoughts on my stat distribution? I'm concerned about a lack of early game mobility and an overall low initiative score with such low AGI. Although with how feat starved I am maybe foregoing Sprint is the right call. I'm also concerned about having absolutely no Dodge or Evasion.

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I'm also considering more of !melf's approach - which relies less on ambush and more on raw crit chance - but again, finding room for feats like Recklessness is hard work. I played around with ambush a little bit in this current playthrough and it wasn't always the easiest to set up.

[Kiruha]

Agi is not so useful - you will have many moving points with good tabi boots anyway. You should start combat out of enemies field of view and out of stealth to still have moving points. I played this build with 3 agi and its perfectly fine. In places where you can't trigger ambush try to use acid and ice pistol combo for a crowd control. Also keep in mind that heavy dex investment will shine in lategame only. QT is still useful out of combat - you can set up minefields right under enemies noses. Using Incendiary pistol and laser pistol for criticals is op, you can deal up to 990% of base damage, one shotting nearly anyone. If you drop tailoring and do a bit min-maxing you will be able to max out evasion and nearly max out dodge if you want. The only real downside for me is the range of pistol, after crossbow build it kinda sucks

[hilf]

Agi is not so useful - you will have many moving points with good tabi boots anyway. You should start combat out of enemies field of view and out of stealth to still have moving points. I played this build with 3 agi and its perfectly fine. In places where you can't trigger ambush try to use acid and ice pistol combo for a crowd control. Also keep in mind that heavy dex investment will shine in lategame only. QT is still useful out of combat - you can set up minefields right under enemies noses.

Well said.
Sprint in the long run (no pun intended) will be of very little use due to more sources of MPs: Temporal Contraction and Jumping Bean.
QT and traps are important part of this build's survival, especially early game.

It's worth having proper armour for the job. Laminated Riot Gear vs melee, Laminated Tac Vest vs bullets, mutant dog (or siphoner) leather vs mutant dogs and big mutants and there's also an energy shield to craft.
Cooked Shot and Mad Chemist are good, so is pyro pistol. Vs big mutants cryo pistol might be better since they are immune to fear. They still take burn damage tho.

[Antignition]

I have been having a MUCH better time now - largely sticking to your actual build.

You were right about agility. I don't miss sprint - or the extra MP - nearly as much as I thought I would.

Cooked shot is also ridiculously good and makes the chemical pistols infinitely more fun to use.

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I am at another crossroads - however - with regards to evasion. It seems like a worthwhile skill and the tabi/siphoner overcoat I have both add percentages to your dodge/evasion score - this bonus is currently wasted.

It looks like I could get a respectable evasion skill if I forego pickpocket (which I haven't missed - I can craft so many hypos and adrenaline shots as it is) and mercantile.

Mercantile is the big question. I hear mercantile allows you to get better crafting ingredients later on down the line. As far as the basic benefit of mercantile - better prices - it doesn't really matter. I'm swimming in stygian coins. I have 13 points in mercantile now and I'm contemplating leaving it there - marking those as a waste - and pushing towards evasion.


Any thoughts?

[Kiruha]

You should have enought points to max evasion and get 105 mercantile with bonuses. Mercantile will help you to get better parts for crafting - it will be faster, because of special offers. At the same time, mercantile can be dropped - you still will be able to get quality parts, but it will take longer.