The build:
https://underrail.info/build/?HgsGBgkDBQYAAGQAwqAAAGRVQQAoWlooUFoAwqAARgAAWis5YjHCjAZnEkvCjSrCh8K3X3rin4QB4qe-BuKslwHisogF4rKJAt-8Survival Instincts (SI) is sometimes thought of as a bit of a meme. It can definitely do some serious damage, but with only ~120 hp to work with by max level, it's not that practical for the majority of players. I've created this build because I believe that swords are the best weapon type to utilize SI.
-Why use Survival Instincts?-
Unlike guns and psi, melee weapons don't have anything like Aimed Shot or Psionic Mania to guarantee critical hits. They also don't have seeker goggles, Ambush, Psychosis, or psionic headbands to increase their critical strike chance.
For most melee weapons that isn't that big a deal, but for the sword it's a real issue. Swords have the highest crit damage of any melee weapon, but mediocre crit chance. They do have an on hit ability that increases the enemy's chance to get crit, but it takes 5 hits to stack.
SI is great for swords because it can be taken at level 1 to carry you in the early game. It also works on Electrokinesis and stacks with Psychostatic Electricity for up to 55% crit chance. Electrokinesis is also great because unlike swords, it can't miss, can deal with multiple targets, and does CC.
-Why put 7 points into WIL?-
Stoicism and Fight Response combo extremely well with SI, and WIL makes psi stronger. Stronger psi means more ranged damage, a more reliable Psycho-temporal Contraction, and more utility from Psychokinesis abilities as you level up.
TBH this build only gets really crazy very late into the game once you've made some Nervosomnifer and Aegis to go along with Stoicism, but if you like big numbers and taking 0 damage, this is your build... But it does struggle a lot in the mid game...
The alternative is to use SI with Flight Response, but then you're making a pretty normal sword build. It'd probably look something like this:
https://underrail.info/build/?HgwGBwkDAwYAAG4AwqAoAGQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABGAABaKzE5wqPCjBIGFkvCjcKHE2J7wrbin4QB4rKIBeKyiQLfvAYou could also add Psychostatic Electricity to a non-SI DEX-based build. You'd probably be taking Ripper, so you'd have 5 WIL and could still do okay damage:
https://underrail.info/build/?HgUQCAMDBQYAAEEAwqAoAGQAAAAAAAAAAAAAwqAARgAAWisxOSTCjBIGFsKHE0vCjUdcZ3vCscKm4p-EAeKyiAXisokC37wThose builds are both good ideas, but I've never limited myself to good ideas.
-STR vs DEX-
I've taken STR over DEX because so many of our base stat points have been put into CON and WIL, making our base accuracy and damage unacceptably low. We'd only be able to buff our DEX to ~13 reliably, but with STR we can use Bison Milk, Adrenaline Shot, and Rathound Regalia to reach 15. Vitality Powder can further increase our strength by 2, but it doesn't last as long. There's a lot more to go into about the pros and cons between them, but I'll leave it at that for now. If you wanna know, ask.
-Feats-
I've only put notable non-levelup feats into the build. You'll acquire quite a few more than what I've listed.
If you decide to take any level 1 or 2 feats then you have the option of removing Recklessness. The added chance to get crit can be quite annoying, and the bonus crit chance isn't required.
Feats I'd recommend taking with your remaining points:
- Nimble - Always nice to have. Probably wanna min-max your skill points to get 160 in evasion if you take this.
- Taste for Blood & Vile Weaponry - We're taking STR, so you'd have access to bladed metal armor. Just try to keep your armor penalty low. Maybe take Armor Sloping if you're really committing to metal armor.
- Grenadier - Doesn't really fit with the build, but it's OP as hell.
- Opportunist - Good feat.
Don't feel restricted to this list by the way, the base stat points and skills are mostly locked in for this build, so looking through feat list on the builder is recommended.
Feats I'd avoid taking:
- Versatility - Normally taking this and using grenade launcher / blob pistols / electroshock pistols is a great way to get AoE, CC, and more damage types, but with so many points in WIL it's better to just use psi.
- Conditioning - Only affects 3 damage types. Creating a lightweight anti-heat armor set is easy, and cold damage rarely matters. Nervosomnifer + Aegis + Stoicism will easily let you reach Mechanical damage's minimum damage modifier (you can't reduce it past 10%).
- Parry & Riposte - Melee enemies are too easily dealt with by other means to justify these.
- Hemopsychosis - There's no way to fit this into your build without dropping Sprint.
- Weaponsmith - Not worth a feat slot.
- Future Orientation - Tranquillity can't be taken with SI and doubling Limited Temporal Increment's AP cost isn't worth it.
-Skills-
I haven't distributed the skill points all that precisely. Feel free to raise or lower them a bit.
Hacking has been raised to get 120 effective skill to get extra Exoskeletons. Lower it if you either plan on getting the Energizer Glove, or you exclusively want the Technomedic Exoskeleton.
You need 150 effective biology for Nervosomnifer.
-Psi-
Grab Psycho-temporal Contraction as soon as you can.
In the late game, fill your 5 psi slots with Psycho-temporal Contraction, Stasis, Limited Temporal Increment, Electrokinesis, and Electrokinetic Imprint.
-Items-
We'll be using a ton of Adrenaline Shots and Focus Stims.
In the late game, grab Infused Rathound Leather Armor,
The Nervosomnifer blueprint is in the deep caverns, and it'd be nice to get it early, so I'd recommend beating the vanilla game's final boss before going over level 25, the vanilla level cap. You will not struggle to kill the final boss with this build. Also, make sure you heal before Nervosomnifer kills you.
-Tips-
Start with 9 STR, 3 WIL, and 4 INT. Raise INT to 6 first, STR to 11, then WIL to 5. After that, take Increased WIL to get a total of 7. The rest of your base stats should stay the same for the whole game.
Remember that you don't need Survival Instincts to be active 100% of the time. Sometimes it's better to go into a fight with full health and let them take you down to 30% hp.
Captain's Cutlass can cripple enemies, making it easy to deal with most human melee enemies, even without parry. (Sørmirbæren Sabre also has cripple and has a better minimum damage of 15.)
If you're not sure what feats you want, make a save before leveling up and test them! It's often faster than trying to look for info online.
Don't ignore poisons. Coating your sword in Leper Poison is extremely effective.
-Swords-
The Claymore is still good late game. Hell, I've killed the final boss with the Claymore.
Get the Chainsword if you're using an STR build. It's great as a secondary weapon for using leftover action points, and it can proc the bleed from bladed armor.
Flurry gets cancelled if one of your attacks deals no damage. This means that swords with a low minimum damage, such as curved machetes, have a higher chance of getting flurry cancelled.
A max quality super steel sword is better than a tungsten one due to super steel's higher minimum damage and greater accuracy. It's also lighter and doesn't require 6 STR.
Red Dragon is the best sword. It's also the hardest one to get.
A Sørmirbæren Skærder Sword can deal more damage than the Claymore, but only when your minimum damage won't be blocked by the enemy's threshold. The bleed's total damage is equal to the amount of damage the enemy took multiplied by 0.6. That means that if your weapon deals 80 damage, the enemy blocks 30 and takes 50, then the bleed that's applied will deal a total of 30 damage. That 30 damage is split between 3 turns, so the UI will say "Bleeding for 10 damage every turn."
Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have to go test my Cryo-Metathermic & Taste for Blood sword build, laser pistol SI build, and my non-flurry Chainsword build... All while I ignore that riot armor and shields exist.
