How to start a Dagger/Stealth toon ?

[( Tchey )]

Hello, i've posted the same on Steam, may be read by different players... I've read this one but there is no information at all inside, beside "yes you can" : http://underrail.com/forums/index.php?topic=1556.0

My previous play in Alpha was Psy and Pistol, i'd may try to go melee and stealth.

However i wonder, should i max Strenght ? It says it affect melee damage. Daggers too ? If i need Strenght, should i wear heavy armor then ? Or stay light ? It seems i need all stats but to be a good " assassin"...

Any tips or general advice for this kind of characters ? I'd like to go rogue, move fast, break into every places i want, steal, hack...

Thanks

[Fenix]

If you like such, than no massive armor, no Str, just Dex.

[rdx]

this is just my theorycraf as i didn't get far with my 'rogue' yet

you don't need str for knives (dmg bonus from str for knives is pretty small) dump it to 3 if you cant get by with bit reduced carry wight, dex is most important, possibly start with 10 dex and even invest every other free stat at lvlups into it, 8 agi to get bonuses for stealth, evasion/dodge and for some feats,  5 constitution, 5 perception (with snooping if you want to discover hidden things if not maybe lower it), you should not need will so dump it to 3 (well theres ripper feat that requires 5 will but its your choice if one feat is worth spending 2 stat points, or you might want social skill), 3/4 int depending how much you want crafting 6 int if you want the feat that gives +5% crit chance for crafted melee weapons actually at least 5 int is nice as there are some really good melee feats that require 5 int (expose weakness for example)

dex is most important coz it affects how often you can attack with light weapons (unarmed, knives, pistols, smgs and throwing) and increases your melee crit chance

for skills i would say melee, both defensive skills and stealth are essential to max, then maybe some throwing, hacking, lockpicking and crafting, traps might be worth investing

i'm not sure about feats as there many really nice ones for knife melee build, could go with any feat that include bleeding as they seem very strong but on the other hand i think only serrated knife can cause bleeding while daggers seem to have better crit and armor penetration against living targets so going for crits feats might be good idea too

again this is just my theorycrafting, if im wrong at some point dont hesitate to correct me

[Ezkaton]

All the tips so far have been good but with a dagger/stealth only toon you'll get blown up by robots and tanky stuff later on. You cannot progress as melee only. Here is a build idea I've thrown together. Maybe it will help in the beginning or help develop something doable.

Glass cannon with light ranged abilities and CC through thrown objects.  Fairly cheap on expenses and ability to gain a lot of currency through selling non usable gears.

==Ability Score==
Str 5
Dex 10
Agi 7
Con 7
Will 3
Int 3



==Skills==
Start all these at 15

Melee
Throwing
Dodge
Evasion
Stealth
Picking
Hacking

You will have 15 points left over to put into crafting if you want to get a head start or if you want to put them into Psi*.
*You'll need to tweak your ability scores to allow proper PSI usage.

==Feats==
Recklessness (Required)

Feat #2 is subject to preference.
Stealth can go for burglar, Nimble, snooping, etc.
More damage can come from opportunist + thrown CC bombs.
Hit and Run is an idea if you want to kite mobs around so you take less dmg against groups of rathouds or melees early game.

Gear: Obviously you'll want to shoot for the dagger with highest crit % early and then transition to a crafted or balance (half crit half damge) dagger later on. I forget the actual names, forgive me. Recklessness will make sure you are critting often. Always try to keep up with stealth items so you can sneak around and get the upper hand in fights. Eventually upgrade to ninja tabi if you find them in a shop or buy prints and begin crafting your own gear.

Again this is the jist of a build. I personally have been working on a stealth mage that fists things to death and it's working mighty well, but not a stabber.

[Fenix]

with a dagger/stealth only toon you'll get blown up by robots and tanky stuff later on. You cannot progress as melee only.

A strong statement, really. Haven't heard about such outcome.

[Ezkaton]

Only using melee, no throwing, xbow, psi, etc, would seem difficult, suggesting that throwing or whatever would compliment it and allow it to get past robuts and stuff.

[Fenix]

Well, dagger using char really have no cpecifical mean to overcome armour, hmm.
I belive that's the point of such build - it is devastating against living targets, weak against mechanical.
If you talk about melee in general you're wrong - unarmed has more ways to deal with armoured guys/robots.