SMG/Grenadier Build - Leather/Evasion - Improvements

[Firestalker]

Hey guys, first time poster here.
Bought the game few days ago and already got 60h into it, loving it!

To the Build:

SMG Build without Junkjard Suprise because I hate wasting time eating that stuff. With Crafting Benches and huxkey

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?AwGloJgVhBmECMMDscQA42obGAWGcEPCRXMmdVKTIgTgUQUyrkwWDrG6KIlIhdYANjZwueRlBhRqXYaWTxkXdPDqwgA

Level: 25

BASE ABILITIES
___________________________

        Strength:    3   
       Dexterity:   10 (15+1food) (Mandatory for reaching 16 dex and 3 8.6mm Bursts)
         Agility:    7   
    Constitution:    3   
      Perception:   8   
            Will:    3   
    Intelligence:    6 (7)

SKILLS LVL 25
___________________________

   OFFENSIVE
            Guns:  135(180)
        Throwing:   45(87)
   DEFENSIVE
           Dodge:    42 (65)
         Evasion:   135(169)

   SUBTERFUGE
         Stealth:  135(169)
         Hacking:   87(135) with Huxkey
     Lockpicking:   58(136) with Huxkey

   TECHNOLOGY with Crafting Bonus
       Mechanics:  91(131) enough for best SMG
     Electronics:  118(170) enough for best NV-Smart Googles/Energy Shield
       Chemistry:   87(128) 112 without crafting bonus for Best Grenade
         Biology:   38 (69) 60 without crafting bonus for some drugs
       Tailoring:  109(156) enough for Infused Siphoner Gear

FEATS
___________________________
   lvl 0   - Expertise (dps mandatory)
   lvl 0   - Sprint (hit and run alternative)
   lvl 2   - Pack rathound (can't stand 130 weight, especially with multiple smg's, bullet types and grenades in inventory)
   lvl 4   - Grenadier (dps mandatory)
   lvl 6   - Interloper (not needed but a huge quality of life improvement, feel free to adjust)
   lvl 8   - Spec Ops (dps mandatory)
   lvl 10 - GunNut
   lvl 12 - Commando (dps mandatory)
   lvl 14 - Skinner
   lvl 16 - Nimble (defence mandatory)
   lvl 18 - Opportunist (only in combination with Supressive Fire, feel free to adjust)
   lvl 20 - Suppressive Fire (only in combination with Opportunist, feel free to adjust)
   lvl 22 - Clothier or Three-Pointer (I suggest Three-Pointer for crit Grenades)
   lvl 24 - Power Managment

Gear:
NV-Smart-Googles because the Burst skill counts as special attack
Infused Siphoners Leather Armor 15% armor penality (soft padded with Kevlar coat or black cloth) Infused Siphoner Tabi
Steelcat 8.6mm with Smart Module, and Muzzle (rapid reloader at 15dex+1food for 3 burst)
Jaguar 7.6mm  with Smart Module, and Muzzle (rapid reloader at 15dex+1food for 4 burst)
Jaguar 5mm  with Smart Module, and Muzzle (rapid reloader at 15dex+1food for 5 burst)

Down below I attached a Spreadsheet for Dex to Burst ap cost. 16 seems to be a breakpoint as you are able to fire 3 bursts with 8.6mm or 4 with adrenalin

Shield: Double High or High/Medium if high caliber bullets like sniper rifle or assault rifle bother you, double low or low/medium if melee attacks are a problem (although energy shields are always better for bullets). Unsure about High Efficiency Energy Converter or Circular Wave Amplifier

Progression:
First TacVest until ratking for the ancient Leather armor after that foundry + Infused Siphoner Leather armor


Thanks for any Reply!

[Bruno]

Hi

I play now with a similar build, only focused on traps & smg, instead of grenades & smg.
A couple of observations:

-Pack Rathound is very much needed. Lugging around stuff with 130 carry limit is just horrible. I'd take it on any character with low strength, as one of the first 4-5 picks.

-Interloper is so nice with a stealth focus. It's mainly about quality of life, you use stealth so much, that more speed is a godsend.

-And a 3rd quality of life thing: if using traps a lot, Traps Expert is mandatory. The time spent on arming disarming traps/mines is too much without. (If only using traps sporadically in combat, Quick Tinkering only is probably enough.)

-Stealth+Expertise+Spec Ops+a silenced 5mm smg is very cool for assasinating lone targets, without alerting others.

-Traps and mines are awesome, if a bit heavy.

(But one thing bother me about these smg-builds I see everywhere - so ultra high dexterity. Is it really necessary? Why boost a perfectly fine 7 or 8 dex up to 14-15?? For those 7 ability points, you can for example raise constitution all the way up from 3 to 10, and take conditioning or thick skull, and be like 400% more durable in combat. That has to be way better than *maybe* squeesing in one more burst fire shot and running out of ammo even faster...)

[Firestalker]

thx for the reply

- yeah thats why I take pack rathound with lvl 2 already

- good to know I probably keep interloper in there

- Im not a friend of traps (at least for a smg build) kinda feel like with the smg build im rushing into point blank range and with traps I need to kite enemies into them. Feel like traps are better for snipers and crossbow builds

- well I guess its about getting into range and having enough bursts to kill as many enemies befor they even get a turn to react. Also dex increases some useful skills where as constitution does not.

- for the ammo I dual wield smgs with a bullet strap so most enemies are dead befor I run out

- but I see that you could go with 10 constitution for that sweet thick skull