Preparing for Dominating. Do you think it will work out?

[HulkOSaurus]

Hello,

How's it going?

I'm nearly done with my first run on Hard(just entered Deep Caverns), and am thinking about Dominating--big project, so I'd rather be prepared, and from early on, too. Or not bother at all, if those better than me say so, that is.

I few words about me as a player. I am not that good at this game, and that reflects on my playstyle--I found roughly half the oddities. I wasn't trying/I didn't want to/I am bad at it . I put some points into Lockpicking/Hacking, but later found that I just wasn't doing any of it, so it ended up being wasted points. After all, I can't bash containers in this game :C. I am sure that if you keep them invested in at optimal levels you'd find something good, but as far as I can remember 80 effective in each didn't produce anything notable for me. The crafting did, though. I'd be happy to keep all crafting disciplines at optimal levels. Hunt some stuff, get some loot, craft some goods. Sound right in my book.

Not a stealthy type, too. I was doing scouting by walking in the front door, counting how many there are, and then walking out. No worries if they shoot at me, I was clad in the heaviest armour I could make, plus also being stun resistant, which, I think, was the best choice I could make in this game .

Now, my character was also good at psi stuff. I picked them more on account of me seeing what they had to offer, rather than wanting to create an optimal character, though. I can already see that combining heavy armour with psi gizmos won't produce an optimal choice in this game(unless, of course, I am wrong.) Or to be more precise, I'd very much like to be able to craft myself everything, wear the heaviesst armour, and still being able to manipulate the combat with force fields and force traps(gosh, I can't remember the names), but that seems unlikely from my current pov. 

So combining everything I know of the game I came with this:
Character Name: UghMericaH
Starting Stats:
Str: 9
Dex: 6
Agl: 3
Con: 10
Per: 6
Will: 3
Int: 3
Put one point in Dex, two in Int, then pump Per.
Focus: Assault Rifles, Heavy Armour, Throwing, Traps, Crafting/Special Bullets.
Feats: Conditioning, Expertise, Pack Rathound, Juggernaut, Thick Skull, Last Stand, Full Auto, Commando, Concentrated Fire, Grenadier, Three Pointer, Quick Tinkering.

I don't have the exact metagame info in my brain, but I'd avoid any Lunatics at any time, since they can reduce Con and have some one-shot gizmos available(Mental Breakdown and crit Neural Overclocking.) The mall fight would be me carpeting everything with caltrops, barring every entrance with traps and pumping gas everywhere. Psi beetles seem like trouble, too. Other than that, I don't think there's much I'd want to avoid. If it seems like trouble, the crafting aspect of the char should give enough money/options to deal with it somehow... I hope.

Thoughts?   

[MirddinEmris]

I would really suggest having 8 Str and going for supersteel armor. 90-95% mech resist is way better than additional ~20 points of mech threshold that tungsten will offer.

Per is a bit too small for a character with firearm as main weapon. I would aim for 8-10. Remember that your skill affects both accuracy and damage.

For feats i would also recommend Opportunist and Suppressive Fire. Suppressive fire gives enemies debuff on speed which in turn procs increased damage from Opportunist

Invest in stealth. Seriously. Just do it. Keep stealth gear on hand.

I few words about me as a player. I am not that good at this game,

Then maybe you shouldn't play difficulty that was specifically designed for people who found Hard too easy. You probably won't enjoy it and will be frustrated.

[HulkOSaurus]

Well, at least they have no queries about the name .

Thanks for the input, guys. It's quite valuable, actually.

Now... in order.

Then maybe you shouldn't play difficulty that was specifically designed for people who found Hard too easy. You probably won't enjoy it and will be frustrated.

It's a fair point, man . Thing is, if I do it again on Hard, using what I already know, I'll steam roll it. I have no illusions that the higher difficulty will be less grindy, but on the other hand... no other place to go, really . Still, I won't insist too much on it, if that is the final verdict .

I would really suggest having 8 Str and going for supersteel armor. 90-95% mech resist is way better than additional ~20 points of mech threshold that tungsten will offer.

This is what I mean by not being good at the game. I've never even seen a single piece of super-what's-its-face. Now I need to read where to get it/how to craft it. 1 less point in strength, and into Perception sounds very good.

For feats i would also recommend Opportunist and Suppressive Fire. Suppressive fire gives enemies debuff on speed which in turn procs increased damage from Opportunist

I like it. Though... what to take out? Packrathound? Despite it being a quality of life pick I value a lot, it doesn't have direct impact on combat. Another thing I thought about was Conditioning. On account of me planning on generally avoiding most of the psi-users and using heavy equipment, I could use lifter's belt instead for another 10 % phys resist until I gear up more.

Another point you made was about stealth. I was using a bit of stealth to finish the Abram quest line in Junkyard, but that came entirely from equip I made/found around. I don't expect that to be enough for higher difficulty. Still, selling the stealth emitter(thing) was enough to get me more cash than I spend for the parts, plus all those coins Abram gave me... mmm. May I ask you to elaborate a bit more on that point?

Are you planning to play on oddity or classic? Classic's much easier thanks to all the extra kills and higher level enemies. Oddity will be harsh if you miss a lot of them.

Oddity pretty much doesn't exist with me . I think even on Classic I will be leveling up as quickly as somebody really good(means having all the meta-game info) on Oddity. I am just not good at hunting those down.

You can totally skip lockpicking and hacking, but keep in mind that between all the boxes of random junk they also have occasional high impact uses, such as skipping the hardest parts of Depot A or hacking an auto-turret in GMS to wipe out the raiders. You might miss those when the difficulty goes up.

Aware of that, yes. I remember doing it the old-fashioned way first, then finding that console and reloading the game to check whether the turret would fire at the raiders. Neat little thing.

In depot A, I remember dancing around a corner with a sniper rifle I had/found/crafted... Gave me a laugh, cause I figured it had an accuracy penalty later on. You outrange the turrets with a sniper rifle, though... unless their range is bumped up?

I guess you're taking that early 7 dex for Quick Tinkering? It's the closest you can get to Electrokinetic Imprint (the force trap) without psi. You'll also get Three-Pointer with that, but it's underwhelming in comparison. Nice with Grenadier at high levels and/or with high dex. Grenadier on its own is very good, more opportunities to use grenades is huge when you can't destroy everyone and everything in a couple of turns.

That I am not too sure about... I think I can lower the starting Constitution of the char and pump perception a bit. The 1 Strength lower already helps. We could definitely rework the char and take earlier assault rifle/crafting gizmos and leave three pointer and quick traps for later... They do seem like they're needed at a later stage. Other than Lunatics, there isn't anything that can stun you early on?... Right?



On a more general note, and from what else I could read, the Acid-spewing Muties are people's biggest concern, and understandibly so. After the game opens up, I will be able to choose more selectively where to go and who to fight, but until then, those seem like number one priority. Well, how about a floor carpeted with caltrops, traps put in a checkered fashion(to make them lose ap as they wedge themselves around), then blowing it all up with a granede? How useful would acid-resistant gear crafted from those hides be? Never bothered with that on my first try ... but I expect it to be mandatory during this run.


And finally: We can rethink the char a bit based on what we've said so far.

Name: OneAndOnly
Stats:
Str: 7
Dex: 6
Agl: 3
Con: 9
Per: 7
Will: 3
Int: 5
Put one point in Per, then one point in Str, then one point in Con, then one point in Dex, then pump Per. Use rathound burritos for str at all times.
Focus: Assault Rifles, Granades, Caltrops, Traps, Heavy Armour, Crafting/Special Bullets.
Feats: Opportunist, Expertise, Suppressive Fire, Juggernaut, Thick Skull, Last Stand, Full Auto, Commando, Concentrated Fire, Grenadier, Three Pointer, Quick Tinkering.

The only thing still in question is the order one would want to take the feats, I guess. Can we talk about that, please?

[MirddinEmris]

It's a fair point, man . Thing is, if I do it again on Hard, using what I already know, I'll steam roll it. I have no illusions that the higher difficulty will be less grindy, but on the other hand... no other place to go, really . Still, I won't insist too much on it, if that is the final verdict .

Just wanted to make sure you know what you are in for)

This is what I mean by not being good at the game. I've never even seen a single piece of super-what's-its-face. Now I need to read where to get it/how to craft it. 1 less point in strength, and into Perception sounds very good.

Super steel is the stuff you can make at a hefty price after finishing foundry quest. Fix Gloria and Bernard will offer you to make it at a price of 3000 charons per piece (either 1, 2 or 3 pieces at once). The main problem with that is that it's a random process - you get pieces of quality from 70 to 160. And you have to wait for it for quite a time (don't quite remember, something like half an hour or more). So getting it is a pretty grindy process, unless you use speedhack. On the other hand metal armor made from 4 pieces of 150+ quality steel plates will give you around 70% mech resist alone and for another 2 pieces of similar quality + high density foam padding of 120+ quality you will get boots with ~20% more. That is already pretty tough tin can, but you will also have something around 80-85% energy resist with components of this quality. Top it with 10 con + Juggernaut and enemies will have to strike pretty hard to even make a dent in you.

Mind you, you'll need 160 effective mechanics skill to make this.

Another point you made was about stealth. I was using a bit of stealth to finish the Abram quest line in Junkyard, but that came entirely from equip I made/found around. I don't expect that to be enough for higher difficulty. Still, selling the stealth emitter(thing) was enough to get me more cash than I spend for the parts, plus all those coins Abram gave me... mmm. May I ask you to elaborate a bit more on that point?

Just means that even if you are a tin can, you should invest into stealth skill and make stealthy gear (stealthy leather armor, ninja tabis, black balaclavas etc.) at hand. After all, some figths are better fought prepared. Even toughest tin cans can have another one ripped in them by group of Psi motherlovers (and there will be quite a bit more of them on Dominating than on lower difficulties).

Stealth means you can prepare for battle (by placing traps for example) or even evade it. In DC it's very useful, so much that i consider playing without stealth at that point as upping the difficulty of the game (DOMINATING+ if you will)

Bunch of random advice:

Craft AR that can be burst fired with less than 45 action points. That means you can burst even when you loose 15 AP due to stun effect. Or you can throw a grenade if you don't).  Craft another one, that is a bit more heavy. Change them at will.

Use toxic gas grenades. They are really good.

Smart goggles will increase all your damage from burst attacks. So will smart module in your AR. Find the best components you can and use them. Overall it can increase your burst damage by ~80% on top of all other modifiers.

You may want to invest in mercantile skill, it will open you additional store inventory, often of higher quality, from several vendors. It will make your life much easier since you will craft often.

Psi are not your bros. Geek the mage first, then bother about anything else.

Try to be on friendly terms with Faceless, otherwise it's like another bump in difficulty in DC.

Stack up on W2C ammo. Really. Take it ALL with you into DC. Thank me later.

Try using molotov + closed door tactics against critters (possible in several places). Critters can't open doors.

You can drop Three-pointer, bump Int 1 point and take Armor Sloping. That will mean you can move in your armor. More or less anyway. Not necessary, but worth considering

The only thing still in question is the order one would want to take the feats, I guess. Can we talk about that, please?

Take Grenadier as soon as you can. Around lvl 4 i think. That would mean being able to slug molotov every 2 rounds. Pretty good against hordes of rathound you will encounter at this point.

Expertise can wait until lvl 16-20 or so. Good investment overall, but taken too early will weight you down.

Take Commando at lvl 14. Additional burst is like twice the usual damage. Meaning you take ti as soon as you can. Meaning lvl 14

Take Full Auto at lvl 6. Additional bullets per burst. Big damage increase.

I would recommend starting with 10 Con already. That means you can take Thick Skull and Juggernaut as feats on lvl 1-2, meaning less competition for later useful feat slots.

[HulkOSaurus]

...

Hey! Thanks for the reply, man! Ultimately, you don't have to do it, you know...

Everything I learn here helps me(or somebody else reading this) not grinding another character, min/maxing things over and over again .

A few things...

Craft AR that can be burst fired with less than 45 action points. That means you can burst even when you loose 15 AP due to stun effect. Or you can throw a grenade if you don't).  Craft another one, that is a bit more heavy. Change them at will.

Use toxic gas grenades. They are really good.

Smart goggles will increase all your damage from burst attacks. So will smart module in your AR. Find the best components you can and use them. Overall it can increase your burst damage by ~80% on top of all other modifiers.

Psi are not your bros. Geek the mage first, then bother about anything else.

Try to be on friendly terms with Faceless, otherwise it's like another bump in difficulty in DC.

Stack up on W2C ammo. Really. Take it ALL with you into DC. Thank me later.

Try using molotov + closed door tactics against critters (possible in several places). Critters can't open doors.

General good advice!

160 Effective Mechanics

Stealth

Mercantile Skill

Armor Sloping

That raises more questions in my head than it answers .

Take a look at this(sliding bar at the bottom for the picture):





This looks like a watered down character to me. This is my gut feeling about it. You know... one that will need to be rerolled.

If 160 effective(that exact number(!)) mechanics is needed to make the absolute best armour, I am willing to tag along for the ride. No probs. The character will need at least 7 Int for that, though. Taking 1 point out of Dex makes us loose Three Pointer and Quick Tinkering but it opens up Gun Nut and a few other interesting options.

Armour sloping I've tried, and unless you're forgetting to tell me that super-whatcha-call-it makes lighter armour(does it?), being fully armoured will still produce 95 % armour penalty, regardless. I'd love to have extra movement points, otherwise.

I think it's fair to ask how much Mercantile you need to open up those stores . I saw them when I was playing, but it came across as something that only characters deeply invested in Mercantile can open up. Plus, I couldn't find how many points you needed when I looked. If possible, it would be very interesting to work with something that has more than 140 quality!

I politely admit that your stealth opinion is the one that I take with a pinch of salt. How much of it is opinion and how much of it is practical?...

I'd love to have extra tricks up my sleeve. Observing enemies from a distance, knowing their numbers and position and setting traps closer to them is no joke. My initial point about not being a stealthy type comes more from a role-playing perspective rather than a min-maxing one. But what is the price to be paid here? And above all, will it work on Dominating with 3 Agl?! Sure, I don't mind crafting a few extra bits and bobs. They don't weigh much, too. But I am afraid the character is becoming watered down now. 

[LJ40]

Armour sloping I've tried, and unless you're forgetting to tell me that super-whatcha-call-it makes lighter armour(does it?), being fully armoured will still produce 95 % armour penalty, regardless. I'd love to have extra movement points, otherwise.

It does weigh less(my galvanic 4x super steel armor weighs 15.60, with 64% armor penalty). And unless you're using a metal helmet and boots (probably shouldn't be using either), you shouldn't be that close to 95%, because goggles and tabi boots don't add any.

[TheAverageGortsby]

This looks like a watered down character to me. This is my gut feeling about it. You know... one that will need to be rerolled.

I think it's fair to ask how much Mercantile you need to open up those stores .

http://www.underrail.com/wiki/index.php?title=Mercantile

I wouldn't go any deeper in Throwing than you need to pick up Grenadier, and wouldn't recommend Three Pointer unless you have a really strong urge to play as throwing primary.  With throwing as a support mechanism to a different, primary attack, you don't gain enough accuracy to justify the lost points, and all you really needed was the cooldown reduction.  Pull those points back.

Chemistry is iffy, as well.  If you're going to go deep in Mercantile, then you don't really need more than 40 effective chem to make gas, thermite and flashbangs early on (and maybe acid bullets if you shoot 9mm), since you'll be able to buy the tier 4 grenades and Napalm C from merchants.  Even if you don't want to rely on merchant RNG, I wouldn't go over 69 effective (counting housing bonus) unless you plan to use chem pistols.  69 chem makes incendiary ammo, tier 4 grenades&mines, cryo grenades, and Napalm C.  Pull those points back.

If you're willing to carry stealth gear and swap stuff out, then you only need maybe half of that stealth and you can avoid everything that can be avoided in the game.  With 65 real points in Stealth and stealth gear you can sneak through Emporion (the Lunatic Mall) and never need to kill anyone on the second floor.  If you're not willing to swap out gear, then even 130 points won't be enough while you're wearing heavy armor.  Stealth isn't necessary by any means even on Dominating.  Pull either half or all those points back.

You'll need a few more points in Mercantile to unlock the best merchants supplies.  You'll only need that much in Bio if you plan to cook Super Soldier.

[Fenix]

Emporium on Dominating is a really hard thing... Dunno about "only half needed" because my char with 75 stealth and 8 Agi barely could sneak to a statue - ther is nasty stealthed sniper there.
And he used everything available.

Not sure, maybe I even did dirty trick "adrenalin+bean+stealth" and literally run in stealth through them.
Maybe not.

[TheAverageGortsby]

Emporium on Dominating is a really hard thing... Dunno about "only half needed" because my char with 75 stealth and 8 Agi barely could sneak to a statue - ther is nasty stealthed sniper there.
And he used everything available.

With movement speed drugs, +Agi steak (or Junkyard Surprise), Infused Cave Hopper Leather Armor, ninja tabis, black cloth balaclava, and Cloaking Device, you still had trouble sneaking?  I should go take a look, maybe I'm remembering that part wrong.

[HulkOSaurus]

Thanks for all the input, guys!

https://i.imgur.com/dgCWklE.png

It seems to do most everything it set out to do, now with two surprising additions of Mercantile and Stealth.

But if it doesn't help, at least it won't do much damage.

Name: NewAndImproved

Starting Stats:
Str: 7
Dex: 5
Agl: 3
Con: 10
Per: 7
Will: 3
Int: 5

Put one into Dex, one into Str, one into Per, two into Int, one into Per.
 
Feats: Juggernaut(starting), Thick Skull(Starting), Opportunist(lvl 2), Grenadier(lvl 4), Last Stand(lvl 6), Supressive Fire(lvl 8 ), Full Auto(lvl 10), Concentrated Fire(lvl 12), Commando(lvl 14), Expertise(lvl 16), Gun Nut(lvl 18), Armour Sloping(lvl 20), Suggestions for last two , possible quick pockets here?

Focus: Assault Rifles, Heavy Armour, Crafting/Special Drugs/Special Ammo.

Support Skills: Throwing, Stealth, Traps, Mercantile.

Armour Sloping can produce less than 95 % armour penalty, though in some cases like Burrowers and Death Stalkers, coming fully outfitted in heavy seems to be more reasonable. Having the option to have movement points at a stage of the game is good, though. I consider it to be something more situational.

People have consistently shown that they are not enthusiastic about Three Pointer. It won't be the first time in RPG history when a skill looks cool, but... In which case, I am willing to listen .

Stealth is something that the character can utilize, but more sparcely than people expect, and despite the flexibility that high crafting brings. Bear in mind that before attempting a certain scenario, I'd be looking around the map to find something that is easier for my character to do--burrowers, death stalkers, rathounds, ironheads, bandits, cannibals, lurkers, non-acid muties. There are a few Psi gizmos there, but nothing like bands of Lunatics or hordes of Psi Beetles. The extra xp will help in any case. Also, being able to loot some stuff occassionally and complete a quest is welcomed(most noteworthy--Abram). The initial weather forecast for the Lunatics at the mall of gas clouds and deluge of caltrops and mines stands--no stealth there, sorry.

I will take the time to make special equipment - to name a few - insulated set for spiders or acid-resistant set for muties. We should utilize everything we have available for top difficulty, after all ^_^.

With the surprising addition of Mercantile, money doesn't seem like too big of a concern. Also, pretty excited for the special stores, to be honest. Crafting throwables and mines certainly would be easy and we have the biggest resource sink ever in the face of Super-Tin smelting furnace. Melting currency to gamble for armour... depreciation is not a thing in the world of Underrail .

Keeping throwing fairly high keeps the granades landing mostly where we want them and it opens a few nice options like nets and poisoned knives. I think those are worth considering on a situational basis. 

There is a slight worry over accuracy with the build only able to reach 10 perception with goggles, but there's always spray and pray, plus bullets really won't be that much of a trouble. We're not smg, we're assault rifles, ffs! Plus, I don't know if high quality assault rifles(140+) come with accuracy bonus; most welcomed if they do. Can't wait for supersoldiers.

That about seems to be the size of it... Yay or Nay ?

[TheAverageGortsby]

Suggestions for last two , possible quick pockets here?

Take another look at Ambush and see if it interests you.  You don't need to be in stealth to use it, you just need to be in a darkened area.  If you're going to have accurate throws and engaging from moderate distances, you can get a lot of +hit% and +crit% with Ambush and a stack of flares or the fire from your incendiaries.  Quick pockets is never the wrong choice, but I rarely find it's the right one, either.  It's a great choice if there's nothing else you need.

[MirddinEmris]

Hey! Thanks for the reply, man! Ultimately, you don't have to do it, you know...

I don't, but i like sharing what i know when someone genuinely asks for that)

If 160 effective(that exact number(!)) mechanics is needed to make the absolute best armour, I am willing to tag along for the ride. No probs. The character will need at least 7 Int for that, though. Taking 1 point out of Dex makes us loose Three Pointer and Quick Tinkering but it opens up Gun Nut and a few other interesting options.

No need for 7 Int. Remember that after finishing main storyline quest in Core City, you can purchase workbenches in your house (hit the wiki for specific info) that will give you 15%  boost to specific crafting skill.

Three Pointer is good when you have Dex as main or second stat and have skill points to spare on throwing. I mean it will not cripple you, even with base 10% crit it's a nice feat to have

Armour sloping I've tried, and unless you're forgetting to tell me that super-whatcha-call-it makes lighter armour(does it?), being fully armoured will still produce 95 % armour penalty, regardless. I'd love to have extra movement points, otherwise.

Super steel happens to be lightest metal armor out of them all. Even with boots you'll have like 60-70% armor penalty if you have Armor Sloping. If you want to be lighter, just done tabis instead and enjoy being moderately mobile while pretty tough at the same time.

The thing about mechanical resist is that it's an increasing return (as opposed to diminishing return). Each 1% increased will give you "more". For example, increasing your resist from 40% to 50% will not give you that much change of the gameplay, while same 10% increase from 80% to 90% is a world of difference.




I think it's fair to ask how much Mercantile you need to open up those stores . I saw them when I was playing, but it came across as something that only characters deeply invested in Mercantile can open up. Plus, I couldn't find how many points you needed when I looked. If possible, it would be very interesting to work with something that has more than 140 quality!

I politely admit that your stealth opinion is the one that I take with a pinch of salt. How much of it is opinion and how much of it is practical?...

I'd love to have extra tricks up my sleeve. Observing enemies from a distance, knowing their numbers and position and setting traps closer to them is no joke. My initial point about not being a stealthy type comes more from a role-playing perspective rather than a min-maxing one. But what is the price to be paid here? And above all, will it work on Dominating with 3 Agl?! Sure, I don't mind crafting a few extra bits and bobs. They don't weigh much, too. But I am afraid the character is becoming watered down now. 

I meant more like 50-70 points investment + keeping stealth gear at hand (it's not that heavy thankfully). You don't need to invest whole 130 points in it. Gear will more than compensate for 3 agi. It's more for use in a pinch where you can't use your ordinary tactics of sending lots of bullets into the enemies while taking their punches and outlasting them. And finishing some quests more optimally.

Feats: Juggernaut(starting), Thick Skull(Starting), Opportunist(lvl 2), Grenadier(lvl 4), Last Stand(lvl 6), Supressive Fire(lvl 8 ), Full Auto(lvl 10), Concentrated Fire(lvl 12), Commando(lvl 14), Expertise(lvl 16), Gun Nut(lvl 18), Armour Sloping(lvl 20)

Very decent progression and selection. Though i would drop Gun Nut, unfortunately, it's not that good, certainly not as good to warrant 1 additional Int point investment.

Also, maybe switch Full Auto and Last Stand. With Thick Skull, Juggernaut and 10 Con you already have plenty of staying power for that level, but it will not help you without keeping up damage output.

You need only 105 or so effective mercantile to beat highest check on that skill and 95 to open second tier spec merch in most useful shop. Money is pretty easy in this game, no need to overinvest here too.

- The absolute highest possible mechanics you could need for a super steel tin can is technically 167, but less than 160 is probably good enough.

You mean like having all 160 quality supersteel plates?) Not without some cheating or godlike patience and grind.

- Around 100 tailoring is good enough for metal armor, but you might want to go up to 120-140 if you plan to craft a secondary stealthy set.

He can do that with 100 tailoring too. Not sure if couple more stealth points on top of that is worth investing more in the skill.

Keeping throwing fairly high keeps the grenades landing mostly where we want them and it opens a few nice options like nets and poisoned knives. I think those are worth considering on a situational basis.

There is a slight worry over accuracy with the build only able to reach 10 perception with goggles, but there's always spray and pray, plus bullets really won't be that much of a trouble. We're not smg, we're assault rifles, ffs! Plus, I don't know if high quality assault rifles(140+) come with accuracy bonus; most welcomed if they do. Can't wait for supersoldiers.

Something like 80 effective (or even less) is more than enough to keep grenades where you want them.

There is ONLY spray and pray for you) But it will be your enemies doing praying, don't worry. Burst mechanic is pretty OP in this game. Don't worry too much about accuracy, just don't forget to keep night vision smart goggles on you.

That about seems to be the size of it... Yay or Nay ?

More or less yay)

P.S. I repeated some stuff other people already said. Sorry about that, was a bit to tired to read all thread  thoroughly

[Fenix]

I think I didn't have infused hopper armor, so it was Rathound Regalia or usual armor.

[HulkOSaurus]

Now that's something I haven't seen in a while! You can also use http://underrail.info.tm/build/ to plan your character builds, including feats. Comes with some handy options like showing skill bonuses from your house crafting benches and various items.

This is how your build would look like there:
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?GQgGAwoJAwfCh2oAAAAAZAAAAG7CgMKAMGPCgAAAAAAAYlVjJhYfOxVKSU9TRQ

Thanks, man. That looks like a cool tool there .

Oddities are only a small part of total XP on Classic. Trust me, Classic is faster by far.  Oddity is the main experience system and far better balanced, buuut if you don't like the idea of carefully looking around... you'll just have to suffer the horrible extra XP you get on Classic. You can easily hit the level cap too early on Classic but if you don't mind that, there's no downside to it.

Oddity looks really interesting. As you were saying, on Hard I managed to cap without even starting the Tchort Institute stuff, but when I checked my oddity list, I saw a half empty selection. Realistically, with me Oddity will add another layer of difficulty. If I play on Dominating, but get more xp than on Hard, then that is actually like a middle difficulty. Which sounds like where I need to be at . 3/8 Foundry plans... ect., ect.

Seems like it's changed quite a bit since I last looked at this thread. You've dropped Quick Tinkering and gone for stealth, which means your only way of setting traps is sneaking around and slowly planting them before combat starts - I thought this was not your thing. Taking Stealth isn't bad advice, more versatility never hurts. And sometimes you just want to avoid fights. But you could play without if you don't like it.

Honestly, it hasn't changed that much. My initial point for stealth came more from a role-playing perspective. After all, coming through the front door to count how many and where they are, while they shoot at you is fun . Still, I don't plan on making stealth a strong trait here. Stealth in this game works differently to, say, Guns, meaning that on top of you having to invest skill points in it, you also need to have actual skill to use it. Not a bad thing per se, just not that good with me . But if I can walk close to the edges and show my face around a corner without getting swarmed, plus putting some traps and gas granades here and there, than it looks godd. Just not a very UghMericaH thing.

After all, if it doesn't help, it can do almost no harm.

Doesn't look like you need more skillpoints, but I'm gonna blather about crafting skill requirements anyways. If you don't mind crafting late game gear at the workbenches in your house, you could take ~100 points off from crafting. Something like this:
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?GQgGAwoJAwfCh2oAAAAAZAAAAG5uXzBjRgAAAAAAYlVjJhYfOxVKSU9TRQ (check the crating bonus option)
- The absolute highest possible mechanics you could need for a super steel tin can is technically 167, but less than 160 is probably good enough.
- 135 electronics is enough to make any kind of energy shield with quality 130 parts. Should be enough.
- Around 100 tailoring is good enough for metal armor, but you might want to go up to 120-140 if you plan to craft a secondary stealthy set.
- The exact thresholds depend on how good components you can find. It's a luck/patience thing; Mercantile will help with that.
- Ignore this if you want to craft gear on the field. (Mostly for super high quality components you might find in Deep Caverns.)

Useful info. Especially for those that want to min/max. I think I will stay away from the house shenanigans. Less management and less of a money sink, too. Keeps it a bit more simple .

Take another look at Ambush and see if it interests you. 

You managed to nail it . It is the perfect choice. And it works in an interesting way. Thanks!

No need for 7 Int. Remember that after finishing main storyline quest in Core City, you can purchase workbenches in your house (hit the wiki for specific info) that will give you 15%  boost to specific crafting skill.

True that. It is the better choice from a min/maxing perspective. Being aware of that, though, I will keep the points as they are . I think I will completely pass on the house thing, too. Less management/money sink.

Very decent progression and selection. Though i would drop Gun Nut, unfortunately, it's not that good, certainly not as good to warrant 1 additional Int point investment.

Also, maybe switch Full Auto and Last Stand. With Thick Skull, Juggernaut and 10 Con you already have plenty of staying power for that level, but it will not help you without keeping up damage output.

Cheers!

The 1 point in Int comes mainly from having 130 Biology and 160 Mech. Mind you, I wouldn't want to get invested with a house. I know, it isn't the optimal choice, but it will mean less work for me. Gun Nut seems like the last available pick for a Spray and Pray type, too .

More or less yay)

Green Light given! Let's do it!

[TheAverageGortsby]

I think I will stay away from the house shenanigans. Less management and less of a money sink, too. Keeps it a bit more simple .

I'll just say that if you have both Mercantile and a couple Crafting skills, you will have infinite money by mid-game if you even *slightly* want to.  Not trying to talk you into becoming a real estate mogul, but the two real sinks in the game are aesthetics for the house, and super steel.  Functional upgrades for the house set you back maybe 5k charons. But making it pretty?  That's like 80k more.