Another newcomer.

[Untel]

Hey there, like quite a few people i'm coming for advice about builds, i've been eagerly waiting for Expedition to launch and start a game so there it is.

It's probably far from optimized but the main thing that i think i can screw for now is the main stats so hopefully i'm good and i'll be able to course correct the skills after, i'm going for a sneaky pistol / sniper build with crafting and obligatory speech hacking lock-picking of the 1st play through and light armor... Probably ?. Brings back memories of Fallout so i might as well start with the same build i did way back then. I haven't finished to toy around with feats, if you got any advice i'm all ears.

Thanks for the feedback !

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgYIBwUKAwfCoAEAAAAAwqDCoMKgAADCh8KHAADChwAAAADChwBjATV-M9-_

[TheAverageGortsby]

OK.  A little bit of min/maxing will go a long way with what you've got.  Not cutting edge stuff, not crazy micromanagement stuff.

Take 27 points out of Persuasion and 30 points out of Mercantile.  That's going to be enough for everything, and it's going to give you 57 more points.

Take 45 points out of Tailoring unless you want to use Leather Armor, in which case only take 30 points out.  Take 25 points each out of Mechanics and Electronics.

Take 65 points out of Hacking and 80 points out of Lockpicking.

Now look at all those points you've saved.  You're still going to be able to hit every threshold check in the game, but now you can let your character do so much more.  I could tell you what to do, but honestly, it would just be better if you did what you thought would be cool.  Make the character again with these new skill levels and post it, and we'll give you feedback on it.

[Untel]

Ok so i went back to the drawing board a little and there it is. I like the different possibilities it opened so thanks for that and i wondered how are my base abilities ? Numbers sound good ?

Mandatory link to build http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgYIBwUKAwfCoB4AAAAAwqBfUAA9bm5wUGkAAAAAbABFATV-M9-_.

I only have to choose 15 of the 70 feats that sound cool, any guidance for some must have low level (like awareness in Fallout) and most notably some to avoid because even though they sound good to initiates they suck ? I'll weed it more again soon but man it's an overwhelming amount of possibilities.

[TheAverageGortsby]

Well, I think you're definitely going to want Ambush, Critical Power, and Blindsiding.

With no dodge or evasion, you're going to be getting hit a lot. Really an awful lot.  So you probably should get Paranoia so you don't take as many crits.  You may also want both Grenadier and Quick Tinkering to help keep enemies at bay.

Both Nimble and Sprint should be helpful.

I know you said you wanted to go sniper/pistol, but with low Dex, pistol can't really perform at its peak.  If you can find it in your character concept to go sniper/AR, then you'd want Opportunist, Suppressive Fire, Concentrated Fire, and Commando.  If not, then maybe Kneecap Shot and perhaps Point Shot, so you've got some decent special attacks with the pistol.

[Untel]

Hum, ok thanks for the feedback. I don't like ARs because they just are, well, ARs i know they are good etc but its a bland weapon, could i switch to the newly and mighty shotgun for point blank instead of the pistol ? My only concern is the plethora of feats that come with but i'd love that alternative ?

Also usually play with low constitution but sometime it can bite you back on new games so is it a bad idea to dump to 3 as i see on many guides because i'm not really seasoned in the game ? As for defense skill i read quite a lot of time that they weren't really worth it, i went too far ? Should i squeeze +/- 100 points into ?

Thanks anyway !

Edit:

So i tweaked it a little and came up with two that i like. :3
Both are sniper / shotgun if viable otherwise i'll swith to either a crossbow build or finesse gun build.

First one is heavy agility  / perception but lacks Grenadier and Quick Tinkering: http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgUDDAMNAwfCoCIAAAAAwqBffgA9bm5wUGkAAAAAbAATAsKFSygkOSY7Ht-_

The other one decreases Agility for Dexterity to allow for the previous two perks: http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgUHBwMOAwfCoCIAAAAAwqBffgA9bm5wUGkAAAAAbAATAsKFSygkOSY7HhYw378

[TheAverageGortsby]

could i switch to the newly and mighty shotgun for point blank instead of the pistol ?

Also usually play with low constitution but sometime it can bite you back on new games so is it a bad idea to dump to 3

First one is heavy agility  / perception but lacks Grenadier and Quick Tinkering [...]  The other one decreases Agility for Dexterity to allow for the previous two perks

Of course you can. Shotgun is just fine for up close, even without much feat investment.  That said, if it's your close quarters weapon, at the very least pick up Barrel Stare.

If you plan to play the hardest difficulty, 3 CON is going to hurt a bit.  Otherwise, you should be fine as long as you don't mean to play an Ironman-type game.  If you're OK with reloading from time to time (not terribly often) then 3 CON is fine.  With experience, you could make a 3 CON Ironman run with many types of build, I'm sure.

Either one should be fine. If you go with 12 Agi then you may as well pick up Blitz; I can't see any reason not to.  The more balanced agi/dex build, with Grenadier and QT, will give you more damage potential and more "oh &$%@" recovery potential.  If you like high risk/high reward, the 12 AGI build has your name on it.  If you'd prefer Safety Through Overwhelming Use Of Demolitions, pick up Grenadier and QT.

[Untel]

Ok well here we go for the balanced version i want to be able to play with a lot of the toys on offer. Thanks again for the feedback and help, will try to update the topic after some playtest. 

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgUHBwMOAwfCoB4AAAAAwqBffgA9bm5wUGkAAAAAbAAXASgdMDUWJjE5HgLClsKPfjNLwoXfvw

[Untel]

Hey there UnderRail builders. After having tried the Sniper build i got bored because i couldnt find any sniper at all and no shotgun before the GMS Expetition quest (and building those either costs a lot of talent and money even more money sadly) and had failed most speech checks so... I went back to the drawing board for something that would allow me to spread base stats less do my checks and still have fun so i went for a Pistol / Subterfuge / Social character and i'm having a blast (mostly) for now. Oh and i'm playing on normal.

I'm currently in Depot A and there is it : http://underrail.info.tm/build/?CAMMAwMIBgcyAAAAAAAyMjIAJAwAAgAAAAAAADIyMgEXJB5ZW9-_

What do you say of that start ? I'm having a difficult time stealthing in a lot of places but i like the sneaking around opening everything. I'm planning on minmaxing social skills and putting a lot in crafting when they are done, something like that : http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgMQAwMIBgfCoB4AAAAAwqBsQQApbGxTX2wAAAAAUztIARckHllbwrNFMURNMEZLwoUWT9-_

All feats 10+ are in no particular order, just some that seem usefull, i didn't take Ambush because it doesn't seems as easy to use as with snipers and i've got some dilema after that.
First i dont know if Armor Sloping and Ballistics are a good choice but i took them because of my 3 con / agi and no dodge / evasion. Makes me mad sometimes but i kind of like playing that frail dude only good with pistols and his smarts. I'currently rocking a leather armor for Stealth but i'll craft and keep a Vest for combat in the future i think.
Now there is two combos that i wonder about and if i should / could take them its Opportunist / Execute and Cooked Shot / Mad Chemist. I imagined a build with Vile Weaponry and Hypertoxicity but i'ts probably a waste if i don't go full melee.

Any feedback is welcome and thanks for your time guys.

[TheAverageGortsby]

Well, you've got the Dex and traps for Quick Tinkering so that might be worth picking up.  If you can find 30 skill points to spare, Grenadier would also help you out a bit.  If you're planning on using chem pistols then, yes, you should get Cooked Shot (whether you get Mad Chemist or not), and almost all pistol builds should have Execute.

Your Perception seems a little low.  Why do you have 6 Will with no psi?  You'd have been much better served dumping Will and putting those three points into Per and Dex.  Indeed, even you plan to pick up psi later in the game as a support set, you'd still be better off with just 3 Will since with 6 you're not going to have high enough skill values to meaningfully use any abilities except those that don't much scale.

[chimaera]

Now there is two combos that i wonder about and if i should / could take them its Opportunist / Execute and Cooked Shot / Mad Chemist. I imagined a build with Vile Weaponry and Hypertoxicity but i'ts probably a waste if i don't go full melee.

Any feedback is welcome and thanks for your time guys.

Well, you can craft chemical pistols quite early if you invest a bit into pickpocket. With 45 pickpocket my character stole all the ammo from everyone at SGS and in junkyard, and that was enough to afford the components & blueprints.

That said, I'm currently I'm running a thief character with psi for support, and I find it surprisingly easy so far (playign on hard difficulty). With psi you don't have to compromise in terms of firepower, because it's just so powerful on its own, and to get the early abilites you only need money, meaning you don't need to bother with crafting for a long time.

[Untel]

@ TheAverageGortsby : noted for execute i wasn't sure, the 6 will is a leftover from my try to get the shotty early and i messed it up.. Grenadier is indeed on my list i just took it level 10 and will take traps too its really that good i get why people always call those two.

Should i increase Perception over Agility ? I had read that for pistols 8 Perception was good enough were they wrong ?

@ chimaera : yeah i read that about pickpocket i think that if i do another run i will use it, cant for now i'm to thin aleady i think. But thanks for the tips nonetheless.

[TheAverageGortsby]

Should i increase Perception over Agility ? I had read that for pistols 8 Perception was good enough were they wrong ?

Over Agility? Absolutely.  Over Dex? Maybe.

Perception is what scales your Guns skill.  More Guns skill, more damage when you shoot things, and a greater chance to hit.  If you're playing Normal and you're fairly new to the game, or playing Hard and you really know what you're doing, 8 is probably enough.  But for a new player, or a DOMINATING run, I would not be happy with 8 Perception as a gunner.

[Untel]

Okay that's noted. Will bump my will points into Perception in that case.