New-ish player wants to discuss good builds for expedition

[WhimsicalWhiskey]

Hi, so I'm new to the game (first game just got to Core city as tin can AR build. I'm curious as to what is considered to be a sort of tier list for other builds by type. Most info I found on this subject is before the expansion and thus doesn't include the new stuff added. I'm mostly interested in how spear/shield compares to other melee, how good chem pistols are right now, and how the new psi type compares and shakes up psi builds.

[Fenix]

Spear is best among new weapon introduced in Expedition - solid and fun, tactically flexible and rich.
Shield is well, strng agains melee mechanical damage and that's all.
Chemical pistils are very good and fun to use, tactically rich too.
TP is OK - good for everyone, has powerful tricks, but only 1 direct damage ability.

[WhimsicalWhiskey]

Almost sounds like despite the "designed" synergy for Spears and riot shields, you're saying two handing the spear is just plain better for a melee build. And if that's the case, how do you think two handing the spear compares to the other melee options?

[TheAverageGortsby]

how the new psi type compares and shakes up psi builds.

Temporal Manipulation is very powerful, but it's almost completely a support school. So if your character is weak, adding TM won't necessarily suddenly make that character strong - it will help of course but what TM really does is help you use your other abilities more effectively.

Got a way to get good heavy hit in reliably? Entropic Recurrence will let you duplicate that hit, smearing the damage over time.  Got a good attack you can use often? Psychotemporal Contraction (psi haste) will give you more AP and MP so you can position yourself well and use your good attacks more often.  Limited Temporal Increment will reduce cooldowns, allowing you use those time-constrained abilities more frequently. 

Basically, the new TM school requires a little bit of thinking about how to fit it into your build, but once you've figured out how best to use its abilities, it is probably worth the health pool hit for any build.

[Fenix]

Well, I don't like to invest feats in situational armor which Riot Armor is. It doesn't mean it's fool to do that - many did that and wa sfine. It's just I don't like imperfect builds.
And prefer mobility over DT/DR.
So, when I'll play spear build, it will be using leather armor, not RA.