Build Help Please "Ranger" (Guns-Infiltration-Speech)

[Ransom]

Hello

I've been researching builds and trying to get a sense of what I want from this game. I wanted to ask for advice before I got too far into the game. The idea I had for a character is someone who is good with guns (I really like assault rifles or sniper rifles and shotguns- though it seems like assault rifles are easier than sniper rifles), taking care of their kit (mechanics), using stealth and lock-picking to position advantageously for fights (stealth, lockpicking) and using speech to defuse situations and prepare effectively (speech, mercantile).

The stat distribution I have is 5/7/7/3/8/3/7

A question on strength: what is the minimum strength where a character can still use long guns effectively?

The skills I've put to 15 are: guns, dodge, evasion, stealth, lockpicking, mechanics, speech, mercantile

I'd like to pick up traps as well.

The trait's I've chosen are aimed shot and nimble

I would be most grateful for any advice on how better to optimize this build. Thank you!

[Juri]

You need to probably reduce dex or agi and put points into perception, think about whether you want to build mainly for AR or sniper and then pick feats accordingly, if sniper you don't need any more strength but if you want to use ARs you might want to consider 7 strength for full auto

[Ransom]

Thank you for your response! I'm having some difficulty with the build and am considering swapping from sniper to assault rifle.

How does
6/5/6/3/10/3/7

sound?

I figure start at a lower level for STR then up it to 7 at level 4.

Side note: is tactical vest/riot armor ok for dodge builds or are they leather only? If I go for the AR/tank style build, then is metal armor a must?

[HulkOSaurus]

For a first time run of the game you could just try a Heavy Armour/Assault Rifle build. 10 Perception is quite ok for AR or SMGs, but I find it lacking for Snipers or Crossbows.

The build is straightforward and you won't have to think hard where to place points. Crafting, Mercantile, Throwing and Guns. You will have spare for whatever else you want.

For crafting in general 6 Int is quite alright. If you want to keep that point there, it's fine, although I think you'll be better served if you put it elsewhere.

[Ransom]

I saw several posts suggesting that heavy armor/AR is the most straightforward build for a beginner (psi being apparently easy but a little less straightforward). Is heavy armor restricted only to metal? For an AR/heavy armor is it best to dump dexterity and agility?

[HulkOSaurus]

You can have several variation of heavier overcoats/armours. The idea here is to trigger the Juggernaut Feat which will need a base armour penalty of 50%. After you assign enough points into Str, Per, Int and Con, you can put the rest in Dex or Agi, although I don't expect you to have any left over. If you can, it won't hurt. You can take Psi as pure support with such a build even with 3 Will. Temporal Manipulation will always give you great results, and Electrokinetic Imprint, Electrokinesis, and Force Field will help a ton.

[Jubei]

I recommend a stealth/assault rifle build. It was the first build I beat dominating difficulty with and was very powerful. I could wipe out entire groups of enemies with a alpha strike out of stealth before they got a turn to act. If you want to get a idea for your build take a look at this.

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgcGBgMPAwbCoFYAAADCoH5ERQAAZ24lTWMAAABGKwBIOSY7TxUxSihJSxYrwocPJMK1wqQn4p-iBeKnqgPip74H378

[Ransom]

Thank you both, HulkOSaurus, and Jubei for your replies. I'll give the matter some thought before I start over the game this weekend. I'm really looking forward to playing now that I have a little better idea of what I ought to do. I'm excited to know that assault rifle can be viable for either tanking or stealth. Thank you again!

[Jubei]

Sounds good. For gear you want to be very crit focused. You can get up to 50% crit chance with Seeker googles (19%), Infused Rathound leather (11%) and 14% from both the crit feats.

For the weapon use a Chimera with a anatomically-aware Scope, with critical power it will boost your crit multiplier to over 300%. At that point a single bullet can one shot a enemy with a crit and you'll be firing 14 to 21 bullets a turn.