Sniper with a firearm pistol

[chimaera]

Also, are grenades that common in this game so that I can take advantage of the Grenadier feat as early as level 4? I always thought of them as utility from time to time when the situation demands it.

Depends on the grenade type. But molotov cocktails are easy to buy & craft, and are the easiest way to set up ambushes. Underrails most battles (and crawlers are not an exception) are your lone wolf character vs. groups. So it's not just about how much damage your sniper rifle can do, but also about how many times per turn you can shoot. Sniper rifles are loud, so you need to plan for when the rest of group comes running. Both grenades and traps can help here, but then take grenadier and trap expert early.

As for detection & crawlers, it is less about how high your perception is and more about knowing their behaviour patterns. Which is why I'd rate intelligence & crafting skills higher than raising perception all the way. With more crafting you get more tools to work with, e.g. you can craft yourself better goggles for more detection. If you don't want dexterity on your gunslinger, then consider intelligence instead. I've played a dumb character and it's doable but very annoying if you plan on using crafted gear.

[cypherusuh]

You don't really need more than 6 unless you need one of the 7 INT feat or High-technicality build tbh. Crafting is super lenient rn due to hypercerebrix and house bonus. Max per is nice to eliminate lighting penalty and increased the range which you could score 95%, so sniper is well worth it to have 18 Per, unless OP playstyle revolves around "mobile close combat" sniping with lots of disable, caltrops, and "escape" feat (sprint, Strafe). In this case, 13 Per is good enough.
Since you pick Ambush, lighting ain't a problem anyway, and first turn molotov is pretty strong opener

Also, sniper with trap is pretty damn strong, in a metagaming perspective. You could block other potential enemies using bear trap and mines, by the time you shoot the "main" group, everyone in the map will be alerted, caught in bear trap, and soon will die from multiple mine explosion.
Although idk if sniper actually louder than grenade, since mk1 can only affect ~40 tiles, which basically adjacent room

[chimaera]

You don't really need more than 6 unless you need one of the 7 INT feat or High-technicality build tbh. Crafting is super lenient rn due to hypercerebrix and house bonus.

Having to rely on item & house bonuses is why I've found crafting with a dumb character annoying. Also, the op will be playing for the first time, so it might take a long time to get the blueprint (and the house).

As for sniper & traps being strong, the thing is, traps are strong enough on their own. Combining traps and grenades is a bit of an overkill and can clear out entire maps (or almost, as some enemies can't or won't leave their positions) on their own, at which point it doesn't matter what type of gun you use.

[cypherusuh]

You don't really need more than 6 unless you need one of the 7 INT feat or High-technicality build tbh. Crafting is super lenient rn due to hypercerebrix and house bonus.

Having to rely on item & house bonuses is why I've found crafting with a dumb character annoying. Also, the op will be playing for the first time, so it might take a long time to get the blueprint (and the house).

As for sniper & traps being strong, the thing is, traps are strong enough on their own. Combining traps and grenades is a bit of an overkill and can clear out entire maps (or almost, as some enemies can't or won't leave their positions) on their own, at which point it doesn't matter what type of gun you use.

Tbf, Hypercerebrix might be too meta, but house bonus is pretty much available when you able to found dank quality parts through oligarch so it's usually pretty comfy to rely on.

I agree with trap and grenade. It's still strong enough to cheese dominating difficulty, but I hope it won't get nerfed. Or maybe it's damage scale with trap skill somehow, so not all build could abuse it

[Vokial]

Thanks guys for all the insight. I still meddled with the character planner for a while, increasing DEX at the cost of AGI, reallocating a few points here and there, but ultimately ended up returning to the original setup while withrawing some skillpoints from tailoring with the above mentioned excellent faction-armors in mind.
I like the idea of crafting my own armor too so I might end up raising tailoring anyway, it's just the JKK & Grey armor is so nice and the possibility of having slightly better subterfuge and also 85 points in either persuation or mercantile instead sounds quite intriguing. We'll see how it goes.

I'm still level 4 and enjoying the game so far. Just delivered the package for Quicksilver. Saw a few lunatics, but they seem way out of my league, but found a sweet Corsair sniper rifle in a small room - can't even properly use it yet. Probably explore a bit, saw a few stairway a while back, see where it might lead. if it's doable - if not, I'll head after this Newton guy instead.
Thanks again:)

[Vokial]

3 more questions struck me, help is appreciated:

 - Does having a high Dodge together with Uncanny Dodge helps with this build? Considering the fights ahead through the game. Are there many where I'm forced to fight within close distance, or is it possible that I won't miss it if I utilize my role properly?
 - Also, how useful Persuation on it's own and compared to Dodge and which would be more benefitial for a sniper/pistoleer?
 - Lastly, is Mercantile a must in order to get proper quality materials for crafting with 120 Mechanics? Mainly weapons. Or I can find / buy those without having to access any hidden stash?

[chimaera]

You shouldn't need dodge on a ranged character with stealth, traps and grenades, provided you scout ahead & plan the fights. There are very, very few fights in the game where you get "jumped" and have no opportunity to prepare the field beforehand.

As for mercantile, it's worth it if you plan on crafting extensively. Imo persuasion (and intimidation) is best left for high will psi character, because they don't need to waste that many points to raise it. For your first playthrough, focus on combat, because being bad at diplomacy is not a showstopper in Underrail, while being bad at combat can be.

[Vokial]

Hi, after a month this might almost count as a necro, but here I am again.
Ultimately, I settled with this jack-of-all trades fella:

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgUICAMNAwbCoDwAAADCoMKgTTo8PmVlMDZlAAAATgAAABcBMToeW0Yrwoc1fjNLKALCpMK1FuKkjgXip4wD4qe-B9-_
(pls enable crafting bonus with Trapper's Belt and Jackknife)

I actually held off leveling up before hitting level 10 until 12 to try out Oppurtunist with Execute and see if they are any good together and it turns out, they suck. A lot. I mean it costs a lot of AP just to even set it up with a Flashbang or a Taser strike, not to mention the +5 additional AP cost of the skill. You also have to be close to the enemy and the damage together with the Oppurtunist feat is even worse than the level 1 Aimed Shot feat which is much more accessible and a lot cheaper in AP. It's a shame that the skill that was intended as the supposedly best skill for the already arguably inferior handguns is so dissapointing. So that means I have the liberty to consider 2 other feats instead, so I took in Ballistics and considering Psycho-Temporal Accleration.



Yep, I might give in, use psionic abilities and include the AP+MP buff of Psycho-temporal Contraction. Does it (and Limited Temporal Increment) worth the -25% HP reduction setting my HP from the already low 404 to the even lower 303? I heard that it's a game changer and if it adds +20 AP with the Psycho-Temporal Accleration feat for 3 turns, that might very well be true. With that buff and an Adrenaline shot wielding a Rapid Smart 44 Hammerer, I could shoot 3 times (20 AP each with Gunslinger and 8 DEX) + an additional Rapid Fire (30 AP). Rapid Fire is very powerful, I like it way more than a burst from whatever SMG due to the fact that I can use it with the devastating 44 bullets (later explosive) and the significantly higher crit chance due to them being performed with pistols with the proper feats associated.
Also, how's Stasis? It surely has some possibilities and oppurtunities when it can come handy, but of course not essential. It works well for characters with low WILL too. Is it worth to go for it?

With my severely handicapped HP due to lowest CON + Psy Empathy, my build is made for quick and effective ambushes where I have to finish fights within the first couple of rounds as I'm not built to sustain battles for long. I felt that Tactical Vests are the ideal choice for my squishy character combined with the fully specialized Ballistics feat. I aim to craft a good Tactical Vest, possibly Biohazard. Maybe with with Psy Beetle Carapace so I can cast both buffs within a single round, although it involves a hefty Armor Penalty. Not adding it on my char makes Ballistics even more useful. However, Kevlar and Blast cloth really interests me. Which is more useful in the long run? Even Black cloth is a no brainer as it doesn't even have a drawback and looks viciously cool.



I know I brought many questions yet again... appreciate any anwers and thanks if you red it through:)

[Vokial]

A little update on Execute, after experimenting with it, it turns out it's not as bad as I previously described it.
After trying it out with a Smart 44 Hammerer crafted for testing purposes, it actually showed some impressive results. The damage spread of that handgun is huge which is not good, however the upper numbers are near the territory of lower caliber Sniper rifles, but the AP cost is somewhat less thanks to Dexterity and Gunslinger.
Now this feat costs +5 AP than a normal shot and has a flat +250% damage bonus. Upon testing my sniper rifle did around 400-500 damage with normal ammo using Snipe or Aimed Shot, while Execute dealt around 200-500 base damage. But here's the difference, this skill can crit on top of that, potentially raising the damage above 1000 efficently outclassing the sniper rifle by quite a lot. OF course not all hits can be crits, even while there focusing on that with your feats and equipment can be done (Recklessness + Steadfast Aim and the proper googles just as a few examples).

Still may not worth it if you already have a Rapid Spearhead and took Killing Spree and Snipe, but if you're firearm pistol only, having a higher caliber pistol around could be useful for the same purposes. It's just still a pain to pull it off as it has a longer cooldown and requires you to spend resources and AP to stun the enemy while also be near to it while pulling it off, so it's unlikely that you'll gonna be using it more than once per battle.
But it's not as bad as I described it. I still won't use it though. If perhaps the devs would remove the stun requirement one might even be tempted to take it, but not like this.

[Bruno]

What if you use a smart silenced 5mm neo luger to execute lone enemies silently, can you get decent damage and pull that off?

[Vokial]

What if you use a smart silenced 5mm neo luger to execute lone enemies silently, can you get decent damage and pull that off?

Unforunately 5mm is the lowest caliber resulting in low damage which is weakened further by the silencer. Neo Luger also has low crit damage and chance. This is compensated by low AP cost. However Execute has a cooldown of 5 turns, so this skill does not benefit from that. Ultimately Execute only worth using if it crits, otherwise it's base damage hit can even be lower than an Aimed Shot - latter being much easier to perform. It might be better on higher levels if you have Expertise, but not by much. This skill can only shine with high caliber weapons like 44 Hammerer that has the potential to deal fat crits, or maybe a 9mm Falchion as it has better chance to crit. The crit chance benefit of Steadfast Aim also increases with the higher caliber you use. But Ambush can't help you here as you will probably have the same lighting conditions as your enemy while you're within arms reach of your foe.
I think this skill should be reworked. The stun requirement should be removed (while the limitation for close range can stay) and it should work like the sword skill Decapitate, but for pistols. That would be more fitting and should work better even with pistols of lower damage.


As a sidenote, having a fine silenced Neo Luger topped with a laser sight to increase it's already nice precision bonus even further is a fun little tool to have, especially with Expertise (that feat has more use with weapons dealing lower damage). It's exellent accuracy makes it suitable to employ it as a discreet mini sniper instrument (so basically the opposite of a close range Execute). Great for picking down packs of rathounds, taking down the dogs of Lunatics and clearing the corridors of burrower nests from the annoying spawns before engaging or sneaking past their bigger kin. 5mm shock bullets are also great against robotic enemies and since the silencer doesn't lower the electric damage, you might as well use it.

[chimaera]

You have psi, why not try setting up execute with cyrostasis instead? If you have the cryogenic induction feat, this should be enough to shatter targets.
Btw, for learning psi abilities only the invested number counts. You don't need to put 78 points into temporal, 70 will be enough regardless of what the effective number in the brackets is.

[Vokial]

I don't prefer to cast ice magic, it's just doesn't fit the character. Also for attack spellscasting, it's either maxing it out and use it as your main way to deal damage, or not bother at all - at least I can't see it as something among skills of support. But that's just my thing.
Anway yeah, you're right with the psi points and thanks for mentioning it. I realized this upon learning the desired buff with 55. So I left Stasis behind, stopped at 56 (for an effective 50) on Temporal and raised pickpocket and throwing to 100... Otherwise I could've left pickpocket on zero, squeze some points out and raise Mercantile to 79 which can result in a Hypercerebrixed 105. Oh well, maybe next time. The build is very tweak-friendly, you could also leave Agility on 5 in order to have 18 Perception. But roleplaying-wise I like the character as it is. Somewhat of a rogue. And focusing on skills that actually compliments it's stats seems more appealing. It was the reason why I wanted to avoid using psi in the first place (but the cooldown reduction and MP+AP increase buffs are just too good).

Anyway, here's the final build with a nice 100 on Thowing and Pickpocket for Oddity:
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgUICAMNAwbCnUsAAADCncKdTTpLPmVlMDdlAAAAOAAAABcBMToeRjV-K8KHM0soAlswwrXCpOKnjAPip74I4rGWBN-_