Relative noob looking for a crossbow/traps build

[LeftHandManGary]

I was hoping to post a copy of my build in the tool, but I have yet to figure out how to do that, so hopefully I can explain it well enough.

Starting stats were 3/7/7/3/10/4/6. All my stat increases go into perception except for one point in intelligence, leaving my final stats at 3/7/7/3/15/4/7.

Final skills at lvl. 30 are as follows:

Throwing 80
Crossbows 160
Stealth 160
Hacking 130
Lockpicking 130
Traps 160
Mechanics 160
Electronics 160
Biology 140

Feats are as follows:

1. Aimed shot
1. Sure Step
2. Marksman
4. Quick Tinkering
6. Snipe (would Ambush be better?)
8. Special Tactics
10. Trap Expert
12. Bowyer
14. Hypertoxicity
16. Deadly Snares
18. Critical Power
20. Elemental Bolts
22. Pack Rathound (would Sprint be better?)
24. Sharpshooter
26. Blindsiding
28. Sprint (Honestly couldn't think of what else to take by this point)
30. Scrutinous

Obviously this build isn't totally combat optimized, but my plan for the playthrough is Normal/Oddity XP, and I think it should be more then fair for that. The rough outline came from a NerdCommando build on youtube, though I surrendered the psi parts of the build, and some of the crafting, for hacking and lockpicking.

I debated quite a bit between biology and chemistry. I saw the two skills often overlapped in bolt construction, and I went with bio when I saw I could poison my caltrops and bear traps. Making healing items and extracting components from the critters I'm hunting also struck me as very useful. That said, I saw that chemistry would unlock the mines and the acid traps. Which of the two does the community consider more useful? Is bio a viable build, or will this kneecap me in the long run?

I wasn't sure if throwing was important for caltrops or not. The wiki referred to it as a thrown utility item, but didn't say if it was a necessary skill. It does free up a lot of points if I don't need to take it. Likewise, if I did wind up going chemical over bio, it would give me some grenade utility.

The final question I have is regarding armor crafting. In his video, NerdCommando invested into Tailoring to make his own armor. My original plan involved purchasing low level armor, and relying on an energy shield I manufactured once I had the necessary skills and components. Again, would this be viable, or would I be setting myself up to die horribly?

[TheAverageGortsby]

Sure, that build can work.  If you're willing to optimize a bit more, read on.  If not, that will get you through the game ok, so have fun.

I don't understand 4 Will.  Take that point and put it somewhere better.  You don't even have Persuasion or Intimidate to justify the point as "penalty avoidance."

You're way overinvested in Biology, Electronics, and Mechanics.  Most of the time you don't need those points, so really what matters is what you can buff up to, because mostly you'll be crafting in safe areas in "down time" rather than on the fly.  I'd pull back 60-70 points out of Mech and Elec, and - depending on if you want to be able to craft Super Soldier and use the highest tier poison or not - either 40 or 60 points from Bio.

You're 25 points overinvested in Hacking for even the highest possible check in the game while carrying no buffs.  I'd reclaim those points, too, and also pull 50 out of Lockpicking since you can pop every lock in the game with 80 real points and 7 Dex.  You probably don't need but half that Traps skill, too.  Certainly you don't need more than 100 real points.

Now you have 1 stat point and 255 to 315 skill points free.  The possibilities are endless.  I'd put 80 points into Tailoring and 40-50 into Chemistry because it's nice to be able to make your own traps and grenades, plus the armor you can craft will be much better than the stuff you can buy.

You should pick up Ambush.  With that much stealth, Ambush is going to be extremely powerful and valuable.  Take Sprint earlier.  It'll save your life, because you'll occasionally need to reposition abruptly during combat, as a bowman.

You can link to your builds in the build tool by pressing the "Link" button in the options heading, on the left side of the screen midway down, then just copying and pasting the URL that comes up in your browser address bar.

EDIT: Sorry, forgot to answer your throwing question.  Yes, you want some Throwing.  I might only put 50 points in with 7 Dex, rather than 80, but Throwing is what will determine the precision of your caltrops, grenades, and nets.  You're going to want to use all of the above, as a xbow.

SECOND EDIT: Numbers are hard and apparently I cannot read.  Changed recommendation for points recovered from Mech and Elec because I thought all 3 were at 140 in the OP.

[LeftHandManGary]

This is all very useful stuff. Thank you very much for the help.


Edit: And let's see if this works: http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgMHBwMPBAcAMsKgAAAAwqBpUABkZGQyZFAAAAAAZABfAWEiMAI4QMKAG0xLajkzwoUnwqTinJoC4qCeCuKrmgPfvw

[Bruno]

Crosbows have a move-and-shoot penalty, and they can usually not fire that many times in a round, so it is important to have decent chance to hit.
They also have a penalty for close range shooting.

If you can start combat on your own terms and fire before you move, this is ok.
But if you need to reposition a lot, or duck out from a corner, shoot and retreat to cover, you will start to feel the %-to hit penalty.

Not the least if melee enemies close on you, then you will either have to shoot at close range, or move and shoot, both with to hit penalties.

Depending on how you play, you can consider to take the feat Strafe, that will eliminate the move and shoot penalty. You can try without first, and see if you want it.
I consider it essential for crossbows.

Trap Expert is not a good feat in my opinion, you can do without it and feats are too valuable to be wasted.
If you are annoyed by long time to set or disarm large trap fields just speed up the game to double speed with the "+"-key.

Lastly with a 3 str character who likes traps (they weigh a lot), you probably could take Pack Rathound much earlier, I'd take it as one of the first feats.
This is another case of try without and see how much you want extra carry weight.

[Sat]

As suggested by TheAverageGortsby, it is better to use the Will point in another stat. Maybe Per as hit chance are rather low on Xbow.

If you want some optimized build, you can look for Destroyer Guide (Survival Instinct path) or Kiruha post on this forum (Ambush+Deadly Snares path). I have personal preference for the second one.

Regarding your feat, trap expert is not very useful, you are missing Improved perception that you can get at level 26.

You may rethink as well your Spe points spending. Critical Power is the the way to go if you want damage.

Crossbow is not easy for 1st run...

[LeftHandManGary]

@Bruno

I had trap expert on the list more for the extra protection from detection then the speed buff. Given my general trend of moving in stealth, laying down a killing ground, and luring enemies into it as much as possible, I can see where Strafe and Sprint could both be very useful.

And Pack Rathound is one I know is probably going to be essential, but one thing I noticed about this build is that it needs a lot of feats all at the same time, so my focus was maxing out combat first. The line of thinking being, I'd rather struggle with bag space and what have you, instead of hitting a wall because I was lacking in killing power or stealth.



@Sat

Oh, I'm sure it will be fine.

*many deaths later

"Are you okay?"

"It's just a flesh wound."

"Flesh wound!? You've got your bloody arm off!"

"I've had worse."

"You lie!"

"No. Sadly, I'm not."

In all seriousness, I imagine it won't be, but it's a learning experience. Worst comes to worst, should I get repeatedly slaughtered at Depot A, I'll rethink my approach for the next playthrough. It was a bit of a race between this and a sniper build. As odd as it is to think about, this struck me as the sneakier option, given once you fire a dragunov, everyone and their dog knows about it.

I will definitely be checking out the Kiruha post once I'm off work.

Edit: I do have Critical Power on my list, but it does come along fairly late in the build. As I said above, I found myself in a scenario where I needed a whole heaping pile of feats all at once, and it's one of the ones that got back burnered.


Thank you both very much for your input.

[TheAverageGortsby]

I found myself in a scenario where I needed a whole heaping pile of feats all at once

If that's the case, you can feel free to drop Sure Step and Trap Expert. They're strictly QoL with your skill point distribution and won't make any fight for you.  If Sure Step also gave you a chance to not trigger explosive mines, then maybe...but as it is, it's just a way to help make up for sloppy play resulting in certain edge cases.  If you're careful and attentive, you won't ever be in those edge cases.

[harperfan7]

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgMHBwMQAwcAAMKgAADCoMKgTUcAfk9RRlNOAAAAAMKHAAAmKH8BIh0wwoBrNTgzS0xqwoXCteKhpAXio7EF378

feats aren't in order