Opinions on this Spear / Nade / Temporal Build?

[cowboy curtis]

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?Hg4GBgcDAwcAwqAAwqAAAABrcwAAfXhGS3wAAABwcAAAOTbClcKSwpRFK1XCh8KTwqwWEksAMQbCtuKdjQbip4IC4rOOAuKzogPit4kC378

My first attempt at creating a build after borrowing some ideas. Maybe paranoia over snooping?

 I had a lot of points leftover that I dumped into crafting... any input appreciated

[Koveras]

The build is fine, it will probably be very solid for normal and comfortable in hard.

They are a few issues I can see. First the details:
- You have too many points in Hacking, Lockpicking, Mechanic, Electronics, Tailoring, Temporal Manipulation. A few points in Traps never hurt when you have low PER to help detection.
- Persuasion is not great, mercantile is generally a better pick (and on higher difficulty mercantile is extremely good to have).
- Snooping is (sadly) useless in the long run, you can find every secret with 3 PER as long as you can craft certain items.
- I would take cheap shots and crit power as soon as possible, those impale crits amazing, especially on a STR spear build. They also both work with spear throw, and a crit spear throw is a death sentence.
- With that much Throwing, Three Pointer is a solid option, but you'd need to lower your STR to get one more DEX.
- 25 points in Psychokynesis to get force field is always the best investment possible. It feels a bit cheap to abuse it though...

Now another problem I see is: it is a melee build with low init, no stealth, high armor penalty and low base movement points. Enemies will often get first strike, and running after them will be annoying as hell. On top of that, you will also need to move to your thrown spears to pick them up. I'm not saying the build wont work, just that it will be awkward to play at times. Personally, I would go for a light armour and get some stealth, but that would be another build.

Hope that helps, I've played quite a bit of melee spear, but not much spear throw, so my input might not be fully accurate

[cowboy curtis]

A few points in Traps never hurt when you have low PER to help detection.
- Persuasion is not great, mercantile is generally a better pick (and on higher difficulty mercantile is extremely good to have).
- Snooping is (sadly) useless in the long run, you can find every secret with 3 PER as long as you can craft certain items.
- I would take cheap shots and crit power as soon as possible, those impale crits amazing, especially on a STR spear build. They also both work with spear throw, and a crit spear throw is a death sentence.
- With that much Throwing, Three Pointer is a solid option, but you'd need to lower your STR to get one more DEX.
- 25 points in Psychokynesis to get force field is always the best investment possible. It feels a bit cheap to abuse it though...

Now another problem I see is: it is a melee build with low init, no stealth, high armor penalty and low base movement points. Enemies will often get first strike, and running after them will be annoying as hell. On top of that, you will also need to move to your thrown spears to pick them up. I'm not saying the build wont work, just that it will be awkward to play at times. Personally, I would go for a light armour and get some stealth, but that would be another build.

Hope that helps, I've played quite a bit of melee spear, but not much spear throw, so my input might not be fully accurate

Thanks for the response, I'll probably invest in traps then. Do you have a melee spear build that you use?

[Koveras]

The one I used looked like this: http://underrail.info.tm/build/?Hg8GBwUDAwcAAADCoMKgwqDCkFdaAABTcgBcZgAAAAAAAFgkKDEAwpQGwpPCksKsSxINKSbCtl3ChcKdwq3CnsKf4p2NB-Knvgbis44C378
It was played in hard, that Dodge/Evasion style would fail in dominating. Also, I wanted to play a "pure" melee build, so I did not pick Temporal Manip and Throwing, but it would obviously make the build stronger. The build was overall extremely strong for hard difficulty, except in a few parts where the enemies spam rooting attacks. I should have included escape artist in the build, it would have been better. Also, I did not pick trap because I know where they are, but I don't recommend doing that ^^

Now if you want to take a look at existing builds, this excellent topic talks about something closer to your idea: https://underrail.com/forums/index.php?topic=4106.0

[cowboy curtis]

The one I used looked like this: http://underrail.info.tm/build/?Hg8GBwUDAwcAAADCoMKgwqDCkFdaAABTcgBcZgAAAAAAAFgkKDEAwpQGwpPCksKsSxINKSbCtl3ChcKdwq3CnsKf4p2NB-Knvgbis44C378
It was played in hard, that Dodge/Evasion style would fail in dominating. Also, I wanted to play a "pure" melee build, so I did not pick Temporal Manip and Throwing, but it would obviously make the build stronger. The build was overall extremely strong for hard difficulty, except in a few parts where the enemies spam rooting attacks. I should have included escape artist in the build, it would have been better. Also, I did not pick trap because I know where they are, but I don't recommend doing that ^^

Now if you want to take a look at existing builds, this excellent topic talks about something closer to your idea: https://underrail.com/forums/index.php?topic=4106.0

Thanks!

How big of a game changer is special merch from the mercantile skill?

[Koveras]

Mercantile is a quality of life skill, so it will never be as impactful as your combat and crafting skills. That being said, it is a HUGE quality of life improvment when you want to craft anything. It makes finding high quality component immensly easier. For your build, the interesting components will likely be energy shield parts,  electroshock generators for the spear, vests for the armor and springs for the boots.

[cowboy curtis]

Mercantile is a quality of life skill, so it will never be as impactful as your combat and crafting skills. That being said, it is a HUGE quality of life improvment when you want to craft anything. It makes finding high quality component immensly easier. For your build, the interesting components will likely be energy shield parts,  electroshock generators for the spear, vests for the armor and springs for the boots.

Okay cool.

All of these builds look nice. I am still skeptical about stealth though, mostly because I don't know how people play stealth-focused character without interloper lol

[Koveras]

Well, stealth is one of the OP mechanics of the game when you know how to (ab)use it. It let you choose exactly how you engage almost every fight in the game, and because every turn count in Underrail, this is a massive advantage.

But I still 100% recommend you play the build you planned, with minor adjustments. If you try too hard to play what is best, you alway end up with a Psychosis Cave Wizzard ^^

[cowboy curtis]

Well, stealth is one of the OP mechanics of the game when you know how to (ab)use it. It let you choose exactly how you engage almost every fight in the game, and because every turn count in Underrail, this is a massive advantage.

But I still 100% recommend you play the build you planned, with minor adjustments. If you try too hard to play what is best, you alway end up with a Psychosis Cave Wizzard ^^

Sorry, I have yet another question in regards to spears, namely in light armor - Is "Guard" a wasted feat while already having maxed "Spear Guardian"?

[Black Angel]

Sorry, I have yet another question in regards to spears, namely in light armor - Is "Guard" a wasted feat while already having maxed "Spear Guardian"?

I'd say no, because multiple different block sources are rolled independently. Meaning, If you have Spear Guard, Riot Shield, and Guard all at the same time, they can roll against one attack all at once. Or only Spear Guard and Riot Shield would occur, etc etc etc.

But tbh, Guard seemed like an underwhelming feat even with max STR.