One Turn Man | .44' pistol Bullet Time | DOMINATING | OP(aF)

[Turbodevil]

Have you ever looked at the time played and wondered: 'is there a way to speed up the ingame combat to prolong my lifespan spent on doing other things'? Did your synapses grow tired of memorizing enemy attack patterns? Do you stroke your ego by playing on DOMINATING difficulty only, only to wish 'if only I could have infinite action points and kill everything in a single turn, to show my mad skillz obviously'?



If you answered yes to any of these questions, here's a solution for you:

One Turn Man build

https://underrail.info/build/?HgMOBwMJAwfCoMKgAAAAAFBQMjwyVWRLN1oAAABGAABVKxcZHVkqW1EBw5LChVMnMUvCtcKkM-KgigXio7oC4qi7A-K9hAXfvw



 - 10k damage per turn
 - ~15 accurate ranged attacks per turn
 - 2k+ crits with 60% crit chance (without food/focus stims)
 - 500+ movement points
 - attacks first: stealth, high initiative
 - ignores most of armor, energy shield and evasion
 


About build

This is a pistol Bullet Time build. It's focused on Most Effective Tactic Available in this game: alpha strike. Attack first, burn your cooldowns and do as much damage as possible before enemy has a chance to react. Best defence is offence, as dead enemies deal 0 damage per turn (except those acid muties). Bullet Time feat synergises absurdly well with this tactic.

We are going to use highest caliber Hammerrer pistols, which have bad reputation for being unreliable due to high damage variance. Which is funny, as they are the most reliable weapon in this game. High average damage, decent range, high hit and crit chance, no penalties for moving/close distance, ignore evasion, pierce armor, damage so high that normal bullet pierces energy shield + high DT, work on crit immune enemies, have low ammo consumption and slow durability degradation rate.

And each shot costs 7 AP.

Point Shot costs 3 AP and it can one shot Naga. Yes, probability of that hapening would be around 5%... But what other build can kill Naga Protector on DOMINATING with 3 AP at all?

Worst case scenario? You shoot at enemy and miss or hit for 80 damage. Wasting 7 AP. Huge hit chance, massive upper damage and powerful crits makes this unlikely. More likely outcome: you spend 7 AP and enemy spend rest of its lifetime contemplating massive bullet shaped hole in a place previously occupied by his flesh. Overkill damage is good for you as it increases probability of one shoting foes.

It has almost no counters, works against every enemy in Underrail.

It kills 10+ enemies per turn. Each kill restores movement points, allowing you to charge well into the opposite end of a map killing targets.

But it only lasts one turn, after which you are defenseless and in the open...
[uses Premeditation][casts Stasis on self][enemies gather around failing to do any harm][new turn begins][Bullet Time is still on]

...but it only lasts 2 turns. Hardly anything is left standing by then.

[Turbodevil]

Core setup

- rapid .44' hammerrer pistols
with: laser sight (one hand) and smart module (other hand)
.44' caliber is a must as it deals around twice the damage of lower calibers while costing no more than 50% AP

- Bullet Time
max spec first
Bread and butter, makes foes dead and in the gutter

- high Dex
Bullet Time breakpoints for .44' - Dex(AP) - 9(9) | 12(8) | 14(7) | 17(6) | 20(5)
14 is a sweetspot for this build, effective without dumping all your points and you can reach next breakpoint with All-In or SSD + Eel Sandwich

- Hit and Run
max spec second
Mobility is life. Mobility is range. Mobility is accuracy. Accuracy is damage. Sniper rifles are accurate and have great range, but can they kill enemies hidden behind 3 corners past two corridors? No? Well, pistols can. Seriously, I once killed all 4 Magnar shamans in the first turn, starting at entrance and killing warriors as stepping stones to move forward.

- Stasis
Used exclusively to double Bullet Time duration

- extra AP
Adrenaline, Vitality Powder, Psycho-temporal Contraction, Rapid Reloader

- Crit
Googles, infused rathound leather, 11 Perception for feats

- Bullet Strap belt
You reload twice per turn. Gotta save those AP for more pew pew.


--- optional, but this build is optimized for these ---


- Special attacks
Point Shot, Aimed Shot, Rapid Fire
These attacks are around twice as strong as regular attacks per AP and get ~60% damage bonus thanks to Smart Module. Their usefulness diminishes once you get more normal attacks, but they still work great, are amazing early game and will save your hide during non Bullet Time turns.   

- Premeditation
Mostly used with Stasis at the end of first turn if all enemies are not dead yet. It saves 15 AP. Also helps early game and conserves mana.

- Fatal throw
max spec third
They say huge damage variance is a downside... In reality, most of shots are insta kills, except of few that still pack a punch. Sometimes, enemy will be reduced to low health. Did you waste an action? Nope, throw a knife, kill the enemy, and restore enough AP to shoot twice again.



How to Play

Stealth, engage enemy, initiate combat, activate Bullet Time. Special attacks for special enemies. Laser sight pistol for regular patrons. Kill, move, kill, move (remember, movement = accuracy = damage!) and count survivors. Suvrvivors count > 0? Premeditation + self Stasis. Repeat during next turn. Loot bodies because there is nothing else left to do at this point.

Remember to hoard ammo, especially W2C bullets.



Watch out for

- Dogs
They tackle you through Stasis, reducing hit chance

- Pseudo-spatial Projections
Why waste bullets shooting mirages? Kill psi users / Goliathusses first



Notable fights

- Carnifex
1 turn

- Lunatics mall upper level
3 turns for section with bosses (needed to hide behind line of sight)

- 4 Naga Protectors
1 turn

- Magnar
Shamans on 1st turn, Magnar on second, incapacitated leftovers on 3rd. Needed SSD. Didn't want to cheese with Gas Grenades

- Natives raid
2 first waves defeated on Bullet Time with no health loss, fallback to allies, kill some more, toss a grenade and easy victory is ensured.

- Faceless Commander
2 turns, used SSD

- 10 Golitathusses guarding DC exit
1 turn

- endgamespoiler boss
Lol, I shouldn't even need to pop Bullet Time



DOMINATING levelling guide

Hoard ammo, poisoned throwing knives, poisoned caltrops, some hexogen, adrenaline potions.

Search for rapid reloaders, laser sights, Image Intensifier Tube.

Collect pistol frames, seeker lenses/googles, high quality rathound leathers and smart modules.

Don't use high callibers from the begining. They are too slow. Since level 20 you should use exclusively pair of .44', use whatever you find comforable on lower levels.


Lvl 1: https://underrail.info/build/?AQMKBwMIAwYPDwAAAAAPDw8PAA8AAAAAAAAADwAAABcZ378

This build starts viable but mediocre. There are two main breakthroughs in its power. Early game, your best friends are stealth, throwing (nets and caltrops), grenades (get 50/69 chemistry asap!), special attacks and traps. Caltrops (preferably poisoned) and High-explosive grenades are your best bet to saving Newton early). To my surprise, Temporal Distortions proved to be extremely effective around robots, as it ignores half of their armor and have high range, allowing you to kite them. Your accuracy at long distance is bad this early so 100% chance to do some damage and not receive any at expense of redundant psi boosters/inhalants is quite effective. For this reason, I recommend picking premeditation early. Lastly, Fatal Throw deals lots of damage and single enemies are often on low health, so pick it asap. You can't clear Silent Isle without patience seasoned in cheese so just go east, kill rats, stealth, pick cargo and run away. Pickpocket ammo and adrenalines.

Your weapon will be whatever you pick in the dumpster, your goal will be lowish quality rapid 9mm pistol with LS. There is no guarantee you will obtain it before finishing Depot A so bring molotovs...


Lvl 12: https://underrail.info/build/?DAMMBwMIAwdGRgAAAAA4PCgtAC0YKAAAAAAARgAAKCsXGR1ZKltRAd-_

Once you clear Depot A, the metro is your oyster. Go to Rail Crossing and learn Psycho-temporal Acceleration. Go to Foundry an buy W2C ammo recipe. Visit merchants for parts and get rapid 9mm pistol with laser sight. Now, your power is more than double than before. You can pick Bullet Time as early as level 12, it's nice to have, but seriously underwhelming. Rapid Fire is more effective, versatile and reliable at this point. Bullet Time shines when maxed spec on level 20 with 14 Dex and .44' pistol and the objective is to get there. We'll also focus on big fat crits and crafting 100+ quality gun. I recommend doing Foundry Faceless quest before Buzzer to save pipeworker's life. Killing Beast is managable once you get high quality .44' as you can pickpocket Saban, he has 90(!) W2C bullets of that calliber. You don't need high level to deal with Beast as you will be levelling mostly around crit now and Bladeling are immune to crits. The final fight is easy if you stock up on Gas Grenades.


Lvl 20: https://underrail.info/build/?FAMOBwMIAwdaUAAAAABQPC0oMlUoMjcyAAAARgAAVSsXGR1ZKltRAcOSwoVTJ-K9hAXfvw

Around level 20-24 you should have high quality rapid guns, fully maxed Bullet Time with 14 Dex, making your .44' shots cost 7 AP and crit gear. Once you finish Oligarch quest line visit Pasqual and learn Stasis. Then forget about everything you learned about enemies because you don't need it anymore. They are harmless lootsacks at this point.

Just max spec Hit and Run so you can reach them faster.

And get moar damage for that 2-3 fights that last longer than 1-2 turns.



Final note

This build was extremely satisfying to play. Early game it wasn't strong, but I got plenty of special attacks and various tools. This forced me into smart, tactical play and allowed to progress without cheesing much. Then, after each significant story progression I received boost of power that elevated me to another power level. It felt great to progressively become stronger up until my power level was over 9000 (literally, I calculated this in Excel) and was able to mow through most difficult encounters using sheer firepower.

Highly recommended, rated 11/10 by independent, objective judge: build creator himself.

[ShoggothWhisperer]

Why not drop per to 6, pump dex to 17 and str to 5, and use versatility? You lose sharpshooter and scrutinous, which isn’t really a problem since you take them very late, and you can replace scrutinous with steadfast aim, which gives a higher crit chance since it scales off base ap (+8% crit with no downside on a rapid .44 hammer). It also help you achieve the 17 dex combo sooner, since you only consistently get 2 SSD before DC. If you spec versatility (at the cost of losing hit and run spec, fatal throw spec, and reckless) you get higher base damage and accuracy then with 11 per, while also boosting throwing damage for fatal throw from the high dex.

[Turbodevil]

I did REALLY want that 40MP Hit and Run, it's a pillar of this build.

Fatal throw spec almost kind off offsets 1 AP higher shooting cost.

Versatility 17 Dex with max spec is only marginally better than 11 Per, and I can raise Per with the Juice and Marsh Honey.

Steadfast Aim gives only 7% crit chance. I know, I know... But it does! Probably rounding issue.

Sharpshooter is massive Damage boost, comparable to Gun-Fu. Works only on crits, but at any range.

Versatility builds are much worse in early to mid game, it's only profitable to take Versatility around level 16 or later. This build starts with 8 Per and it helps set thing off.

Lastly, Perception route has 70 base skill points more to spend.


TLDR: more movement, more skill points, and easier levelling. Versatility is fine too for more shots and throwing

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Perception route uses the same number of feats as yours but you do not take Gun-Fu. Your average damage will be less than mine unless you take Gun-Fu (then the damage per shot is roughly the same) and ensure you are within melee distance of enemy, which will be harder due to 25 MP Hit and Run. So there are another opportunity costs of going Versatility.

[Kilgore Trout]

Hey Turbodevil,

Thanks for sharing this build. I decided to start running it yesterday and I am currently on lvl 5 and having fun.

I just wanted to ask, what is the max armor penalty you went with for this build?

Cheers

[Turbodevil]

I was using medium to light armor, Armor Penalty doesn't matter much, it only lowers stealth a bit. Early game I was using tactical vests and occassionally riot gear, later I went for Infused Rathoung leather. Everything in black, so armor penalty was 10%

[ringring]

I liked your idea so I made a variation on it that I call the Bruce Willis Build.  Its progression arc is based after the character Jhon Mclaine from all 3 Die Hard movies.  He only gets shotguns and hand grenades towards the end of the movie, and has psychokinesis to cast force punch (to knock guys out in one blow) and electrokinesis (to represent water on the floor and loose cabling among other contrived scenarios) to take advantage of execute and opportunist.  He has gun Fu to show how hes always getting into scraps with low ammo and having to pistol whip a bitch and play ru sham bu (Dirty Kick) when someone gets the drop on him.  Fully specced 6th Shell and Bullet Time.  Shotgun is 25 AP, Rapid Fire is 24 AP, Point Shot + Normal Shot is 24 AP, can kneecap with the shotgun, barrel stare and 6th shot stack, Tyranny is only str 5 and has an extra shot on burst.  He hits with opportunist and can use execute when someone gets hit with tungston round daze and stun effects.  Plus he carries a taser for comedic effect.

https://underrail.info/build/?HgUNBwUHBQR4HgDCoAAAHgAAAADCggAAAAAARgAAAAAAKwEmFw3DkVtZw5IRGRYewrDCj8K1d8KY4rewBeK9hAXfvw

[CCrocodile]

Thank you very much, I'm just starting Underrail and I don't really have tons of hours like I did when I was a kid to restart and figure out what works and what doesn't on my own. I very much appreciate that you took the time and effort to properly explain how the build works instead of just leaving a link to it.

Got a question too - can this be modified to include heavy-ish armor or some other type of direct defense at all or will it result in losing too much damage?

[Turbodevil]

@ringing

Nice, I have soft spot for thematic hybrid builds such as yours

@CCrocodile

Yeah, Infused leather armor just gives around ~10% crit. You can go without it. I did not even bother to use Focus Stims (15% crit) or core chips (5% crit) for anything apart select few of most difficult fights. Armor penalty doesn't affect you much, just pay attention to your maximum movement points: this is maximum value of MP your specced Hit and Run can restore. If you wear armor with over 50% armor penalty, your kills may restore less than 40 movement points and you REALLY want that movement points, they are best defence, offence and utility.

If you are not playing on DOMINATING difficulty, I would lower perception by 3 points and put it into Dexterity (use Increased Dexterity instead of Perception feat). This would give you 6 AP per shot during Bullet Time. You would lose some crit feats but these doesn't matter when enemies don't have DOMINATING +50% health.

There are some heavy leaher armor in Expedition you might check out, they can make you extremely tanky, especially against melee. You have Energy shield against bullets. Vest/Riot gear would work too. Steel armor requires too much strength which you don't have stat points for. I would go Infused Bison/Sea Wyrm leather with Skinner feat for tankiness.

Then again, what do you need armor for? The enemies are dead. You killed them before they had a chance to harm you...

[Snk88]

Great build Turbodevil! Just finished a Dominating playthrough.
A lot of fun and overall very smooth progression - the only hick-up I had was around level 13-14 where you still don't have good guns so you can't really do Balor / Beast / Arena, etc. I'd suggest having your crafting skills ready by that point.
Also not sure about 50 points in traps since I never had the need to use anything beyond basic bear traps and only early game.

[Dumbo]

Hey man, thanks for posting the build . I was just wondering which xp system were you using while running it?

[Turbodevil]

I took 50 traps just for detection as I did not have any defense against being blown to pieces other than quickload. I probably overinvested too

I was playing Classic during my run, as it allowed me to skip some areas without being penalised for not collecting oddities. I wasn't scared to explore, let's say, Fetid Marsh, I just didn't want to bother

[ringring]

Does Rapid Fire work with .44 explosive rounds?

[Turbodevil]

Yes, but they are very inefective. Extra damage they provide is neglible, much lower compared to W2C or JHP, and AoE is useless as enemies are usually not grouped together in choke points (you attack first and they didn't have a chance to move). You can experiment an find an use case for explosive rounds though, I just didn't find any.

[CCrocodile]

So after 75 hours with the build (I had the week free, don't judge me), I thought I'd leave a review or something.

I'm playing on Normal Oddity exp and made very few adjustments. Those might not be viable on higher difficulties, of course. Took Pack Rathound at level 1 and Premeditation at level 16. Didn't use Mercantile or Pickpocketing but had maxed out crafting by level 20, which is the time I was done with most things in the base game. I'm now in DC.

https://underrail.info/build/?FQMOBwMIAwdzRgAAAAA0U0AAAFpnPSloAAAARkMAACsnFxkdAVFbWcOSKlMx4qCKAeK9hAXfvw

The build is very powerful. Everything works precisely as advertised. I actually AM starting to get bored with killing everything in one Bullet Time Stasis combo. Haven't used grenades or traps in ages. However, it takes quite a few levels before you get to this point, so it's fine, and it's an amazing feeling when it all first comes together. That downside is mostly about how the game works, not anything wrong with the build.

I'm very glad I picked Pack Rathound at level 1 instead of level 20 and can't see myself doing it any other way. Early on the build isn't particularly strong and I think it helps a lot with getting your money going and carrying a bunch of consumables for different situations. Not to mention you need to hoard different ammo types, since .44 is unusable at the beginning, as Turbodevil says (I tried).

Speaking of different ammo types, I don't believe it's mentioned in the guide, but I made sure to have my backup pistol cost less AP than the main gun before I crafted two endgame rapid 134 and 135 Hammerer frames. What this means is once I got my hands on a Rapid 9mm, my backup was a 5mm Neo Luger (for highest minimum damage) which actually turned out fairly helpful. It barely costs any AP to finish off enemies that survived with a sliver of health. I would advise going with this setup. I also silenced it (since I had a slot free) and had used it to lurk on more than one occasion. Surprisingly satisfied with it's performance.

Lastly, regarding finishing off low HP enemies. I'm somewhat dissatisfied with the how Fatal Throw worked out for me. I did use it a bunch in the mid levels, but now I'm constantly getting 50% and 70% hit chance when aiming at most enemies and I ended up abandoning it. Now, sure, my Throwing is 45 lower than my Guns, but it's only 10 lower than the level 20 build Turbodevil presented. Moreover, had my Throwing been maxed, according to Underrail Precision tool, it would've only bumped my hit chance against enemies that now have 50% to a 70%. Last but not least, Fatal Throw doesn't restore movements points with Hit and Run and you need to be adjacent to enemies to proc the pistol's ignore evasion ability, so you may end up gaining less AP than you would've just by shooting them.
All in all, as far as "Value per 1 feat" goes, Fatal Throw does it's job pretty well. But if you're looking to free up a feat slot for something you wanna do, it might be a candidate.

Thank you, Turbodevil, this build was a great time.