It's late and probably unneeded but, I post some more stuff related to crossbow build help if anyone else looking for some. It's a bit comprehensive, yet the spoiler-level doesn't touch any plot nor missions, nor too much build help other than generalizations and figure out how to actually start craft anything.
My main and most important annoying piece of advice is this. Focus the stealth components (3 --italic-- component). Because bear-trap need stealth to place in the first place- or it don't work very effectively. With a little mercantile(15-35~), max out Tailoring, and hoard high quality --
Black Cloths-- and high quality --
Soft Foam Padding-- as long as you already have good ammo and heal item (80+ bolts about right). At level 3+, go to the Agronomy level(not Engineering) and buy some(2+) --
Cave Hopper leather-- armor component item (he only has component items for this item don't fret it; there are 2 merchants on this floor). Use that cave hopper leather (
after --using the held Blueprint Item first to learn to craft your Leather Armors--) to make agi+ (and importantly peak light-weight) leather stealth suit, using and placing in the black cloth and soft foam padding(also used in boots but quality doesn't matter for boots). If you need to level up first a little before crafting that's ok and normal. Make sure you keep some money for ammo, heal item and keep mechanical repair kit for weapon(only breaking equip that matters a lot early). Always stealth as you enter a new or scary area.
Level 1:
https://underrail.info/build/?AQMGBgUKAwcACQ8AAAAPCAgAAA8IDAAPAAAAAAAAD385378Base attribute values of this are pretty good and intentional. Also in this creator menu on internet, you can press the "compact" text button at the bottom right, and/or "show all" (whereas feats you can't get, yet or not, also show) to see feats easier.
We grab
Sprint, gives many movement points great when used- if you have room to move(quite often honestly do).
Strafe is also grabbed because it's very important for Crossbow accuracy right from start to finish of your game.
We will take a lot of Traps skill after level 1; just to make some money leverage with mercantile~.
Level 6: (show a little skill progression help and the next couple feats; +1 per:):
https://underrail.info/build/?BgMGBgULAwcAFSgAAAAZGhgAKCgQIAAoAAAAAAAAEH85QCIn378We take
Trap Expert so we can have a lot more fun getting our traps down easily and non-detectably.
Marksmen so we can have fun with our special bolts too. Don't worry these are strong even though they are, imo, fun to use. And lastly, we grab
Pack Rathound, so we can carry our metal traps without going over the weight limit too quickly!
If you want lockpick/hacking, good standard is just +5 effective skill (the one in parenthesis) to each every level up (if you have to come back to a locked container a little level(s) later it ok, super hard to pick or hack locks don't consistently guarantee op items- or even anything at all sometimes tbf). You can drop it if you want to, it's not op or mandatory.
Rounding of bonuses(on a skill's effective value in parenthesis) can also force you to go over sometimes (aka: double +1's from a ratio), just so you get why that is happening.
Some final blueprints you'll like to buy soon enough; just once if you see em (they are not rng but always carried items):
Leather Armor, Balaclava, Boots(hopper guy Agronomy level),
Incendiary Bolts (other Agronomy level guy), Crossbow(duh),
Hand Grenades,
Bear Traps and Frag Mines. Shock bolts are notably also real good when you get to them later. And a final piece of advice: if you have a grenade(grenade good), you better know how to throwing skill that- or you're dead meat.
