Sniper Build [with new feats]

[Tigranes]

I've been running a sniper, and there's not much difference with expansion, but Psycho-Temporal Contraction is amazing. You lose 25% HP and gain basically a superior Adrenaline at no cost, since you're not using that Psi for anything else except the occasional force field. I don't bother with Blitz, but it's just a painless way to get that crucial AP bonus from like level 8 onwards.

My guy is level 12 at the moment, basically one-turn-killed everything in the Arena and waiting for Carnifex fight.

What are people's favoured crafted sniper rifle components?

 

[toro]

I think I'm going to run a stealth sniper with smg as backup next playthrough, cheers for the inspiration, toro. :D

Random question:

Is Sharpshooter overkill? A crafted Reaper can be 175% crit damage, plus crit power specialisation equals what, 325% crit damage? (Jesus.)

Are you going for the Psycho-Temporal AP bonus?

I kinda dislike psi, not sure if that gimps my build overly or not.

20 AP for 3 rounds for the cost of -25% health + 55 skill points + 1 feat. Also the option is superior to Adrenaline because there is no Fatigue debuff.

That's like 3 additional bursts or sniper shoots in the first 3 rounds. It makes a lot of difference as in you can play on Dominating.

Edit: What Tigranes posted ^^

 

[toro]

My guy is level 12 at the moment, basically one-turn-killed everything in the Arena and waiting for Carnifex fight.

Carnifex fight was also one turn for me. I just had to save scum for high initiative.

Edit: Arena's fights should be updated because the only thing which matters for most fights is who gets to act first. Pretty retarded.

What are people's favoured crafted sniper rifle components?

Anatomically-Aware Scope - 50% critical damage bonus on crossbows and sniper rifles.
Rapid Reloader - -20% Base AP cost
Smart Module - increases special attack damage

To be honest, Anatomically-Aware Scope option is pretty disgusting therefore you could go with High Resolution Digital Scope (+10% critical chance).

 

[ItsChon]

Best AP bonus/cost
Adrenaline Shot gives: 20 x 3 = 60 AP for 3 rounds.
There are no stat requirements and the cost for Adrenaline is 300 (very cheap) which is almost free.

Second Best AP bonus/cost
Psycho-temporal Contraction gives the best AP bonus: 15 x 2 = 30 AP in 2 rounds.
Combined with Psycho-temporal Acceleration it gives: 20 x 3 = 60 AP in 3 rounds.
There are no stat requirements (WILL 3 is enough) but you will need 55 Temporal skill points.
Except -25% health from PSI pill, there are no additional costs because the PSI points are mostly free mana.

Worst AP bonus/cost
AGI 10. Blitz gives 20 AP for round 1.
AGI 13. Expert Sprint gives 10 AP for 2 rounds.
Lvl 25+. AGI 10. Blitz + Blitz specialization give 26 APs for round 1.
Lvl 25+. AGI 13. Blitz + Blitz specialization + Expert Sprint give 36 APs for round 1 and 10 APs for round 2.

This means that the maximum AP for one round is: 50 (base) + 20 (Adrenaline) + 22 (Psychotemporal Contraction/Acceleration/Specialization) + 26 (Blitz/Blitz specialization) + 10 (Expert Sprint) = 128 APs for the first round.

However:
Adrenaline + Blitz gives an user 90 APs for round 1, 70s AP for round 2 and 70s AP for round 3 for a total of 230 APs.
Adrenaline + Blitz + Expert Sprint gives an user 100 APs for round 1, 80 APs for round 2 and 70 APs for round 3 for a total of 250 APs.
Adrenaline + Psycho-temporal Contraction/Acceleration gives an user 90 APs for 3 rounds for a total of 270 APs.
Adrenaline + Psycho-temporal Contraction/Acceleration + Blitz gives an user 110 APs for round 1, 90 APs for round 2 and 90 APs for round 3 for a total of 290 APs.
Adrenaline + Psycho-temporal Contraction/Acceleration + Blitz + Expert Sprint gives an user 120 APs for round 1, 100 APs for round 2 and 90 APs for round 3 for a total of 310 APs.

Please tell me if my calculations are wrong because what I see is that Adrenaline + Psycho-temporal Contraction/Acceleration hits the sweet spot.

It also means that my super duper Sniper build is not-optimized.

Vitality Potion gives 25 AP, but hurts your Perception.

 

[Black Angel]

Edit: Arena's fights should be updated because the only thing which matters for most fights is who gets to act first. Pretty retarded.

Uh... no? I guess it's true with Carnifex since he could always one-turn you and have absurdly high initiative.

But for the rest of the gladiator fights, it doesn't matter who gets to act first... as long as you prepare for the fight. You know, that guy (i.e Carnifex himself) in front of the entrance to Arena desk guy, he keep informing you of your next fight before the fight for Invictus title.

 

[Tigranes]

Yeah, the arena isn't broken or anything, it's fine. A sniper build often ends up killing or dying in 1 turn, but that makes sense - I wonder if you could even just deck out in full metal armour just for the Carnifex fight to survive that first turn?

I just did it now as a level 14 Sniper, and an Energy Shield with secondary low velocity & food was enough to survive after a few reloads, but I was lazy and still wearing Rathound.

 

[razvedchiki]

Rapid smart spearhead can fire twice in a turn,you open the battle with snipe hopefuly killing a mob then you fire again with aimed shot to kill another,thats 2 mobs in one turn.

Next turn either you throw a flasbang and restealth or use your rifle to fire twice or a .44 pistol for a kneekap shot or 2.

 

[Spark Mandriller]

Rapid smart spearhead can fire twice in a turn,you open the battle with snipe hopefuly killing a mob then you fire again with aimed shot to kill another,thats 2 mobs in one turn.

If you have fully specced psycho-temporal acceleration then you can fire three times per round, so that's potentially three kills. Rapid spearhead is great. Though sometimes it's better to use a molotov instead so you can set up ambush and spam critical hits.

 

[MediantSamuel]

I got my first sniper rifle from the Scrappers, a 12.7mm corsair. With smart goggles Snipe hits 700 to 800 on mutants in Depot A. I forgot how insane this shit was.

Aimed shot hits 490, maybe sharpshooter won't be needed once I have crit power.

 

[toro]

My monster is ready for Expedition

Spoiler

And my first crafted sniper rifle

Thanks to Psychotemporal Acceleration specialization I can shoot this thing 3 times in the 1st round ... Sniper, Aimed Shot, Molotov, Ambush


Basically the build is done at lvl 20. I have everything I could possibly want for a sniper build and the critical damage bonus is insane: between 1000 and 1300.

I don't know how he resisted 1104 points of mechanical damage but he wasn't so lucky on reload

Spanking Death Stalkers with my huge dick Spearhead sniper rifle

The only thing I need on this build is to craft some special bullets, a better shield and a better armor. But the hard part is done

 

[Tigranes]

Wait, you're starting Expeditions at 20? It will be a breeze.

I'm playing a very similar build right now, started DLC at level 16, now I am 20 & at Abyssal station. Took Tailoring and low psychokinetics (force field), no lockpicking or persuasion.

Psycho acceleration, adrenaline, the cooldown reduction, etc. just gives you so much AP flexibility. Combine that with Electrokinetic Imprint / Quick Tinkering and Forcefield, and you can manage the battlefield completely, then one-shot three natives in a single turn.

Did it with an inferior 35AP Spearhead though.

 

[toro]

Wait, you're starting Expeditions at 20? It will be a breeze.

I'm playing a very similar build right now, started DLC at level 16, now I am 20 & at Abyssal station. Took Tailoring and low psychokinetics (force field), no lockpicking or persuasion.

Psycho acceleration, adrenaline, the cooldown reduction, etc. just gives you so much AP flexibility. Combine that with Electrokinetic Imprint / Quick Tinkering and Forcefield, and you can manage the battlefield completely, then one-shot three natives in a single turn.

Did it with an inferior 35AP Spearhead though.

Well, better safe than sorry.

I really wanted full Psychotemporal Acceleration specialization which is 4/4 at lvl 19.

Edit: I'm playing on Hard and after the second raid I can tell you that going in at lvl 20 it was the right decision.

 

[Beastro]

So the long awaited expansion has arrived? I can never tell when something is labelled a DLC these days...

What big changes have been done to effect sniper builds since.... 2015. Think that's the last time I played.

I do vaguely recall nerfs to using an assault rifle as a back up. IIRC I'd love using the Hornet to burst damage at point blank range if anything survived long enough to get that close to me. Anything like that still viable or have they forced snipers to effectively have to drop major secondary weps like assault rifles?

Anything done to traps since then I should know about?

 

[Black Angel]

I don't know how he resisted 1104 points of mechanical damage but he wasn't so lucky on reload

What the actual fuck? How???

Spanking Death Stalkers with my huge dick Spearhead sniper rifle

Kinky.

Anything done to traps since then I should know about?

Quick Tinkering is nerfed.... again

So, personally, if you aren't going to specialize in Quick Tinkering to reduce its cooldown and eliminate its AP cost... don't even bother. Might as well invest in Psychokinesis for Electrokinetic Imprint-Force Field, and Temporal Manipulation for all the utility spells.

 

[Spark Mandriller]

I don't know how he resisted 1104 points of mechanical damage but he wasn't so lucky on reload

What the actual fuck? How???

JHP ammo vs high resistance enemies isn't a good idea.

 

[Beastro]

Quick Tinkering is nerfed.... again

So, personally, if you aren't going to specialize in Quick Tinkering to reduce its cooldown and eliminate its AP cost... don't even bother. Might as well invest in Psychokinesis for Electrokinetic Imprint-Force Field, and Temporal Manipulation for all the utility spells.

That's not good. In these kinda games my instinct is to avoid magic most of the time and I haven't looked at the psy stuff at all.

I don't like the sound of specialization either. Sounds like added complexity that's a step too far. I like the usual character building in games like this, but not to the obsessive point that it takes it over. Hopefully a build in this thread will be good enough to hybridize. I'm worried though given how this game is with the Deep Caverns. I know enough about the game before my laptop died to know that what works through most of the game might not work there.

 

[Black Angel]

I don't like the sound of specialization either. Sounds like added complexity that's a step too far. I like the usual character building in games like this, but not to the obsessive point that it takes it over. Hopefully a build in this thread will be good enough to hybridize. I'm worried though given how this game is with the Deep Caverns. I know enough about the game before my laptop died to know that what works through most of the game might not work there.

Specialization itself is fine. A lot of them really are specialization, enhancing the feats that makes you good at one thing to be even better at it or making feats that made your character distinct from others to be even more pronounced. It's Quick Tinkering in particular, and some others, that has been pretty obnoxious in that they are to 'un-nerf' the feats that has been nerfed, like Blaine put it in the main thread.

 

[Wunderbar]

Quick tinkering specialization sucks. Two specialization points to lower cooldown from 5 to 4 turns, wtf is that?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Yeah as a fellow Sniper lover I can confirm that it takes some luck to find rifle parts. Usually you get your first sniper rifle when you arrive in Junkyard.

I tend to sequence break and go to Junkyard pretty early to hopefully try and get a frame + barrel. Also, basement level of the GMS compound, one room south of the 3rd level - there's a corpse there that sometimes has a sniper rifle/AR (of course, only when I'm a melee character - when I go in as a gun user it's always a shitty 5mm hawker).

 

[Khac Vinh]

Do you want try this build with 8.000 damage Crittically of main crossbow and secondary sniper rifle:

link zoom image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/183876840@N03/48642038442/in/dateposted-public/

 

[hell bovine]

I see I'm not the only one who has a problem with IMG links getting removed from posts.

 

[toro]

Do you want try this build with 8.000 damage Crittically of main crossbow and secondary sniper rifle:

link zoom image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/183876840@N03/48642038442/in/dateposted-public/

We are all Pavlovian animals and we like big numbers but that's not a great build because 8373 damage means that you just wasted 7000+ damage and 20 APs for one kill.

It might hurt your feelings but I was thinking the same as you for a long time however Spearhead with 1500-3000 damage and 24 AP per shot is much more effective.

Just think about it: 3 sniper shoots for 3 rounds means 9 guaranteed kills. Only Psi builds can beat that.

 

[hell bovine]

Just think about it: 3 sniper shoots for 3 rounds means 9 guaranteed kills. Only Psi builds can beat that.

I am wondering whether a high intelligence (and by that mean going full 16, 18 if you can r and high technicalitites specialization) energy pistols build using temporal & adrenaline couldn't beat it though, now that thanks to temporal you don't need dex to get a decent no. of shots.

You can also one-shot enemies with shotguns if you have sixth shell going (and choose the right shell type for the job), but I haven't optimized Patsy for them (since she started out a gunslinger), so no idea how high the numbers can really get. Non-combat shotguns with grip installed cost 20 ap, so for a temporal gunner that would be 4 shots when using psychotemporal contraction with adrenaline.

edit: Though one thing that the shotguns don't have for them is critical power, since it doesn't work with fragmented chaos:
https://underrail.com/forums/index.php?topic=4334.0
I'm however a bit suspicious about this "intend to revisit critical power" from Styg. Sounds like there's another "rebalancing" patch incoming.

 

[Wunderbar]

Sounds like there's another "rebalancing" patch incoming.

"Quick tinkering: AP cost increased from 25 to 40, cooldown changed to 8 turns (up from 5)"

 

[toro]

Just think about it: 3 sniper shoots for 3 rounds means 9 guaranteed kills. Only Psi builds can beat that.

I am wondering whether a high intelligence (and by that mean going full 16, 18 if you can r and high technicalitites specialization) energy pistols build using temporal & adrenaline couldn't beat it though, now that thanks to temporal you don't need dex to get a decent no. of shots.

You can also one-shot enemies with shotguns if you have sixth shell going (and choose the right shell type for the job), but I haven't optimized Patsy for them (since she started out a gunslinger), so no idea how high the numbers can really get. Non-combat shotguns with grip installed cost 20 ap, so for a temporal gunner that would be 4 shots when using psychotemporal contraction with adrenaline.

You can beat sniper if your pistol requires less than 24 AP per attack (min AP cost for Sniper).

edit: Though one thing that the shotguns don't have for them is critical power, since it doesn't work with fragmented chaos:
https://underrail.com/forums/index.php?topic=4334.0
I'm however a bit suspicious about this "intend to revisit critical power" from Styg. Sounds like there's another "rebalancing" patch incoming.

https://www.underrail.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fragmented_Chaos