A good beginners guide for Underrail?

[Parabalus]

I literally made an 800 dmg one punch Monk on my first try by combining the Combo feat with a pneumatic glove. You don't need no metagaming.

You blind lucked into the strongest build, it got nerfed to the ground but is still top.

 

[luj1]

Yeah I lucked into it because I cant read and usually pick feats while blindfolded.

 

[ghostdog]

With all that build talk you made me plan a psi-chotic character, buy Expeditions (which I though I had bought, but actually hadn't) and start a new game. Viva la quarantina!

 

[Black Angel]

With all that build talk you made me plan a psi-chotic character, buy Expeditions (which I though I had bought, but actually hadn't) and start a new game. Viva la quarantina!

Would you care take a look at my planned Psi-chotic chars?

Battlemage
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgQ...dlZsKIwoTCt3LCp-KitAHiorUC4qOIBeKsggXirIMC378

Maso-Psi
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?Hgg...qPSHCh2XCiGZVwoTCt8K74qyCBOKsgwLisLgF4rC5BN-_

 

[ghostdog]

With all that build talk you made me plan a psi-chotic character, buy Expeditions (which I though I had bought, but actually hadn't) and start a new game. Viva la quarantina!

Would you care take a look at my planned Psi-chotic chars?

Battlemage
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgQ...dlZsKIwoTCt3LCp-KitAHiorUC4qOIBeKsggXirIMC378

Maso-Psi
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?Hgg...qPSHCh2XCiGZVwoTCt8K74qyCBOKsgwLisLgF4rC5BN-_

Not a real expert in PSI, but here's my two cents. Both builds look ok in general, at least outside the dominating difficulty.

-I see your first one goes for heavy armor. I'm sure it can work, but in general higher INT instead of STR would benefit the PSI user more and you can use good tactical vests and riot gear. Your maso-PSI build seems more effective.
-Completely omitting both lockpicking and hacking will make things quite a bit harder. Maybe at least get hacking? If not, stealth is also a good side-skill to pick despite the penalty you'd get, since you can make high-stealth increasing gear.
-In any case I believe you can easily live with 70(base) Temporal Manipulation (since you go for pshychosis builds) without missing too much on output if you want to free some points.
- I see you want go for full social usage. From what I've seen the highest persuasion skillcheck is 110 and for intimidation 100, so you could reduce those two accordingly.
- I see you've picked the Hemopsychosis feat. That one has great synergy with Last Stand, so you should consider it.
- I also saw you chose Iron Will in your maso-build. At that point it likely doesn't make that much difference, but the empowered feats are probably better.

 

[Parabalus]

With all that build talk you made me plan a psi-chotic character, buy Expeditions (which I though I had bought, but actually hadn't) and start a new game. Viva la quarantina!

Would you care take a look at my planned Psi-chotic chars?

Battlemage
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgQ...dlZsKIwoTCt3LCp-KitAHiorUC4qOIBeKsggXirIMC378

Maso-Psi
http://underrail.info.tm/build/?Hgg...qPSHCh2XCiGZVwoTCt8K74qyCBOKsgwLisLgF4rC5BN-_

• Why 4 STR instead of 18 WILL?
• Why 10 CON if you aren't taking Thick skull (No need to since you have LoC)? 9 is enough.
• Conditioning and Stoicism aren't too hot, they reduce after shield/armor, so the effect isn't big. I'd def take Last Stand over it
• The health cost specs are pretty bad, CD ones are great with LTI.
• Metal armor doesn't have psi beetle carapace which is a big help
  • 95% DR suit is very effective, but a bit 'boring', and with no Sprint will be very corner reliant
• Not sure about Iron Will since you have LoC, would be interesting to know if you can resist everything with it, but I think you won't even notice it.
• You can shave a lot of points out of the non-combat skills (e.g. intimidate can be <20 with gear), particularly the 1st build with no LP and low STR will have trouble with vents
• Be sure to play <30% for SI, especially early game, makes everything a lot easier since it's a massive damage boost
• PSI is mega strong so particulars don't really matter, both will roll through DOM

 

[Black Angel]

ghostdog Parabalus thanks a lot, bros

My general plan for both builds are basically this:

Battlemage

A glassy tactical nuke. Wants to make use of psi-beetle carapace, so upon finding out metal armor can't have psi-beetle carapace as a component, I just ditch the STR and go all the way to Will for maximum tactical nuke. I was thinking that maybe Conditioning would go well with Stoicism, but considering each alone didn't work too great in tandem with other defensive measures, I think might as well ditch them altogether. The reason I got 10 CON here is because I want to minimize the penalty of Advanced Psi Empathy. Iron Will is there only because I anticipate that the Thought Control tentacle of the final boss isn't killed by solving the mutagen puzzle. 50% is quite big, although fiddling the .info.tm page it seems the Philosopher feats from big brain talk with the Ferryman is flatly added *after* Iron Will. Hemopsychosis was mostly there as a last resort measure when running out of psi, but considering how severe the penalty from Advanced Psi Empathy which greatly reduce Hemo's effectiveness, I might as well ditch it for... Power Management, maybe? Or Neurology for maximum psi efficiency.

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgM...VmwogpwrdywqfCneKitAHiorUC4qOIBeKsggXirIMC378 this is the updated version. Pack Rathound to compensate for 3 STR while wanting to wear rather heavy Tactical Vest/Riot Gear, Last Stand to replace Stoicism, and then either Power Management or Neurology based on how well I do on defense and psi usage throughout the game. 1 point from CON making it down to 9 and put in into INT instead for more big brain moments.

Maso-Psi

As the name suggest, a masochist psi-chotic char. Heavy metal armor, preferably super steel because dammit that 9 STR req for Tungsten Metal Armor is just too much. Since Metal Armor literally make Conditioning useless I ditched it completely but thought Stoicism would still work. And with higher HP I thought Survival Instinct would work, but then Psionic Mania is here. I also got INT on 6 because of Premeditation, but I could take away 1 point from CON and put it here for Armor Sloping to compensate for mobility or even Power Management to maximize energy shield capacity and regenerative vest duration, or at the very least increase INT effective skills.

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?Hgg...qPSFlwodmwoTCiEXCt8K74qyCBOKsgwLisLgF4rC5BN-_ Updated version here. With Stoicism gone, I have no choice but to put Juggernaut as first pick feat because everything else are other than Psychosis are lvl 4 feats and above. Since Metal Armor don't utilize psi-beetle carapace, it can safely ditch any measure of psi cost reduction in favor of more HP and defensive measure, coupled with compensating for mobility with Armor Sloping. Ditched Stoicism for Last Stand, and with more HP, Hemopsychosis can be more efficient, and so I also spec into it. But if I find HP usage isn't too much of a problem, maybe I'll spec into Future Orientation instead. Other than that, pretty straightforward tanky psyker, with a masochistic tendency of using HP to cast spells.

I also adjusted both builds to have Hacking as to not let go of that big brain capability to waste. Battlemage get 45 Lockpicking and would go well over 50 with synergy from Mechanics and Jackknife to use Omni-Tool, while Maso-Psi with its 8 STR should be able to use crowbar while that 10 Lockpicking is for the outpost quest. I also took away points from Chemistry and figured 20 is enough for creating armors with Biohazard Vest, and also because 15 is suffice to make TNT charges.

 

[Parabalus]

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?HgM...VmwogpwrdywqfCneKitAHiorUC4qOIBeKsggXirIMC378 this is the updated version. Pack Rathound to compensate for 3 STR while wanting to wear rather heavy Tactical Vest/Riot Gear, Last Stand to replace Stoicism, and then either Power Management or Neurology based on how well I do on defense and psi usage throughout the game. 1 point from CON making it down to 9 and put in into INT instead for more big brain moments.

Why not Survival instincts? It's what makes the build, might as well sit at 6 CON if you're not taking it.

Late game you won't need it as much but it's what makes <lvl20 bearable and still contributes a lot afterwards.

http://underrail.info.tm/build/?Hgg...qPSFlwodmwoTCiEXCt8K74qyCBOKsgwLisLgF4rC5BN-_ Updated version here. With Stoicism gone, I have no choice but to put Juggernaut as first pick feat because everything else are other than Psychosis are lvl 4 feats and above. Since Metal Armor don't utilize psi-beetle carapace, it can safely ditch any measure of psi cost reduction in favor of more HP and defensive measure, coupled with compensating for mobility with Armor Sloping. Ditched Stoicism for Last Stand, and with more HP, Hemopsychosis can be more efficient, and so I also spec into it. But if I find HP usage isn't too much of a problem, maybe I'll spec into Future Orientation instead. Other than that, pretty straightforward tanky psyker, with a masochistic tendency of using HP to cast spells.

I tried armor sloping + full super steel a few days ago, and was very disappointed at how little movement (70%ish AP) you have, and I even had sprint. You can't get to 95% DR without a helmet, which you can't wear as PSI since you need the headband. If you want metal I'd suggest tungsten and just run with 95% AP with much better defenses, for much chaper.

Same SI question, but it puzzles me even more since here you have Hemo, meaning that your HP will be bouncing even more?

 

[Black Angel]

Why not Survival instincts? It's what makes the build, might as well sit at 6 CON if you're not taking it.

Late game you won't need it as much but it's what makes <lvl20 bearable and still contributes a lot afterwards.

Because of Psionic Mania, which I would take at lvl 18, and I'm not sure what to replace with SI. Maybe even take Psionic Mania as early as lvl 16. And CON stays at 9 for Last Stand. Though maybe that's what I'll replace with SI, since I'm not taking Hemo with this build.

I tried armor sloping + full super steel a few days ago, and was very disappointed at how little movement (70%ish AP) you have, and I even had sprint. You can't get to 95% DR without a helmet, which you can't wear as PSI since you need the headband. If you want metal I'd suggest tungsten and just run with 95% AP with much better defenses, for much chaper.

Same SI question, but it puzzles me even more since here you have Hemo, meaning that your HP will be bouncing even more?

Hmm, I'd imagine Armor Sloping would be far more effective with Metal Armor. And shouldn't Boots + boot spring grant some decent flat MP bonus even for metal armored char? And I still think that 1 stat point is too precious to sacrifice for Tungsten.

And since I planned Hemo this time, I'd definitely take Last Stand for maximum masochism.

 

[Sheepherder]

My two cents.
Get Survival Instincts and get it early. A psychosis wizard uses Psionic Mania as soon as it's off cd, so your HP will effectively be 1. Which synergizes with SI, because at 9 con 1 HP <30% total HP. SI is best in early game because at mid/late-game you can spam Increments and get Psionic Mania off cd sooner.
Take Force User, Premeditation, Psionic Mania and LoC as soon as they are available.
Thermodinamicity is shit. Cold psi effects cancel out fire effects and vice versa.
For defenses, just don't get hit. Also get 35 initiative if you plan on doing Faceless Commander.

Dunno about metal armor build.

 

[Black Angel]

Yeah, I guess with the Battlemage build I'll take SI instead of Last Stand.

Thermodinamicity is shit. Cold psi effects cancel out fire effects and vice versa.

I took Thermodinamicity in my latest finished psi playthrough, and while it's true cold effects cancels fire's, the feat is still useful against groups and for crowd control. Provided you have enough psi, and especially with Premeditation, you can cast churn out cryo orb -> pyro orb -> cryokinesis -> fire spray on multiple different targets all in one turn. This is especially useful in big fights, especially when defending expedition camp against native and/or invading the natives/pirates base.
However, that one has Tranquility + Meditation. Maybe replace ThermoD in both builds with Pyromaniac instead?

Also get 35 initiative if you plan on doing Faceless Commander

Kinky.

 

[Sheepherder]

Yeah, I guess with the Battlemage build I'll take SI instead of Last Stand.

Thermodinamicity is shit. Cold psi effects cancel out fire effects and vice versa.

I took Thermodinamicity in my latest finished psi playthrough, and while it's true cold effects cancels fire's, the feat is still useful against groups and for crowd control. Provided you have enough psi, and especially with Premeditation, you can cast churn out cryo orb -> pyro orb -> cryokinesis -> fire spray on multiple different targets all in one turn. This is especially useful in big fights, especially when defending expedition camp against native and/or invading the natives/pirates base.
However, that one has Tranquility + Meditation. Maybe replace ThermoD in both builds with Pyromaniac instead?

Also get 35 initiative if you plan on doing Faceless Commander

Kinky.

During island defense, position yourself to the right and when the savages start appearing, cast force field to funnel them into the machinegun turret. Take cover behind ruin, kill savages, spam increment, and then cast forcefield as soon as you can. ezpz
Most other fights go like this:

1. Be in stealth
2. Spot some cunts
3. Press Enter and cast haste
4. Head to nearest wall or chokepoint
5. Cast forcefield and wait
   
6. Cast Destabilization
7. Use Mania
8. Cast Punch
9. Mop up

Or just cast mania+loc+neural overload. That's it.
Pyromaniac is okay-ish. I'd take it after lvl 18 as a secondary priority feat.

Also, before game release, Underrail had bug with Pyro Stream spell when used with Premeditation, due to premeditation extending psi effect range. I wonder if pyro stream works well with Outer Visions.

 

[Parabalus]

Because of Psionic Mania, which I would take at lvl 18, and I'm not sure what to replace with SI. Maybe even take Psionic Mania as early as lvl 16.

I didn't even look at the feat order, but you should take it at lvl 8, ASAP.

However, that one has Tranquility + Meditation. Maybe replace ThermoD in both builds with Pyromaniac instead?

Both are very useful mid game, fall off later, since stuff just explodes. I'd take pyromanic if I had to choose one.

Be in stealth

He doesn't have stealth.

 

[Black Angel]

Thank you, bros. Very cool

OP, I think I'll be using this thread to post my (now numbering to) 14 planned builds (excluding the psi-chotic chars just discussed) much later.

Edit: I just remembered Styg making that thread asking for everyone's psi saves. With how slow I'm in playing the game and trying out builds, the psi build I planned here might be rendered obsolete soon

 

[Sheepherder]

Be in stealth

He doesn't have stealth.

I always play with stealth so I just assumed that he does as a default lol.
So yeah, get stealth.

 

[Black Angel]

Be in stealth

He doesn't have stealth.

I always play with stealth so I just assumed that he does as a default lol.
So yeah, get stealth.

Nah, I already played psi-stealth twice now. Want to experience something new.

 

[Parabalus]

Be in stealth

He doesn't have stealth.

I always play with stealth so I just assumed that he does as a default lol.
So yeah, get stealth.

Nah, I already played psi-stealth twice now. Want to experience something new.

I don't like stealth from a gameplay perspective, but find it indispensable since the expansion since you can skip so much annoying shit, worth it just for that.

 

[Black Angel]

I don't like stealth from a gameplay perspective,

Why? Too op or too much point-n-clicking?

 

[Parabalus]

I don't like stealth from a gameplay perspective,

Why? Too op or too much point-n-clicking?

Too op in combat, for ranged. Kinda necessary for melee.
Probably for psychosis PSI I don't like it for RP reasons, doesn't fit the fantasy of it for me, other builds it's cool.

Clicking isn't too bad imo, when you're just trying to stealth through something it's fun.

 

[Sykar]

Be in stealth

He doesn't have stealth.

I always play with stealth so I just assumed that he does as a default lol.
So yeah, get stealth.

Nah, I already played psi-stealth twice now. Want to experience something new.

Stealth is best!