Underrail: The Incline Awakens

[Falksi]

3 meetings today. Gunna rush through 'em quick as poss so I can get a few hours in on this later!

 

[Chaotic_Heretic]

Another play through as a full Psionic god build. Explored/Quested everything except Institute/DC and at level 24 now (Normal/Classic).



started with 10will/10con/8int; with all levelups going into will.



maxing all 3 psi skills; and distributing the rest among the 5 crafting with high electronic/tailoring/biology and decent mechanics/chemistry; and hacking/lock picking/persuasion with a priority on lock picking (as high will/int makes up for hacking/persuasion)for more content.



started with thick skull and fast metabolism (stun immunity + more psi/heal from injections = win) feat

as for levleups; feats were (not in order) Force user; tranquility; premeditation; meditation, pyromaniac, neural overclocking, locus of control, thermodynamicity, cryogenic induction, neurology, psychostatic electricity, last stand



Also crafted gear.

Combat gear set is:

uni psi headband with psi cost reduction and increased psi crit chance

psionic tactical vest = further reduced psi cost / increased psi skills

infused siphoner leather boots with spring

energy shield emitter

the knife which gives reduced chance to be critically hit

Doctor's belt (finally got it from one of the arena matches)



Taser, EMP grenade and flashbang in combat utilities



stealth gear:

black cloth balaclava

lightest tactical vest with black cloth (10% penalty)

black cloth tabi boots

Cloaking Device





Crafted headband and psionic vest gives huge skill bonus/ psi cost reduction/ increased crit chance to psionics. That with the neurology and meditation feat gives 140 Psi. Combining with premeditation and locus of control; you can wipe out / CC most enemies in the first turn.

Force user is amazing. A critical Telekinetic punch damage with this feat can shatter most frozen enemies. that electric spell softens them up nicely with stunning the primary target and increasing crit chance with psychostatic electricity. Also force wall can save your ass quite a bit in sticky situations.

Locus of Control + Bilocation = lololol for bunch of crowded non robots. In fact thought control is p. awesome for organics.

Metathermics also p. amazing with pyromaniac and thermodynamicity.

It is pretty fun slinging spells and devastating most battles in a couple of turns. soften up foes with premeditation + electrokinesis; then telekinetic punch then electrokinesis then cryostasis. you can kill / cc 4 foes with ease in 1st turn even without locus of control. With full health/tranquility; the reduced action point cost really helps.

The biggest weakness of this build is detection and traps. lots of reloads due to carelessly walking into traps and killed by stellated knife /crossbow/snipers/crawlers. Equipping a night vision motion tracking goggles is a must to survive in areas with lot of stealth foes. I usually keep a conservative low freq shield on while exploring areas with stealth foes/traps. That helps to detect and/or survive the first turn when a knife homo suddenly jumps behind you and butt-rapes you. then last stand for full health and bomb the shit out of them with psionics. Also most secrets will be missed with the pathetic dumped perception.

You could drop couple of feats ( cryogenic induction and/or psychostatic electricity perhaps?) and go for paranoia and/or snooping. But as soon as you can afford to craft a decent motion seeking googles; your detection problem is solved by quite a bit. Also most secrets will be missed with the pathetic dumped perception. You could drop a feat or two and go for paranoia and/or snooping I suppose. But as soon as you can afford to craft a decent motion seeking googles; your detection problem is solved by quite a bit and even with snooping your shit perception won't help you find secrets much, so its not really necessary per se.

 

[Old One]

Don't forget everyone's favorite Underrail NPC: Gubbins.

A masterpiece of understatement.

Could you spoiler me on what's up with him? I just dropped him and took his unique reference hammer without noticing anything.

Spoiler

There's nothing up with him, except what you invent in your mind. I think that's why everyone seems to like him. Everyone reacts just like you did: who is this Gubbins guy? Why is he hangin' around that spot? There is no answer.

 

[Janise]

I have savegames somewhere after the Gauntlet and before repairing the crashed tunneler.
Thinking about finishing this shit.

Should I install my old GOG version or is the latest version compatible with the saves? Are there any crappy rebalancing attempts in there?

 

[Falksi]

So this game is really, really ramming home just how many basic gaming elements so many modern games fail to implement successfully nowadays.

I've played around 17 hours now (taking my time, reading everything etc. so not that far in) and I've not had one fight the same or, more importantly, FEEL the same. Just had a wonderfully chaotic fight with a many dopplegangers & some rathounds. It was pure chaos, and forced me to think many ways to survive, which I just managed to do by the skin of my teeth. I proper felt like I had a load of options, yet didn't feel overwhelmed by them; and that surviving was totally down to my choices. Just brilliant stuff.

Between that and arriving at Junkyard to have it feel very much part of the same world, but also very different/unique despite similar aesthetics, is again another gaming basic which so many games (hello same village copy-pasted everywhere Skyrim/Witcher 3) fail at.

The NPC situation is the only thing letting the experience down for me. It would be good just to have a few more random, none plot/quest/store based NPCs to interact with in some way just to flesh it out more. It's not far off, but a few more C&C NPC encounters would just add that bit extra depth to the roleplaying aspect.

Right, down the wormhole we go!

Another play through as a full Psionic god build. Explored/Quested everything except Institute/DC and at level 24 now (Normal/Classic).



started with 10will/10con/8int; with all levelups going into will.



maxing all 3 psi skills; and distributing the rest among the 5 crafting with high electronic/tailoring/biology and decent mechanics/chemistry; and hacking/lock picking/persuasion with a priority on lock picking (as high will/int makes up for hacking/persuasion)for more content.



started with thick skull and fast metabolism (stun immunity + more psi/heal from injections = win) feat

as for levleups; feats were (not in order) Force user; tranquility; premeditation; meditation, pyromaniac, neural overclocking, locus of control, thermodynamicity, cryogenic induction, neurology, psychostatic electricity, last stand



Also crafted gear.

Combat gear set is:

uni psi headband with psi cost reduction and increased psi crit chance

psionic tactical vest = further reduced psi cost / increased psi skills

infused siphoner leather boots with spring

energy shield emitter

the knife which gives reduced chance to be critically hit

Doctor's belt (finally got it from one of the arena matches)



Taser, EMP grenade and flashbang in combat utilities



stealth gear:

black cloth balaclava

lightest tactical vest with black cloth (10% penalty)

black cloth tabi boots

Cloaking Device





Crafted headband and psionic vest gives huge skill bonus/ psi cost reduction/ increased crit chance to psionics. That with the neurology and meditation feat gives 140 Psi. Combining with premeditation and locus of control; you can wipe out / CC most enemies in the first turn.

Force user is amazing. A critical Telekinetic punch damage with this feat can shatter most frozen enemies. that electric spell softens them up nicely with stunning the primary target and increasing crit chance with psychostatic electricity. Also force wall can save your ass quite a bit in sticky situations.

Locus of Control + Bilocation = lololol for bunch of crowded non robots. In fact thought control is p. awesome for organics.

Metathermics also p. amazing with pyromaniac and thermodynamicity.

It is pretty fun slinging spells and devastating most battles in a couple of turns. soften up foes with premeditation + electrokinesis; then telekinetic punch then electrokinesis then cryostasis. you can kill / cc 4 foes with ease in 1st turn even without locus of control. With full health/tranquility; the reduced action point cost really helps.

The biggest weakness of this build is detection and traps. lots of reloads due to carelessly walking into traps and killed by stellated knife /crossbow/snipers/crawlers. Equipping a night vision motion tracking goggles is a must to survive in areas with lot of stealth foes. I usually keep a conservative low freq shield on while exploring areas with stealth foes/traps. That helps to detect and/or survive the first turn when a knife homo suddenly jumps behind you and butt-rapes you. then last stand for full health and bomb the shit out of them with psionics. Also most secrets will be missed with the pathetic dumped perception.

You could drop couple of feats ( cryogenic induction and/or psychostatic electricity perhaps?) and go for paranoia and/or snooping. But as soon as you can afford to craft a decent motion seeking googles; your detection problem is solved by quite a bit. Also most secrets will be missed with the pathetic dumped perception. You could drop a feat or two and go for paranoia and/or snooping I suppose. But as soon as you can afford to craft a decent motion seeking googles; your detection problem is solved by quite a bit and even with snooping your shit perception won't help you find secrets much, so its not really necessary per se.

Cheers for posting, I'm playing pure PSI and have kinda gravitated towards a similar build. Good to know I'm on the right track.

 

[Jack Dandy]

Just stopping by to say it's lovely to see how another fella experiences and enjoys the game, right from the beginning.
Please keep up these posts mate :D

 

[Haplo]

I'm playing with a PSI/Sniper hybrid, based on Sykar's Ghost build (somewhat loosely).
Finally got my first sniper rifles at the Junkyard. Was kinda tempted to buy the 12.7 rifle with bipod (50AP fire cost!), but decided against it. Could use the accuracy boost, but 12.7 is very scarce so far and very expensive. 8.6 packs enough of a punch (sadly no enhancements). Love them crits! Will be even better when I pick Snipe! Only the accuracy could be better.. but it will improve with the Guns skill I guess.
For now I have chosen Pyromaniac before Snipe, as setting enemies on fire with Pyrostream and sending them panicked is really satisfying.

I've just met the mutated dog packs and.. ugh... Are these beasts beatable without Acid resist? Even if I kill them, their acid puddles everywhere slowly kill me trough environmental damage before Health hypo comes off cooldown. Guess open spaces and far sniping (not that my accuracy supports that) would be helpful.
Or do I need to hunt for gear with acid resist at shops before entering the Depot A?

 

[Falksi]

Just stopping by to say it's lovely to see how another fella experiences and enjoys the game, right from the beginning.
Please keep up these posts mate :D

Thanks mate will do. I always try to be honest as poss about games, and don't have any allegiance or bias up any format/dev/etc, so will say it how I see it, both positives & negatives.
So far Underrail is a stark reminder of how many AAA firms have forgotten what core elements often make a good game.

 

[Jack Dandy]

I'm playing with a PSI/Sniper hybrid, based on Sykar's Ghost build (somewhat loosely).
Finally got my first sniper rifles at the Junkyard. Was kinda tempted to buy the 12.7 rifle with bipod (50AP fire cost!), but decided against it. Could use the accuracy boost, but 12.7 is very scarce so far and very expensive. 8.6 packs enough of a punch (sadly no enhancements). Love them crits! Will be even better when I pick Snipe! Only the accuracy could be better.. but it will improve with the Guns skill I guess.
For now I have chosen Pyromaniac before Snipe, as setting enemies on fire with Pyrostream and sending them panicked is really satisfying.

I've just met the mutated dog packs and.. ugh... Are these beasts beatable without Acid resist? Even if I kill them, their acid puddles everywhere slowly kill me trough environmental damage before Health hypo comes off cooldown. Guess open spaces and far sniping (not that my accuracy supports that) would be helpful.
Or do I need to hunt for gear with acid resist at shops before entering the Depot A?

The acid puddles also fade away on their own over time, IIRC

 

[Haplo]

That's good, but seems like I'm dead by the time they do. With 3 Con my character isn't a survivor type...

 

[Falksi]

Chaps how essential is crafting for a pure PSI build?

I seem to be coping OK so far (on normal) and it just feels like I'm wasting points in the crafting skills because I still can't seem to make anything (15 Biology, 15 Electronics, 8 Intelligence).

Can I get by without crafting my own gear, and would those points be better spent elsewhere? (crafting in general isn't really my thing anyway)

 

[Cyberarmy]

Chaps how essential is crafting for a pure PSI build?

I seem to be coping OK so far (on normal) and it just feels like I'm wasting points in the crafting skills because I still can't seem to make anything (15 Biology, 15 Electronics, 8 Intelligence).

Can I get by without crafting my own gear, and would those points be better spent elsewhere? (crafting in general isn't really my thing anyway)

Crafting is borderline OP in this game.
There are PSI headbands that reduces spell costs and aome good armors built from PSI bug shells. Also PSI boosters and other consumables for QoL.

 

[Falksi]

Chaps how essential is crafting for a pure PSI build?

I seem to be coping OK so far (on normal) and it just feels like I'm wasting points in the crafting skills because I still can't seem to make anything (15 Biology, 15 Electronics, 8 Intelligence).

Can I get by without crafting my own gear, and would those points be better spent elsewhere? (crafting in general isn't really my thing anyway)

Crafting is borderline OP in this game.
There are PSI headbands that reduces spell costs and aome good armors built from PSI bug shells. Also PSI boosters and other consumables for QoL.

Sound & thanks. I'm relying on consumables a lot, but I don't mind it in this game. I've thrown a few spare points into Biology & Electronics, but won't worry about them too much now, as I still can't seem to craft anything.

 

[Cyberarmy]

You need good investment in them to craft OP things but even with lower skill values there are good craftables, probably you are missing blueprints.
Also as a pure "mage" I guess you are heavly invested in INT which is good crafting too, don't waste high INT imho.

 

[Falksi]

You need good investment in them to craft OP things but even with lower skill values there are good craftables, probably you are missing blueprints.
Also as a pure "mage" I guess you are heavly invested in INT which is good crafting too, don't waste high INT imho.

My INT is 8, so seems to be working fine in that respect. I've now 24 (32) biology, and 4 electronics. I'll keep topping it up when there's spare points for some low level stuff & leave it at that.

 

[Sykar]

I'm playing with a PSI/Sniper hybrid, based on Sykar's Ghost build (somewhat loosely).
Finally got my first sniper rifles at the Junkyard. Was kinda tempted to buy the 12.7 rifle with bipod (50AP fire cost!), but decided against it. Could use the accuracy boost, but 12.7 is very scarce so far and very expensive. 8.6 packs enough of a punch (sadly no enhancements). Love them crits! Will be even better when I pick Snipe! Only the accuracy could be better.. but it will improve with the Guns skill I guess.
For now I have chosen Pyromaniac before Snipe, as setting enemies on fire with Pyrostream and sending them panicked is really satisfying.

I've just met the mutated dog packs and.. ugh... Are these beasts beatable without Acid resist? Even if I kill them, their acid puddles everywhere slowly kill me trough environmental damage before Health hypo comes off cooldown. Guess open spaces and far sniping (not that my accuracy supports that) would be helpful.
Or do I need to hunt for gear with acid resist at shops before entering the Depot A?

I avoid them entirely or kill them one by one. I almost never engage them 1vMany. If I'd did, I would make sure they cannot hit me, either via CC or via Force Field. Also a hot tip, dogs cannot open doors so if you can setup something near a door abuse it.
Then again, I do have a lot of patience.

 

[Parabalus]

I'm playing with a PSI/Sniper hybrid, based on Sykar's Ghost build (somewhat loosely).
Finally got my first sniper rifles at the Junkyard. Was kinda tempted to buy the 12.7 rifle with bipod (50AP fire cost!), but decided against it. Could use the accuracy boost, but 12.7 is very scarce so far and very expensive. 8.6 packs enough of a punch (sadly no enhancements). Love them crits! Will be even better when I pick Snipe! Only the accuracy could be better.. but it will improve with the Guns skill I guess.
For now I have chosen Pyromaniac before Snipe, as setting enemies on fire with Pyrostream and sending them panicked is really satisfying.

I've just met the mutated dog packs and.. ugh... Are these beasts beatable without Acid resist? Even if I kill them, their acid puddles everywhere slowly kill me trough environmental damage before Health hypo comes off cooldown. Guess open spaces and far sniping (not that my accuracy supports that) would be helpful.
Or do I need to hunt for gear with acid resist at shops before entering the Depot A?

Small tips:

• If you CC somebody at a doorway enemies will bunch up behind them. With PSI you can rotate CC indefinitely, wait for CDs, then explode everyone together. Works for the entire game.
• The puddles don't do damage if you don't move through them, sit still until they expire.
• you can avoid most of them without stealth, with stealth you can go around them all.

Chaps how essential is crafting for a pure PSI build?

I seem to be coping OK so far (on normal) and it just feels like I'm wasting points in the crafting skills because I still can't seem to make anything (15 Biology, 15 Electronics, 8 Intelligence).

Can I get by without crafting my own gear, and would those points be better spent elsewhere? (crafting in general isn't really my thing anyway)

Crafting is borderline OP in this game.
There are PSI headbands that reduces spell costs and aome good armors built from PSI bug shells. Also PSI boosters and other consumables for QoL.

Sound & thanks. I'm relying on consumables a lot, but I don't mind it in this game. I've thrown a few spare points into Biology & Electronics, but won't worry about them too much now, as I still can't seem to craft anything.

PSI benefits the most from crafting IMO, you won't find any Psi beetle armors or headbands with 2 components out in the wild. They make a huge difference, not to mention you can also craft Trance for pew pew.

Another play through as a full Psionic god build. Explored/Quested everything except Institute/DC and at level 24 now (Normal/Classic).



started with 10will/10con/8int; with all levelups going into will.



maxing all 3 psi skills; and distributing the rest among the 5 crafting with high electronic/tailoring/biology and decent mechanics/chemistry; and hacking/lock picking/persuasion with a priority on lock picking (as high will/int makes up for hacking/persuasion)for more content.



started with thick skull and fast metabolism (stun immunity + more psi/heal from injections = win) feat

as for levleups; feats were (not in order) Force user; tranquility; premeditation; meditation, pyromaniac, neural overclocking, locus of control, thermodynamicity, cryogenic induction, neurology, psychostatic electricity, last stand


(xxx)

Had a very similar setup to you, except with Psychosis. Most fun build I had by far.

Instead of the knife, you can also use Power Fist for +1STR so you can carry more.

Regarding feats, a lot of the PSI ones are very questionable. Cryogenic induction and psychostatic electricity are very weak, shatter is largely pointless since they would likely die anyway and the same happens with psychostatic, they die before stacks become relevant. Hypothermia is a better choice but the damage ends up being negligible. Mental Subversion is useless if you have maxed TC with high WILL.

I didn't find thick skull necessary since you have LoC, and for the tough battles you can pop a bullhead. For Psychosis Survival Instincts is a very attractive choice. Took pack rathound myself, too low carry weight without.

When I played with a high PER character none of the secrets I found were particularly interesting(outright useless even), maybe the Rail Crossing merchant. Even with snooping + googles you'd still miss most so I don't think it's worth it.

 

[Haplo]

Small tips:

• If you CC somebody at a doorway enemies will bunch up behind them. With PSI you can rotate CC indefinitely, wait for CDs, then explode everyone together. Works for the entire game.
• The puddles don't do damage if you don't move through them, sit still until they expire.
• you can avoid most of them without stealth, with stealth you can go around them all.

Thank you for your advice. I've made some progress, though this area seems quite huge.
Oh, and I've met Mutants. And I thought the dogs were bad... These guys are immune to fear, highly resistant to stun and have a crapton of hp. Oh and hit like trucks, both at range and in melee.

On the upside, they seem to have very few movement points, so it's not that difficult to outmaneuver them. Still have to watch out for the acid puddles though. And they are typically accompanied by the fast dogs, which makes these encounters very tricky. Still, I'm progressing... but slowly. Love the tactical challenge, though.

Oh and I'm burning trough my lockpicks... maybe I should have brought along more then 15.

 

[Falksi]

So I've just got the Armadillo Class DRCB and have headed back to Junkyard. A few more observations.

The Combat - FFS, playing other games is gonna be so hard after this. It has simply fucking NAILED tactical combat brilliantly. Every battle is so different, even the same fights. That variety adds just SO much to the game. I always feel like I've a monumental challenge ahead, yet the amount of options I have mean there's a way through IF I look hard enough. Occasionally you can feel a tad skanked, but it's very rare and most deaths feel like they're through my own choice, not bad luck etc. Brilliant.

And the way that the game constantly entices you forward, slowly eating at consumables one by one as you think "the next section will be the last. I'll be safe then", only to have to push even further on is quality.

One gripe I have had is the way it handles traps. I'm playing pure PSI and don't have any goggles, so I never see traps beforehand. I do throw a ball of flame into areas ahead, but even though this works in theory, from an actual gameplaying perspective it's just a bit monotonous/dull. And no end of times I'll rush ahead, hit a mine, die & reload. It does impact on the fun and there's no real sense of tension involved with traps because of it. Also, some of the trap placements are odd. I could live with this method if I approached an area and though "right, obvious entrance, probably trapped", but there's mines in offices and places which those trapping them would walk near, so it can often feel a bit out of place.

Won't get to play much of it this week because I'm away in Wales with meetings

 

[Old One]

Just FYI, the mutants in the Junkyard have been through two or three nerfings already. I kind of liked it the old way, because you had to avoid them or you'd get killed fast. Now I can kill them all the first time through.

 

[Haplo]

Wow, that must've been something!

They are still quite brutal, but certainly beatable with the right tactics.

 

[Falksi]

Yeah, I had to reload a fair few times in that area. They still weren't easy!

 

[epeli]

Eh, don't take it too seriously. Old One is just parroting a meme.

Old Junkyard never was much harder than it is today. For most of the alpha development years it was arguably easier. But there was a slight difficulty spike for a short time right after the release. The area's balance pass to accommodate the then-new noise system came slightly late. Somehow that became a codex meme, as if it was being constantly nerfed or something. There was also something about steamtards being at fault, I don't remember.

 

[Falksi]

Eh, don't take it too seriously. Old One is just parroting a meme.

Old Junkyard never was much harder than it is today. For most of the alpha development years it was arguably easier. But there was a slight difficulty spike for a short time right after the release. The area's balance pass to accommodate the then-new noise system came slightly late. Somehow that became a codex meme, as if it was being constantly nerfed or something. There was also something about steamtards being at fault, I don't remember.

Gotchya

I love how every battle has me thinking "I can win this.....but at what price? Is it worth losing X amount of items to progress yet?" etc. Getting cornered by mutated dogs which appear weak, but in packs are deadly; seeing a few humans to take down, only to then be swarmed by all their mates as they come rushing etc. - it's never straightforward, and such freshness always keeps surprising me. Some of the best tactical combat I've ever played.

 

[Gnidrologist]

Is there any comprehensive guide on all the frame/stock combos? It's straight forward to figure out what scopes and certain electronic attachments give, but sitting there in crafting screen and clicking through all the subtle differences between huszar/mardeur/hornet/whatever shit and then how they go along with various barrels not to mention attachments is pain in the ass