Underrail: The Incline Awakens

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[razvedchiki]

havcent found energy edge either,its prob expansion only.

 

[Nekot-The-Brave]

so... crabs. especially psyker ones. As a knifer i love the introduction of enemy with extremally high mech+electricity dt. Expose weakness can no longer be bypassed i guess as I found grenades not effective enough... unless plasma are the way to go?

Are they resistant to energy too? Didnt craft energy edge yet but I already found out that 10% penalty is rounded up... Quite pricy on energy cost too.

Plasma Grenade MK3 is really good, it just has a smaller area of effect.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Rinslin Merwind]

Aegis is fucking paying you 1k chacha for a single """mission""" and giving you jetskis - they aint a faction.

Wtf is wrong with you, if faction doesn't protect your ass with soldiers in power armor- it doesn't mean they not faction anymore.

 

[Naraya]

About to start Underrail. Should I go blind or should I look for "guides and tips for new players" to avoid frustration etc.?

 

[Luckmann]

Alright. So.

The Dude.

What a fucking ride.

 

[Blaine]

About to start Underrail. Should I go blind or should I look for "guides and tips for new players" to avoid frustration etc.?

Here's a quick set of heavily biased tips, courtesy of YT:

• If it looks like a room, dark alleyway, or dark hallway is unoccupied, assume that it isn't. This is the #1 rule of Underrail.
• Save often. Turn off autosave on transition to speed loading times. Make hard saves before making big decisions.
  
• If you find the beginning of the game annoying, keep at it. It still annoys me almost 900 hours of playtime later. (Example: Thrown AoE utilities like grenades have terrible accuracy, since that is solely based on skill and light levels... in a level-based system. All new characters randomly fling grenades off into corners and onto themselves.)
• If you find making a workable build frustrating, ask here, but be careful whom you heed. Some of these guys are good at the game, but absolutely bonkers with their inscrutable and possibly inadvisable build choices.
• Speaking of which, Evasion and Dodge suck ass, ESPECIALLY for new players, who could really use them the most. Don't use these skills for any reason. This comment will earn me some downvotes, and those people can go right ahead and charm my trouser snake. (That said, they're absurdly powerful for NPCs.)
  
• Yes, the entire settlement will go instantly hostile if you accidentally click a forbidden desk (or maybe only if you loot it, but to be safe, don't touch), and will stay that way forever. No, there is no way to assassinate that inconvenient NPC without turning the settlement hostile, even if you're invisible and completely isolated... except when a quest or the plot indicates that you can, that is. FEEL THE OLD SKOOL, and read this: https://www.underrail.com/wiki/index.php?title=Zone_Control
• If you use zone transitions tactically (to run away and heal, for example), do so very carefully. Your foes will be ready and probably also healed when you return, and will get to go first. It used to be easier to zone cheese, and this made Styg very grumpy, so now you get fucked.
• Crafting skills are bonkers OP, but make sure not to level them up too high, especially Biology and Chemistry. After certain plateaus, and with certain boosts you'll gain access to, you won't need them any higher.
• ALWAYS PUMP COMBAT SKILLS TO THE MAX EVERY SINGLE LEVEL. NO EXCEPTIONS (except possibly Throwing, if you only throw AoE utilities).
• You are going to die a lot, enjoy.
• Don't use the in-game automap. Use your memory to get around instead; it's much more satisfying, and also challenging and exciting when you take a wrong turn into dangerous territory.

 

[Tygrende]

Speaking of which, Evasion and Dodge suck ass, ESPECIALLY for new players, who could really use them the most. Don't use these skills for any reason.

Except for feat requirements. Escape Artist, Uncanny Dodge, Fancy Footwork, all great feats.

 

[Luckmann]

• Don't use the in-game automap. Use your memory to get around instead; it's much more satisfying, and also challenging and exciting when you take a wrong turn into dangerous territory.

As someone that can get lost in a fucking supermarket, I cannot impart upon you just how incredibly frustrating the game would be for me without even the very basic functionality of the automap. Jesus Christ. I even add map-notes to note unexplored directions so I don't forget about them later, and mark areas "unexplored" if I set foot in there but don't explore further.

 

[Dodo1610]

I started playing Underrail again and now I finally understood why people like it. In my first try, I stopped playing because I expected a Fallout game with a strong narrative and great dialogues but to me, Underrail is a system driven RPG with fun combat, deep character systems and great exploration. If only the writers from Atom RPG would work with the designers from Underrail they could make the ultimate RPG imho.

Are there later Psy abilities that help against robots because at the moment they are the only thing I have no chance against.

 

[Parabalus]

So riddle me this: do you have to slaughter all the pirates and all the natives or what?
I didnt get free passage with pirates on 70 Persuation but they are non hostile as long you dont enter their territory. But there is no way to get to the Health Center without killing a path through em.

I am getting fucking fed up with idiotic super surprise crab attacks and now I have to kill a million trash npcs? What the fuck? Pillars of Shit quality design. If you thought that hordes of lunatics, ironheads and rathounds are bad...

-edit-
Holy shit, this mean I dumped 40 points into Persuation for fuckign nothing since Im gonna be killing em all anyway. Holy fucking shit the retardation.

Spoiler

Yeah, you might as well assess your odds of fighting the Captain and his right/left-hand men instead. Once you defeated them, radio the Chief to commence attack on the ports. At least, that's the way I see it if you can't tilt the negotiation in the expedition's favor. Or just join them.

As for the natives, I think after their 4th attack on the camp their numbers would be severely reduced. The way I see it, I think you only need to kill their 'officers' to stop their invasions before their 4th attack. To know who they are, you need to communicate with certain neutral native.

Spoiler

What do I do once I reach the Shadowlith? I tried blasting it with the Torch but nothing happened, and these voidal horrors don't seem to die either, and only take damag from the Torch sometimes.

Spoiler

Keep torching it, going to take a while. The void horrors could definitely be killed by the torch. Pro-tip: take with you and activate the chunkiest energy shield you have when facing the horrors.

You gotta genocide them all, it's incredibly boring.

You can see the void horrors if you take The Juice, so their HP becomes visible.

Speaking of which, Evasion and Dodge suck ass, ESPECIALLY for new players, who could really use them the most. Don't use these skills for any reason. This comment will earn me some downvotes, and those people can go right ahead and charm my trouser snake. (That said, they're absurdly powerful for NPCs.)

They're good enough below hard and DOMINATING, and on those difficulties they're useful because of the powerful feats.

I started playing Underrail again and now I finally understood why people like it. In my first try, I stopped playing because I expected a Fallout game with a strong narrative and great dialogues but to me, Underrail is a system driven RPG with fun combat, deep character systems and great exploration. If only the writers from Atom RPG would work with the designers from Underrail they could make the ultimate RPG imho.

Are there later Psy abilities that help against robots because at the moment they are the only thing I have no chance against.

Psychokinesis and Temporal Manipulation demolish robots effectively, but you need the electrical abilities for the former and some skill with the latter.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Tigranes]

• If you find making a workable build frustrating, ask here, but be careful whom you heed. Some of these guys are good at the game, but absolutely bonkers with their inscrutable and possibly inadvisable build choices.
• Speaking of which, Evasion and Dodge suck ass, ESPECIALLY for new players, who could really use them the most. Don't use these skills for any reason. This comment will earn me some downvotes, and those people can go right ahead and charm my trouser snake. (That said, they're absurdly powerful for NPCs.)

It's good that you put the first one above the second, friend

Naraya If you've played classic RPGs you're fine to play Underrail, and you can ask us when you get stuck or super frustrated. The first few hours until you hit Level 6 or so is slow and you are weak as fuck.

Super general guidelines:

• PLAY ODDITY
• Focus on one combat skill then sometimes a backup
  
• One such combat skill might be PSI, where there are three options: go full on psi (invest in all 4 'magic trees' as your primary or secondary combat skill, invest in Will as a key stat, take the -25% HP hit for being a psi user), ignore psi, or just use a tiny bit of psi for a couple of situational spells (usually 25 Psycho for Force Field and a bit of Temporal Manipulation w/out Will investment, take the -25% HP hit)
• Hacking & Lockpicking gives plenty of loot, ventilation shafts for sneaking, hacking security terminals, etc. - cool to take for content but not necessary
• Persuasion & Intimidate give obvious content but never necessary, Mercantile is surprisingly good now again not necessary
• Crafting is a huge part of game and most characters will invest, ask us if you don't know which ones for your build
• PLAY ODDITY

 

[hell bovine]

if you accidentally click a forbidden desk (or maybe only if you loot it, but to be safe, don't touch)

in general, you can look into containers that do not feature door or lid. I dont think I recall desk that its illegal to look into but i might be wrong in here.

Yep, I've clicked on plenty of red containers by accident; those shelves in Ezra's room have my character's grubby handprints all over them by now.

 

[ItsChon]

You can see the void horrors if you take The Juice, so their HP becomes visible.

As soon as I used a juice, it was literally braindead. For some reason my attacks weren't working without it. And the shield emitter helped a ton too, thanks Black Angel

Spoiler

Edit: Anyone have the map cords for the second shadowlith?

 

[Blaine]

if you accidentally click a forbidden desk (or maybe only if you loot it, but to be safe, don't touch)

in general, you can look into containers that do not feature door or lid. I dont think I recall desk that its illegal to look into but i might be wrong in here.

Yep, I've clicked on plenty of red containers by accident; those shelves in Ezra's room have my character's grubby handprints all over them by now.

Now start a new game, click on Vencel's desk, and hear the SKREE! sound of the turn-based combat system engaging. Interestingly, this may be one of the quickest ways to lose an RPG (without dying; you're just locked in forever) in recorded history.

It's not consistent, guys. Sorry, but it just isn't. That goes double for shelving.

 

[Sundevil96]

About to start Underrail. Should I go blind or should I look for "guides and tips for new players" to avoid frustration etc.?

Here's a quick set of heavily biased tips, courtesy of YT:
....

• Don't use the in-game automap. Use your memory to get around instead; it's much more satisfying, and also challenging and exciting when you take a wrong turn into dangerous territory.

Just wanted to say that this last one will probably generate more comments than anything else you mentioned.

 

[Blaine]

It's good that you put the first one above the second, friend

It's not just about the viability of Evasion and Dodge (and their concomitant feats) in and of themselves. It's also, or perhaps even primarily, about the reality that they hog a large quantity of skill points (25% of your total, if you max both) before we even arrive at the amount you'll be dedicating to offensive combat skills, which most characters take at least two of.

The reason Uncanny Dodge is so good is because it's actually reliable for a limited period of time, which is what medium and heavy armor and shield emitters already are at all times, but with a smaller or even nonexistent skill point and feat investment. Blocking can be as effective as dodging in many cases, and it too doesn't require pumping skill points into anything, although it does require some feats.

Crafting is a huge part of game and most characters will invest, ask us if you don't know which ones for your build

This one's easy: all of them.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Blaine]

Oh fuck, I forgot the most important tip:

For your first full playthrough, play on Normal difficulty. This isn't a Bethesda walking simulator, so Hard is for when you're actually familiar with the game.

DOMINATING is a difficulty that exists only so that tryhards can brag about playing on DOMINATING, but secretly, no one actually does. (In all seriousness, it's a challenge mode difficulty, and not for "having fun".)

 

[Tigranes]

It's good that you put the first one above the second, friend

It's not just about the viability of Evasion and Dodge (and their concomitant feats) in and of themselves. It's also, or perhaps even primarily, about the reality that they hog a large quantity of skill points (25% of your total, if you max both) before we even arrive at the amount you'll be dedicating to offensive combat skills, which most characters take at least two of.

The reason Uncanny Dodge is so good is because it's actually reliable for a limited period of time, which is what medium and heavy armor and shield emitters already are at all times, but with a smaller or even nonexistent skill point and feat investment. Blocking can be as effective as dodging in many cases, and it too doesn't require pumping skill points into anything, although it does require some feats.

Crafting is a huge part of game and most characters will invest, ask us if you don't know which ones for your build

This one's easy: all of them.

I don't even disagree with your campaign against dodge/evasion, they're clearly not the best use of your points. But for new players playing on Normal/Hard, it doesn't fuck them over to build a dodge/evasion dude with Nimble, for example. So it's a prime example of a level of detail/optimisation that he doesn't need to worry about. Whereas if dude was putting points into Guns, Melee and Throwing...

And yes, Normal/Oddity I would recommend for every new player. Even after 7? playthroughs, I enjoy Hard and it remains sufficiently challenging.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Oh fuck, I forgot the most important tip:

For your first full playthrough, play on Normal difficulty. This isn't a Bethesda walking simulator, so Hard is for when you're actually familiar with the game.

DOMINATING is a difficulty that exists only so that tryhards can brag about playing on DOMINATING, but secretly, no one actually does. (In all seriousness, it's a challenge mode difficulty, and not for "having fun".)

Dominating just shuts off a ton of builds from being viable. Which is fine, but definitely shouldn't be a first playthrough.

Hard I think is okay if you're ... smart? familiar? Most common sense builds are still viable, but if you make a mistake you may fuck yourself bigtime.

 

[Jezal_k23]

It's not consistent, guys. Sorry, but it just isn't. That goes double for shelving.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG