Underrail: The Incline Awakens

[toro]

The Hives are retarded. Almost lost my will to continue. What the fuck is this shit!?

I cannot imagine playing the expansion with a melee character.

Edit: The second Natives raid spawned 30+ enemies. I managed to defend my position but not without 1 casualty.

Awful encounter design considering that the NPCs are completely braindead.

I did not pay attention to the expansion discussion but I have a feeling that this shit is more annoying than Deep Caverns.

 

[Tigranes]

The Hives are as bad as it gets, but crabs jumping out of the ground and stone statues coming out of the walls aren't much better.

I've had a blast playing Underrail again... but mostly the original content.

 

[Blaine]

The Hives are as bad as it gets, but crabs jumping out of the ground and stone statues coming out of the walls aren't much better.

I've had a blast playing Underrail again... but mostly the original content.

u mad, bre?

Spoiler

You know, I argued both sides of the Deep Caverns debate vociferously. On the one hand, I distributed tongue-lashings to people who dismissed DC as blanket terrible; on the other, I had plenty of criticism to air. For example:

You always mention how you came super well-prepared and most of your build works fine/great. Yet you still find huge problems with DC. Can you imagine what a guy without huge amounts of supplies and with a shitty build may find himself in?

I've found one huge problem with DC, and that is being forced to stand around doing literally nothing for long periods of time, on top of an enormous amount of backtracking.

After 24 scouting trips, the player will have stood around for 20 minutes waiting for the debuff to wear off. 20 minutes of doing jack shit! It's indefensibly bad design. When constant backtracking is included, over half of your time in Deep Caverns (at least to begin with) is pure downtime. Holy God in Heaven, that is some shit design.

Yes, I can certainly see how someone who's under-prepared and has a sub-optimal build would throw in the towel (although I should note that my build is by no means min-maxed). Many of the enemies are far easier for some combat disciplines and builds than for others with the same investment of skill points and feats, and because this is the ultimate (or penultimate) area of the game, the way in which Deep Caverns shits all over some builds thoroughly sabotages one of Underrail's greatest strengths: the wide range of choice in character progression.

In the end, though, I still enjoyed DC. I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy Expedition, too.

DC is nowhere near as bad as the sky-is-falling, woe-is-us trashing it has received and isn't "a mess" by any stretch of the imagination, but there are a few questionable and annoying design decisions, and it very clearly punishes builds that are on the weak side. The game essentially turns into survival horror of sorts once you hit DC, pushing markedly different buttons than the entire rest of the game and overturning many of the expectations and habits players will have developed in the preceding dozens of hours. This is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the player's mindset.

Having massive amounts of movement points (104), high Stealth, powerful psionics, and an immense store of supplies that I brought down with me, it's pretty much been a cakewalk for me so far. Don't expect to get any satisfaction from clearing areas or defeating enemies, though, aside from the occasional Oddity and XP that Classic players likely won't need at that point. Loot really doesn't matter at all, the enemies will be respawned minutes (or moments) later in most cases, and the environmental hazards get turned up to 11.

It's very uncomfortable, in other words. You can find a comfort zone, but it'll be in some tiny room someplace where you can't do anything. I enjoy the scouting and exploration, and look forward to solving the puzzles/mysteries I haven't already solved.

The unnecessary downtime, though, needs to fuck right off.

 

[LJ40]

I have a feeling that this shit is more annoying than Deep Caverns.

Deep Caverns sucks the crusty scabs off the rim of a leprous asshole. Hives and native raids are moderately annoying. Not even remotely close.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Blaine]

Rumor has it that if you get thirty psi beetles all together in one place, you can chill an entire case of beer in under two minutes.

 

[the mole]

At this point I feel we could use a separate list of "favorited" crafting recipes for those most commonly used.

Jesus fucking shit-ass cunt there are 530,461 recipes now and it's a single-column list, God damn it, PLEASE HELP

Sorting inventory by weight and value would also be a welcome addition.

 

[the mole]

You know, it occurred to me the other day that the most difficult opponents when I played through the game as full psi were other psi users, specifically the mall dwellers. They were the toughest fight in that playthrough for me.

Now that I'm playing through again as a low-Will, non-stealth melee character, I've realized that psi users are even deadlier to non-psi characters, so deadly in fact that you often must kill them before they can act if you have any hope of surviving. The conclusion is that full psi dominates everything after all, it's just that other psi users present the stiffest challenge.

Probably it has something to do with the enemies' own high Resolve.

I suppose it will end up starving to death in the pit.

Considering the amount of bodies PC leaves after clearing the underpassages, I think the dog will do just fine.

No, because he's locked in, and lacks opposable thumbs. Sleep tight, pupper.

Psi is bullshit, allowing psi attacks to miss and maybe changing the formula for stun would go a long way towards balance

 

[the mole]

How am I supposed to survive Old Junkyard, my level 8 Psy with Knife Char had could kill everything until now but against the Muties my abilities are useless. Should I go somewhere else first?

Molotovs

 

[the mole]

Incendiaries are so fucking amazing, because they not only do good damage (at least around that level), but also sets enemies on fire for DoT damage, makes them panic, and makes them want to avoid running over the area that is on fire (they'll try to run around, so you can gate areas with it).

I wonder how feasible it'd be to do a playthrough that relies just all-in on walking around in a fire-proof suit and setting everything on fire with a flame-blob-thrower and a bunch of incendiaries.

Blast suit plus gas mask

 

[Parabalus]

you just need to prepare, i killed him fine with squishy 3con knifer with bad initiative roll. Taser + flashbang will allow you to survive while you are entangled and carnifex adrenaline is expiring. Rathound regalia will save you from yell.
At which point you will be free to act against carnifex with no bonuses(weakend even after adrenaline expired). My lvl15 had 75% hit chance.
Next you just drop him with whatever is at your disposal

My lvl 17 max melee build had like 30% chance to hit, 10% with yell. Curious why you had so much more.

you just need to prepare, i killed him fine with squishy 3con knifer with bad initiative roll. Taser + flashbang will allow you to survive while you are entangled and carnifex adrenaline is expiring. Rathound regalia will save you from yell.

He has obscenely high Resolve and is fairly resistant to flashbangs. No matter what your setup, if you get unlucky, you will be reloading. Often, you'll need a little good luck in order to succeed with any given strategy.

Note I'm not saying that he can't be beaten, or even that he can't be beaten on the first try; I've beaten him in every playthrough, sometimes on Hard, including with pre-buff Crossbows + Traps.

By the way, flashbanging him AND yourself (maybe throw on a shaded visor) is a potentially good addition to the flamelord strategy, although chances are he'll resist it because fuck you.

He only has 2800 HP, most builds can reliably him in a turn.

Worst part about him is the long intro sequence, if you decide to change your gear (like equipping full metal if you can't win initiative) you gotta sit through it again.

Deep Caverns

I agree with your assessment, you spend the game enjoying exploration, then in DC you get greeted with respawns at every area entry. Those burrowers at Arke were hilarious.

(...) high Stealth, powerful psionics (...) (although I should note that my build is by no means min-maxed)

Even without mix-max that's a contender for the strongest build.

he perhaps subsequently realized (due to forum discussion) that many people were taking Quick Tinkering + strategic levels of the Traps skill as an afterthought on many builds that otherwise wouldn't bother, to great effect.

Now everyone is gonna be taking TM. Styg's wizardphilia strikes again.

QT is meme at this point, since instead of a feat, you can spend 45 in Psycho and use imprint, for less AP and a stun instead of a root.

The Hives are retarded. Almost lost my will to continue. What the fuck is this shit!?

I cannot imagine playing the expansion with a melee character.

Edit: The second Natives raid spawned 30+ enemies. I managed to defend my position but not without 1 casualty.

Awful encounter design considering that the NPCs are completely braindead.

I did not pay attention to the expansion discussion but I have a feeling that this shit is more annoying than Deep Caverns.

I'm gonna go with a melee character soon, I'll try to stealth through everything. All the new enemies are cancer for melee.

The native villages where you aggro 20-30 natives are gonna be a joy. (A joke for psi, obviously)

 

[the mole]

lj140 you haven't actually contributed anything for me to rate your posts, I haven't seen an intelligent thought from you

Maybe you don't have thoughts and have a low iq

 

[LJ40]

lj140 you haven't actually contributed anything for me to rate your posts, I haven't seen an intelligent thought from you

Maybe you don't have thoughts and have a low iq

Maybe I do. Or maybe your faggot ass would be better served modding Arcanum like a good little bitch.

What is up Drog indeed

Edit - I will say it's mighty impressive after 2 tries you've almost become literate enough to spell a four fucking character name.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Sykar]

I really think that Precognition should give a flat bonus instead of a percentage bonus or a combination of both. For people not investing into Evasion/Dodge the ability is utterly useless and not many invest into it heavily, favoring Evasion over Dodge. Worse still, heavily investing into both makes it hard to invest enough points into TM to justify the heavy drain, since most stealth builds will be either Sniper, SMG or melee oriented, which often complement it via throwing or traps skills. Throw in crafting and there is little left for TM. Even 3 con stealth PSI will have a hard time justifying going all out into Dodge, Evasion and TM alongside crafting, stealth and probably 1 social skill.

 

[hell bovine]

he perhaps subsequently realized (due to forum discussion) that many people were taking Quick Tinkering + strategic levels of the Traps skill as an afterthought on many builds that otherwise wouldn't bother, to great effect.

Now everyone is gonna be taking TM. Styg's wizardphilia strikes again.

QT is meme at this point, since instead of a feat, you can spend 45 in Psycho and use imprint, for less AP and a stun instead of a root.

In terms of power, yes. But not in terms of availability; obviously, if you know where the psionic mentor is, you can beeline for it. But coming back to the game after a few years, tbh I don't remember where the majority of items are. Still haven't found it. Someone playing for the first time might not run across it that early either. Bear traps you can buy in large quantities from the start, including the poisoned ones.

 

[Parabalus]

he perhaps subsequently realized (due to forum discussion) that many people were taking Quick Tinkering + strategic levels of the Traps skill as an afterthought on many builds that otherwise wouldn't bother, to great effect.

Now everyone is gonna be taking TM. Styg's wizardphilia strikes again.

QT is meme at this point, since instead of a feat, you can spend 45 in Psycho and use imprint, for less AP and a stun instead of a root.

In terms of power, yes. But not in terms of availability; obviously, if you know where the psionic mentor is, you can beeline for it. But coming back to the game after a few years, tbh I don't remember where the majority of items are. Still haven't found it. Someone playing for the first time might not run across it that early either. Bear traps you can buy in large quantities from the start, including the poisoned ones.

It's also a random drop so you can luck out getting it, I got mine in Expedition.

 

[oscar]

How am I supposed to survive Old Junkyard, my level 8 Psy with Knife Char had could kill everything until now but against the Muties my abilities are useless. Should I go somewhere else first?

Molotovs

Flashbangs and sprinting like a maniac got me to the drill. I came back three levels later though to wack the muties and the mutts.

 

[Dodo1610]

Thanks for the tips. But I am going to to start a new playthrough Playing with neither hacking nor lockpicking doesn't seem to work very well. Should I invest points in melee or could a combination of shotgun (for close range) and Psy work?

 

[Wunderbar]

This stupid fight is literally impossible if you're playing as a squishy crossbowman-trapper.

AAArgh fuck

i'm taking my words back.
Returned to the black sea at level 20 and curbstomped these native pipeworkers.

 

[Elephantman]

second Natives raid spawned 30+ enemies

 

[Elephantman]

Cool stuff with nagas is using stasis in melee range, they'll shoot themselves. Works great on the 3 nagas which are together in the joint security hq.

A. I had 2 nagas and
B. it doesnt work at all... they do less dmg to each other than I would with tkpunch

Spoiler

getting into pointblank range helps a bit but after 2 turns you are dead anyway
the only way i was able to fight them is by running around the 2 entry points and enduring 4 loading screens... putting down imprint

 

[Elephantman]

Marcus, the bad boy, on the battlefield

 

[toro]

second Natives raid spawned 30+ enemies

Spoiler

It's not funny. I will put every trap I find on that beach.

 

[Parabalus]

Cool stuff with nagas is using stasis in melee range, they'll shoot themselves. Works great on the 3 nagas which are together in the joint security hq.

A. I had 2 nagas and
B. it doesnt work at all... they do less dmg to each other than I would with tkpunch

Spoiler

getting into pointblank range helps a bit but after 2 turns you are dead anyway
the only way i was able to fight them is by running around the 2 entry points and enduring 4 loading screens... putting down imprint

It's a DOMINATING 2+1 extra.

I'll check but I'm quite sure they did damage to themselves on my run.

second Natives raid spawned 30+ enemies

Spoiler

It's not funny. I will put every trap I find on that beach.

I'm at the point where I can go to Expedition, but I'm dreading it just because of this defense. I'll side with the pirates so letting the camp just die seems agreeable.

Thanks for the tips. But I am going to to start a new playthrough Playing with neither hacking nor lockpicking doesn't seem to work very well. Should I invest points in melee or could a combination of shotgun (for close range) and Psy work?

Every build works well with Temporal Manipulation (with 3 WILL), 25/45 in Psychokinesis are also worthwhile investments.

If you're playing on <Hard everything will work, game isn't too hard, just use consumables liberally. Still fun to roughly plan out your build on the editor.