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Yes, I remembered that when I finally started the game. I got Sprint and Snooping, for the above mentioned reasons but many thanks for the suggestion anyway!
I don't recommend going Psi on first run. You will not get the complete story even if you will get access to all the lore.
Stasis or Locus of Control are game breaking feats. Also Psi combat will get boring very fast because on Normal you are not forced to use support items.
Honestly, the most fun build for a 1st run is an AR build. Afterwards you will have the necessary knowledge for other builds.
LoC is hardly gamebreaking after the range nerf and new psi mechanics. I'd say it's actually the only thing that makes TC good rather than garbage now.
Stasis on the other hand is the single most busted psi ability right now. The way it works, it's effectively a free bonus turn. With all AP boosters and buffs still in effect.
I didn't play for quite some time and I heard that they nerfed psi a lot, is it true? I played a pure psi build and I dunno if I should just restart then if he's gonna be completely useless.
I didn't play for quite some time and I heard that they nerfed psi a lot, is it true? I played a pure psi build and I dunno if I should just restart then if he's gonna be completely useless.
It got nerfed quite hard but it's hardly useless. The most broken abilities were toned down and you can't use all your abilities all the time, more specialization is required. It went from objectively the strongest overall build to just really strong.
Yes, I remembered that when I finally started the game. I got Sprint and Snooping, for the above mentioned reasons but many thanks for the suggestion anyway!
I don't recommend going Psi on first run. You will not get the complete story even if you will get access to all the lore.
Stasis or Locus of Control are game breaking feats. Also Psi combat will get boring very fast because on Normal you are not forced to use support items.
Honestly, the most fun build for a 1st run is an AR build. Afterwards you will have the necessary knowledge for other builds.
It's also misleading to suggest to a new player who doesn't want a lot of handholding that they shouldn't play certain builds because it'll give them a gimped experience. It won't.
I must have missed that mission, because I appear to be finished with the pirate quest line. Then again, I snuck into the Rig and blew the sonar with TNT without being detected (and against the Captain's orders), so perhaps that's the one you're referring to.
Not rig mission, but the one where you have to attack protectorate boat. If you are playing first time, you wont know about rift in rig, and you wont know that its best to leave some jet ski near rig for making missions there. Leave your dedicated jet ski at pirate base, and use juice to switch locations. If you dont do that, you will have to swim a LOOOONG way, for each quest.
Not rig mission, but the one where you have to attack protectorate boat. If you are playing first time, you wont know about rift in rig, and you wont know that its best to leave some jet ski near rig for making missions there. Leave your dedicated jet ski at pirate base, and use juice to switch locations. If you dont do that, you will have to swim a LOOOONG way, for each quest.
Yes, I see what you mean. I've been using the Protectorate Cruiser in the Black Sea due to its nearly ideal combination of cover and durability, light-load speed, and loot-hauling capability, while I use the Phaser back in the waterways because it's quite fast without sacrificing quite as much stability and durability as with the Torpedo. Even at 880 speed, which appears to be the maximum, you still have to wait through loading screens. There's also not as much need to haul loot outside the Black Sea.
Jet ski logistics have actually been on my mind a lot lately. The rifts at Arch Island and Katya's Homestead are somewhat comparable. Arch Island itself is generally more accessible than the cove near Katya's, but if offloading a lot of loot, you'll have to hike it all the way up through the lighthouse, whereas at Katya's you can simply reach across to your cargo compartment from right beside the rift.
Outside of the Black Sea, though, is where things get obnoxious. Camp Hathor's rift itself is the most convenient in the game, being right next to the water; but Camp Hathor itself is out of the way of the main drag.
The Rig is overall fairly convenient, but has an extremely annoying problem in the form of patrons and Stella blocking the one-tile-wide route to the docks. You can even become trapped between patrons, tables, and Stella until she decides to move. Euthanizing The Rig is a possible solution.
Then there's Ray's. Despite the inconveniently long hike from Ray's to the nearest rift, Ray's is the best place to keep the main body of your jet ski collection and your additional parts (for sale or swapping in), if you happen to collect skis. But Ray's suffers the same problem as The Rig, which is that there's a fat piece of shit constantly and slowly walking around the one-tile-wide dock complex, getting in the damned way.
If I've got one QoL desire left for Underrail, it's to implement a brush-by feature in real-time mode. The Rig and Ray's are far from the only areas to suffer from this longstanding problem. The Pirate Bay also has many such areas.
If I've got one QoL desire left for Underrail, it's to implement a brush-by feature in real-time mode. The Rig and Ray's are far from the only areas to suffer from this longstanding problem. The Pirate Bay also has many such areas.
So do I, but Fred (or was it Fredd? or Freddy?) sells pentapus from time to time, one of only two foodstuffs merchants in the game to do so (the other is Kareem). Being the extremely Abrahamic trader that I am, I can't pass up the chance to snag a few high-value medications crafted at pennies on the dollar, as well as steal all of their mindshrooms on a regular basis for similar reasons. The rift is very conveniently located, after all.
Anyway, Matalarata, take the advice offered by the veterans here with a big grain of salt, including mine. I urge you to ignore most of it and discover the mechanics on your own. Veterans know every aspect of the meta, have played the game many times, and that skews our viewpoints considerably.
I'll just add this: Assault rifle/grenades/metal armor/Intimidation builds absolutely do work, and can be enjoyable. You were told by someone that the game isn't enjoyable without stealth and/or psi, but that is a severely skewed viewpoint. AR tin cans are easily built into a strong character, without the need for a whole lot of tweaking of the character sheet nor extensive knowledge of the metagame. That can be a plus for new players. Such builds can also feel powerful once they get going.
The downside to AR tin can is that you will frequently have to weather whatever enemies throw at you as soon as you encounter them, and often for extended periods, rather than choosing when and where to start combat, killing most of them outright, seeding the battlefield with traps, etc. The plus side is just another face of the same coin: The enemies actually get to do shit! That's the problem with glass-cannon meta-heavy builds that just kill everything: The enemies often barely get to act, if at all. Veterans already know all they're capable of. You don't.
Overall, non-stealth, non-psi tin can is challenging, no doubt about it. Powerful, yes, but then it has to be, because you'll have to mow through enemies head-on. Heavy melee tin can is even more challenging yet.
The only problem with melee builds is that expedition is absolute SHIT with them. Expedition was made with ranged combat in mind. It was unenjoyable even with the Balor Hammer build. Fancy Footwork Fist Builds? Won't even try it.
Thx Blaine, I apreciate that. As it stands, I already started a playthrough, we'll see how it goes. I understand what you're trying to say, just wanted to point out that people suggested Psi and Stealth explicitly because I asked for varied, even if frustrating, gameplay.
In case I'm forced back to the drawing board, I'll definitely keep yours (and others) suggestions in mind.
Natives are manageable, if you have good evasion - get netted and you're screwed unless you burned a feat slot to get escape artist. Jet ski combat with melee is crap, absolute crap. You'll miss all the time and when you do hit, you'll hit the jet, not the enemy, and it will do pitiiful damage. Oh, and most enemies on expedition, namely robots that apparently are made of stone, have ridiculously high mech DT. I could reliable damage them with the Balor Hammer most of the time. Can't see a fist/knife build work there.
Natives are manageable, if you have good evasion - get netted and you're screwed unless you burned a feat slot to get escape artist. Jet ski combat with melee is crap, absolute crap. You'll miss all the time and when you do hit, you'll hit the jet, not the enemy, and it will do pitiiful damage. Oh, and most enemies on expedition, namely robots that apparently are made of stone, have ridiculously high mech DT. I could reliable damage them with the Balor Hammer most of the time. Can't see a fist/knife build work there.
Natives are manageable, if you have good evasion - get netted and you're screwed unless you burned a feat slot to get escape artist. Jet ski combat with melee is crap, absolute crap. You'll miss all the time and when you do hit, you'll hit the jet, not the enemy, and it will do pitiiful damage. Oh, and most enemies on expedition, namely robots that apparently are made of stone, have ridiculously high mech DT. I could reliable damage them with the Balor Hammer most of the time. Can't see a fist/knife build work there.
What about shock/energy damage? I've just started a spear run and thinking about crafting energy one later on for high mech dt enemies even with EW. My main concern so far lies with native bosses since I don't wanna take grenadier.
What about shock/energy damage? I've just started a spear run and thinking about crafting energy one later on for high mech dt enemies even with EW. My main concern so far lies with native bosses since I don't wanna take grenadier.
Natives are manageable, if you have good evasion - get netted and you're screwed unless you burned a feat slot to get escape artist. Jet ski combat with melee is crap, absolute crap. You'll miss all the time and when you do hit, you'll hit the jet, not the enemy, and it will do pitiiful damage. Oh, and most enemies on expedition, namely robots that apparently are made of stone, have ridiculously high mech DT. I could reliable damage them with the Balor Hammer most of the time. Can't see a fist/knife build work there.
A melee build without Expose Expose Weakness and shock do just fine, robots and crabs are annoying but manageable.
The one true problem melee builds have at Black Sea is Fetid Marsh, serpents in particular - a lot of them can decide to stay in the middle of their water pools which makes it literally impossible to hit with melee weapons and wyrms can entagle on top of this. But marsh is completly optional and there's nothing noteworthy there other than a few unique oddities and decent unique shotgun, so it can be safely skipped.
Natives are manageable, if you have good evasion - get netted and you're screwed unless you burned a feat slot to get escape artist. Jet ski combat with melee is crap, absolute crap. You'll miss all the time and when you do hit, you'll hit the jet, not the enemy, and it will do pitiiful damage. Oh, and most enemies on expedition, namely robots that apparently are made of stone, have ridiculously high mech DT. I could reliable damage them with the Balor Hammer most of the time. Can't see a fist/knife build work there.
I don't know if it's easier than / just as good as ranged, but melee Dominating can be made fairly smooth affairs, e.g. with crit builds. Even spears can do it. You could certainly beeline for plasma nades and stock up, and if you have stealth, there's a limited number of places where you have to deal with crabs and robots.
I can imagine a build, e.g. without metaknowledge, that ends up, say, without stealth or hacking, fighting every wave in the Nexus, and perhaps not quite optimised to punch through the defences, just getting bogged down in boring shit.
Natives are manageable, if you have good evasion - get netted and you're screwed unless you burned a feat slot to get escape artist. Jet ski combat with melee is crap, absolute crap. You'll miss all the time and when you do hit, you'll hit the jet, not the enemy, and it will do pitiiful damage. Oh, and most enemies on expedition, namely robots that apparently are made of stone, have ridiculously high mech DT. I could reliable damage them with the Balor Hammer most of the time. Can't see a fist/knife build work there.
A melee build without Expose Expose Weakness and shock do just fine, robots and crabs are annoying but manageable.
The one true problem melee builds have at Black Sea is Fetid Marsh, serpents in particular - a lot of them can decide to stay in the middle of their water pools which makes it literally impossible to hit with melee weapons and wyrms can entagle on top of this. But marsh is completly optional and there's nothing noteworthy there other than a few unique oddities and decent unique shotgun, so it can be safely skipped.
The only problem with melee builds is that expedition is absolute SHIT with them. Expedition was made with ranged combat in mind. It was unenjoyable even with the Balor Hammer build. Fancy Footwork Fist Builds? Won't even try it.
My first post-Expedition playthrough was as a non-stealth, non-psi spearman—Iron Grip, riot armor with shield, a few blocking/armor/survivabilility feats, and of course grenades.
Non-stealth melee is indeed subjected to the maximum amount of suffering in Expedition. Locusts are a huge pain in the ass, jet ski combat is a huge pain in the ass even with relevant feats and a fast jet, and the natives are a huge pain in the ass due to nets as well as certain line-of-sight quirks with the game engine that don't only affect melee and become immediately apparent as early as Junkyard (example: enemies can shoot you, but you can't return fire unless you step a tiny fraction further outside of some doorway; by the time you realize you've been quirked, you're fucked).
Stealth, TNT, traps, and W2C ammo, on the other hand, practically trivialize Expedition, which I must confess is partly why I opted for a Spec Ops Expertise SMG build with both Throwing and Traps. W2C ammo makes short work of all species of sea serpents, all types of crab, all varieties of robotic statues, jet skis, and Serpentborn heavies—in other words, everything but locusts, spiders, and lightly-armored natives.
In fact,
I just killed Magnar's void entity—a fucking ghost—with a few bursts of W2C ammo. Move over, holy water, silver, garlic, and the Ethereal Torch! I've got depleted-uranium ammunition!
Prior to that, I also managed to kill all of his minions before he caught sight of me, hurry down the entranceway and leave the zone, sneak back in as he was moving to stand in front of the entrance, assassinate all his women with a silenced Jag and JHP ammo, then unload into his back. Satisfying.
The only problem with melee builds is that expedition is absolute SHIT with them. Expedition was made with ranged combat in mind. It was unenjoyable even with the Balor Hammer build. Fancy Footwork Fist Builds? Won't even try it.
My first post-Expedition playthrough was as a non-stealth, non-psi spearman—Iron Grip, riot armor with shield, a few blocking/armor/survivabilility feats, and of course grenades.
Non-stealth melee is indeed subjected to the maximum amount of suffering in Expedition. Locusts are a huge pain in the ass, jet ski combat is a huge pain in the ass even with relevant feats and a fast jet, and the natives are a huge pain in the ass due to nets as well as certain line-of-sight quirks with the game engine that don't only affect melee and become immediately apparent as early as Junkyard (example: enemies can shoot you, but you can't return fire unless you step a tiny fraction further outside of some doorway; by the time you realize you've been quirked, you're fucked).
Stealth, TNT, traps, and W2C ammo, on the other hand, practically trivialize Expedition, which I must confess is partly why I opted for a Spec Ops Expertise SMG build with both Throwing and Traps. W2C ammo makes short work of all species of sea serpents, all types of crab, all varieties of robotic statues, jet skis, and Serpentborn heavies—in other words, everything but locusts, spiders, and lightly-armored natives.
In fact,
I just killed Magnar's void entity—a fucking ghost—with a few bursts of W2C ammo. Move over, holy water, silver, garlic, and the Ethereal Torch! I've got depleted-uranium ammunition!
Prior to that, I also managed to kill all of his minions before he caught sight of me, hurry down the entranceway and leave the zone, sneak back in as he was moving to stand in front of the entrance, assassinate all his women with a silenced Jag and JHP ammo, then unload into his back. Satisfying.
Is this still doable? First time i killed him was with W2C ammo back when expedition came out and it was hilarious. No ethereal being can withstand the power of armor piercing tungsten bullets!
