This Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game Guide contains the most recent information on character leveling, stats and build strategy. It also covers the new content that has been released since last year including encounters, quests, and items. Warning: contains spoilers.
I’m spending time putting together this guide as a thanks to the Colony Ship developers and its amazing community. Huge shout out to HuggyBear for his amazing guide. I think I speak for many of us when I say “Thank You!!”, and that I’ve referred to it more times than I can count.
I’d also like to thank the many contributors of the Colony Ship discussion threads over the last couple of years. I’ve personally learned a lot from you, but special thanks to Arday, Pink Eye, grraf, and of course the legendary skaudus, who without their contributions we would have all languished in frustration and darkness.
And of course, a huge thank you to the Iron Tower team for bringing us perhaps one of the best CRPG games developed in the last decade. Your engagement with the community has been nothing short of outstanding in every way. Thank you for hearing us, responding, and just being straight up good people. You guys deserve a medal. (And lots of money too.)
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS GUIDE IS DESIGNED AROUND UNDERDOG DIFFICULTY AND CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS.
I divided it into sections for easy reference because I anticipate that you might be interested in one section and skip others. If understanding the XP system and how to squeeze that last feat into your build is important to you, then the XP section is your friend. If you need help understanding which Speech encounters to do and which ones to pass over to prevent locking your character out of end game content, there’s a section for you. Want to know which implant chips are new, what their requirements are and where to find them? See the Science Skills section. Just want to go straight to the new content section to see what’s different since you last played? Go on a skip ahead. My hope is that you find something useful.
If there are any mistakes or I’ve missed something, please let me know. If you’ve figured out a better way of doing things, I’d like to hear your feedback so we can all benefit.
Good luck and good hunting.
TroubleProne
XP Table and Leveling Tips
This section contains information from a previous post that someone asked be included in a guide. I’ve updated and edited it with the most recent information.
For easy reference, here are the current XP level breaks with cumulative totals:
Earned/Cumulative
Level 1- 0/0
Level 2- 300/300
Level 3- 900/1200
Level 4- 1300/2500
Level 5- 1600/4100
Level 6- 1900/6000
Level 7- 2200/8200
Level 8- 2400/10,600
Level 9- 2600/13,200
Level 10- 3600/16,800
Level 11- 7200/24,000
Level 12- 12,000/36,000
Although I’ve included the numbers past level 10, for most builds it isn’t necessary as 10 is an inflection point for Mastermind builds and the bonus feat.
The developers have stated that XP gains come from approximately 65 quests(not shared) and 100 encounters(which is shared). (This is incorrect as additional encounters have been added since then. I would estimate another 8 encounters and 2 quests worth of XP have been added.) Simple math means that a solo character without any feats at level 4 Intelligence will achieve approximately 3,900 XP from quests and 9,000 XP from encounters for a total of 12,900 XP and a max level of 8. (Once again, this is a low estimate.) A solo mastermind/educated MC with an overclocked datajack and the bridge officer chip should end with around 25,500 XP at level 11. (A recent solo Dodge This run had me top out at level 10 with 22,325 XP(10 INT with a 65% modifier). Running a reverse calculation reveals that a solo mastermind build would end up with about 27,060 XP, placing it solidly in level 11 territory.)
If you add in any modifiers, you’ll need to consider several things:
1. XP gains from Intelligence bonuses are retroactive. That means that if you are starting at a breakpoint, say 6 intellegence(+10% AP) once you plug in a datajack, ALL past XP GAINS will be set to your current multiplier.
2. XP gains from the Bridge Officer chip are retroactive.
3. XP gains from Educated are also retroactive. However, taking Educated as a feat late in the game reduces its efficiency significantly. Taking it early means you gain feats much earlier which in turn boosts your character’s power and efficacy. Example: a level four character fighting Detroit will have a much harder time than a level six character.
4. XP gains from encounters(90XP) are split evenly among your party, i.e. a trio would get 30 points each(90 divided by 3) multiplied by their XP modifier. For example, if my character has a 20% XP modifier and they are in a trio, I would recieve 30 + 6(20%) = 36 XP.
5. Quest XP is not split and your XP modifier is applied to the full amount. For example, if your character has an XP modifier of 55%, you would receive 60 + 33(55%) = 93 XP.
As companions share encounter XP with the Main Character(MC), there are a lot of folks who have theory-crafted around how to maximize player levels without going solo. Currently, there are three ways to do this:
A. Go full charisma/intelligence. This leaves you with only a few stat points left over and usually relegates your MC to a support role. However you can reach +95% XP modifier if you choose Cult Leader(+25% from Educated, +20% from Cult Leader, +40% from level 11 Intelligence, +10% from Bridge Officer chip). If you go this route I would also suggest handling the sneaking for your party as you’ll be relegated to a sub-par combat role.
B. Go full Mastermind/Educated build. This gives you extra feats and allow extra tags for a more generalist build, however you will choose between reaching level ten and getting the bonus feat OR achieving some lower level depending on how many companions you bring along with you. If you go this way, I highly recommend not neglecting the civic skills persuasion and streetwise, as they can unlock extra sources of encounter XP that you would otherwise not have access to. This applies to Sneak as well. Also, save a tag for your main weapon and biotech if you can. The implant upgrades can be very helpful.
C. Utilize a split strategy that takes advantage of the complex XP award system in Colony Ship.
Let me explain.
You can still reach level 10 while taking companions IF you are careful in your XP distributions. A lot of folks have theory-crafted ways to maximize player level without going solo, however I can show you how to have your cake and eat it to(pardon the expression). Keep in mind that achieving level 10 right before the last fight is (in my opinion) counter-productive because feats are typically battle-oriented and are more efficient the more they are used. I’d like to get there halfway through Chapter 3 so I can brutalize my enemies with my full build. Right?
So how is this done? There are several steps:
First, I recommend you get the datajack from Little Shop of Horrors right after your encounter at Abe’s. That means going straight to the Medbay and paying for the Biotech upgrade. Then going straight to the encounter and choosing the datajack, taking it back to Sarah, paying for it, and plugging it in. You will get a 10% XP gain for everything in Chapter 1 and half of Chapter 2 if you start out at an even number in Intelligence. More XP means faster feats.
Second, prioritize getting access to the Maintenance deck in Chapter 2. This means a quick visit to the church’s Archive office, and then following the quests to access whichever faction you want to align with. You can do the Heist quest for the Bridge Officer upgrade(10% XP) as soon as you get there. Once again, the same strategy applies here. More XP equals faster feats.
Third, excuse your companions for a couple of brief interludes in order to capitalize on your personal XP gains. Wait, what? Won’t that cripple my companions? Nope. 10-15 solo encounters is enough to push your character to level ten halfway through Chapter 3 (DUO) without negatively impacting their progression. How you say?
Let’s say I have a 90% XP gain from Mastermind, Educated, and Intelligence and Faythe has 55%. If we do an encounter together, we split the XP in half…45 each. With modifiers I get 86 and Faythe gets 70(for a total of 156XP). If I do the encounter alone I get 171. That’s double the XP for me(+85) while robbing Faythe of only 70 XP. In a trio with Jed, Faythe ends with a little over 11,000 XP and Jed with over 12,000, putting them at a solid level 8. They can afford to lose some of that superfluous XP, especially Jed. If used judiciously, you sacrifice nothing but small delays in your companion levels while boosting your MC’s XP gains significantly. In a trio, a Mastermind MC with all the bonuses usually ends with around 14,500 XP, 2300 shy of level 10. If you take Jed later in the chapter(he already starts at a higher level), and you excuse them for some short civic-oriented sequences, you can reach level ten in a trio and easily before Chapter 4 in a duo. (With the additional encounters worth about 1500 XP it is now somewhat easier to reach level 10.)
Sequences I recommend skipping with companions:
Chapter 1(GAINS: 850XP at +90%, 790XP at +75%, 700XP at +55% in a duo)
1. Abe’s
2. Spike and Bulldozer
3. John Doe
4. Persuade Jed
5. Kill Black Will(wait to turn in quest w/companions)
6. Mysterious Stranger Part 1
7. Solo frog Habitat
8. Persuade Morgan(wait to turn in quest with companions)
9. Persuade Samuel’s Thugs to kill him
10. Kill Samuel’s Thugs(wait to turn in quest with companions)
Chapter 2 (GAINS: 540XP at +100%, 474XP at +75%, 420XP at +55%)
11. Persuade Troublemakers(wait to turn in quest)
12. Persuade Prophet John(wait to turn in quest)
13. Persuade shakedown squad(Brotherhood)
14. Persuade Elona
15. Persuade or kill bored soldiers
16. Persuade hostile workers(Coming Storm)
Please note that companion relationship penalties for dismissing are somewhat heavier since this was written. You may incur a negative 5% skill gain penalty if you are not judicious in your choices.
Character Skills and Learning Points
Learning Points, or LP, are the way your character advances their particular set of skills. They differ from XP in three primary ways:
1. Learning Points are gained only by doing or using the actual skill. For example, if you pick a lock on a door you gain a specific amount of LP depending on the difficulty. You do not gain any XP. Using your sledgehammer to bash your opponents to pieces nets you small LP gains in Blunt. Making enemies miss you gives you some Evasion learning points. Using words to convince a merchant to give you a deal gives you some Persuasion points. And so forth.
2. Learning points are not affected by your XP modifier. There are only three ways to modify or increase your gains:
A: The Skill Monkey feat provides a 35% gain for the Science (Biotech, Computers, Electronics) and Stealth skills (Lockpick, Steal, Sneak). This gain is retroactive.
B: The Zen mutation from Hydroponics provides a 15% gain to ALL character skills. This is also retroactive.
C: Unique character perks such as Faythe’s Thief feat which provides a 25% bonus to her Stealth skills and the character relationship bonuses (+5% skill gain).
3. The LP leveling table is significantly different than the XP table. See below:
Earned/Cumulative
Level 1- 0/0
Level 2- 20/20
Level 3- 80/100
Level 4- 200/300
Level 5- 700/1000
Level 6- 800/1800
Level 7- 900/2700
Level 8- 1000/3700
Level 9- 2000/5700
Level 10- 4000/9700
Level 11- 8000/17,700
Level 12- 16,000/33,700
While it’s possible to get to level ten in a skill without a tag, it is very difficult. Your main weapon skill on a solo murderhobo run may be the exception here. If you are building a four-way hybrid character for a solo run I would recommend tagging Lockpick, Streetwise, Computer, and your main weapon skill at a minimum. That’s four tags which means planning on having a level 8 in Intelligence in additional to the Educated feat. Obviously you can do without the weapon feat, however all but the heartiest melee builds will suffer severely from this and won’t be able to keep up in combat.
A Few Tips on Sneaking
For me, figuring out how to effectively sneak was one of the most difficult parts of Colony Ship. I am a completionist at heart and I despised when I was shut out of loot or encounters because my sneak skill was too low. Sneaking not only provides LP for several key character skills, it’s also a valuable source of items that you may not be able to find elsewhere.
If you aren’t a sneaker and just want to go full murderhobo, I would still recommend getting Faythe up to Sneak level 5 so that she can do the Eye Heist in the Maintenance Deck for you. This nets you an early Bridge Officer chip (+10% XP) and access to the officer’s pistol if either of you are specialized.
If you think that sneaking is a good and healthy lifestyle choice for your character, the first thing you need to understand is that you will be splitting skill Learning Points. There are several early sneak opportunities that could instead net you large civic/speech skill gains, so you should plan wisely if you want to excel in both. Fortunately, I can help with this.
Hybrid characters employ not just combat skills, but can be built to handle other encounters that require a more nuanced solution. Enter the Science skills, Speech/Civic skills, and Stealth skills. If, however, you want to be ALL THE THINGS… a stealthy sneaker, a smooth talker, a science monkey, and a combat veteran (referred to as a four-way hybrid), you have your work cut out for you, especially if you are planning a solo run. Incorporating all of the necessary skills into one character is very difficult. You will have to make sacrifices. For example, a non-MasterMind build will be severely feat starved. Choosing the MasterMind feat can solve this problem, but it is by nature a generalist build and thus will struggle in combat. Remember, to be hybrid means you are splitting LP gains among four separate skill areas.
Fortunately, this problem can be solved by taking a companion. Unless you are dedicated to a solo run, Hybrids can and should utilize Faythe to lighten the feat load for your main character. She is uniquely set up for a Skill Monkey build and really shines in this role if you choose her “Thief” perk. A solo four-way would need Educated, Skill Monkey, Lone Wolf, and a weapon feat as a basic start. That means you don’t start getting the juicy combat feats like Basher, Critical Thinker, Warrior, Fast Draw, Second Wind, or BGH(Big Game Hunter) until you are level six. You will struggle immensely to keep up in combat, and believe me, nothing is more frustrating than reloading a dozen times at 3 am in the morning because your character is hamstrung and needs three crits in a row just to even the odds. Perhaps skaudus could pull it off, but I’m just not in his class.
In addition, it’s not effective to split science and sneak skills among two characters because of the numerous computer and electronics checks that accompany some sneak encounters. As an example, the Black Hand fort sneak encounter at the end of the Factory has a Computers 6 check that gives good items and a nice chunk of LP. The same applies to the stealth skills Lockpick and Steal. Most of the sneak encounters include steal and lockpick checks that provide a small chunk of LP along with another small bit of Sneak LP every time you pass. All of these skills go hand in hand with each other and splitting them only weakens both characters and is a wasted extra feat.
Either way you decide to go, I’ve created a list of sneak opportunities that will get you the most content without a tag. I say most, because I don’t think you can access the level six Factory sneak encounter without a tag unless you complete all of the sneak encounters in Chapter One while simultaneously sacrificing the Civic/Speech learning points. I would argue that this is a very poor trade as speech is such a huge source of encounter and quest XP in Chapters 2 and 3.
You can either use Faythe or do it yourself but here are the encounters I recommend for Chapter One.
1. sneak past the first frog encounter in Hydroponics
2. sneak into the apartment on the lowest floor of your starting apartment complex
3. sneak past the first frog encounter in the Armory
4. sneak past the two scavs in the Armory
5. sneak past the three scavs on the Admin level of Mission Control(speech reward not worth it)
6. sneak into the Regulator’s office.
7. sneak into the room in the Living Quarters in Hydroponics
8. sneak into the gang hideout of Mysterious Stranger(assassinate as many enemies as you can and then finish the last one in combat)
9. OPTIONAL- sneak into Delta Tower in Hydroponics and unleash the frogs on Morgan. This is worth a TON(400+) of sneak LP with the Skill Monkey feat, however there are two major downsides. One, Faythe will immediately hate you (-5% skill gain). And two, you’ll miss out of a TON of speech LP (200+ for all Speech skills). You will need to replace this with the Armory skill token if you want to keep up your speech skills. Or you could do without depending on your tags.
10. complete Jailbreak during the factory end-sequence by getting thrown into jail and then sneaking by everyone(and killing some of them if you wish) and activating the turrets without getting caught. This should net 400+ sneak LP (w/Skill Monkey).
Pro Tip- if during an assassination sneak encounter you find your cloak is running out but you don’t have enough AP to finish murdering all of your enemies, hit the “START COMBAT” button. As long as you have at least 1 AP left, you will get an initiative bonus, combat will start, and you can activate your cloak a second time because the device resets at the beginning of combat. It’s almost cheating.
In Chapter 2, the Habitat sneak opportunities are numerous, with the Eye Heist and To Stop a War setting the bar. The quest To Stop a War is particularly difficult if you want to get the lock boxes and extra items. At a minimum, you will need a sneak skill of at least five with a cloaking field to complete it. To get all of the items, you will need either level 7 with the Chameleon chip or level 6 with the Prowler feat. Faythe can do it at level six with the “Thief” feat and the Chameleon chip. I say this with a bit of hesitation because I know that some folks can do it outside of those parameters, however the point is not to just complete the quest, it’s also to complete all of the sneak content in Chapters 2 and 3 as well. Unless you’re sneak is level 5 or almost level 5 before you enter the Habitat, you’re pretty much toast.
Chapter 3’s sneak opportunities are mainly in the Heart, but the one in particular that I like to set myself up for is the Armory showdown. At one point, unless you are allied with the Protectors, Cobra shows up with a herd of men and a robot to lay siege to the maguffin. If you’ve done your work, you should be able to kill her, the second-in-command, and at least 3 other soldiers. You will need a level three cloaking device to pull this off, but it’s sweet, sweet pleasure to put her down without having to face the hail of bullets she throws at you if you engage in combat with her.
It’s worth pointing out that when it pertains to Sneak, unless you put in the work you will miss out on later opportunities along with the valuable items, XP, and LP they provide. If I’m not mistaken, the bulk of Chapter 2’s sneak encounters require a minimum level 5 sneak. Use the information above so that you’re not left out.
A Few Notes on Weapons
In tandem with the strategy above, you should also consider the following about your weapon choices in Colony Ship. Unless you are planning a full pacifist speech run, you will need to decide which weapon best fits your build. Here are some general takeaways from my experience.
Pistols are best suited for mid to high accuracy builds with some crit thrown in. They have great early options and are very flexible. The heater pistol is cheap both AP and ammunition and the officers pistol can bullseye. Snap shots cost as little as 3 AP. They have good range and decent penetration. Crits tend to be lower damage-wise but come easy and often with the right feats. Pistols are good for a generalist build that has a decent AP pool but has room for crit feats and tags.
Shotguns are great for low budget builds. By that I mean a lower AP pool and lower perception. Why? Their signature feat boosts accuracy and their signature ability staggers, which reduces evasion on targets. They hit hard, cost few AP to use, have good penetration, and can use any type of shot in melee range. This is great because you can cripple(-20 evasion) and then unload a bunch of shots at the guy in your face. They are short to mid range though, so you may find yourself repositioning often. And they don’t scale as well as the other weapons in the end game. You may need to be liberal in your energy weapon usage to keep up in some fights. That said, double-shot is some of the cheapest AP/damage ratio you can get and has a nice crit multiplier bonus.
Rifles are mostly for niche party builds that allow them to sit back and snipe. They require high investments in AP and accuracy to be used effectively, but if you can get there, it can really pay off. A bullseye crit can wipe certain enemies off the board in one hit. At the same time, a 13 AP miss is devastating. Rifles have excellent range and excel against even the most heavily armored enemies but are not recommended for solo builds. They struggle in smaller spaces where there isn’t a lot of room to maneuver and there are a lot of enemies. Second Wind can help with this somewhat, however Rifles are the costliest AP per damage to use so you may need to bring along a companion.
SMG’s are the red-headed step-child of Colony Ship weapons. By that I mean at first glance they may seem difficult and less than adequate, but don’t let first impressions sway you. Unfortunately, I didn’t use them for a long, long time because I didn’t understand how they worked. Surprisingly, SMG’s can be utilized as graze weapons for lower accuracy builds, but can also be a very effective crit platform. A ‘Dodge This’ crit build using an SMG is flat out S-Tier, which makes it arguably the best weapon in the game. They are short to mid ranged and are the most AP efficient of the guns. They also have the best penetration of all the weapons because of their signature weapon feat.
So why are SMG’s so overpowered?
Let me explain. SMG’s come in two versions, a lower damage burst weapon and a higher damage, costlier AP weapon with aimed options. Both can 3-burst, 5-burst, and focus burst. These burst options are what make them unique and so effective. For 8 AP you can fire 3 rounds. That’s 2.66 AP per round and each shot has a separate to-hit roll. The downside is that there is a huge accuracy penalty(-40 to -50%) to burst fire. There is also a huge crit penalty(-40 to -50%).
So why would someone want to spend 8 AP to graze once and miss twice?
Short Burst- 8 AP, fires three rounds, -40% accuracy, +30% to graze, -40% to crit
Long Burst- 12 AP, fires five rounds, -50% to accuracy, +40% to graze, -50% to crit
Focused Burst- 10 AP, fires three rounds, -25% to accuracy, -25% to crit, +10 penetration, +10 penetration on crit
What if I told you that there was a way to counter the accuracy penalty? Let me introduce you to “Recoil Control”. This little known stat affects one thing and one thing only, accuracy penalties on burst fire, triple shot, and double shot. You get +5 for every point in strength, +5 for the Machine Gunner chip(easily farmed in Chapter 1 Mission Control), and +10 for taking the feat Controlled Burst.
Controlled Burst?! I’ve never used that feat? What is it? Why does it have such a high Strength requirement if it’s for a ranged weapon? That my friend, is because Controlled Burst is one of the most OP feats in the game. It reduces burst fire AP cost by 1, grants you 10 recoil control, and converts 20% of your recoil control stat directly to Accuracy.
Take my word and try it.
Let’s say your Str is 8 (4*5= +20 recoil control), you have the chip (+5 recoil control), and you have the feat (+10 recoil control). That’s 35 total recoil control. Now how much was that 3-burst penalty? 40? Well, now it’s just -5% (40 – 35). Oh wait! Don’t forget to add in the 20% recoil control from the feat! That’s +7. Now you’re at a +2 to accuracy on that burst. For 7 AP that sounds a lot better now, huh?
In addition, SMG’s excel at graze damage. Because of the burst-fire attack bonuses and the buitl-in weapon bonus, you will more often than not graze. In fact, your “to-graze” number will likely be hovering close to 100. Who cares you say? You should because you can get graze damage up to 80% or more. That’s a lot different than 25%.
How? Sprayer gives you 3% more graze damage for every level in the weapon and the Gunfighter feat gives a flat 25% graze damage bonus (25 flat, +25 Gunfighter, +30 weapon level 10= 80% graze damage). Even if your crit and accuracy are low, you can get off three decent grazes per use. And because SMG’s have great penetration values (once again Sprayer), damage stays consistent throughout the campaign.
Let’s say you short burst a foe with 9 armor and roll 13 damage. Your penetration value is 32(+15 weapon, +10 from Big Game Hunter, and +7 from weapon level). Your damage looks like this:
13 – 6 (DR9 * .68= 6) = 7* .80= 6 damage
Now multiply that by three. When was 18-21 damage for 7 AP not good? And that’s using a well-armored foe as an example.
Now imagine what happens if you add crit and accuracy to this build. These are huge numbers. Remember how the rifle could erase foes off the map? Add the Second Wind feat to your SMG build and you’ve got a meme weapon that can crit reliably for 2.3 AP per shot and refund back 6 AP every time you kill something. It’s just crazy. I’ve wiped out 6 foes in one turn. I’ve killed the frog room in Hydroponics Green in two turns solo. On Underdog. With a blind-fold on. It is truly click and paste.
Also, Reaction shots on SMG’s are far better than any other weapon. As long as your gun has ammo, reaction shots trigger a 3 round burst-fire. That’s three separate combat rolls that can crit. For FREE.
If you are wondering how the lowest damage weapons in the game can put out those kind of numbers, don’t underestimate how much of a difference penetration can have. Most folks think the way to push damage is by stacking critical multiplier. The Rifle signature weapon feat is a good example. They already start out with really good damage ranges and can increase it by choosing shots like Bullseye(13 AP) and Weak Point(10 AP) to push their penetration value and crit multipliers through the roof. The striking reality though is that SMG’s can put out more damage for the same AP.
SMG’s are damage-wise the most efficient weapons in the game. When you choose Focused Burst you can add up to 20 penetration to your shot. That’s huge. Switching to a Weak Point shot gives you a +35 bonus to penetration with a nice crit multiplier added in. On SMG’s, you can get penetration values as high as 70 and on energy versions as high as 85. That’s insane. You’re basically erasing DR(armor). In that scenario, even at the highest armor values(15), you erase all but 5 DR and with an energy weapon you leave them with only 2. It’s insane.
A Build Suggestion or Three
For those of you who are interested, here is the meme SMG crit build mentioned in the previous section.
Str- 6 Con- 8 Dex- 7 Per- 10 Int- 5 Cha- 4 Starting values
Str- 8 Con- 8 Dex- 9 Per- 12 Int- 7 Cha- 4 Ending values
Implants- Int, Per, Dex, Str
Tags- Streetwise, SMG, Crit
Skills- Rifle, Shotgun, Pistol, Impersonate or Persuasion
Feats- 1 Dodge This, 2 Educated, 3 SMG, 4 Second Wind, 5 Critical Thinker, 6 Controlled Burst, 7 BGH, 8 Guns, 9 Master Blaster or Bionic(for the Squad Leader implant and Tac-team chip)
This build has a +55% bonus to XP and a +15% skill bonus from Zen mutation. Depending on the fight you’ll either pack an SMG with aimed options or an energy weapon in your offhand. Use snap shot to finish low health enemies.
Faythe is your Skill Monkey sneaker. She tags Lockpick, Electronics, Computers, Biotech, and a weapon. Her feats are Educated, Thief, Skill Monkey, Bionic, Weapon Feat of your choice, Prowler, in that order. Finish her build however you see fit.
MC handles the talking and combat. You can get to level 10 and an extra feat with some strategic planning but it is absolutely not necessary. The build starts strong and never slows down. Have fun storming the castle!
The solo version of this is somewhat less effective but still ended up being one of the better ranged solo runs I’ve had. It checks all the boxes for a four-way hybrid that can access 100% of the campaign content. It also passes the most difficult speech checks, sneak hurdles, and combat scenarios with moderate ease and some strategy. Computers will finish at level 10, Lockpick at level 10, Electronics at level 8 and Biotech at level 10 which means you’ll have the best implant chips for the final act. Since you’ll be completing the sneak encounters yourself, your Critical Strike will level often enough that you won’t need to tag it. In fact, on my last run I ended at level 9. As with any solo run, you’ll need a certain amount of combat expertise to pull it off, but it’s not too bad. Use aimed single shots or regular shots for crit-fishing and fill the rest in with short and focused bursts.
This build is uniquely suited for the Gifted feat to help it make up for it’s heavy Strength investment. You really don’t need the extra accuracy and crit from Dodge This as you’ll be building around burst-fire grazes along with single shot crits and some normal hits thrown in.
Str- 8 Con- 8 Dex- 8 Per- 7 Int- 8 Cha- 4 Starting Values
Str- 8 Con- 8 Dex- 10 Per- 9 Int- 10 Cha- 4 Ending Values
Implants- Int, Dex, Per, Subdermal, Squad Leader
Tags- Lockpick, Streetwise, Computers, Biotech, SMG
Skills- Crit, Evasion, Armor, Persuasion, Impersonate, Rifle, Shotgun, Pistol
Feats- 1 Gifted, 2 Educated, 3 Skill Monkey, 4 Lone Wolf, 5 Second Wind, 6 SMG, 7 Controlled Burst, 8 BGH, 9 Critical Thinker or Gunfighter, 10 Bionic (for the Tac Team chip)
Make sure to get the early Chameleon chip from the Mission Control vault on level 5 in Chapter 1(Biotech 6). You’ll be doing less damage than the Dodge This build, however you’re also beefier which gives you some extra staying power in longer fights. Your XP modifier is 65% so your character will level fairly quickly. (You should be level 6 when you leave the Pit.) You should be able to handle all of the most difficult combat encounters solo including triple worms/floaters, Detroit, 5-1, monks, Bub, and everything in Hydroponics Red.
If you’re looking for a less intense Colony Ship experience, this next build is for you. It includes all of our friends- Jed, Faythe, and Evans. They handle the combat and random fact-checking, and you handle the fast talk, science-y stuff, and sneaking around. It makes for a remarkably easy run and is capable of accessing all the content.
Str- 4 Con- 8 Dex- 4 Per- 4 Int- 10 Cha- 10 Starting Values
Str- 4 Con- 8 Dex- 6 Per- 6 Int- 12 Cha- 10 Ending Values
Implants- Squad Leader, Int, Dex, Per, Subdermal
Tags- Biotech, Computers, Electronics, Lockpick, Sneak, Critical Strike
Skills- Critical Strike, Evasion, Armor, Rifle
Feats- 1 Cult Leader, 2 Educated, 3 Skill Monkey, 4 Bionic, 5 Captain, 6 Tunnel Runner, 7 Quick Fingers, 8 Fast Draw
No tags in Speech/Civic are needed because you start with a +3 disposition. This will improve with upgrade chips. Tunnel runner is to counteract your low Dex on sneak missions. Critical Strike is to help get your Takedown high enough so that you can stab stuff while sneaking. Quick Fingers and Fast Draw are to keep your team stimmed up and help with the ordinance chucking. Your main job in combat is to flick on your Cloaking field and then get out a good novel while you hide behind cover in the back. Shooting is for those other people. Give all the best combat implants to your team and try to get to Hydroponics Red Zone as soon as possible for that yummy TAC-Team chip. Your science and stealth skills should be high enough you can access it early Chapter 3.
Companions should be kitted out for combat roles.
Evans should specialize in SMG because his STR is high enough to get Controlled Burst. His unique feat, “Desperado”(when NOT in cover: AP +2, Initiative +4, Reaction +20) is a perfect match for this build. Tag SMG, Armor, and Critical Strike. Implants are Ocular, Spinal, Motor. Starting feats should be Sprayer, Gunfighter, and Educated, followed by Controlled Burst, BGH, and Critical Thinker. Last tag should be Second Wind.
Faythe should go Pistols and choose her unique “Assassin” feat (Melee Damage +2, Critical Chance +6, Penetration +10, and Takedown +15). Tag Critical Strike, Evasion, Armor, Pistol, and Shotgun. Implants are Neural and Ocular and Motor. Starting feats should be Pistolero, Critical Thinker, and Guns followed by Bionic, BGH, and Second Wind. Last feat should be Fast Draw.
Jed is our tank. His job is to pressure the other team. Go Blunt as his main weapon. Tag Evasion, Armor, and Blunt. Implants are Heart, Spine, Subdermal, and Motor. Starting feats should be Educated, Warrior, Basher followed by Heavy Hitter. Last feat should be Bloodlust. His unique feat, “Punisher” ( +4 Initiative, +1 Natural DR, +12 Recoil Control, +2 Melee Damage) comes late but is a great complement to his build.
Let me know what you think.