Arcanum technical build

[Ovg]

What are the must have skills and stats if I want to forget about magic and focus solely on talking and shooting things?

 

[Xor]

Dexterity, perception, charisma, and intelligence are all important if you want to go that route.

 

[baronjohn]

I just finished a gunslinger for the first time. Seems like the best would be

1 rank herbology (healing salve), 7 ranks electric (charged rings, tesla gun), 7 ranks smithy (balanced sword, pyrotechnic axe, machined plate), 2 ranks chemistry (charges for the tesla gun)

ironically, gunsmithy is useless. you can easily get all the guns instead of making them.

 

[Crichton]

Perception is needed for both gunslinging and stealth, so if you're patient, it's quite possible to do well by advancing both. For that sort of build, I use PER/INT/DEX (every character needs dex). For skills, gunslinging, stealth, gunsmithy (I always feel like it's cheating if I can't make the guns myself), 1 point of herbology (healing salve), 2 points of electrical stuff (charged ring) and a few other dribs and drabs.

The usual guns progression is smoothbore, fine revolver, repeating rifle (eats ammo but the high ROF helps), scoped rifle and then only if you want, mechanized gun (really eats ammo, but gets 25 shots per round at max dex).

 

[Ovg]

Thanks guys. I knew I could count on you codex.

 

[Johannes]

There's necessarily no need to get intelligence and high crafting skills actually, mostly you need healing salve and charged ring. And molotov coctail if you wanna invest a bit into throwing too.

Then just pickpocket a good gun or 2 by using fate points as soon as you get out of Shrouded Hills. Later you can get elephant gun and machinegun too, without crafting.

Still it's not a bad idea to get those crafting skills either, maybe just not pump int too early.

 

[Fat Dragon]

Wasting a point in Herbology just to make healing salves is fucking dumb, they're dirt cheap and there are a few party members who make them too.

 

[Johannes]

Wasting a point in Herbology just to make healing salves is fucking dumb, they're dirt cheap and there are a few party members who make them too.

If you want to tag a partymember along for that fine (alternative is using that 1 point yourself and trading jayna for someone who can actually fight), but buying healing salves sounds really banal and boring, just how many pieces can you usually get before a shop runs out and you have to rest and restock it? The ingredients also weigh less and take less space than finished salves.

 

[baronjohn]

Perception is needed for both gunslinging and stealth, so if you're patient, it's quite possible to do well by advancing both. For that sort of build, I use PER/INT/DEX (every character needs dex). For skills, gunslinging, stealth, gunsmithy (I always feel like it's cheating if I can't make the guns myself), 1 point of herbology (healing salve), 2 points of electrical stuff (charged ring) and a few other dribs and drabs.

The usual guns progression is smoothbore, fine revolver, repeating rifle (eats ammo but the high ROF helps), scoped rifle and then only if you want, mechanized gun (really eats ammo, but gets 25 shots per round at max dex).

The electric guns are great too. The tesla rod does 10-40 dmg and by buying some manuals you can make a tesla gun (10-80 dmg). Since the damage is electrical, it causes full damage to things like ore golems

Also, for some reason, distance doesn't affect to-hit chance with electric guns. That basically gives you the firearms mastery perk for free.

Random arcanum questions: what do lanterns do? Up your to-hit %? How are they different from electric lights? Since the most difficult parts of the game are in the dungeons, is the background that inverts light penalties worth taking?