Who's the weakest class right now?

[TheInfamousImmortal]

From what I've played, Kinectisit feels like the strongest, since it has huge nuke potential and makes a joke of so many encounters. Whereas going back to Techie after the turret nerf, IMO, it now feels like the weakest class in the game currently.

What do you guys think?

 

[Nino]

Completely talking out of my ass but probably Smuggler or Merc because as a tech with soft-capped stats I can usually turn my brain off for every fight

 

[Theron]

What are your other Tech perks? What weapon are you using? Melee + Drone seems very consistent, especially with a Stun weapon and Combat Tail. Yeah, you don't get as much damage-per-turn without being able to generate multiple Turrets, but you don't really need it.

Tech didn't have the native Energy regen to sustain regular multi-Turret fights. Kineticist does have the Energy to sustain it's nukes.

Completely talking out of my ass but probably Smuggler or Merc because as a tech with soft-capped stats I can usually turn my brain off for every fight

Melee Smuggler is probably on the weaker side until you get Mag Binders/Booster Pack/Assassinate, assuming you didn't also invest in Aim. Flash Grenade uses Aim and a lot of things are not susceptible to Low Blow. Melee has the better selection of Stun weapons, but they generally can't Stun through Shields/Armor. Pro Tip: Light Savicite Maul can, because it does Lust damage, assuming you're not fighting a robot. Smugglers get crazy Evasion, making them very durable.

Ranged + Shield Tech might also be weaker than average. Worse access to Stun weapons, lower damage output in general. Huge durability may or may not make up for it. I haven't played all the way through with one yet.

Ranged Smugger is very strong, especially at higher levels. Grenade Launcher (Flash) automatically Blinds enemies without active Shields/Armor, enabling Aimed Shots makes them even more likely to miss. Especially with Alpha Strike + Shoot First. If they do have Shields/Armor, that's what Booster Pack is for. Or Flash Grenade.

I'd say Mercenary is very strong right now.

Ranged Mercenary was long held to be one of the strongest classes in the game, because Rapid Fire does crazy amounts of damage. Sturm and Drang is even better (+1 Melee attack, +25% Crit on the Ranged portion). It's only weakness is if you miss the Melee portion, or if the target is immune to Melee attacks. S&D also opens up some fun combos and is one of the few times Switch Hitting is worth it.

Cleave is very useful vs Groups, which are more common later in the game. Especially, again, with a Stun weapon.

 

[TheInfamousImmortal]

What are your other Tech perks? What weapon are you using? Melee + Drone seems very consistent, especially with a Stun weapon and Combat Tail. Yeah, you don't get as much damage-per-turn without being able to generate multiple Turrets, but you don't really need it.

I always go ranged Techie.

My perks currently are:

Drone
Overcharge
Deflector
Grav
Gun tweaks
Charge shield
Second shot
Drone control
Linked emitters
Turret
Second striker
Molten shot

 

[Theron]

I always go ranged Techie.

What Implants are you using?
Combat Tail: Increases your automatic damage output. Only hits Flyers if you are also Flying. Note: Drones can Crit now.
Cybernetic Subprocessor: Will increase your Stun chance with Overcharge and a lot of other passives.

What weapons are you using?
Don't neglect your Melee slot. In particular, I managed to get a 65 Shield, 10 Evasion Custom Psi weapon (whip).

 

[Bast]

Does your question about what the strongest class is refer to end- or early game? And also, if it's endgame, which enemy would you consider the hardest to measure that strength against?

 

[TheInfamousImmortal]

Does your question about what the strongest class is refer to end- or early game? And also, if it's endgame, which enemy would you consider the hardest to measure that strength against?

Endgame, I've gotten to Dhaal but not the dungeon.

 

[TheInfamousImmortal]

What Implants are you using?
Combat Tail: Increases your automatic damage output. Only hits Flyers if you are also Flying. Note: Drones can Crit now.
Cybernetic Subprocessor: Will increase your Stun chance with Overcharge and a lot of other passives.

Don't neglect your Melee slot. In particular, I managed to get a 65 Shield, 10 Evasion Custom Psi weapon (whip).

None so far, my Techie hasn't gotten to Dhaal yet, but tail is a definite.
For Melee, I have the Magma crusher right now.

 

[Theron]

Did you max Physique? If not, Stun Chance isn't going to be doing anything for you.

What's your Ranged Weapon? Heavy Slut Ray should reliably Stun anything not immune to Lust.
XTR-8 Peer has an effective 25% Crit chance for you.

A lot of the enemies on Phaedra have a Freezing weakness. Grabbing an Ice Lance might not be a bad idea. Would set you up for double-damage with the Magma Crusher, too.

 

[TheInfamousImmortal]

Did you max Physique? If not, Stun Chance isn't going to be doing anything for you.

What's your Ranged Weapon? Heavy Slut Ray should reliably Stun anything not immune to Lust.
XTR-8 Peer has an effective 25% Crit chance for you.

At this point, I just max everything on everyone immediately.

Right now, my ranged on my techie is the Tri-beam rifle because they just landed on Zheng.

 

[Bast]

Endgame, I've gotten to Dhaal but not the dungeon.

Then melee smuggler is actually pretty good. It was strong before the dungeon but one of the weapons that you get from the train dungeon gives it a really good boost. Every combat encounter on the planet, with the exception of Selene & Neil and the robot thingy ends on turn 2 iirc.

 

[Nino]

What are your other Tech perks? What weapon are you using? Melee + Drone seems very consistent, especially with a Stun weapon and Combat Tail. Yeah, you don't get as much damage-per-turn without being able to generate multiple Turrets, but you don't really need it.

Tech didn't have the native Energy regen to sustain regular multi-Turret fights. Kineticist does have the Energy to sustain it's nukes.


Melee Smuggler is probably on the weaker side until you get Mag Binders/Booster Pack/Assassinate, assuming you didn't also invest in Aim. Flash Grenade uses Aim and a lot of things are not susceptible to Low Blow. Melee has the better selection of Stun weapons, but they generally can't Stun through Shields/Armor. Pro Tip: Light Savicite Maul can, because it does Lust damage, assuming you're not fighting a robot. Smugglers get crazy Evasion, making them very durable.

Ranged + Shield Tech might also be weaker than average. Worse access to Stun weapons, lower damage output in general. Huge durability may or may not make up for it. I haven't played all the way through with one yet.

Ranged Smugger is very strong, especially at higher levels. Grenade Launcher (Flash) automatically Blinds enemies without active Shields/Armor, enabling Aimed Shots makes them even more likely to miss. Especially with Alpha Strike + Shoot First. If they do have Shields/Armor, that's what Booster Pack is for. Or Flash Grenade.

I'd say Mercenary is very strong right now.

Ranged Mercenary was long held to be one of the strongest classes in the game, because Rapid Fire does crazy amounts of damage. Sturm and Drang is even better (+1 Melee attack, +25% Crit on the Ranged portion). It's only weakness is if you miss the Melee portion, or if the target is immune to Melee attacks. S&D also opens up some fun combos and is one of the few times Switch Hitting is worth it.

Cleave is very useful vs Groups, which are more common later in the game. Especially, again, with a Stun weapon.

You'd be surprised to learn that farming your "slow gain" stats kinda breaks the balance of the game unless you intentionally don't play optimally (like giving my character permanent heat cycles and extremely high libido)

Abilities: Shield Booster; Charge Weapon; Deflector Regeneration; Thermal Disruptor; Weapon Tweaks; Charge Shield; Second Attack; Drone Control; Linked Emitters; Overclock; Second Striker; Static Strike
(I actually didn't even have Linked Emitters but that's more optimal)
The entire gimmick is using Shizuya's Custom Shock Gear. Anything that can be hit with melee and isn't immune to Electric Damage/Energy Weapons just gets Stunlocked with flurry melee spam. Very specific fights require another option (like the giant jellyfish in the Uveto deep dungeon). I have the XTR-8 Peer laser pistol from the Dhaal party, you have to side with Paragon, for a reliable ranged weapon that works against most enemies combined with Thermal Disruptor for more burning (you can use Gravidic too for the defense utility and unresistable damage type, no idea why they named it gravidic when that word is an adjective for pregnancy and Gravitas sounds cooler). If Lust damage is nigh-required or optimal, I just have a pocketful (two full stacks) of gray goo vials for the Goozooka special attack.

 

[Nino]

Did you max Physique? If not, Stun Chance isn't going to be doing anything for you.

What's your Ranged Weapon? Heavy Slut Ray should reliably Stun anything not immune to Lust.
XTR-8 Peer has an effective 25% Crit chance for you.

A lot of the enemies on Phaedra have a Freezing weakness. Grabbing an Ice Lance might not be a bad idea. Would set you up for double-damage with the Magma Crusher, too.

Bro we had a few months of using the Fire Suppressor System to Chill enemies and then spam whatever Crushing hammer you wanted (I liked Emmy's jacked gravity hammer wannabe) until they gutted that strategy by consuming the Chill status on each Crush

 

[Theron]

You'd be surprised to learn that farming your "slow gain" stats kinda breaks the balance of the game unless you intentionally don't play optimally (like giving my character permanent heat cycles and extremely high libido)

What makes you think I don't know that?

Bro we had a few months of using the Fire Suppressor System to Chill enemies and then spam whatever Crushing hammer you wanted (I liked Emmy's jacked gravity hammer wannabe) until they gutted that strategy by consuming the Chill status on each Crush

I'm pretty sure it was more than a few months. In some ways it was nerfed, but it's still useful:
1. Cryolizer/Entropy/Ice Lance are better weapons than the FZR. No Evasion penalty and the FZR can only be fired once/turn, even with Second Shot, though it can be Overcharged.
2. Sleet Shaft can apply and detonate it's own Deep Freeze. It's possible to make a Custom Psi Weapon with Freeze Chance + Crushing + 50 Crit for stupid high damage.
3. Power Strike/Vaulting Strike/Assassinate/Static Strike all use a multiple of base damage, so they are also doubled vs a Frozen enemy.
4. Sturm and Drang lets a Mercenary make 3/4 Ranged attacks. setting up for either Power Strike, or just a x2 opener for you next S&D.

 

[Nino]

What makes you think I don't know that?

Chill, at no point did I imply that you were oblivious

 

[Wafflesnake]

"You'd be surprised to learn"