Zombra wrote:COMBAT SKILL PERKS
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Assault Rifle
Hollow Point / +1 Armor Penetration when using AR
Rating: 5/5
Why: Yup, this one is pretty much a no-brainer. If you're using assault rifles, then you want this perk.
Melee Shooting / -35% close range penalty with AR
Rating: 3
Why: This is theoretically a very good perk, but it depends on exactly how it works. Does it reduce the close-range penalty by a flat 35%? Because if that's the case, it's excellent, and it will totally negate the penalty for most assault rifles. If it just reduces the penalty by 35 percent, however, then it's far less useful. The average assault rifle has a 25% penalty at close range, and 25 reduced by 35% is still 17. Is it worth spending a perk slot to reduce your close range penalty by 8?
Gunner / -5% Chance to Hit penalty on Burst Fire attacks
Rating: 4/5
Why: Yup, this one is pretty much a no-brainer too. Burst-firing with assault rifles isn't as good as it used to be, but it's still pretty solid - especially at higher tiers. 5% isn't much of a bonus, but the fact that it's a persistent bonus that doesn't require some tiny chance of activation makes it better than most other weapon perks.
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Blades
Self Defense / +1 Armor at close range when wielding a blade
Rating: 4/5
Why: Not bad, especially if stacked with decent armor and/or the Hardened perk. It's useless against enemies with guns, but roughly half the enemies you encounter will be melee-focused, so it's guaranteed to be useful about half the time.
Glancing Strike / Gain Attacks of Opportunity as enemies move past in combat, dealing 50% normal damage with Blades
Rating: 2/5
Why: From what I've seen, this perk actually removes your ability to use normal Ambush attacks, which are much more reliable (and do 100% damage right off the bat). Glancing Strike also only seems to be able to trigger once per turn, so at best you'll be
maybe hitting one enemy per turn for half normal damage. Not very appealing. If they fix it so you can use Ambushes AND get Attacks of Opportunity, then it might be more appealing.
Opportune Strike / Attacks of Opportunity deal 75% normal damage with Blades
Rating: 1/5
Why: Glancing Strike is already pretty mediocre, so why would you bother spending another perk just to make it slightly better?
Strategic Strike / Attacks of Opportunity deal full damage with Blades
Rating: 0/5
Why: Ditto. Why spend three perk slots on a gimped out version of the Ambush mechanic?
Samurai / +1 Armor Penetration with Blades
Rating: 5/5
Why: Yup, this is a must-have for any blade-wielding character. A flat, consistent bonus against all enemies as long as you're wielding a blade.
Adrenaline Rush / +2 AP when below 25% MAXCON
Rating: 4/5
Why: I actually kind of like this one, especially given that combat difficulty seems to have been ramped up a bit in the DC edition. Bladesmen are already going to be priority targets since they're on the front lines all the time, and +2 AP per turn means that they can move faster and possibly even get off a whole extra attack per turn. If you feel like gambling, you can leave your character badly injured just to milk that extra +2 AP on a regular basis.
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Blunt Weapons
Charge! / +0.5 Combat Speed bonus on first round of combat
Rating: 4/5
Why: Definitely not too shabby, since it lets you move an extra half-space per AP. With this perk, I can routinely use my blunt weapon fighter clear across the map on the first turn, to beat the enemy snipers to death as quickly as possible. It's also worth noting that you can kind of cheese out with this perk, because it still works even if you're holding the blunt weapon in your secondary weapon slot, so you can use it to make a gun-based ranger super-maneuverable during the first turn of combat. Sure it only works on the first turn of combat, but most fights will be over within two or three turns, and there are a LOT of combat encounters out there.
Glancing Strike / Gain Attacks of Opportunity as enemies move past in combat, dealing 50% normal damage with Blunt Weapons
Rating: 2/5
Why: See above.
Opportune Strike / Attacks of Opportunity deal 75% normal damage with Blunt Weapons
Rating: 1/5
Why: See above.
Strategic Strike / Attacks of Opportunity deal full damage with Blunt Weapons
Rating: 0/5
Why: See above.
Shoulder the Load / -25% Combat Speed penalty when in Heavy Armor
Rating: 2/5
Why: I like this perk in theory, but in actual practice it's not really that great. Most heavy armor imposes a -0.4 Combat Speed penalty, so that means this perk will give you a whopping +0.1 Combat Speed when you're wearing Combat Armor, Goad Hide Armor, or the Mobile Infantry Armor. It'll give you a slightly higher modifier when you're wearing Steel Plate Armor (+0.2 CS), Mobile Infantry Armor (+0.15), and Power Armor (+2.5). Is that really worth a perk slot? Keep in mind that the penultimate perk for using light armor is Tinkerer, which gives you +1 AP.
Slayer / +10% chance your Blunt attacks use no AP
Rating: 5/5
Why: Yup, if you're a blunt fighter then you want this. Blunt weapons are relatively slow but powerful, so having a decent chance of firing off a free attack once every four or five turns is pretty great. Granted, 10% is pretty low, but any higher and it might start seeming imbalanced (especially compared to the three-perk Bandit chain).
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Brawling
Free-For-All / +10% chance to inflict random Precision Strike effects when Brawling
Rating: 3/5
Why: I like this one in theory, but in actual practice it's pretty mediocre. Most enemies will be dead within a turn or two at most, especially once your brawler starts beating the crap out of them. Stacking a small, random debuff on top of that isn't going to make much of a difference. Might be nice against tougher foes later in the game, but even then you're probably better off with perks like Slayer or the Stunning chain.
Glancing Strike / Gain Attacks of Opportunity as enemies move past in combat, dealing 50% normal damage with Brawling
Rating: 2/5
Why: See above.
Opportune Strike / Attacks of Opportunity deal 75% normal damage with Brawling
Rating: 1/5
Why: See above.
Strategic Strike / Attacks of Opportunity deal full damage with Brawling
Rating: 0/5
Why: See above.
Rush 'N Attack / On the first turn of combat, your first Brawling attack costs no AP
Rating: 3/5
Why: Again, I like this one in theory, but I'm not so crazy about it in actual practice. It
is nice to get a guaranteed free attack in the first turn of combat, and I do have a very aggressive playstyle. But, on the other hand, brawling attacks are usually very cheap (3AP), so that one free attack isn't going to necessarily amount to much when I'm going to be rocking out an average of two or three punches every turn. This is a nice perk, but not a great perk.
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Energy Weapons
Overcharge / +10% damage using EW against non-Conductive Armor
Rating: 3/5
Why: Depends on how this one works. If it adds a flat +10% to the total damage, then it's bad. If it actually increases the amount of non-conductive damage your energy weapon inflicts by 10%, then it's better. If I have an energy weapon that inflicts 60% damage against non-conductive foes, that means the difference between hitting them with 66% total damage and 70% total damage.
Overload / +20% damage using EW against non-Conductive Armor
Rating: 3/5
Why: Again, depends on how this perk works. If it works one way, then my 60% damage energy weapon will be inflicting 72% damage instead. If it works the other way, then my 60% damage energy weapon will be inflicting 80% damage.
Atomize / +30% damage using EW vs. non-Conductive Armor
Rating: 3/5
Why: And again, depends on how it works. I'm either increasing my 60% to 78%, or I'm increasing my 60% to 90%. Which is it? If it's the latter, then this actually is worth taking, because then my energy weapons are still doing near-full damage to non-conductive foes.
Solar Powered / 15% chance your EW attacks use no ammo
Rating: 5/5
Why: If you're using energy weapons, then you want this perk. If you also have the Cyber-Scrounger perk, then you'll be rolling in spare energy cells, which make good trading fodder.
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Handguns
Zeroed / +2% stacking Critical Chance bonus when repeatedly attacking a specific target with Handguns
Rating: 3/5
Why: Not great, but usable. Most enemies will die before you can attack them more than two or three times, which means you'll very rarely see higher than a +4% bonus to your Critical Chance. On the other hand, at least it's an automatic and fairly consistent bonus. If you're a dedicated handgunner, then this is worth taking.
Bandit / 2% chance attacks with Handguns or SMG will not use AP
Rating: 0/5
Why: Terrible. You have to fire an average of fifty shots to get one free attack. That means for every 150AP you spend, you'll maybe get 3AP back. It will be rare for you to fire your handgun more than ten times in a single combat, so that means you'll see this perk trigger maybe once every five combats.
Gunslinger / Free attack chance with Pistol and SMG increased to 4%
Rating: 0/5
Why: Well, now you have a chance of getting one free attack out of every twenty-five attacks, but you had to spend two perk slots to get it. Was it worth it? No, probably not.
Desperado / Free attack chance with Pistol and SMG increased to 6%
Rating: 1/5
Why: Well, at least you're likely to get one free attack every other combat encounter now. But you also had to burn three of your perk slots for something that will give you a minor benefit once every couple of fights. It's a tangible benefit, if just barely, but the investment is far too steep. And yes, blunt weapon fighters are much happier with their Slayer perk, because it's a single-perk investment that gives a (comparatively) massive +10% chance of free attacks.
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Heavy Weapons
Battering Fire / +1% per bullet chance of inflicting Precision Strike effects when using HW
Rating: 0/5
Why: One out of every one-hundred bullets will inconvenience my foe with a minor debuff? Pass. If I'm shooting my foe one-hundred times, then they're probably already super-dead. Just to put that into perspective, remember that all heavy weapons now have 7-round bursts, and you'll probably only be able to get off one burst per turn. That means that you'll be able to dole out a single debuff, on average, once every fourteen turns.
Overwhelming Fire / +3% per bullet chance of inflicting Precision Strike effects when using HW
Rating: 0/0
Why: Still pretty bad. Now you'll get to dole out a minor debuff once every thirty-three shots, instead. So, once every five turns, an enemy will not only be already dead, but also slightly inconvenienced - and it only cost you two perk slots!
Devastating Fire / +5% per bullet chance of inflicting Precision Strike effects when using HW
Rating: 1/5
Why: Okay, sure, now you're seeing a debuff trigger once every twenty shots (or once every three bursts). At least you can actually see the perk working on a regular basis, now. On the other hand, you had to spend thirty percent of your perk slots just for that mediocre bonus. If the perk chain STARTED at 5%, then it might be worth taking. As it stands, you should be avoiding it. In fact, you should probably just be avoiding heavy weapons in general.
Bullet-Ridden / -1 Armor on enemies when using HW on them
Rating: 3/5
Why: But if you insist on using heavy weapons, then you want this perk. A guaranteed debuff every time you hit an enemy is great, assuming they don't immediately die and negate the debuff. It's just a shame you can't take this perk until you have a 10 in the relevant skill. If this perk had a lower prereq, then I'd give it a higher score.
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Shotguns
Careful Hunter / -25% Friendly Fire with Shotguns
Rating: 0/5
Why: So, one out of every four times I decide to shoot my squaddies, I might not hit them. Sounds like a solid investment to me. Or I could just, y'know, not shoot my squadmates.
Precise Hunter / -50% chance of Friendly Fire when using Shotguns
Rating: 1/5
Why: Okay, now the perk is at least a halfway decent "emergency perk". For those situations where only one ally is in the line of fire, but you stand a chance to hit three or four enemies at once, this perk
might be worth taking.
Master Hunter / -75% chance of Friendly Fire with Shotguns
Rating: 1/5
Why: Well, now you can reliably not hit your allies with burst templates, but it also took you three perks to get here. It's definitely a useful benefit, but at the same time it's definitely not worth the three-perk investment.
Obliterator / Attacking cover with Shotguns always completely destroys it
Rating: 3/5
Why: I don't tend to target enemy cover much, but on the other hand this perk works 100% of the time and it means I can take out an enemy's cover AND potentially hit the enemy in a single attack. Yeah, I can get behind that.
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Submachine Guns
Fast Reload / -1 AP to reload SMGs
Rating: 1/5
Why: Potentially useful, but it will very rarely come up. If you're really worried about needing to reload faster, just slap a quickmag mod in your SMG, and spend your perk slot on something else.
Whack-a-Mole / +10% chance to hit enemies in cover
Rating: 1/5
Why: You suffer a massive penalty of -50% when attempting to hit enemies who are behind cover. This perk reduces that penalty to a still-massive -40%. Submachine guns have an incredibly short range, so if you're close enough to target an enemy who's behind cover, you're probably close enough to just walk around their cover and flank them instead. EDIT - If this perk actually gives you the bonus even when you're flanking an opponent who's in cover, then it's more useful. Still not great, since accuracy will eventually become a moot issue, but I would give it at least a 3/5.
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Sniper Rifles
Watchman / No Chance to Hit penalty when using Ambush
Rating: 4/5
Why: Of all your rangers, the dedicated sniper is the most likely to use the Ambush mechanic on a regular basis. This perk is a no-brainer. By mid-game, it's virtually a guaranteed hit with every Ambush attack.
Focused Shooter / -15% Under Pressure penalty
Confident Shooter / -30% Under Pressure penalty
Zen Shooter / -45% Under Pressure penalty
Rating: 0/5
Why: Three perks, all dedicated to reducing your point-blank penalty from massive to still-pretty-bad. Granted, it depends on exactly how this perk works. If it just reduces the penalty by a flat 15/30/45, then it will actually remove the penalty entirely at a certain point, and thus make it possible to blast enemies at point-blank range with impunity. But honestly, that's probably not how it works. If you have a -30% chance to hit at point-blank range, this perk probably reduces it to -26%, then -21%, and then -17%. Does that sound like it's worth the perk slots?
Deadeye / -1 AP when firing Sniper Rifles if you haven't moved during the turn
Rating: 5/5
Why: More AP is always good, and your sniper's not going to be moving around much anyway - especially by the time your skill is high enough to take this perk. This is a must-have for any sniper.
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