Increasing Damage / Gunslingers

First of all, hello everyone. Long time lurker, here.

I have looked and searched, but I'm just not clear on a few things. I've decided the risk the wrath that comes with asking dumb questions.

I played through (beat) the game years ago with an extremely boring half elf swordsman, who used basically no magic or tech. Ever since I've been rolling more interesting characters and getting to about BMC before I find them...well...underwhelming.

My current character is a human gunslinger, sort of a cross between the classic western gunfighter, standing up for justice, etc, and of a Dark Tower (Stephen King) gunslinger, who isn't afraid and doesn't care about just, well, killing anyone in his way.

What I like is that its hard in the beginning, but my problem is that I don't seem to do that much damage. (Yes, I do have the hand cannon.)

How can I go about increasing firearms damage, or if I rerolled, increasing bow damage? Or, what are the heaviest hitting characters in the game?

The only options I seem to have are to go crazy into DEX to increase speed and shots, but that's not the character. I don't envision my character blowing 15 bullets through you before you blink, but taking two or three (or one) that take people down, hard.

Any tips on increasing firearms damage, or in a type of combat character in Arcanum that affords heavy hitting damage? I'm open to anything. I have done the thief and the persuasion routes, but I really just want to walk into Dodge, clean it up, and walk on--without spending 2000 bullets to do so.

Thanks!

 

After years of mucking about with various guns, the best early on for me is your basic Looking Glass Rifle. Loads of damage, high accuracy and very long range. When starting out, get Apprentice from Doc in Shrouded Hills ASAP. A Fine Revolver is more than sufficient to take out just about everything up to the first trip to Tarrant. Ups your rate of fire enormously when starting out. I always try to be an Expert with guns and with an LG rifle before ever going into the BMM. Also, if a techno-gunfighter, Charged Rings are a must. Great improvement on speed.

 

Thanks.

I have the handcannon (trying to stay pistols), and I have the dex rings, and I have guns maxed at expert. I'm really wondering if there is anything I can do stat-wise to increase damage, similar to the way a melee character could increase strength, etc.

Does tech apt influence guns?

 

No damage advantage from high tech status. Too much magic index makes them backfire on you (and that ain't pretty). It's the good thing about guns; they're independent of your stats. Key stats are only speed and perception.

I stayed with pistols for a while too. However, the short range was inferior compensation for whatever advantage the shield conveyed. Standing off at long range, I can gun down a party of a dozen or so whatevers before they can even move, and no one in the rest of my party even breaks a sweat. For me, the only pistol worth a damn after the first little while with the Fine Revolver is the Warbringer, and that comes too late in the game to mean a lot.

About the other longarms, most of them like Mechanized Guns eat way too much ammo. Tesla Gun is very good, but again you never have enough ammo, as it eats electric charges at a huge rate, and you need a boatload of electric tech to get it. If you get Franklin Payne as a follower, throw away his elephant gun and give him an LG rifle. Same for Sebastian.

One key piece of tech, get at least five steps of Smithing and make yourself a Goggled Helmet. It's always available as a design at the Inventor's in Tarrant the first time you visit the store. Best helmet in the game for techs and +3 perception. You find the Eyegear either in the BMM or have Magnus make you some when he's high enough level. Best armour in the game for techs? Also easy, that's Electro Armour, and god help any silly mage twit who tries to throw lightning bolts at you.

One other key note as a budding gunslinger, Jayna fairly early on can make tech potions to boost speed and perception. They last quite a long time and are very useful for pit crawls like the BMM.

Important note: I only play in turn based mode.

 

Yeah, turn based is really the only way to go as a gunslinger.

You disappoint. There were no dumb questions there. And I was hoping for some good wrathing too... :'(

 

I know. What a tease. "I'm going to be stupid, get your flamethrowers ready." Then nothing.
Now what I'm a going to use this thing on.
*eyes passing koala*

 

Thank you for the responses. This is really helpful. Do you or does anyone happen to recall at about what magic index guns stop working? I am going to restart, again, because I had actually been focusing on raising my tech apt on the off chance it had something to do with guns, and I thought I would consider a magical gunslinger if at all possible. (Has anyone ever tried a magical gunslinger?)

The main reason for wondering about that is because it seems like a huge pain to keep myself healed as a techie, compared to Virgil just auto-healing me. (I know, give him bandages, but I swear he uses them as Kleenex or something. I can't keep him stocked.)

And one other question, or perhaps an opinion poll: followers or no followers? I'm really having a hard time deciding between a crew of gunslingers or a lonewolf guy. (My experience with followers so far, with a techie gunslinger, is that they crowd around the mobs so much I can't get a clear shot at anyone.)

Thanks again!

~Mep

 

Guns don't "stop working" so much as "blow up in your face with a critical failure" at non-high tech levels.

 

Is it really worth 5 points in smithy to gain 3 in PE? Really, just to gain 1 PE over the eye gear? Or am I missing something about the benefit of the helm...

 

Master Black Necromancy, 100 MA, fatigue slower. Then just Harm spam at 1 fatigue for 40 points of damage (less TA). Magical "gunslinger" with nearly unlimited ammo

 

It's a HELMET, whereas those are just some geeky GLASSES, duh.

Go with the helmet or make the glasses, in the end it all depends on you and what kind of character you want to play. I, for example, like my gunslingers in nice suits or suede jackets, not mechanized plates. So I usually go with the glasses.

Also, you have to think of all the wonderful technological wonders you can make with 5 points in smithy.

 

To use guns without problems you need to stay in TA and most spells need MA to be useful. However, some spells don't need MA at all, such as the whole Temporal college. Basically, you can learn the whole Temporal college, and balance it out with any tech disciplines/skills to stay in TA. It would make a unique and really powerful build, e.g. you'll get 70 APs or so to use with your Looking Glass Rifle.

 

I've built that charater and it was one of the best playthroughs I've ever had. I strongly recommend it. Buy Stun as well. It's made of gold, I tell you.

 

Awesome advice everyone. Thank you very much.

 

Of course it's worth it, because it's only the beginning. You need to get 5 levels of Smithy to make a visored helmet. Smithy is one of the most useful Tech skills after Gun. There are few better hand weapons than Balanced Swords, with the possible exception of the Charged Blade. I usually take 100 pts in Smithy, ending up with a party fully equipped with Charged Blades, Elite Plate or Electro Armour, Flow Disruptors, and Miners Helmets.

One of these days, I'm going to round up about 2000 rounds of ammo and see just how much havoc I can create with three maxed out gunslingers in the party with Mechanized Guns.

 

Heh, Dirtman likes the Al Capone approach, and I like Starship Troopers (the novel, not the geeky worthless movie).