share your STARTING LOADOUTS

[Barclay the Crab]

FIRSTLY a question, do you guys ever start off with repair boxes, or do you guys consider that loot/trade

SECONDLY what are your favorite starting loadouts? LOADED mercenaries, as well as POVERTY BUILDS

I'm finding it's pretty fun to start people out with half full kits, and letting them scavenge for the other half of their kit in the mission. Even just the emergency kit makes for a pretty interesting start. I'm kind of wishing they were a little more varied, or had the option of being more varied. I've been in the habit of crafting medkits, but I don't honestly know if they trade well. Bulk antibiotics seem to trade well though.

EDIT traded some medkits away. Turns out they don't trade as well as antibiotics, so only craft them if you need more.

[Takamori]

Early game? 3 bandages, 3 splints,5 sorbent, 1 health kit and 2 stacks of ammo of whatever I'm using as primary weapon.

Mid game right now, I go with 5 med glue, 3 health kits, 5 sorbent and 3 stacks of ammo of whatever Im using.

[pgames-food]

hi, assuming i have them in stock i usually go for these as minimum:

2 stacks of sorbent (i try to make some whenever i travel if there is nothing else to craft)
this is because it is very useful in case you need it, and you can always leave it behind if not used.
+
1 pistol and about 50 rounds total
1 better gun (shotgun or sniper)
+
3 med glue + something to heal + something liquid (to eat or put out fire)
+
as much spare armour as i have, depending on the mission.

if its a quasi mission, i always try to bring something that can reduce quasi, even 1 bottle of booze also counts as food :)
and if its a defence mission i try to bring a turret and at least 1 landmine.
+
at least 1 stun grenade (it could save you)

only if i have tons of knives / grenades might i bring 1 / more ;)

but if you go into missions dressed lightly, with the notion of "if you get killed early on, its not so bad, and if you kill a few bad guys and steal their better armour, its cool you didnt bring heavy armour" :)

edit:
if you are taking your only best backpack with you, then i think its worth equipping your character as best you can with other stuff, to try and keep that backpack safe - in a looting and extraction game, its all about the bass.. i mean backpack :oD

and for repair kits, if using an Enigma gun, or energy gun, 1 wep rep kit can be handy.

[Percussigant]

Repair boxes : I never bring them during runs, I always trade them. I sometimes do use them if I find them during a run though.



Loadouts : I always go for 5 stitches, 5 bandages, 5 sorbents, 5 moo-moos (edit : if you have unlocked the recipe for medical paste, replace stitches and bandages with a 5x stack of medical paste, obviously). Then I usually equip my clone with the best gear I have available, and then I roll the quality of the gear back to 50% (ie., if I have full carnage armor, I would replace half the pieces with lower quality gear; same for guns). I then take 2 to 4 stacks of ammo of the main gun I will use, and a spare weapon that also uses that ammo, or a melee weapon instead.

As for clones themselves, if you're tired of the usual "Percy Fawcett + shotgun = brrrr" meta, some combos I like are :

-Scouts of Hades + anyone : no offense meant to the Tunnel Rats' players. I'm just more of a Scouts guy. It's a close one and Rats are awesome, but personally I think Scouts are the best class right now (that accuracy bonus applies to *all* weapons), and they work well with all clones.

-Mirza Aishatu + no food : great all-around stats, absolutely no risks of starving whatsoever = more loot slots. Good melee accuracy too, so you can bring less ammo and can therefore have even more loot slots. One of my absolute favorite clonelines.

-Auberon Lukas + full supplies : essentially the opposite of the Mirza line. Instead of having good stats and a lot of free space for loot, you have good stats and can bring a ton of guns. You do need a decent backpack, but if you have it, you can have weapons for any situation. Flamethrower as pseudo-grenade to clean up a room, melee to spare ammo, cutter to chop a baron to pieces, an extra main gun... Why choose when you can have everything ? With Auberon I like to double down on the preparedness and bring all the supplies I might need just to be sure, so not a lot of place left (if any) for loot. My new favorite baron hunter.

-Niko Medich + Spaceborne Ghosts + 2 hand cannons : the pistol accuracy bonus is so massive that you can pretty much always run and shoot with 100+% accuracy during combat. You're pretty much always fighting with 3 actions instead of the usual 2, which is fantastic for mobility and survivability as well as pure damage output. You do need top-notch pistols for this to be any good though (Redeemers are the bare minimum), otherwise the damage won't be good enough.

[porcineporcine2]

Any merc + Scouts of Hades + 1 pistol/emergency welfare kit.
Kill one enemy, take his clothes, clear out the level as usual. I play this game almost like Madness Combat. Grab his gun, build up an ammo stack, get a better gun and trade out ammo, continue until game is won. Which eventually ends up with rocking with a multishot 7.92, Gavvkah, shells, etc.
Scouts of Hades is the S class class, and you start with it! Accuracy > Damage, Criticals, etc. because it means you are actually hitting the guy with your ROFLstomp rifle and not missing like a chump. The extra health and dodge means you've got a few second chances up your sleeves.
YOU ARE GUARANTEED TO PROFIT WITH THIS METHOD.

I'm only one year in, 2K as maximum power level for the Corporations, so this cheapass strategy won't work against higher tier opponents later on. (If this actually happens.)

[Percussigant]

Forgot to add the pacts part of the loadouts in my text wall. I haven't tried them all yet, but I'm a big fan of the ones that let you transform into a baron. In and of itself, the baron forms are not very strong in terms of damage, but they are tanky (which essentially gives you time to reposition), and more importantly, when they end (even if it's because you "died" while in baron form) your clone comes back to human form with full hp and all your injuries healed. They're a solid "cheat death"/second wind card to use if you ever catch a full auto rifle blast to the face and manage to not immediately die to stunlock.

[zverozvero]

I bring 1 gun kit if i take Prism rifle. Everything else can endure long rides on scraps just fine.

2 glues. Just in case things go bad but i'll try to fill those up to 5 during run and bring back. Can allways rip socks from some corpse.
5 sorbents. If i want to level skills that trigger on wound/infection - 10 sorbents.
If i have bottled breakfast i'll take 6 (3 stacks). Otherwise stack of canned food and either stack of Kosmos or stack of Morphine with 2 shots of naloxone. Rats dont get food.
Allways vest and backpack cause i want loot and reload speed. Usually armor too but if mission can give good armor i may leave clothes at home.
Some good gun with ammo to it and if mission is against high powered/tec enemy - grenade launcher with stun grenades. Now that stuns take 2 turns to explode when launched by hand they cant be panic button against 2 action point elites with oneshot weapons (like SBN). Grenade launcher still does instant stuns well.
Second gun i'll try to pick on the move but if i run Ghost/Tifton i'll bring Crossbow or Staff to proc 'final bullet' skill.

[𝕮𝖔𝖗𝖛𝖚𝖘]

No matter the load you pick, always bring 2-3x bottles of water or any other drink.
So you don't end up getting burned to death by flamer/barrel exp.
It lets you 'extinguish' yourself and the tile you are standing on. It's the same with poison on the ground, if you step on it. Try also to evac with more water than you enter.
At least until you get enough fire/poison resi so you can ignore it.

[kopo]

early mid game, melee build with kenzie
Fighter / Buffalo backapack
Mostly Impactor armor - varying if cold damage is expected
3 slot vest
Quasimorph cleaver

2 bandage
2 splint
2 med glue
5 sorbent
1 medkit
1 bottle (very important for fire / poison / quick 10hp)

If mission has anoying quasimorph
2 morphine
1 naloxone

optionnal
1-2 food



I'm on a 40 mission win streak with this, you find most of what you need on the station

[BlackOrryx]

Percy, scouts of hades (played to death i know, but its simply the best option HP wise)
Full mystery pattern armour ( late game i know, but i ALWAYS back ancom, and trade heavily with them and realware to speed up access to the best gear)
Panzer vest
buffalo pack
Any auto shotgun, depending on opposing faction will depend on buckshot or dragon volley
Any heavy rifle, or 'laser/plasma' weapon, depending on how much ammo i have available, usually 4 stacks of spare ammo for heavy/ laser and 2 stacks of shotgun ammo for respective weapons.
a 5 stack of antibiotics
same for splints and bandages
flashbangs in the vest slot
a 2 stack of pmc rations if i have it, or a 10 stack of moo moo.
Late game load out i know.
Depending on mission, some gun repair kits too.
Still leaves plenty of space for loot/essential crafting gear, and enough ammo to clear 4 floors and the essential repair action for those ever deteriorating fire-arms.

[pgames-food]

(oh yeah, its very important to have at least a stun grenade/flashbang in the vest - not the inventory, so that it is ready to use) :)

[zverozvero]

I think stun grenade is botched since last patch. Maybe it was made for our own good cause enemies use those too and eating 4-action stun from intern with a stick is sad way to go but on 2 turn (not action - turn) activation its too late to the party. Needs grenade launcher for instant activation.

[Keysmash666]

Starting build every time: smg, 60 ammo and given splint/bandage/antibiotic

[Private Homestead]

Tunnel Rat's Surprise:
Shotgun of choice.
At least three mags worth of shells unless it's one of the hefty boys.
One bandage, one splint, ten sorbent.
Some lucky strikes to ward off the chaos incursion, if necessary.

[Tantrumus]

Kenzi/Blades
Yeah you dont get Percy level loot but seems invincible.