No crafting playthrough

[♂Warrior of Gachi♂]

I am close to finishing my no crafting (and no psi) playthrough with Firearm pistols on Dominating and I must say - it's an interesting experience, that gives a new perspective on the whole game.

First of all, there's no access to crafting-only items. Which shifts focus onto uniques and other tools. For example, I used to rely on Taser a lot, but this time I actually made good use of throwing nets as a quasi-substitute. Every unique item is suddenly a lot more appealing, the ♥♥♥♥♥♥ energy shields that merchants typically sell are now actually worth checking out. Ammunition, grenades, mines etc., all matter a bit more than when you can typically just craft more and better yourself.

Secondly, this changes how you build your character. Can put points more freely and into things that are usually left at 0. Evasion is actually not bad on Dominating. Even with no feat investment, it gives an extra layer of defence and enemies do in fact miss quite often. Not to mention lowered grenade damage. Not so much for Dodge, but thankfully Uncanny Dodge exists to make it worthwhile.
You can put a lot of skillpoints in Traps, which means you can pick up every enemy trap and enemies will almost never disarm yours.

Thirdly, this saves so much time. No need to look for high quality parts on merchants or in loot, no need to use the crafting window ever, etc. With the obvious exception of refurbishing.

And lastly, the game is harder this way. Crafted gear is almost always strictly superior, so not having access to it makes the game a bit more challenging and buildmaking a bit more tight.
Same goes for certain rare medicines.
Makes you appreciate dropped loot or rare merchant goods a lot more.

The unfortunate downside is that not every playstyle can afford to be zero crafting and certain fun tools are inaccessible. No non-acid chem pistols, no special ammo (with some exceptions), no electroshock pistol and so on.

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TL;DR:

I highly recommend trying out a "no crafting" or minimal crafting playthrough. You may see the game in a new light.

[Zeem]

No crafting runs are a lot more varied and fun (and also easier) ever since the uniques buff. A lot of them are worthwhile even on craft-heavy playthroughs, and make for some great thematic constraints. Check out Tygrende's cowboy build, for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRzzWLeglNA

[♂Warrior of Gachi♂]

Originally posted by Zeem:

No crafting runs are a lot more varied and fun (and also easier) ever since the uniques buff. A lot of them are worthwhile even on craft-heavy playthroughs, and make for some great thematic constraints. Check out Tygrende's cowboy build, for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRzzWLeglNA

Hell yeah.

It's a shame Styg hasn't added any unique Chem pistols (XAL has been the only one since forever). Pretty much only one good unique energy pistol as well (Stunner), and it's arguably way too good.

[Zeem]

Originally posted by ♂Warrior of Gachi♂:

Originally posted by Zeem:

No crafting runs are a lot more varied and fun (and also easier) ever since the uniques buff. A lot of them are worthwhile even on craft-heavy playthroughs, and make for some great thematic constraints. Check out Tygrende's cowboy build, for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRzzWLeglNA

Hell yeah.

It's a shame Styg hasn't added any unique Chem pistols (XAL has been the only one since forever). Pretty much only one good unique energy pistol as well (Stunner), and it's arguably way too good.

Sonocaster is very good, and the buffed Lemurian Blaster is not bad either, although it's not as good as a crafted epistol. The only unique epistol without a niche is the Phase Gun.

[Armagenesis]

On the armor side, I think no crafting is pretty doable. For the most part, I've been doing just that.

Equip what I looted from enemies, then buy stuff from Constantine, Fraser, or that Tchortist one later on. Of course provided I haven't played dom yet, so idk how bad that gets.

[King Fossil]

I used to overrate armour but doing no crafting showed me that it's not really important if you aren't going gigatank. You still need crafting if you want to be 95% DR tungsten man but if you're going light then it's not really a big deal. So I use armour that looks cool instead of picking based on stats a lot more now.

[♂Warrior of Gachi♂]

Originally posted by Armagenesis:

On the armor side, I think no crafting is pretty doable. For the most part, I've been doing just that.

Equip what I looted from enemies, then buy stuff from Constantine, Fraser, or that Tchortist one later on. Of course provided I haven't played dom yet, so idk how bad that gets.

Rathound Regalia is still amazing. There is a lot of other, more specialized unique armor as well. Some pretty good bulletproof vests\coats as well on merchants.

It's all good enough for Dominating. Metal armor tank builds will probably not work though.

[Radiosity]

I've been vaguely toying with a custom start using Phantom Dancer and Red Dragon so I can do the weeb run of my hopes and dreams. Early game will be a breeze due to the stats on the weapon/armour, but I fully expect to start struggling by mid game onwards, especially as melee weapons can't be improved like unique firearms can.

No crafting, probably no shops allowed either (except perhaps to purchase repair kits, since no crafting and all), just me and my trusty katana. And maybe poisons if I can loot them.

edit: Another vague idea was a versatility build centred around using the Lemurian Spear, with melee as primary but also using the plasma shot extensively thanks to versatility. Tricky to balance since spears need strength, and I'm not honestly sure how viable the build would be. I suppose using marsh honey to boost PER a couple of points before going into a fight would help, especially as it can be consumed alongside food.

[Zeem]

Originally posted by King Fossil:

I used to overrate armour but doing no crafting showed me that it's not really important if you aren't going gigatank. You still need crafting if you want to be 95% DR tungsten man but if you're going light then it's not really a big deal. So I use armour that looks cool instead of picking based on stats a lot more now.

Fashionrail

[Murmur]

I barely ever take tailoring, regalia and robes are too good.

[Rules Of Acquisition]

Originally posted by Radiosity:

I've been vaguely toying with a custom start using Phantom Dancer and Red Dragon so I can do the weeb run of my hopes and dreams. Early game will be a breeze due to the stats on the weapon/armour, but I fully expect to start struggling by mid game onwards, especially as melee weapons can't be improved like unique firearms can.

No crafting, probably no shops allowed either (except perhaps to purchase repair kits, since no crafting and all), just me and my trusty katana. And maybe poisons if I can loot them.

edit: Another vague idea was a versatility build centred around using the Lemurian Spear, with melee as primary but also using the plasma shot extensively thanks to versatility. Tricky to balance since spears need strength, and I'm not honestly sure how viable the build would be. I suppose using marsh honey to boost PER a couple of points before going into a fight would help, especially as it can be consumed alongside food.

I ended up doing this with the plasma cannon and boy it was wild. Early game killing myself a bit, ammo costs and such made it kinda challenging. Started to pop off with some perks and stats like most builds. Not gone much further than rail crossing cause I cant stay on one build but hey, worth a chuckle.