So what does everyone think is the strongest class right now? I usually lean towards playing tech specialist since I like high int builds in every game, and Kineticist seems interesting, but I keep hearing how it's the weakest class.
Kineticist is the weakest, in that you cannot
just spam your main attack once you get Second Attack/Shot at Lv8. You actually need to use your abilities, which fortunately have been getting buffed recently. I like playing the class, but it does require a bit more setup to function properly. If you just slap on your most powerful weapons and spam Attack/Ranged, you're gonna have a bad time.
The thing that gets me through 95% of fights is procing Deep Freeze and then Shattering it for massive damage. You need
Entropic Leech that you get at Lv2 (so before you've even left the tutorial station), and a weapon that deals Crushing damage. That means farming the Kaithrit Salvagers on F.I.R.S.T.-14 until they drop an Arc Sledgehammer, and using that until you can get one of the Psionically Tuned staff weapons. Most you can just find and pickup for free, including the Sizzlepod Staff on Mhen'ga, the Xukwood Staff on Myrellion, and the Sleet Staff on Uveto (which is the best one, and again, is just lying on the ground for FREE). Psionically Attuned weapons deal an extra point of damage per level of Kineticist, and hitting a enemy under the effect of Deep Freeze will cause you to deal double damage.
Actually the most powerful staff that I know of, the Sleet Staff, you can just rush onto the ice fields and retrieve it as soon as you get access to Uveto. You now have a weapon that deals 8 Kinetic + 20 Freezing + Your Class Level in damage, has a chance to cause Freezing itself (saving you needing to re-proc with Entropic Leech), and even has Bonus Hit Rate Chance so that when you need to use Haste to get extra hits in (which now lasts 10 rounds) they hit without any accuracy penalty. Other great Crushing weapons include the Sizzlepod Staff (6 Kinetic + 6 Corrosive + Class Level), the Lightning Rod (7 Kinetic + 6 Electric + Stun Chance), the Shieldwall Staff (18 Kinetic + Class Level + 20 Bonus Shields), the Jolthammer (6 Kinetic + 20 Electric), the Hookstaff (20 Kinetic + Class Level + Trip Chance), and the Magma Crusher (16 Kinetic + 20 Burning + Stun Chance + Burn DoT Chance).
Flying targets?
Levitate at Lv9 grants +10 Evasion and allows you to fly for the rest of the fight once activated (although you can have a ranged crushing attack as early as Lv6, see
Telekentic Warrior below). Want to be a tank in the Grey Goo Armor?
Psychic Armor at Lv6 increases your defense by 1 and grants a minimum defense equal to your level (so at Lv10 and above, your resting Defense is equal to or better than the Augment-Weave Armor dropped by the Cyberpunk Security on Zheng Shi). So long as you take Psytuned Vitality at Lv3 (doubles maximum HP per level and restores 5 HP with each psychic ability used) and Vitality Syphon at Lv4 (for three turns after activation, leech 50% of damage dealt into your HP, also recover 10 energy on each round damage is dealt), you are functionally unkillable so long as you can keep procing Deep Freeze and Shatter for massive HP regen.
Got a boss fight with adds?
Gravity Flux at Lv5 (causes gravity to become crushingly high, dealing moderate unresistable damage to all enemies and additional kinetic damage to flying enemies; may cause the tripped condition). Need to up your sustained DPS?
Haste, then go to town with Deep Freeze and Shatter (grants an additional attack when using basic melee or ranged attacks for ten turns). Get disarmed or your weapon disabled? No worries!
Telekenitic Warrior at Lv6 allows you to attack without a weapon for 4 + (level + will)/2 + Physique/Aim bonuses. That means that at Lv13 with max willpower (75 with Lv7
Steel Will and Sensory Dampener implant) your unarmed attacks start at 48 damage. Also, your unarmed kinetic attacks (both melee and ranged) do deal Crushing damage and can Shatter those under the effect of Deep Freeze. For the record, the two most powerful physical damage melee weapons actually in the game according to the wiki only deal 41 damage (Greathammer & Plasma Halberd), although one has a Stun Chance and the other Burning DoT Chance.
I have been able to brute-force and defeat bosses that are very obviously supposed to be taken down by lust attacks, such as the Crystal Goo Incubator in the Queen's Chambers of Taivra's Palace and the Queen's Bodyguard. Once you have the Arc Sledgehammer, you can absolutely use Deep Freeze and Shatter to burst down the Gyrvain Techies on F.I.R.S.T.-14. instead of teasing them. You can also pretty easily shatter armor and get easier access to some unique scenes, like the Gentle Fuck option for the Sydian Female (rust monsters) on Tarkus.
Now is Kineticist the strongest class? Almost certainly not, but I've yet to be locked out of content because I simply couldn't win a fight. The class is very manageable if you know what you are doing. Unfortunately there aren't any signposts within the game explaining to you HOW to actually shatter Deep Freeze consistently so you can deal good damage. It's not something you need to so with the Mercenary or Tech Specialist. The Smuggler gets a bit closer with how it can trigger bonuses on Stunned or Blinded enemies and gives you the Flash Grenade right off the bat, but getting that to work doesn't require weapons with a very specific attribute (e.g. Crushing) to function properly.
Honestly, they need to make the starting weapon for the Kineticist NOT be a fucking
knife. Just whip up a new low-damage Quarterstaff weapon that has the Crushing weapon flag, and I think a lot more people would just accidently stumble onto the Deep Freeze/Shatter combo naturally. I only picked up on the pattern after finishing most of Mhen'ga, finding and equipping the Sizzlepod Staff, and then experimenting with it while farming Vanae spears for some early credits. I mean, all of the other classes get decent starting weapons. The Tech Specialist even gets a better shield, on account of their class being very shield focuses. But the Kineticist stats with a knife that cannot proc Shatter and a fucking rock for a ranged attack. Not for nothing, but that's dumb as all hell, and starts the class off on a much weaker footing than it needs to be.