Maccassar's page

Chameleon Kineticist

That wasn't my point. Maccassar was talking about how the Exocortex ability to hack at range is great and I was pointing out that both mechanics get it.

I understand that both get the remote hacking takes 1 full round action per computer tier so the ability to hack twice in one round at range is useful particularly for avoiding traps. I meant this more out of combat then in. If your drone walks up to a computer and starts hacking it, it is very noticeable. If you use your remote hack ability then you'd need a pretty decent bluff to hide that your hacking, which is not a class skill. My exocortex on the other hand does not. I could literally have a conversion with the guard while hacking his terminal. I think drone is better in combat, exo is better out of combat. Though in the mid to high levels I don't think the exo can keep up with the drones sheer adaptability.

The greatest weakness of the drone is that you need to be conscious to control it and you're pretty weak.

In terms of combat, ya drone wins, but the wireless hack ability the exocortex gets at level 5 is amazing, yes you can give your drone arms and be able to hack as well if it drives up to the terminal but you'll never be able to stand in the middle of the room with both hands while continuing to hack the security system wirelessly. Out of combat the exocortex is better, and while it does less damage in combat it's targeting system allows it to do more reliable damage. The neural shunt ability is a great save for a low will character. So it really comes down to what kind of character you want to play.