Well to be honest, I think that w/o a crit build on an energy weps character.. you wont do nearly as much as a big gunner. I've never tried out the big gun spec, but im going to give it a whirl after wipe. I've been tampering with the character builder, and this is pretty close to what I am going to spec at. The character will be able to craft big guns level 3 by level 15 and is extremely tough. Damage will come from the obvious big numbers a big gunner puts out and will crit fairly often at lvl 21.
SPECIAL: str - 7, per - 5, end - 8, cha - 3, int - 5, agi - 8 luck - 6
Perks: Finesse, Bruiser, Toughness (2), Pyromaniac, Lifegiver (2), Dodger, More Criticals (1)
At level 21: hit points 232 (253 being the highest in the game so very good, just not worth 2 more stats in END).
Crit Chance: 21% (pretty darn good especially with the minigun or other burst, rocket AP would hurt bad with a crit)
+13 AC, Action points: 7, 90kg carry weight (good for crafting), Healingrate : 8 (good!)
136% big guns, 101% first aid, 90% science, 121% repair, 95% outdoorsman
I am debating whether to take out bruiser and put in good natured. Stats would be 7, 7, 6, 3, 5, 6, 6. This would give me more range with weapons, sequence, 1 more action point and more FA, Doc, and Barter at the expense of 2 AC, 21 hit points, 2 more points in healing rate, poison and rad resistance.
Any suggestions?