Starfield:Skills

Skills provide a variety of boosts to your character. Your Background gives you three starting skills. You gain a skill point every time you level up. Each skill has 4 tiers. The first tier can be unlocked by spending a skill point; further tiers can be unlocked by completing a challenge and spending a skill point.

Skill ranks can be differentiated based on the border of the skill. A darkened icon with a gray border means the skill is still locked. If the icon has a gray border and gray design it is Rank 0, a colored design means Rank 1. If the icon has two gray borders it is Rank 2. Finally Rank 3 and 4 have a gold border with one or two lines respectively.

Skills are arranged 5 categories (physical, social, combat, science, tech) of 4 tiers each (novice, advanced, expert, master). Initially only novice-tier skills are accessible, but every 4 points spent in a category unlocks a new tier, up to master.

High Priority Skills
Several abilities will be much more desirable than others as they also unlock new mechanics and abilities, over just providing a small stat boost. These include


 * Stealth -- The first tier provides a stealth meter, without which you will have no obvious indicator of how close you are to being detected while sneaking.
 * Theft -- The first tier gives you the ability to pickpocket. Beyond the more obvious benefits from the theft itself, you will not be able to do any quest objective that requires you to pickpocket without this, requiring you to do other, potentially less desirable options instead.
 * Intimidation -- Grants the intimidation ability to forces enemies to flee.
 * Negotiation -- The first tier is required to unlock bribery options.
 * Manipulation -- Gives you the ability to command a targeted NPC.
 * Ship Command -- Required if you want a larger ship crew ever.
 * Xenosociology -- Grants the ability to make hostile Fauna stop attacking, flee, attack for you, or follow your commands.
 * Gymnastics -- Grants the ability to combat slide.
 * Concealment -- Makes you incapable of setting off mines, allows you to run while sneaking with no extra chance of detection, gives you a chameleon-like cloak while still, and makes enemies lose track of you if you start sneaking.
 * Rejuvenation -- Grants you automatic health recovery.
 * Demolitions -- The first tier gives you a trajectory arc for thrown grenades.
 * Piloting -- Grants you access to thrusters for better maneuvering, and Class B and C ships.
 * Boost Pack Training -- First tier grants you the ability to use your boost pack.
 * Security -- Lets you access higher tier locks.
 * Targeting Control Systems -- Grants you access to the ship targeting function. Without which damaging specific components is very difficult.
 * Engine Systems -- The highest tier causes all enemies to disengage from you whenever you boost.

Other skills provide bonuses that are likely to be beneficial for all but the most specialized of playstyles.


 * Weight Lifting -- Improves your maximum encumberance.
 * Persuasion -- If you ever wish to use the persuasion mechanic for any reason, you will likely want to invest in this skill.

Physical Skills
Physical Skills help keep your body in peak physical form. There are sixteen Physical Skills, which allow you to:
 * Improve movement and stealth: Concealment, Stealth, Weight Lifting, Gymnastics, Fitness
 * Increase health and health regeneration: Nutrition, Rejuvenation, Wellness
 * Improve unarmed combat effectiveness: Boxing, Martial Arts, Neurostrikes
 * Reduce damage and infections: Pain Tolerance, Energy Weapon Dissipation, Environmental Conditioning, Decontamination, and Cellular Rejuvenation.

Social Skills
Social skills help you interact with and manipulate others. There are sixteen Social Skills, which allow you to:
 * Convince others to do your bidding: Diplomacy, Instigation, Intimidation, Manipulation, Negotiation, Persuasion
 * Have an edge acquiring, moving, and trading goods: Commerce, Deception, Scavenging, Theft
 * Improve your relationship with companions, using Leadership and Ship Command, or go solo with Isolation
 * Use fauna and flora to your advantage with Xenosociology and Gastronomy
 * Manage many outposts with Outpost Management.

Combat Skills
There are seventeen Combat Skills:
 * Most Combat Skills improve your ability with a specific type of weapon: Ballistics, Demolitions, Dueling, Heavy Weapons Certification, Incapacitation (EM weapons), Lasers, Particle Beams, Pistol Certification, Rifle Certification, Shotgun Certification, and Sniper Certification.
 * Others improve abilities across weapon types, such as Armor Penetration, Rapid Reloading, Targeting, critical hit chance with Marksmanship, and downing chance with Crippling.

Science Skills
There are sixteen science skills:
 * Many sicence skills help with scanning and surveying: Astrophysics, Botany, Scanning, Surveying, Zoology.
 * Botany and Zoology also help with resource collection, together with Geology.
 * Crafting and research are a major focus of science skills, and can be improved with Chemistry, Research Methods, Spacesuit Design, Special Projects and Weapon Engineering.
 * Ship operation is improved by Aneutronic Fusion, Astrodynamics, while Outpost construction is helped by Outpost Engineering and Planetary Habitation.
 * Finally, Medicine increases the effectiveness of many aid items.

Tech Skills
There are seventeen Tech Skills:
 * Most tech skills improve ship capabilities: Automated Weapon Systems, Ballistic Weapon Systems, Energy Weapon Systems, Engine Systems, Missile Weapon Systems, Particle Beam Weapon Systems, Payloads, Piloting, Shield Systems, Starship Design, Starship Engineering, Targeting Control Systems.
 * Two skills affect the Boost Pack: Boost Assault Training and Boost Pack Training.
 * Robotics increases damage against robots.
 * Security improves hacking capabilities.