USC: Counterforce – Skills Guide

Endurance

Properties

• Increases base maximum Health by 20 points per level.
• Grants 3% resistance (i.e. chance to fully ignore effect) per level against Knockback, Burning (Fire) and Freezing (Cryo).
• Reduces Tranquilization/Paralysis and Poisoning buildup rate (i.e. amount of effect contracted if not resisted) by 5% per level.

Secondary specialization: Reduces Pull and Push AP cost by 1. Grants an additional 20% physical damage reduction when below 25% max. Health.

Primary specialization: Increases stimulant effectiveness by 50% and grants +75% Knockback resistance.

Agility

Properties

• Increases base maximum Action Points by 3 per level.
• Increases Melee combat skill contribution in the Melee Defense Value by 5% per level.
• Increases the base chance of opportunity/reaction fire in Ranged Defense by 10% per level.
• Adds a 5% chance per level that an AP will not be lost when being knocked into an obstacle.

Secondary specialization: Reduces jumping Action Points cost by 1, and increases jumping range by 1. (Jumping further costs more APs!)

Primary specialization: Reduces the base Action Points cost of diagonal movement to 2, and that of stance change by 1.

Mental Conditioning

Properties

• Increases base maximum Morale by 10 points per level.
• The higher the level, the lower the chance the unit will fall into Panic or Berserk, and the severity of such states is also lower.
• Highly trained units have a chance to “feel out” enemies that have “psychic” abilities, and are less likely to get stealth ambushed.

Secondary specialization: The unit will never Panic, or attack friendlies in Berserk state.

Primary specialization: Increases Morale gain from kills by 5, and reduces all Morale requirements by 3.

Melee Combat

Properties

• Increases the base minimum damage of melee attacks (in respect to the potential max. damage) by 20% per level (0-100%).
• Predominantly determines the unit’s Melee Attack and Defense values based on the weapon. (These are then compared to the defender’s/attacker’s corresponding values.)
• Increases total Armor rating by 5% per level.

Secondary specialization: Increases melee Critical Hit Chance (CHC) by 5%, and melee Critical Damage Factor (CDF) by 25%.

Primary specialization: Yields a 25% additional melee damage reduction, and reduces Defense Mode AP cost to 8 (even with firearms).

Marksmanship

Properties

• Increases the base minimum damage of ranged attacks with “small arms”–mostly standard ballistic guns–in respect to the potential max. damage by 20% per level (0-100%).
• Increases accuracy with small arms by 1 per level. This counters range and a small target size.
• Reduces spread by 1% per level.
• Reduces attack AP cost by 5% per level.

Secondary specialization: Reduces the AP cost of reloading/unloading by 50% for all small arms.

Primary specialization: Increases ranged Critical Hit Chance (CHC) by 5%, and ranged Critical Damage Factor (CDF) by 15% with small arms.

Heavy Arms

Properties

• Increases the base minimum damage of ranged attacks with “heavy arms” by 20% per level.

Only with heavy arms, also:

• Increases Critical Hit Chance (CHC) by 1% per level.
• Increases Critical Damage by 5% per level.
• Reduces attack AP cost by 5% per level.
• Reduces loading AP cost by 10% per level.
• At max. level, increases accuracy by 2.

Secondary specialization: Increases all elemental damage/effect dealt by heavy arms by 25%. Applies to both inherent and ammo-based values.

Primary specialization: Hits with heavy arms will always do damage to Armor (min. 2), and cause Bleeding (min. 3, no crit. hit needed).

Field Expertise

Properties

Reduces the Action Points cost of:

• picking up, dropping, and passing items,
• equipping/unequipping weapons,
• using hand grenades (+1/2 range at lvl. 3/5),
• using ladders and manholes,
• opening and closing unlocked doors,
• and operating other mechanical devices by 10% per level (by min. 1 at max. level.)

Secondary specialization: Increases static Melee and Ranged Defense bonus from directional cover by 2 (-15% hit chance) if it’s at least 1.

Primary specialization: Removes all item type restrictions from inventory slots, and equipping a weapon now only costs 1 AP.

Electrotechnics

Properties

• Reduces the Action Points cost of using electronic devices and gadgets, deploying mines and turrets, and hacking systems by 10% per level.
• Increases deployed turret damage & effectiveness of repairs, welding, etc. by 5% per level.
• Increases the base success chance of hacking operations by 15% per level. (0% at level 0.)
• Hacking chance is reduced by 25% / target level.

Secondary specialization: Can hack non-hardwired adjacent systems without using any gadget/device. Increases base chance of success by 25%.

Primary specialization: Can hack hardwired systems without using a dedicated device (still need a basic one!). +25% base success chance.

Biochemistry

Properties

• Reduces the Action Points cost of using medical items, chemical compounds, and other related biotech devices by 6% per level.
• Increases the amount of all healing and anti-hazard effects administered by this unit (either to self or to others) by 12% per level.
• Increases all Tranquilizing, Acid and Poison damage dealt directly by this unit by 10% per level.

Secondary specialization: Acid and Poison damage taken is reduced by 25%. Acid buildup decays faster. Can stop double the Bleeding with items.

Primary specialization: Treating a unit with missing Health of less than 50% of the max. item effectiveness will not consume the item.