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GETTING STARTED
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Pilot Specialisations (or Specs, colloquially) offer unique ways for players to distinguish their pilots in ways agnostic to their Anvil's design.
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Specs have Skills inside of them. Each Skill is worth a number of Skill Points (SP), which are earned as you gain Experience Points (XP). Specs also come with a special built-in Skill that offers a unique benefit.
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Specs, Skills, SP, and XP are tracked using the Martial Aptitude and Resourcefulness Assessment record, or MARA for short. The higher a pilot's MARA score, the more capable they are.
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Upon creating a pilot, you may choose any Spec from the list. You gain the Spec's special Skill, but be mindful that you can only choose one.
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You may purchase Skills by spending SP. It's easier to gain Skills in the Spec you chose, but you may pick up Skills from other Specs at any time (at a premium, of course).
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THE MATHEMATICS
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You gain 1 SP each time your XP value reaches a prime number, excluding 1. For instance, you gain 1 SP at 2 XP, another at 3, another at 5, another at 7, and so on. XP is capped at 499, and therefore SP is capped at 95.
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You do not spend XP to gain Skills or SP. Instead, you spend SP to gain Skills, and your XP total continues to climb.
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You learn Skills within the Spec you chose for their listed price. You may learn Skills in other Specs by spending 50% more SP than their listed price. For instance, a 5 SP Skill would cost 8 SP (50% of 5 is 3, plus 5, equalling 8).
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Skills may be unlearned as well. If you choose to unlearn a Skill, you receive its base price in SP and may no longer use that Skill. This means unlearning Skills from Specs you don't have comes at a net negative.
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Specs may not be unlearned. They are fundamental lessons which are impossible to forget.
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Skills may only be learned during Downtime or during character generation unless otherwise stated.
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SKILLS AND SUBSKILLS
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Skills within a Spec are divided into three branches. Each branch generally has a theme and its associated Skills attempt to synergise with each other.
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Skills may have one or more Subskills attached to them. Subskills are either variations of their mother Skill or a modifier which tweaks its effectiveness.
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Subskills may not be learned until their mother Skill has been learned. This can cause some Skill and Subskill sets to be quite pricey if they're outside of your chosen Spec.
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Skills at the end of their respective branch may only be learned if a Skill from earlier in the branch has been learned, unless such a Skill is within your chosen Spec.
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For instance, you cannot take the HEAVY GUNNER Spec and then immediately pick up Zero Sum Game from MARKSMECH. You would first learn an earlier Skill in the Sharpshooter branch, such as Sneak Attack or Hunter-Killer.
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Earlier-level Skills may be unlearned without sacrificing the later-level Skills. Unlearning a Skill with an unlocked Subskill means that Subskill is also automatically unlearned.
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SKILL TYPES
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Passive Skills are always "on." Their effects may still have conditions which must be met to function, but they do not require resources to be spent.
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Active Skills must be turned "on." Their effects may have conditions which must be met to function, and they typically require a resource (EN, Heat, Charge, and so on) to be spent.
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Active Skills may usually only be used once per Round. Check the Skill information box to determine the specific frequency of an Active Skill.
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Sustained Skills must also be turned "on," and remain on until deactivated. Their effects may have conditions which must be met to function, and they typically require a resource to be spent.
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Sustained Skills may only be activated or deactivated during Upkeep unless otherwise stated. You cannot activate and deactivate the same Sustained Skill in the same Round.
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GAINING EXPERIENCE
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Pilots gain XP in a number of ways. Generally, the Coordinator is free to alter XP gain to speed up or slow down progression as they see fit.
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XP for Specs and Skills is almost always gained via combat. Simulations and training only go so far.
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XP is gained in the following ways:
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Survive a Sortie1 XPMARA
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Accomplish the Main Objective1 XPEvery Anvil pilot has a Martial Aptitude and Resourcefulness Assessment score, which is a universal tool used to gauge a pilot's combat proficiency.
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Accomplish a Secondary Objective1 XPMARA scores are equal to the number of XP a pilot has accrued. The theoretical highest MARA score possible is 499, but no pilot has ever made it that far.
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Disable or Destroy an enemy Anvil1 XPMARA will only tell you half of the story. The loadout, tactics, and support a pilot uses can make even low-scoring pilots dangerous opponents.
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Circumstantial BonusesVariable XPPilots fresh out of academy have MARA scores of 0. This has led to new pilots affectionately being called "goose eggs."
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