Skills

Skills  
Roles Assault (17 skills), Recon (17), Support (12), Medic (4 with numbers, 23 nodes), Pilot (6), Driver (6)
Total 62 skills
Unlock level and cost Not in the game data: skills are not part of the unlock tree
Internal name Role skill tables (one per role, plus four plugin tables)

Each role has its own skill set. A skill tweaks one part of play: how fast a weapon comes up, how far a player moves while aiming, how much recoil a weapon kicks, or how much fuel a vehicle uses. The skills are the role-level side of progression, alongside role mastery XP.

Roles

  • Assault: 17 skills for assault rifles and SMGs, plus movement and door breaching
  • Recon: 17 skills for sniper and marksman rifles, spotting and infrared visibility
  • Support: 12 skills for LMGs and shotguns, plus C4 detonator range
  • Medic: 4 skills for medical items and sprint boosts after a revive
  • Pilot: 6 skills for air vehicles and dropped supply crates
  • Driver: 6 skills for ground vehicles and dropped supply crates

Overview

A skill is stored as a set of effects. Each effect changes one value, such as aiming time or recoil, by a multiplier. The strength of the multiplier depends on the skill’s level. The data stores a curve for each skill, which gives the value at each level. Lower aim-time multipliers mean faster aiming, for example.

Skills are not part of the role unlock tree. The tree lists 264 items and vehicles, each with a role level and a cash cost (see the Unlocks table on each role page), and none of them is a skill. The skill tree screen shows 130 nodes, but only 62 of them have a skill effect in the data. The other 68 have a name and a description and a place on the grid, with no effect. The unlock cost of each skill level is not in the game data. Skill points are reserved (see Currencies).

How it works

  • Where a skill applies. Each skill applies to one of several slots: an item, a vehicle, the character, a held item, a supply crate you drop, or a player you revive.
  • Skill level. A skill’s level is the upgrade level of its node in the skill tree, not a point count. Level 0 gives no effect. Most effects multiply a value by the number the skill’s curve gives at that level. Each curve stores values at levels 0, 2, 3 and 4 (levels 0, 2 and 4 for curves with three values), and levels in between are blended from them.
  • Curve example. The Assault aim-down-sights time curves are 1, 0.8, 0.7 and 0.6 at levels 0, 2, 3 and 4, so a higher skill level aims faster.
  • Grants. Three skills unlock an ability rather than changing a number: sprint-breaching doors (Assault), lockpicking (Recon) and a sniper-kill focus refresh (Recon).

Skills by role

Assault (17)

  • Aiming. Faster time to aim down sights with assault rifles and with SMGs. Faster aiming movement with assault rifles and with SMGs.
  • Recoil. Less horizontal and less vertical recoil with assault rifles and with SMGs.
  • Weapon handling. Faster return to fire with assault rifles and SMGs after sprinting, ladders or vaults. Faster weapon switching to assault rifles and SMGs.
  • Movement. Faster crouch and prone movement. Faster tac-sprint stamina recovery, a longer tac-sprint, and faster stamina recovery while crouched or prone. A faster unarmed sprint.
  • Other. Sprint-breaching through doors.

Recon (17)

  • Aiming. Faster time to aim down sights with sniper rifles and with marksman rifles. Faster aiming movement with both.
  • Recoil. Less horizontal and vertical recoil with sniper rifles and with marksman rifles.
  • Handling. Faster return to fire with sniper and marksman rifles. Faster switching to sidearms, and to sniper and marksman rifles.
  • Spotting. Enemies take longer to spot you. Enemies you spot stay spotted longer.
  • Other. Lockpicking enemy locked vehicles, buildables and fortifications. Infrared visibility reduction (a one-time unlock). A sniper-rifle kill refreshes focus (a one-time unlock).

Support (12)

  • Aiming. Faster time to aim down sights with LMGs and with shotguns. Faster aiming movement with LMGs and with shotguns.
  • Recoil. Less horizontal and vertical recoil with LMGs and with shotguns.
  • Handling. Faster return to fire with LMGs and shotguns. Faster weapon switching with LMGs and shotguns.
  • Other. Longer C4 detonator range (a one-time unlock).

Medic (4)

  • Medical items. Faster switching to medical items. A medkit has more uses before it runs out.
  • After a revive. The medic gets a short sprint-speed boost after reviving a teammate. The revived teammate also gets a short sprint-speed boost.

Pilot (6)

  • Air vehicles. Faster time to aim down sights on a mounted machine gun in an air vehicle. Less horizontal and vertical recoil on that gun. Lower fuel use in air vehicles. Less impact damage to an air vehicle.
  • Supply crates. A supply crate you drop as a pilot has 1.0, 1.2 or 1.4 times its normal health at skill levels 0, 2 and 4. It is set when the crate is created, and it is not a vehicle-health bonus.

Driver (6)

  • Ground vehicles. The same set as the Pilot skills, for ground vehicles and their mounted guns: faster aiming on the gun, less recoil, lower fuel use, less impact damage.
  • Supply crates. A supply crate you drop as a driver has 1.0, 1.2 or 1.4 times its normal health at skill levels 0, 2 and 4. It is set when the crate is created, and it is not a vehicle-health bonus.

Numbers

The data stores each skill’s values as curves over skill levels. This page does not quote them. The skill tables in the progression data page have the full values.

Tips that follow from the numbers

  • Assault and Recon have the most skills (17 each). Support has 12, and the rest have 4 to 6.
  • Several skills are one-time unlocks: infrared reduction and sniper focus refresh (Recon), and detonator range (Support).
  • Skills that change aiming speed apply by weapon class (assault rifle, SMG, LMG, shotgun, sniper, marksman). A skill helps only the class it names.

Season 2 changes

The sources list no Season 2 changes to the skill tables. Season 2 did change the role unlock tree, with cash costs and level gates changed for many items. Those changes are in the Season 2 Rewards & Unlocks page.

See also

Sources