Skill Tree

Lore & Background

At the beginning of the game, the player chooses a career in a branch of the Unified National Nominate, a fictional military organization. Each branch of service gives the player a set of starting bonuses composed of certain skills, though may thereafter freely develop as the player chooses. The Marine begins with bonuses to weaponry, the Navy officer is skilled in repairing and hacking, and the OSA agent gets a starting set of psionic powers. The player can upgrade their skills by using "cyber-modules" given as rewards for completing objectives such as searching the ship and spend them at devices called "cyber-upgrade units" to obtain enhanced skills. Operating system (O/S) units allow one-time character upgrades to be made (e.g. permanent health enhancement). An in-game currency called "nanites" may be spent on items at vending machines, including ammunition supplies and health packs. "Quantum Bio-Reconstruction Machines" can be activated and reconstitute the player for 10 nanites if they die inside the area in which the machine resides. Otherwise, the game ends and progress must be resumed from a save point.

In Their Own Story

Owing to a computer malfunction, the remaining soldier awakens with amnesia in a cryo-tube on the medical deck of the Von Braun, being implanted with an illegal cyber-neural interface. Another survivor, Dr. Janice Polito, contacts and guides him to safety before the cabin depressurizes. She demands that he meets her on deck 4 of the Von Braun. Along the way, the soldier battles the infected crew members. The Many telepathically communicate with him, attempting to convince him to join them. After restarting the ship's engine core, the soldier reaches deck 4 and discovers that Polito is dead and is soon confronted by SHODAN. It is revealed she has been posing as Polito to gain the soldier's trust. SHODAN mentions that she is responsible for creating the Many through her bioengineering experiments on Citadel Station. The Hacker, who freed her from her ethical restraints, ejected the grove that contained her experiments to prevent them from contaminating Earth, an act that allowed part of SHODAN to survive in the grove. The grove crash-landed on Tau Ceti V. While SHODAN went into forced hibernation, the Many evolved beyond her control. SHODAN tells the soldier that his only chance for survival lies in helping destroy her creations.

Reader's Guide

The player can upgrade their skills by using "cyber-modules" given as rewards for completing objectives such as searching the ship and spend them at devices called "cyber-upgrade units" to obtain enhanced skills. Operating system (O/S) units allow one-time character upgrades to be made (e.g. permanent health enhancement). The player can hack devices, such as keypads to open alternate areas and vending machines to reduce prices. When a hack is attempted, a minigame begins that features a grid of green nodes; the player must connect three in a straight row to succeed. Optionally, electronic lock picks, called "ICE-picks", can be found that will automatically hack a machine, regardless of its difficulty. The game includes a research function. When new objects are encountered in the game, especially enemies, their organs can be collected; when combined with chemicals found in storage rooms, the player can research the enemies and thus improve their damage against them. Similarly, some exotic weapons and items can only be used after being researched. OSA agents effectively have a separate weapons tree available to them. Psionic powers, such as invisibility, fireballs, and teleportation, can be learned.

Did You Know?

• The player chooses a career in a branch of the Unified National Nominate at the start of the game, with each branch giving starting bonuses: Marine gets weaponry bonuses, Navy officer is skilled in repairing and hacking, and OSA agent gets a starting set of psionic powers.
• Cyber-modules are given as rewards for completing objectives such as searching the ship, and are spent at devices called 'cyber-upgrade units' to obtain enhanced skills.
• Operating system (O/S) units allow one-time character upgrades, such as permanent health enhancement.
• Quantum Bio-Reconstruction Machines can reconstitute the player for 10 nanites if they die inside the area in which the machine resides; otherwise, the game ends and progress must be resumed from a save point.
• Psionic powers available to OSA agents include invisibility, fireballs, and teleportation.