Compendium
Progression
Three ways to get stronger, all read from the game's own tables: rank your skills by using them, upgrade your gear at the bench, and let Power tell you what's better.
Skill ranks
Skills rank up as you use them: casting, hitting and finishing foes with a skill all count. Ranks go from 1 to 10, and your level sets the cap (rank 10 needs level 16). Every rank gives something you can name. Ranks 4 and 8 are milestones where you pick one of two perks, and rank 10 is Mastered: +10% damage and 20% cheaper.
What each rank gives depends on the kind of skill:
| Kind | Rank 2 | Rank 3 | Rank 5 | Rank 6 | Rank 7 | Rank 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strike | Honed +8% damage. | Smooth Draw Cooldown 8% shorter. | Long Reach Reach and swing 15% bigger, +5% damage. | Heavy Hands +12% damage. | Economy of Motion Costs 18% less. | Killing Edge +15% damage, cooldown 10% shorter. |
| Projectile | Tuned Barrel +8% damage. | Quick Cycle Cooldown 8% shorter. | Long Barrel Range 20% further, +5% damage. | Hot Rounds +12% damage. | Lean Feed Costs 18% less. | Overpressure +15% damage, cooldown 10% shorter. |
| Area | Denser Mix +8% damage. | Quick Prime Cooldown 8% shorter. | Wider Spread Area 15% bigger, +5% damage. | Hot Core +12% damage. | Clean Burn Costs 18% less. | Lingering Heat +15% damage, effects last 15% longer, cooldown 10% shorter. |
| Mobility | Light Step +8% damage, cooldown 4% shorter. | Long Step Travel 10% further. | Spring-Loaded Cooldown 8% shorter, +5% damage. | Momentum +12% damage. | Second Wind Costs 18% less. | Ghost Line +15% damage, travel 10% further, cooldown 6% shorter. |
| Support | Clean Dose Heals, shields and effects 8% stronger. | Fast Refill Cooldown 8% shorter. | Wider Net Effects last 15% longer and reach 10% further, 5% stronger. | Rich Mix 12% stronger. | Lean Code Costs 18% less. | Field Medic 15% stronger, cooldown 10% shorter. |
| Summon | Patched Firmware Your units hit 8% harder. | Quick Deploy Cooldown 8% shorter. | Long Battery Your units last 15% longer and hit 5% harder. | Combat Firmware Your units hit 12% harder. | Cheap Parts Costs 18% less. | Veteran Squad Your units hit 15% harder and last 10% longer; cooldown 10% shorter. |
Skills that spend pips or charges get Practised at rank 7 instead (cooldown 6% shorter.).
Perk milestones
Strike
Rank 4: pick one
- Dead Weight. +20% damage, cooldown 10% longer.
- Hot Tempo. Cooldown 15% shorter.
Rank 8: pick one
- Follow-Up. Every hit lands twice, each at 60% damage.
- Find the Seams. Hits leave foes Exposed (35% chance, 4 s); a status the skill already applies lasts 30% longer.
Projectile
Rank 4: pick one
- Hot Load. +20% damage, costs 15% more.
- Fast Cycle. Cooldown 15% shorter.
Rank 8: pick one
- Split Feed. Two extra rounds in a fan, each at 65% damage.
- Punch-Through. Rounds pierce two more foes and fly 15% further.
Area
Rank 4: pick one
- Wide Spill. Area 30% bigger, damage 5% lower.
- Dense Payload. +20% damage, area 15% smaller.
Rank 8: pick one
- Lingering. Fields and effects last 30% longer.
- Short Fuse. Cooldown 20% shorter, damage 8% lower.
Mobility
Rank 4: pick one
- Long Stride. Travel 30% further.
- Quick Reset. Cooldown 20% shorter.
Rank 8: pick one
- Afterburn. Arrive Overclocked for 2.5 s (+30% attack and move speed).
- Hard Landing. Where you arrive, a 1.5-tile shockwave: 2d6 force and Lagged.
Support
Rank 4: pick one
- Strong Dose. Heals and shields 20% stronger, cooldown 10% longer.
- Lean Code. Costs 25% less, cooldown 10% shorter.
Rank 8: pick one
- Long Run. Effects last 30% longer and reach 20% further.
- Flush. Also clears burns, toxins and bleeds from you.
Summon
Rank 4: pick one
- Long Lease. Your units stay 35% longer.
- Fast Deploy. Cooldown 20% shorter.
Rank 8: pick one
- Rally Point. Deploying wraps you in Oath Aura for 6 s (+1 AC, 5% damage reduction).
- Uplinked. Deploying heals your squad over 5 s.
Upgrades to +10
Auntie Wire's bench upgrades any item from +1 to +10, at any level: creds and materials are the only limit. Every rank adds 8% to the item's base numbers (damage dice or armour) and 4% to its stat lines. Four ranks are milestones:
- +3
Hardened
Every stat line +5%.
- +5
Awakened
+1 to the item's bonus: +1 to hit and damage on a weapon, +1 armour on gear.
- +7
Overtuned
Auntie Wire solders in a new random stat line.
- +10
Perfected
+1 more bonus, and every stat line +10% more.
The bench also reflashes: pay to re-roll one stat line into a new random one. After the first reflash only that line can change again, and each try costs more.
Power
Power is one number for how strong your Echo is, so you can tell at a glance whether an item is an upgrade. It's built from the same maths the fights use, priced against an average foe of your level:
- Damage: your attack's dice, ability, weapon grade and damage bonuses, crits, how often you hit that foe's armour and how fast you swing, plus a 45% share from skills (skill, area and elite damage, and cooldowns).
- Survival: your HP against how often foes land on you (armour, dodge), what gets through (damage reduction, resists), and what you heal back over a 20-second fight (regen, lifesteal, life on hit).
- Power = √(damage × survival) × 10. +10% damage or +10% survival is about +5% Power.
Hover any item in the game to see Power before → after if you wore it, and open the character sheet for the full breakdown. Move speed and creds or magic find don't change a fight, so Power leaves them out.