If you're new to USC, you might want to check out the Step-by-Step Tutorial, too!
Units in Detail
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Skills (Secondary Attributes)
With the sole exception of Armor Rating, which is a somewhat “stand-alone” property, all prime attributes (AP, HP, MP) and other very important combat- and interaction-specific properties are derived partially or in whole from one or more of the nine Secondary Attributes (Skills) every unit has in USC.
Aliens have these attributes in a “hidden” way, specific to their strength and type. For Commandos, however, these are more likely skills you can change, experiment with, with which you can train your soldiers in a way you see fit for your strategy.
Commandos have a few hundred Skill Points depending on their rank. When you start a Campaign, most of these are already spent, but new ones can be acquired when a unit advances in rank. In non-Campaign game modes, the number of Skill Points a unit has depends on player (squad) handicap. With no handicap (standard setting), your commander will have 800 Skill Points, the others 700-500, respectively (a squad consists of 4 commandos).
Skills are measured from 0 to 100. “Purchasing” 1 point of proficiency costs a different amount of Skill Points depending on the level of the proficiency (skill), as the following table states:
| Level of proficiency | Skill Point per level |
|---|---|
| 1-20 | 1 |
| 21-40 | 2 |
| 41-60 | 3 |
| 61-80 | 4 |
| 81-100 | 5 |
E.g. to gain level 50 in a skill, you will need 20×1 (1-20) + 20×2 (21-40) + 10×3 (41-50) = 20 + 40 + 30 = 90 Skill Points. Level 100 costs 300 Skill Points. Thus you have to decide between training your soldier with many low-level skills, some mediocre skills, or a few expert skills.
Do not frail, in non-Campaign game modes you may change your soldier's skills even if you're playing progress with the same team!
On the Squad Assembly screen, skills can be increased by left-clicking on them, and decreased by right-clicking on them. They can also be increased in-mission on the Character Records panel.
Below follows the detailed description of the skills. The symbol “%” stands for the actual level of the skill (0-100). Fractions are always floored.
Melee combat
| Determines damage, Attack and Defense Value in close combat. |
|---|
| Min. damage done in melee is % percents of actual max. damage. |
| %/20 (0-5) to Attack Value in melee. |
| %/10 (0-10) to Defense Value in melee. |
| 100%, adds +5 percents to Critical Chance in melee. |
| 100%, equipping melee weapons costs only 3 APs (instead of 5). |
Small arms
| Determines damage and Attack Value with small arms. |
|---|
| Min. damage done with small arms is % percents of actual max. damage. |
| Adds %/20 (0-5) to Static Precision with small arms. |
| At 100%, adds +5 percents to Critical Chance with small arms. |
| At 100%, equipping small arms costs only 3 APs (instead of 5). |
Heavy arms
| Determines damage and Attack Value with heavy arms. |
|---|
| Min. damage done with heavy arms is % percents of actual max. damage. |
| Adds %/20 (0-5) to Static Precision with heavy arms. |
| At 100%, adds +5 percents to Critical Chance with heavy arms. |
| At 100%, equipping heavy arms costs only 3 APs (instead of 5). |
Health
| Determines the Maximum Health a unit can have. |
|---|
| Commandos have a minimum of 25 (100 HPs). |
| Maximum Health (HPs) = 50 + %×2. |
Morale
| Determines Maximum Morale and reduces the chance of psychic misbehavior. |
|---|
| Commandos have a minimum of 25 (25 MPs). |
| Maximum Morale (MPs) = %. |
| Adds %/10 (0-10) to maximum damage in melee. |
| At 80%, renders the unit “immune” to becoming berserk. |
| At 100%, renders the unit “immune” to panic. |
| In general, the greater the level is, the smaller the chance the unit will panic. |
Reaction
| Increases Attack Value and determines base reaction chance in Defense Mode. |
|---|
| Adds %/20 (0-5) to ranged Dynamic Precision with firearms (small & heavy). |
| Adds %/20 (0-5) to ranged Dynamic Defense Value (evasion). |
| Adds %/20 (0-5) to melee Attack Value. |
| Adds %/10 (0-10) to melee Defense Value. |
| Base reaction chance in ranged Defense Mode = %. |
| Chance of AP rebound when scoring a critical hit = %. |
| Max. quantity of rebound APs possible is 1/2/3/4 if 1%/30%/60%/90%. |
| Reduces the usage AP cost of the phasing device by %/25 (0-4). |
Stamina
| Determines maximum Action Points and helps dodge special hazards. |
|---|
| Maximum Action Points (APs per turn) = 15 + %/10 (0-10). |
| Reduces the chance and severity of becoming tranquilized out of any reason. |
| Reduces the chance of being knocked back or losing APs to hard hits. |
Electrotechnics
| Gives bonuses in regards of any electronical or mechanical gadgets. |
|---|
| Reduces the usage AP cost of any electronic device by %/25 (0-4). |
| Reduces the AP cost of salvaging servers / databanks by %/20 (0-5). |
| Reduces the AP cost of beginning a circuit override by %/20 (0-5). |
| Reduces the AP cost of circuit override actions by %/50 (0-2). |
| Reduces the AP cost of closing blast doors by %/12 (0-8). |
| Adds %/33 (0-3) to protection against corrosion and to its wear-off rate. |
| Completely determines the Attack Value and damage of deployed turrets*. |
* only applies to turrets deployed by the actual unit
Biochemistry
| Increases the effectiveness and decreases the usage AP cost of medical items, and protects against various related hazards. |
|---|
| Reduces the usage AP cost of medikits by %/25 (0-4). |
| Reduces the usage AP cost of stimulants and anti-rads by %/50 (0-2). |
| Reduces damage caused by biohazard (radiation) by %/20 (0-5). |
| Wear-off rate of biohazard per turn = %/20 (0-5). |
| Chance of bleeding wounds to heal by 1 per turn = %. |
| % percents bonus to the effectiveness of all chemicals (incl. medikits). |
| Increases the bio-damage and healing output of the bio-rifle by % percents. |
Specializations
In addition to skills, every commando may choose a specialization out of the nine. These are generally “linked” to their respective skill, though some are quite “stand-alone” (i.e. useful without any levels in the skill). Specializations have no prerequisites, and in non-Campaign modes can be changed just like skills. They give additional bonuses or special abilities.
| Specialization | Description |
|---|---|
| Melee combat mastery | -5% Critical Chance for melee attackers. |
| Small arms mastery | +1.0x Critical Damage Factor with small arms. |
| Heavy arms mastery | +5% Critical Chance with heavy arms. |
| Survival expertise | Bleeding and rad poisoning will heal without any ranks in Biochemistry. |
| Psi-conditioning | The unit will never go berserk and has a much smaller chance to become panicked. |
| Hit & run | The Reaction-based AP-rebound from critical hits has a greater chance to be more. |
| Iron man | The unit cannot be knocked back and is more resistant to tranquilization. |
| Master hacker | Initializing a doorlock hacking doesn't cost any APs, and critical fails only reset the circuit. |
| Stimulant hero | Using stimulants costs only 1 AP, regardless of (no) ranks in Biochemistry. |
The specialization can be selected or changed by clicking on the “!” button next to the unit's portrait on the Squad Assembly screen, then clicking on the appropriate skill.
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