Officers have names, ranks, but no serial numbers. They do have other numbers, such as experience (XP) and level. They also have skills. Those are very important. And they take a percentage of all your income. I bet you didn't know that. But they do.1% per level per officer.

You can recruit up to 5 officers (to a total of 6, including yourself). But you can only recruit one officer per your captain's level. A level 4 captain can only have 4 officers. Gotta level up!




Officers gain XP when performing actions related to their specialty (class), and also slowly over time and for certain pickups and accomplishments. When they have enough you can give them a promotion (level up!). You can even promote yourself. Too bad you can't give yourself a raise...

All officers gain XP from space exploration (based on number of tiles revealed, and how high the sector number). Any officer on the away team gains exploration XP too, and more for the more dangerous planet types.



Buster here is ready for a promotion. He's a tactical officer and I like to take him on away missions, so I'll probably choose 'marksman' or 'reaction strike'. Level them according to how you want to play.

You can also dismiss officers, in case you find someone else you just can't live without.


One of the most exciting (and dangerous) things you can do with officers is send them on away missions. In fact, some missions are so important that the captain is required to go. But usually, you can just decide who to send, if anyone.

And that's where your officers can really shine, too. They can really flex their muscles, show off what they've learned. Use their skills for something real.

Because it doesn't matter if your tactical officer has level 3 Combat Specialist, if she's just sitting on the ship, it's useless.

Click the "Away Team" button on the officers screen to toggle whether that officer joins the landing party or not. If the green light stays on, they're going!

Know that if they die on the planet (or cave or shipwreck or temple or...) then they are LOST... And if you, "Captain", officer #1 on the list, if you die, it's game over.

So Be Careful!

And that leads nicely into our next topic:


Even if they don't die on an away mission, your officers can still be injured, sometimes badly. If this happens they will be unable to join the away team until they are fully healed, and if their in bad enough shape, they won't even use their skills on the ship! So do try to keep them safe.



These folks will be out for a long time..

And now... presenting...

• Researcher: Greatly increases the amount of data you get from anything that is actively picked up, like spatial anomalies or datapads. Does not increase general exploration data.
  
• Archaeologist: Helps to identify artifacts by eliminating some of the wrong choices automatically.
  
• Recon: Increases the away team's sight radius.
  
• Ship's Surgeon: Increases the overall survival chance of your away teams. This is determined upon their return to the shuttle. Note that the surgeon does not need to accompany the away team.
  
• Analyst: Gathers additional data from exploration and combat.
  
• Field Medic: Provides a small but constant healing effect to the away team as long as the medic is assigned to the landing party.
  
• Hazardous Materials: Cuts the damage of status effects (like fire and poison) in half.
  
• Anatomy: Significantly increases the damage your away team can inflict by determining the softest targets on the beasties.
  
• Virology: Your science officer will constantly work to cure any disease that infects your crew. It will take time, but eventually they will succeed.

• Propulsion Systems: This skill allows you to squeeze a little extra speed out of your engines. Having a high speed can allow you to move more often than your enemies.
  
• Damage Control: Slowly repairs your ship's hull over time.
  
• Energy Fields: Increases the maximum strength of your shields, allowing them to repel more damage.
  
• Mining Specialist: Increases the chances of finding valuable resources when mining asteroids. Paired with the right equipment, it can be extremely lucrative.
  
• Efficient Construction: Decreases the number of parts that are required to craft an item. At first, it takes 5 of each necessary part (up to 25 parts!) to build one item.
  
• Build It Better: This skill increases the quality of the ship components that you can craft above and beyond your base crafting level.
  
• Auxiliary Power: This skill reduces the cooldown period (by turn) of any system with a long cooldown, even some weapons.
  
• Field Craft: The away team will be healed a small amount when picking up commodities.
  
• Salvage: Increases the frequency and amount of many kinds of loot drops. Also increases chance of finding items in lockers.

• Security Officer: Increases the hit points (HP) of the away team, as well as their damage output.
  
• Biology: Greatly increases the amount of data garnered from each alien life form killed.
  
• Geology: Increases the amount of data gathered from any mountains or cave walls examined. Also gives a small boost to the amount of planetary resources found.
  
• Frontiersman: Increases the movement speed of the away team thus allowing you to out- maneuver your enemies.
  
• Spelunker: Automatically reveals cave entrances, and passages up or down within caves. Also affects how much oxygen is needed to automatically return to the surface. Higher levels have more effects.
  
• Captain's Guard: Increases the away team's HP any time the captain is on the away team. The captain cannot take this skill.
  
• Guerilla Warfare: Increases the cover bonus granted to the away team when they are in terrain that provides cover (blocks sight).
  
• Cartography: Allows a larger area to be scanned each time the shuttle lands on a planet.
  
• Light Step: On away missions, reduces the chance of triggering proximity traps like cave-ins and short circuits.

• Targeting: This skill increases the damage of all your ship weapons.
  
• Combat Specialist: Increases the away team's hit points and damage inflicted.
  
• Ordnance Officer: Decreases the supply usage of all ship weapons and reduces the cooldowns on slow firing weapons.
  
• Melee Specialist: Each level of this skill gives a 50% damage bonus to all melee attacks.
  
• Marksman: With precise aim (and this skill), the away team's effective firing range can be increased.
  
• Ever-Ready: This skill allows the officer to protect weapons and sensors from any kind of damage that would disable them. Re-routing power!
  
• Crafting Consultant: Improves the quality of all ship components crafted.
  
• More Power To Shields: Increases the recharge amount on your shields, allowing them to reach full power more quickly.
  
• Reaction Strike: The away team will automatically strike back at any creature that melee attacks them.

• Piloting: This skill reduces the damage of traveling through any kind of space-borne hazards, such as ion storms and minefields.
  
• Sensors: Increases sensor range, which speeds up exploration and gives earlier threat detection.
  
• Warp Specialist: Reduces the cooldown time and supplies used for your warp drive, allowing jumps to be made more often.
  
• Evasive Maneuvers: This reduces enemy weapon damage by getting out of the way.
  
• Silent Running: Reduces the distance at which enemy ships can detect you. Not as effective as a cloaking device, but not as costly either.
  
• Intuitive Mapping: With the first level of the skill, you will have knowledge of the outer border of all shipwrecks that you dock with. With the second level, all bulkheads will be revealed.
  
• Shuttle Ace: This skill allows the away team to land at a different location on every planetary mission. The default behavior is to always land in the same spot.
  
• Smooth Sailing: This reduces the overall supply usage of your ship by 1 per turn.
  
• Gravitic Interpolation: Allows you to infer the existence of very large objects within a sector without actually being near them. This is especially useful upon entering new sectors.

• Personnel Officer: Reduces the cost of hiring crew and increases the total number of crew you can have.
  
• Diplomacy: Increases the rate at which you earn positive reputation with all alien species.
  
• Shipping Specialist: This skill increases the amount of cargo your ship's hold can store.
  
• Logistics: Increases your base supply storage capacity. Great for long trips.
  
• Salesman: Increases the amount of credits you get for all items sold in space station pawn shops.
  
• Historian: Increases the amount of credits you get from all cultural pickups including art, poetry, log entries, and historical relics. Also gives a better chance to find them.
  
• Learning Coach: Increases the rate at which other officers gain experience.
  
• Profiteering: Gives a small chance that enemy ships will drop something of value every time you shoot them.
  
• Morale Officer: When the away team is close to death, they receive a bonus to speed and damage.

This space is here to give you a second to slow down.

We're going to talk about the 4 unlockable classes now.

Do you want to see this here, or find out for yourself as you explore?

It's up to you...

The Operative is like a spy class and is unlocked by being invited into any alien embassy. (If they don't let you dock, it doesn't count!) This class was originally created for "Eden Sector" a 7DRL modification of AI that told a different story within the AI universe.

• Interference: Less chance of losing reputation from kills.
  
• Credentials: You can dock at any space station, regardless of reputation.
  
• Out Of Sight: Your cloaking device recharges much faster.
  
• Scouting: Increases the away team's sight range.
  
• Field Craft: Picking up items heals the away team.
  
• Tread Carefully: Reduces the chance of activating traps.
  
• Crippling Shot: Increases the chance of a shipwreck being created when an enemy ship is destroyed.
  
• Hide: Monsters have less chance of spotting the away team.
  
• Balanced Emissions: Reduces the distance at which enemy ships can detect you.

"Why can't I have both water walkers and mountain climbers at the same time?" This class was created in response to that question. The answer being: "Don't bother, just bring a pathfinder!"
How to unlock them? In a single game, walk over water, mountains, acid, and lava.Then you have to find a suit with the "force field breaker" power. that's currently it. I'll write something in (a device) but it will only appear after sector 7, so you'll have to work a bit, in version 1.5J and beyond.

• Water Walker: Away team can cross water.
  
• Mountain Climber: Away team can cross mountains.
  
• Corrosive Resistance: Away team can cross acid lakes and rivers.
  
• Lava Resistance: Away team can cross cross lava. Also provides some fire resistance.
  
• Shield Breaker: Away team automatically dissipates force-fields.
  
• Personal Deflectors: Away team is not harmed by laser-gates.
  
• Leaden Skin: Away team ignores radiation.
  
• Ride The Waves: Your ship takes no damage from proximity to black holes.
  
• Excavator: Away team automatically removes nearby rubble.

This metamorphic character isn't satisfied with things the way they are. They like to change the situation to fit their needs. Unlock this class by sweeping mines, clearing asteroids (like with a rock plow, not just mining), absorbing nebula, and going into ion storms and radiation belts.

• Warp Cooler: Your warp drive recharges much faster.
  
• Spectrum Shielding: Your ship takes no damage from radiation belts.
  
• Ride The Storm: Your ship takes no damage from ion storms.
  
• Mine Sweeping: Automatically disram space-mines.
  
• Nebula Scoop: Absorb nebula and create supplies.
  
• Asteroid Navigator: Disperse dense asteroid fields.
  
• An Eye For Mining: More loot is spawned when mining asteroids.
  
• Sonic Chainsaw: The away team cuts down large plant-life.
  
• Blood Interest: Collect blood samples to gain data.

This rough character is can be hired if you become friends with the mercenaries. How to do that? Get your infamy high enough. Shoot harmless creatures. Leave your away team on planets. Generally being cold and callous. Eventually they'll stop shooting at you and offer you a job. Very much a combat-centric class.

• Membership Card: Guarantees mercenaries won't attack you in most situations. Also makes it easier to find underground merc bases.
  
• Suppressive Fire: Increases the spread of all away team weapons, but decreases the damage.
  
• Big Game Hunter: Increases the away team's damage to all "boss" creatures.
  
• Nemesis Hunter: Increases the damage done to all "boss" ships and space monsters.
  
• Lose'em In Here: Flying through nebula can cause your pursuers to lose track of you.
  
• Rally: The closer you are to death, the more damage you do.
  
• Firing Solution: Increases the firing range of all ship weapons.
  
• My Stash: Lockers are much more likely to contain useful loot.
  
• Hulk Spotter: Increases the number of shipwrecks found in new sectors.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is the answer to this question:

"Do my officers' skills stack with each other, or with devices, or not?"

Well:

Similar effects from different sources WILL STACK.
Several different classes all have skills that affect away team hit points. Those will stack, as long as you're not using 2 of the same officer class. It doesn't help to have two identical officers.

But throw in a device and an artifact that boost it too, and you are going to get pretty overpowered.

Although having level 3 water walkers doesn't really help...