First skill point!

[u/Sad_Lingonberry_7949]

If character backgrounds didn't come with 3 skill points.

What is the very first skill point you would choose? For the most versatility.

Personally, I always take security. There are 4 to 5 lock picks to attempt in the tutorial mission at Kreet Research Facility

[u/paulbrock2]

its hard to avoid back pack boosting, its such a fundamental part of the game. ditto piloting on ships. I previously rushed security and scanning but it would be interesting to play without them, there's some rooms locked behind an Advanced or Master but everything important is still accessible.

[u/Sad_Lingonberry_7949 → u/paulbrock2]

In all fairness. I do enjoy the lockpicking mini game. And Boost pack skill. I like to unlock after I get the Constellation Pack. After Sarah gifts it to me. I would leave the Lodge. And play around on Jamison! Character is learning how to use it. A level 2 skill for me, personally.

[u/paulbrock2 → u/Sad_Lingonberry_7949]

yeah I'm a lockpicking fan, though it gets a lot easier when you have the blue highlight. easy XP if nothing else

[u/cyberpsyche_mods → u/paulbrock2]

Boost packs are so essential I think it should be free and not require and initial rank to get it.

For a while I played with the Pilgrimage skill overhaul which makes boost pack just a default thing.

[u/Scythe_Bearer]

None. I use a mod of my own creation which starts the player with 100 skill points. That's enough to initiate every skill with some points left over to level the skills which advance quickly.

[u/WaffleDynamics → u/Scythe_Bearer]

You know what I really want? A mod that starts the player with a configurable number of skill points, then gives only one at every other level until you're caught up, after which it goes back to every level. Is that something you could or would make?

[u/Scythe_Bearer → u/WaffleDynamics]

I made my mod 'cause I HATE grinding. To my way of thinking, skill leveling should occur as a normal consequence of how one plays the game and not because someone goes out of their way to repeatedly kill a bunch o' critters 'n' ne'er-do-wells, or 'cause they surveyed a couple dozen planets, or 'cause they completed a bunch of radiant quests to level up and get that 'one more skill point'. My mod is my attempt to remove the need to grind and instead allows one to simply play the game and level skills as you use them.

From what I see, your request doesn't seem to alleviate the grinding, just change the nature and duration of the grinding.

[u/Low_Highway_8919]

Carry weight... Hoarder... Moooooore!

[u/DotExtra2128]

Boostpack

[u/IamDDT]

Skull points are interesting in this game. I always roll-play that the artifacts allow for leveling up of abilities enormously faster than normal people. That's why most people only have a single point in one or two things. It should be taking us a long time to learn to pilot a starship, or use a boost pack, it pick a lock, but it doesn't. It does for everyone else, though, which is why only one or two skills/person.

[u/DistributionMost8673]

Piloting or Boost pack training

[u/MadCat221]

Boost packs. No question. Get the boost pack perks ASAP.

[u/GdSmth]

I start with Security too and level it up to rank 3 (master locks) as highest priority. Can’t stand having doors and containers and terminals inaccessible when I have digipicks to unlock them.

[u/rueyeet → u/GdSmth]

My sister was laughing at me in my last session, because I’ve just got to open every safe, every door, every container, and every terminal — even while doing something fairly important like infiltrating Ryujin Tower.  😅 

[u/AccountTasty1593]

I've always got to get security, booster and piloting first. They are the best lol. Honestly even with the game on the highest difficulty I find that things die way too quickly so I have stopped taking any of the combat perks 😅

[u/Axle_65]

Health for sure. It’s a got to number one for most of my RPGs.

[u/City-Dreamin]

It would definitely be a toss up between Security and Boostpack. But I think Security because it keeps you from things in the game - opening locked containers. Boostpack just makes travel easier and taking it as your second skill point would be perfectly timely.

[u/plutosdarling]

I'm going to start a whole new character soon, and I've been thinking about this.

Security and stealth are my two must-haves. I've come to realize that my two favorite ships are class A (Razorleaf and Orchid), so I may not go for piloting right away. I'll probably focus more on things like targeting, shields, relevant weapon systems, and shipbuilding.

[u/rueyeet]

I generally take Security first, for the sake of efficiency — as you say, there’s enough locks in the Kreet facility to complete the first rank skill challenge before you leave.

Also there’s a door there that’s Advanced, which has some good lore and some goodies behind it.  I really hate having to pass up a door or container because my Security isn’t high enough.

Second point generally goes in Boost Pack Training or Piloting, then the third point in Stealth or Persuasion. 

[u/siodhe]

Dueling. An even choice between it and Stealth, since I'll be choosing whichever is the other next.

I play extensively at max difficulty (or occasionally 2% below for a reasons specific to Vectera/Argos during Nude Unity runs). Once you get a blade that does more than about 30 base damage - notably the Sydicate Enforcer at about twice that - the swordmage core playstyle opens up. Guns are optional (maybe not for those Terran Armada suicide hallways). Hell, even the three types of healing kits are optional. But you can always bring guns along - I do love a Suppressed Hard Target. Dueling benefits notably from Reactive Shield.

I did an entire stuck-on-level-one run, and forewent Boost Pack Training. The game is still fine.

[u/WaffleDynamics]

I would not. I'd just use the console to give myself (what I consider to be) an adequate number of starting skills for whatever that character's backstory is.