Character Creation – System Shock 2

Before you board the Von Braun and begin your nightmarish descent into the halls of madness while battling the Many in a deadly struggle for survival against impossible odds, you’ll need some basic training. Don’t worry, everyone starts somewhere. When you start the game at the UNN Recruitment Center, you’ll be called upon to make a number of choices about your character, which, while giving the impression of what class you’ll be locked into for the game, really only determine your starting Stats and Skills. However, these choices are still important, as they not only determine how you will make your way through the early game, but will also ultimately affect the number of Cyber Modules you have available to spend.

Below, you’ll find a complete detailing of all the different bonuses you receive during UNN Recruitment along each of the three paths, as well as recommendations on optimising your decisions.

Marines

Year 1:

• +2 Strength (11 Cyber Module value)
• +2 Endurance (11 Cyber Module value)
• +2 Agility (11 Cyber Module value)

Year 2:

• +1 Energy Weapons, +1 Cyber Affinity, start with Laser Pistol (15 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Heavy Weapons, +1 Cyber Affinity, start with Grenade launcher (15 Cyber Module value)
• +2 Standard Weapons (14 Cyber Module value)

Year 3:

• +1 Repair (11 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Modify (11 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Maintenance, start with Disposable Maintenance Tool (10 Cyber Module value)

Additional Free Skill: +1 Standard Weapons (12 Cyber Module value)

Maximum Cyber Module Value: 48

Assessment: The Marine path is geared towards combat, and overall is a solid chocie for characters who are going to shoot first and ask questions later. What you pick mostly comes down to preference – starting with a Grenade Launcher, even a half-broken one, is a great benefit, and while you’ll lack basic Tech skills like Hack and Research, it’s hard to complain about the skills you do get to improve. Note that in Year 3, going for the +1 Maintenance option is most economical, as the Disposable Maintenance Tool will come in quite handy early on.

Navy

Year 1:

• +1 Strength, +1 Modify (13 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Strength, +1 Hack (13 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Strength, +1 Repair (13 Cyber Module value)

Year 2:

• +2 Cyber Affinity (11 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Maintenance, start with Disposable Maintenance Tool (10 Cyber Module value)
• +2 Standard Weapons (14 Cyber Module value)

Year 3:

• +1 Research (10 Cyber Module value)
• +2 Endurance (11 Cyber Module value)
• +2 Agility (11 Cyber Module value)

Additional Free Skill: +1 Standard Weapons (12 Cyber Module value)

Maximum Cyber Module Value: 50

Assessment: The Navy, as should be clear, is likewise the technical option during UNN Recruitment. The potential bonuses are generally small enough so as it be negligible for most players, so it really comes down to preference as to which you want – that said, starting with the early Grenade Launcher in the Marine path makes this choice a little bit more difficult. There are few recommendations to make, except perhaps to stay away from the Repair and Research boosts, as those skills aren’t very relevant until a little later in the game, and the +2 Endurance is less useful than it sounds, even early on.

OSA

Year 1:

• Gain Second Tier Psi Powers, Cryokinesis, and Psycho-Reflective Screen (26 Cyber Module value)
• Gain Second Tier Psi Powers, Cryokinesis, and Kinetic Redirection (26 Cyber Module value)
• Gain Second Tier Psi Powers, Cryokinesis, and Psychogenic Cyber Affinity (26 Cyber Module value)

Year 2:

• +2 Psi (11 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Research (10 Cyber Module value)
• +2 Endurance (11 Cyber Module value)

Year 3:

• +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Cyber Afinity, Psychogenic Agility (10 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Cyber Afinity, Neuro-Reflex Dampening (11 Cyber Module value)
• +1 Strength, +1 Agility, +1 Cyber Afinity, Remote Electron Tampering (11 Cyber Module value)

Additional Free Benefits: First Tier Psi Powers, start with Psi-Amp (10 Cyber Module value)

Maximum Cyber Module Value: 60

Assessment: Clearly, the OSA provides the biggest benefit as far as free Cyber Modules go, but the downside is that they’re all in Psi skills, which you may or may not want depending on your choices. Unless you want to go pure Psi, early-game Psi Powers aren’t terribly useful until later on, and most characters will be best served by waiting until the middle of the game when Psi Powers like Electron Cascade become useful. That said, if you’re going to use Psi Powers at all, then you’ll want to go with the options that provide Psychogenic Cyber-Affinity and Psychogenic Agility, as they are by far the most useful Psi Powers on offer here, and the most immediately useful early in the game.