Jobs and traits decision matrix for solo and co-op play

A job is an opening package, not a permanent party class

Jobs determine starting skill levels, some XP or crafting bonuses, the points available for Traits, and in a few cases starting items or a forced Trait. They do not prevent a player from performing another role. A Lab Assistant can cook, a Botanist can fight, and a Defense Analyst can build; those activities simply begin from different starting positions.

This guide replaces a universal solo-versus-co-op tier list with a decision matrix. The output is one opening job tied to a real first-session task, plus a Trait budget that solves a weakness instead of repeating a strength. It covers the nine standard jobs. Iron Mode is a separate hardcore option and is not ranked beside normal starts.

Verified comparison: all nine standard jobs

The Defense Analyst's forced Slow Learner Trait does not grant extra points. The current Jobs page also notes that its Accuracy and Reloading bonuses become an additional 40% above baseline after the trait's XP penalty is applied: 0.80 * 1.75 = 1.40, or 140% of baseline, not a total multiplier of 0.40. The current Jobs entry and the developer's v0.9.1 changes support the listed +75% bonuses; the current entry explains the forced-trait interaction. That tradeoff is why the largest list of combat bonuses is not automatically the best choice for every combat player.

Summer Intern is the blank-slate job: 12 Trait points and no skill, XP, crafting, item, or forced-trait bonus. It is one of the nine standard options, not a missing-data placeholder.

Decision table: match the job to the opening task

"Strong candidate" is editorial guidance based on the verified package. It is not an undocumented in-game role restriction. If the early plan changes, any character can work on the skills needed for the new work, subject to its chosen Traits. For example, Fear of Violence caps combat-related skills at level 5; that is a Trait restriction, not a permission assigned by the job name.

Solo selection workflow

Solo play needs coverage, but coverage does not always mean the broadest job. Use this sequence:

1. Name the first recurring problem: safe travel, healing, food, construction, combat, or research.
2. Select the job that accelerates the skill gate behind that problem.
3. Use Traits to cover one costly weakness rather than stacking every bonus on the same activity.
4. Plan equipment separately; a skill bonus does not provide armor, medicine, food, or a weapon unless the current Jobs table lists a starting item.
5. Reassess after the base and route systems are stable.

Solo examples

Food-independent opening: Phytogenetic Botanist starts Agriculture at +3 and Cooking at +2 while also providing +2 Strength. It supports crops and food without claiming that plants grow automatically or that cooking supplies its own water.

Mobile scavenger opening: Lab Assistant starts with movement, stealth, and carrying-related Strength advantages. It can reduce the need for early fights, but it does not make the player invisible or eliminate enemy awareness.

Construction opening: Archotechnic Consultant reaches Crafting and Construction progress sooner and gains Construction XP through deployable crafting. It is useful when the solo bottleneck is base infrastructure, not when the immediate blocker is untreated injury or a combat encounter.

Co-op selection workflow

Co-op value comes from reducing duplicate opportunity cost, not from banning two players from the same job.

1. List the group's first three recurring tasks.
2. Assign one job package to each task where it creates an actual early advantage.
3. Leave at least one player flexible enough to cover a missing route need.
4. Share crafted results and information; do not assume a specialist must be present for every use of an item.
5. Recheck duplication only when two packages accelerate the same scarce work and another critical task has no owner.

Two identical jobs can still be valid if the group deliberately wants the same opening. The decision fails only when duplication was accidental and leaves a known task unsupported.

Trait selection strategy

Positive Traits spend the points supplied by the job; negative Traits add points. The current Traits page is the source of truth for names, costs, and effects at character creation. Because those details can change, use a budget method rather than copying a permanent recommended build.

Trait budget worksheet

Do not treat unspent points as a problem by themselves. A simple package with a clear purpose is better than adding a harmful Trait merely to afford a bonus that the player will not use.

Forced-trait check

Defense Analyst is the standard job that forces Slow Learner in the current table. Read the complete current effect before choosing it. The starter armor and combat bonuses are real benefits, but the forced XP penalty affects the longer progression plan and changes the effective Accuracy and Reloading gain.

The Slow Learner entry also says that the character cannot learn recipes through sharing or by picking up items another scientist crafted. A Defense Analyst can still receive useful supplies, but the team should not assign it a research handoff that depends on learning every teammate's recipe that way.

Changing jobs later without inventing a recovery shortcut

The current Jobs page states that IS-0017 in Cascade Laboratories can change the chosen job. Using it resets skills to level 3 and does not grant the replacement job's starting gear. Trait choices can also be changed through this system when the save permits character resets.

That makes IS-0017 a costly correction, not a free gear farm or instant transfer of progress.

Before using it:

1. Confirm the server or save allows character reset. The developer's sandbox configuration uses AllowCharacterReset for this permission.
2. Record current skills that would fall to level 3.
3. Verify the new job's current bonuses and Trait points.
4. Remove any assumption that its starting items will appear.
5. Prepare ordinary equipment and supplies for the lower-skill recovery period.
6. Choose the new package because it fits future repeated work, not because one isolated objective was difficult.

Do not promise a stockpile of "skill books" as a universal recovery method. Rebuild by performing the documented actions for the target Skills and using verified XP effects available in the current version.

Common decision failures

Using an old partial job list. Compare all nine standard choices. Omitting Summer Intern or five specialist jobs makes the ranking look more certain than the game allows.

Inventing missing values. Epimedical Bionomicist also has +1 Agriculture and starts with a Surgical Mask. Phytogenetic Botanist has 9 points and starts with Gardening Gloves. Unknown fields should be checked, not filled by prose.

Treating suggested roles as permissions. A Medic suggestion does not stop another job from using medicine. Suggested roles summarize an advantage.

Ignoring the forced Trait. Defense Analyst's combat opening includes Slow Learner. Evaluate the package as a whole.

Choosing only for a distant respec. IS-0017 is reached later and resets skills. Select a useful opening now; treat respec as recovery.

Completion check

The choice is ready when:

• All nine standard jobs were considered from the current table.
• The selected job accelerates one named opening task.
• Its starting points, skills, XP bonus, items, and forced Trait are verified.
• Traits fit the current point budget and cover a deliberate need.
• Starting gear is not assumed after a later job change.
• A co-op assignment is a team workflow, not a fake class restriction.
• The player understands the cost of resetting skills to level 3.

This produces a job decision with independent value: a documented package, a player-specific opening task, and a recovery plan that does not rely on invented items or incomplete rankings.