This Abiotic Factor Skills and Traits Guide will tell you everything you need to know about the Jobs, Traits, and Skills of your character.
A big part of Abiotic Factor is building your character at the start of the game. Choosing the right Job and Traits will determine whether you'll become an expert with guns, a master chef, or something else entirely. In this guide, we'll tell you all about character creation, how you can level up your Skills, and which Skills you should focus on!
How Abiotic Factor Jobs, Traits, and Skills Work
An Abiotic Factor character is a little more than a guy who holds onto a crowbar and breaks up office furniture. Every player has a Job, Traits, and Skills, and Skills can provide Perks and Abilities.
You select your Job at character creation. It determines the number of Points you get for buying Traits and which bonuses you'll get to certain Skills. Each Job has a suggested role (such as cooking or farming) based on the Skills it gives you by default.
Traits are chosen in the second stage of character creation. There are two kinds of Traits: Positive Traits and Negative Traits. Positive Traits cost Points but they give you a permanent buff such as a reduced chance of Bleeding. Negative Traits give you Points but will give you a permanent debuff such as getting thirsty faster.
Players can take nearly any combination of Positive and Negative Traits, but they must have 0 or more Points at the end of character creation. Some Positive Traits and Negative Traits can't be combined; for example, you can't take a Positive Trait that reduces your Hunger and a Negative Trait that increases your Hunger.
Skills are leveled up by performing the actions related to these Skills — cooking food increases your Cooking Skill, hitting enemies with a Makeshift Spear increases your Sharp Melee Skill, and so on. Each Skill has a total of 12 Levels.
At certain milestones, Skills will award you either a passive Perk or an active Ability. For example, getting Sharp Melee to Level 3 will allow you to throw weapons of that class.
In short, creating a character is a complex process. You'll have to choose your Job and then choose your Positive Traits and Negative Traits. Remember, you should carefully consider which Job and which Traits to pick — you won't be able to change them after you make your character!
Abiotic Factor Jobs List
Here is a list of all of the Abiotic Factor Jobs along with some tips that will help you decide which Job you should pick.
Lab Assistant
- +3 Sprinting
- +3 Sneaking
- +2 Strength
- Starting Points: 10
- Suggested Role: Stealth
The Lab Assistant is a good general role. The increase to Sneaking will help you avoid some early-game fights if you're not fond of combat.
Epimedical Bionomicist
- +3 First Aid
- +1 Cooking
- +1 Agriculture
- Starting Points: 9
- Suggested Role: Medic
Epimedical Bionomicist is a good dedicated medic. You'll also be able to help outside of combat with a slight boost to Cooking and Agriculture.
Trans-Kinematic Researcher
- +2 Blunt Melee
- +2 Fortitude
- +2 Sprinting
- +2 Strength
- Starting Points: 8
- Suggested Role: Defensive Combat
Trans-Kinematic Researcher is my personal favorite Job — it makes you a little more tanky than other starting characters and lets you jump into close-quarters combat with a slight advantage.
Archotechnic Consultant
- +2 Construction
- +1 Strength
- +1 Crafting
- Starting Points: 7
- Suggested Role: Builder
Archotechnic Consultant is a fairly weak Job choice; although the boost to Construction is nice, you likely won't be doing enough building for it to be worth it in the long run.
Phytogenetic Botanist
- +3 Agriculture
- +2 Cooking
- +2 Strength
- Starting Points: 9
- Suggested Role: Gardener
Phytogenetic Botanist is a good pick for the kind of players who prefer to stay home at the base while other players run out and explore. The boosts to Agriculture and Cooking make this Job excellent at farming and cooking food.
Somatic Gastrologist
- +2 Sharp Melee
- +1 Fortitude
- +4 Cooking
- Starting Points: 9
- Suggested Role: Chef
The Somatic Gastrologist is an unparalleled cook. This Job is ideal for cleaning up a bunch of corpses after a tough battle.
Paratheoretical Physicist
- +3 Throwing
- +3 Crafting
- +1 Sneaking
- +1 Reloading
- +1 Construction
- Starting Points: 8
- Suggested Role: Throwing / Utility
Paratheoretical Physicist is a decent choice for early-game ranged combat. However, you will likely progress past solely using thrown weapons later in the game, so the benefits from this Job will run out in a few hours.
Defense Analyst
- +2 Fortitude
- +2 Strength
- +1 Blunt Melee
- +2 Reloading
- +2 Accuracy
- Starting Points: 5
- Suggested Role: Offensive Combat
- Comes with the Negative Trait Slow Learner
Defense Analyst is a great Job choice for players who want to focus on ranged combat. Accuracy and Reloading will apply to both the Makeshift Crossbow and all guns, and you'll get a head start on being able to use the advanced weapons that require the Biometric Armwraps.
However, it's also the only Job that comes with a Negative Trait, Slow Learner. This reduces all XP gains by 20%.
Summer Intern
- Starting Points: 12
- Suggested Role: Blank Slate
The Summer Intern Job gives you no bonuses to Skills, but it gives you the largest amount of Points for buying Traits. You can use this Job to maximize the best possible combination of Traits while sacrificing any potential head start to any of your Skills.
Abiotic Factor Traits
Here is a list of all of the Abiotic Factor Traits, divided by Positive Traits and Negative Traits. We'll also give you tips to help you decide which Traits you should and should not pick.
Positive Traits
Positive Traits give you a permanent buff that you can't otherwise get. However, you'll have to spend Points to buy them.
Decathlon Competitor
- Gain Sprinting, Strength, and Throwing at a faster rate
- +3 Sprinting
- Cost: -5
- Not usable with Trait: Feeble
- Not usable with Trait: Asthmatic
Decathalon Competitor gives you a solid boost to sprinting. It's a good choice if you prefer to move through areas as fast as possible.
Wrinkly Brainmeat
- Gain 20% more XP than normal
- Cost: -4
- Not usable with Trait: Slow Learner
Wrinkly Brainmeat is a good Positive Trait to pick for nearly any character build — it gives you a flat 20% increase to all XP gain. You should always try to work it into your character build if you can.
Night Owl
- Become fatigued 50% slower
- Cost: -4
- Not usable with Trait: Narcoleptic
Night Owl essentially allows you to stay awake longer. However, there isn't much that you can do at night that you couldn't otherwise do in the daytime, so the benefits of this Skill are minimal at most.
Hobbyist Chef
- Gain Cooking Skill twice as fast
- Cost: -2
Hobbyist Chef isn't terribly useful. While gaining the Cooking Skill faster is nice, you'll be able to do just fine with the basic food for most of the game.
Inconspicuous
- Attract enemy attention twice as slow
- +2 Sneaking
- Cost: -4
- Not usable with Trait: Painfully Obvious
The Inconspicuous Trait is essential for any characters that wish to focus on stealth and sneak attacks. It also gives you a nice head start on the Sneaking Skill.
Weathered
- Affected less by temperature changes
- Cost: -3
Weathered will make hot or cold temperatures affect you less. It's a nice comfort, but it's not necessarily all that useful, either.
Fanny Pack
- 2 permanent extra Hotbar Slots
- Cost: -10
Fanny Pack is an incredibly useful trait — 2 extra inventory slots is nice, but Hotbar slots reduce the weight of the items you have in them compared to your Backpack. Unfortunately, this Trait is also very expensive and you'll probably have to take some Negative Traits to balance it out.
Thick Skinned
- 50% lower chance of Bleeding injuries
- Cost: -3
- Not usable with Trait: Hemophilia
Bleeding injuries are always a serious concern when you're engaging in melee combat and a 50% reduction in chance is a worthwhile choice, especially because it only costs a measly 3 Points.
First Aid Certification
- Start with 5 Bandages
- +3 First Aid
- Cost: -3
First Aid Certification gives you a respectable +3 to the First Aid Skill. The additional Bandages aren't as useful, however. You should only take this Trait if you want to be a dedicated Medic for a team of players.
Gardener
- Gain Agriculture-related experience twice as fast
- Receive recipes for basic garden plots right from the start
- Cost: -3
Gardener is a seriously useful Trait whether you're playing solo or with a team. Early access to the garden plots will let you set up farming fairly quickly, and the increase in Agriculture-related experience will make you a better farmer fast. This Trait is great for securing a permanent, long-term food supply.
Light Eater
- Require 20% less food
- Cost: -3
- Not usable with Trait: Hearty Appetite
Requiring less food overall is a nice bonus, but Light Eater costs too many points for what is ultimately a renewable resource.
Naturally Moist
- Get thirsty 20% slower
- Cost: -4
- Not usable with Trait: Dry Skin
Naturally Moist is not a worthwhile Trait. While holding off thirst for a little while longer has its benefits, you can get access to an infinite supply of clean water in the first two hours of the game at most (and you'll have plenty of expendable sources of clean water to tide you over until you do).
Self Defense
- +3 damage with all melee weapons
- Cost: -5
- Not usable with Trait: Fear of Violence
- Not usable with Trait: Feeble
The Self Defense trait is an excellent choice for characters who want to focus on melee combat. Its cost is a little pricey at 5 Points, but a permanent +3 Damage increase can prove pretty valuable, especially in the early game.
Bladder of Steel
- All needs reduces by 20%
- Cost: -2
- Not usable with Trait: Weak Bladder
Bladder of Steel makes you need to use the bathroom less often, but your need to use the toilet is an occasional inconvenience at worst. It's not really worth it to take this Trait.
Buff Braniac
- Carry 15% more weight
- +1 Strength
- Cost: -4
- Not usable with Trait: Feeble
Buff Braniac is kind of in the middle of the road. A 15% increase to carry weight can be useful if you like to hoard items and the early boost to Strength is nice, but you can get by without it if you'd like to spend your Points elsewhere.
Lead Belly
- Drink tainted water without getting sick
- Cost: -8
You can get an infinite supply of clean water in the first two hours of the game (at most), so Lead Belly is not a good Trait to pick. It is far too expensive for the benefits you get from it, and I wouldn't recommend taking this Trait even if it only costed 1 Point.
Negative Traits
Negative Traits give you a permanent debuff, but they also award you additional Points that can be used to purchase Positive Traits.
Fear of Violence
- Cannot gain combat-related skills past Level 5 (Accuracy, Reloading, Blunt Melee, Sharp Melee, Throwing)
- Cost: +4
- Not usable with Trait: Self Defense
Fear of Violence is a terrible Negative Trait to take. You're going to permanently cut off the chance to get access to some of the better combat skills in exchange for a measly 4 Points. Even worse, taking this Trait will essentially block your ability from using any advanced guns forever.
Feeble
- 25% lower maximum health
- Break bones more frequently from falls and blunt trauma
- Cost: +6
- Not usable with Trait: Decathlon Competitor
- Not usable with Trait: Buff Braniac
- Not usable with Trait: Self Defense
The Feeble Trait can be managed, but you absolutely wouldn't want to take it for a character who would engage in melee combat.
Narcoleptic
- Get fatigued 75% faster
- Never feel fully rested
- Cost: +6
- Not usable with Trait: Night Owl
The Narcoleptic Trait will make it difficult for you to be too far away from your base, greatly reducing your ability for long-term exploration. However, it won't be too much of an issue if you're playing in a team and you want to stay at your base most of the time.
Asthmatic
- Lose Stamina 40% faster
- Cost: +2
- Not usable with Trait: Decathlon Competitor
The Asthmatic Trait makes melee combat difficult, but you could take on this Negative Trait without too many issues if you're playing a character who uses guns or a character who prefers to stay out of combat.
Painfully Obvious
- Attract enemy attention 45% faster
- Cost: +3
- Not usable with Trait: Inconspicuous
The Painfully Obvious Trait is a no-brainer for combat-focused melee characters — why bother hiding if you're going to fight? Stealth-focused characters should obviously avoid this.
An important note: some of the Portal worlds have enemies that you can't kill no matter what, so you'll have to avoid them with stealth or by running away. Keep this in mind before you pick this Negative Trait!
Hearty Appetite
- Get hungry 60% faster
- Cost: +3
- Not usable with Trait: Light Eater
The Hearty Appetite Trait means that you'll eat more food than the average player. While it's not too hard to get food, you'll still run the risk of starving if you don't properly set up farming. This would be a good Negative Trait for a character who wants to focus on farming since they'll always have access to food at some level.
Dry Skin
- Get thirsty 20% faster
- Cost: +3
- Not usable with Trait: Naturally Moist
Dry Skin is an excellent choice if you need a few more Points to buy another Positive Trait. You can easily get a supply of infinite water in the first few hours of the game, so thirst will only be a concern when you're out exploring and you can easily mitigate that by carrying a water bottle with you or buying drinks from a vending machine.
Slow Healer
- Healing interval is 1.5 seconds slower
- Cost: +3
Slow Healer is a poor choice for any melee-focused characters, but ranged character and non-combat characters can probably deal with the consequences of taking this Negative Trait without too much trouble.
Slow Learner
- Learn Skills 20% slower
- Can't learn recipes via sharing or picking up crafted objects
- Cost: +2
- Not usable with Trait: Wrinkly Brainmeat
You should never take Slow Learner. This Negative Trait has far too many downsides for too few Points. Consider taking this Negative Trait an absolute last resort.
Hemophilia
- Twice as likely to bleed from a wound
- Cost: +3
- Not usably with Trait: Thick Skinned
Hemophilia is an extremely risky Negative Trait to take, especially for a melee-focused character. You'll burn through Bandages pretty quickly if you're not careful about avoiding damage. There are other Negative Traits that you should take before you pick this one.
Weak Bladder
- Toilet needs increased +15%
- Have to sit on the toilet longer
- Cost: +1
- Not usable with Trait: Bladder of Steel
Believe it or not, the Weak Bladder Negative Trait can actually be a boon — you can use your poop to help out with farming. That said, the inconvenience of having to sit on the toilet longer is a concern that you'll have to think about before you take it.
Abiotic Factor Skills
Here is a breakdown of all of the Abiotic Factor Skills, what benefits they give you, and why you should level them.
Fitness Skills
As you might expect, Fitness Skills are related to your character's physicality. Noodle-armed scientists need not apply.
Sprinting
Sprinting is leveled up by running long distances. Each level of Sprinting increases your overall Stamina by a small amount. Continuing to level up this Skill will get you Perks that help you consume less Stamina and sprint faster.
Strength
Strength has two core functions: increasing your carrying capacity and unlocking access to Heavy Melee Weapons at Strength 8. You can easily increase your Strength by moving around with a lot of weight in your Backpack.
Throwing
Throwing is a somewhat niche skill that is focused on throwing objects such as nets and grenades. It's not worth focusing on this one Skill alone for combat.
Sneaking
Sneaking is an absolutely essential skill for characters who want to focus on stealthy play. This Skill is leveled up by crouching past active enemies.
Spending time leveling up this skill will unlock a chance to do a sneak attack at Sneaking 2 and a buff to sneak attack chance at Sneaking 10.
Combat Skills
Combat Skills are focused on fighting, whether you're using melee weapons or ranged weapons.
Blunt Melee
Blunt Melee is a fairly straightforward Skill that focuses on blunt weapons. You can level it up by hitting enemies with blunt weapons. At Blunt Melee 3, you can unlock the Power Attack Ability.
Sharp Melee
Sharp Melee focuses on sharp melee weapons, and you can level it up by attacking enemies with sharp melee weapons. Critically, getting Sharp Melee to level 3 will allow you to throw sharp melee weapons such as the Makeshift Spear.
Accuracy
Accuracy is an absolutely essential Skill if you want to use guns; you level it up by shooting ranged weaponry. Each level reduces recoil and weapon sway, both of which are pretty severe since you're more of a scientist than a soldier (at least at the beginning). Getting to Accuracy 5 will unlock a zoom ability.
You need to get to Accuracy 10 before you will be able to use higher-end guns such as the Submachine Gun. If you want to use the best guns, you should try to do as much damage with ranged weapons as possible — it can take a few hours to level up to Accuracy 10.
Reloading
As a clumsy scientist, you aren't much good at reloading. The Reloading Skill helps you reload weapons faster, and it gets leveled up simply by reloading weapons.
Fortitude
The Fortitude Skill increases your overall health points, but you can only increase this Skill by taking damage from enemies. At Fortitude 5, you'll gain the ability to regenerate health more quickly. This Skill is absolutely essential for any melee-focused, tanky characters.
Crafting Skills
Crafting Skills are all about the non-combat aspects of survival: crafting items, building your base, healing, farming, and cooking.
Crafting
The Crafting Skill is leveled up by crafting items and it mainly gives you access to special upgrades for the Crafting Bench. These upgrades can be pretty powerful, including the ability to ward off base raids to a small degree.
Construction
The Construction Skill is all about building and packaging furniture. It's essential for building a base and retrieving any of that nice furniture that you find out in the world without destroying it.
First Aid
Unsurprisingly, First Aid is all about healing. You can level it up by using and crafting medicine, and higher levels of this skill will unlock new crafting recipes for medicine and make medicine more effective overall.
Cooking
The Cooking Skill is leveled up by cooking food, and higher levels will give you access to new recipes and items. You can instantly gain a huge boost to the Cooking Skill by inspecting the Blacksmith's pot in the Manufacturing Sector.
Agriculture
The Agriculture Skill is all about farming and you'll gain experience in this Skill by performing farming activities. Leveling it up will cause your plants to grow faster.
We've reached the end of our Abiotic Factor Skills and Traits Guide, but there's plenty more to explore — check out our other guides below!
Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net
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