Specialisms

Characters can learn useful skill-specific specialisms that grant unique bonuses when applying them. Learning specialisms requires 50 skill points per specialism (unless otherwise noted).

Once you have 50 points in a skill you can select a specialism for the character. To do this, the character has to be in a town with a tavern. Go to the tavern, and click on the character. You'll then be able to choose from among the available specialties for that character.

Specialisms are split into specific skill-enhancing categories:

Some specialisms have hard or soft limits to the effectiveness of higher levels

Weaponry

These specialisms are based on the weaponry skills: Gunnery, Large Guns, and Ballistics

• Machine Guns -- Increases accuracy for Machine Guns, Medium Machine Guns, Heavy Machine Guns, Gatling Guns, and Heavy Gatling Guns, and enhances the ability to unjam them.
• Heavy Weapons -- Increases accuracy for Car Cannons, Anti-Tank Guns, and Tank Guns, and enhances the ability to unjam them.
• Flamethrowers -- Increases damage for Flamethrowers and Heavy Flamethrowers, and enhances the ability to unjam them.
• Laserfire -- Increases battery efficiency for Lasers and Heavy Lasers.

Level	Charge Loss
0 (no spec)	40%
1	30%
2	20%
3	19%
4	15%
5	15% *may increase critical shot chance

• Ballistic Prediction -- Increases accuracy for Paint Guns, Mounted Mortars and Car Grenade Launchers, and enhances the ability to unjam them.
• Rocketeer -- Increases accuracy for all types of Rockets and Missiles, and enhances the ability to unjam them.
• Moving Targets -- Improves accuracy for shooting at moving targets. Reduces the negative effects of a target's Defensive Driving specialism.
• Sniper -- Increases the accuracy for all weapons.
• Rapid Reloading -- Enhances the speed at which a character can reload weapons.
• Courage Under Fire -- Reduces the accuracy penalty for firing if your vehicle has taken damage in that round.
• Rapidshot -- Grants a character the chance of an extra shot in a round in which he or she fires a weapon set to fire automatically.

Driving

These specialisms are based on the driving skills: Driving, Cyclist, Trucker

• Mine Layer -- Ability to deploy Mines and Spikes at high speed with less inherited velocity
• Jumpstart -- Quick off the line and highly skilled at acceleration during the first 2 seconds of an event
• Defensive Driver -- Ability to make your vehicle hard to shoot while it's moving at speed
• Offensive Driver -- Increased collision damage to your opponents
• Reload In Motion -- Ability to reload a weapon while driving. The speed at which you can drive while reloading increases with higher levels.

Level	MPH Limit
Level 0 (no specialism)	<9
Level 1	<31.5
Level 2	<54
Level 3	<76.5

• Deathracer -- Ability to fire at full accuracy while driving
• Slipstreamer -- Ability to gain more of a speed boost than normal when slipstreaming or drafting

NOTE: Also shows how efficent your car is drafting by percentage.

Mechanic

• Engine Tuning -- Ability to squeeze a little extra acceleration from an engine -- a single mechanic with this skill will service a gang's cars for all events in the same city as the mechanic - it is not necessary for the mechanic to be in the event, unlike the other specialisms.

NOTE: Engine Tuning only affects vehicles that your gang owns, not rentals or cars supplied by the race track for standard events.

• Jury Rigging -- Highly skilled at getting a broken engine running (the Mechanic must be in the event to employ this specialism)
• Salvager -- Skilled at salvaging parts from a car whose engine cannot be fixed (the Mechanic must be in the event to employ this specialism)

Scouting

• Negotiator -- Ability to negotiate truces with NPC pirate gangs -- sometimes (the scout must be in the event to employ this specialism)
• Pathfinder -- Reduces the chance of taking vehicle damage when travelling recklessly (>30mph), reduces the increased risk of encounters when travelling recklessly, and amplifies the risk-reduction effect when travelling carefully (<30mph).
  • Pathfinder only affects travelling not driving during an event.

First Aid

• Field First Aid -- Ability to staunch the bleeding of any nearby characters, during a combat (the Medic must be in the event to employ this specialism)
• Combat Psychologist -- reduces the stress of all occupants in the vehicle, and can be based on either Leadership or First Aid

Hand Guns

• Shoot From The Hip -- skilled at firing personal weapons quicker than other characters during the firing phase.
• Long Throw -- ability to throw grenades and other objects a long distance.
• Running -- extra fast at running.
• Car Killer -- Skilled at scoring telling hits against vehicles with personal weapons, and of scoring internal hits through weak armour

Hand Guns also includes the following Weaponry specialisms: Moving Targets, Sniper, Rapid Reloading, Courage Under Fire, Rapidshot.

Leadership

Note that it takes 100 points of leadership for each specialist skill, unlike 50 with the other skills

• Combat Psychologist -- reduces the stress of all occupants in the vehicle, and can be based on either Leadership or First Aid
• Recruiter -- increased chances of recruiting gang members with above-average skills. Will only work in town that the Recruiter is in (new as of faction changes)
• Motivator - gives a slight training bonus to all characters in the same town as the Leader when training hits.

Courage

Note that it takes 150 points of Courage for each specialist skill, unlike 50 with the other skills

• Pragmatist -- stress decreases faster than normal when far away from enemies.
• Adrenalin Junkie -- this character thrives on that little kick of adrenalin. When stressed, running speed increases.
• Eye of the Hurricane -- this fine fellow is an inspiration to everyone around him. Other people in the car are somewhat more likely to gain courage after a fight when this guy is in the car with them (and has not panicked)
• Courage Under Fire -- Reduces the accuracy penalty for firing if your vehicle has taken damage in that round.

Table of Specialisms

Weaponry
Specialism	Skill 1	Skill 2	Skill 3	Skill 4
Machine Guns	Gunnery	Large Guns
Heavy Weapons	Large Guns
Flamethrowers	Gunnery
Laserfire	Gunnery
Ballistic Prediction	Ballistics
Rocketeer	Gunnery
Moving Targets	Gunnery	Large Guns	Ballistics	Hand Guns
Sniper	Gunnery	Hand Guns
Rapid Reloading	Gunnery	Large Guns	Ballistics	Hand Guns
Courage Under Fire	Gunnery	Large Guns	Ballistics	Hand Guns
Rapidshot	Gunnery	Ballistics	Hand Guns
Driving
Defensive Driver	Driving	Cyclist	Trucker
Offensive Driver	Driving	Trucker
Reload In Motion	Driving	Trucker	Cyclist
Deathracer	Driving	Cyclist
Mine Layer	Driving	Trucker
Jumpstart	Driving	Cyclist
Miscellaneous
Engine Tuning	Mechanic
Jury Rigging	Mechanic
Salvager	Mechanic
Negotiator	Scouting
Field First Aid	First Aid
Combat Psychologist	First Aid	Leadership
Recruiter	Leadership
Motivator	Leadership

Table of Specialisms II

Darkwind Specialisims

When you earn 50 points in the skill listed on the left, you can choose one of the specializations on the right

Skill	Specialization
Handgunning	Moving Targets, Sniper, Rapid Reloading, Courage Under Fire, Rapidshot, Shoot From the Hip, Long Throw, Car Killer, Runner
Ballistics	Ballistic Prediction, Moving Targets, Rapid Reloading, Rapidshot
Gunnery	Machine Guns, Flamethrowers, Laserfire, Rocketeer, moving Targets, Sniper, Rapid Reload, Courage Under Fire, Rapidshot
Large Gunnery	Machine Guns, Heavy Weapons, Moving Targets, Rapid Reloading, Courage Under Fire
Mechanic	Jury Rigger, Salvager, Engine Tuning
First Aid	Field First Aid, Combat Psychologist
Courage
Scouting	Negotiator, Pathfinder
Leadership	Recruiter, Motivator, and Combat Psychologist
Driving	Minelayer, Jumpstart, Defensive Driver, Offensive Driver, Reload In Motion, Slipstreamer, Deathracer
Cyclist	Jumpstart, Defensive Driver, Reload In Motion, Deathracer, Slipstreamer
Trucker	Offensive Driver, Defensive Driver, Mine Layer, Reload in Motion

Sources: