Perks system

Star ranks give a hero a fleet. Perks give them a personality. Two ★★★ Argon admirals with identical Kowalski-lineage fleets can play very differently if one has Lucky (-10% KIA chance) + Master Logistic (+100% RP accrual) and the other has Dedicated Hunter (+100% XP from combat) + Capital Ship Expert (+2 L escorts).

Perks are the “meta-layer” of hero differentiation. They never touch combat stats (attack, defence, speed — that’s vanilla X4’s domain). They modify mod-side parameters only: XP rates, RP rates, escort counts, buff potency, decision thresholds, cooldowns, spawn multipliers.

Tiers

Perks are categorized into three tiers with different LEARN costs:

Tier	Perks (count)	LEARN cost	Character
Common	~15	20 M cr	Small quality-of-life bumps: +50% XP, +50% RP, +1 escort slot, +200 spawn bonus
Rare	~11	50 M cr	Meaningful power upgrades: +100% XP, +100% RP, doubled escort tier, -10% KIA
Epic	2	100 M cr	Career-defining: Legendary Veteran (+1000 XP at spawn, instant ★3), Tactical Genius (-50% XP threshold)

The tier determines cost and prio order for the LEARN system. Higher-tier perks are learned first once eligible. Prio also breaks ties within a tier (each perk in the catalog has a $prio field).

What perks look like

Each perk in the catalog has:

• id — internal slug ($veteran, $logistic, $lucky)
• name — display text (Veteran, Logistic, Lucky)
• description — one-line rule (+200 XP at spawn, +50% Recovery Points accrual)
• tier — common / rare / epic
• prio — priority number for LEARN ordering (higher = learned first)
• applies_to — archetype filter (admiral, raider, engineer, coordinator, hive_lord, etc. — some perks are universal, some archetype-specific)
• effects — string list of runtime modifiers (spawn_xp_bonus:200, rp_rate_multiplier:0.5, kia_chance_modifier:-10, expected_s_bonus:2)

Effects apply automatically at 5 runtime sites: RpAccrualWorker (RP tick math), KillWorker (XP gain math), FleetLossWatcher (KIA chance math), LevelUpWorker (fleet expand math), Engineer service action (buff pct / duration / cost math).

How a hero gets a perk

There are three ways a perk becomes active on a hero:

1. Authored on the pool template

Every pool template author-declares a list of perks that are specific to this lineage:

$arg_admiral_001 (Sarah Kowalski lineage) = table[
  $founder_name = 'Captain Sarah Kowalski',
  $perks = [
    table[$id='logistic',        $initially_active=true],
    table[$id='lucky',           $initially_active=false],
    table[$id='master_logistic', $initially_active=false],
  ],
  ...
]

At spawn, the mod copies this list into the bearer’s $perks_state. Perks with $initially_active=true apply from turn 1. Perks with false sit locked — visible on the hero detail page but their effects are suppressed until they activate.

2. Auto-unlock at cash milestone

When a hero’s $money register reaches 10 M cr (through gifts, faction favours, mission rewards), all locked perks on the template automatically become active. This is the primary “grind” path — the player can raise a hero’s cash through gifts and see the whole authored list unlock at once.

Cash flow into a hero:

• Gift buttons on the hero detail page: +100 k / +500 k / +1 M / +5 M cr per click (also raises faction favours: +1 / +5 / +10 / +50)
• Faction Missions (see Faction Missions) — cash reward from completed player-facing contracts goes to the faction’s hero (Coordinator or top admiral)
• Kill-based faction favours — later expansion

Once cash ≥ 10 M cr, the template’s locked perks auto-unlock in one batch. This is the design “milestone” moment — a lineage the player has invested in unlocks its full initial capability.

3. LEARN system — buy new perks

Once all authored template perks are active, the hero can LEARN new eligible perks that aren’t in the template list. This is the endgame progression — a hero the player has invested in can grow beyond their original lineage design.

LEARN cost by tier:

Tier	Cost per perk learned
Common	20 M cr
Rare	50 M cr
Epic	100 M cr

The highest-prio perk (from the pool of $applies_to matches not yet in the hero’s $perks_state) is learned first. Then the next highest-prio, and so on.

Example progression for Sarah Kowalski (Argon admiral, admiral archetype):

1. Spawn — Logistic active (from template, $initially_active=true), Lucky and Master Logistic locked
2. Gift +5 M cr → hero cash now ~5 M. Nothing changes yet.
3. Gift +5 M cr again → hero cash now ~10 M. Auto-unlock fires: Lucky + Master Logistic activate. All 3 authored perks now active.
4. Gift +20 M cr → hero cash now ~30 M. LEARN eligible: common tier at 20 M cr. Attentive (highest common-tier prio matching admiral) learned. Cost deducted from hero’s cash.
5. Gift +20 M cr → hero cash now ~30 M. LEARN eligible: common tier at 20 M cr. Capital Ship Commander learned. Cost deducted.
6. … progressive purchases up to rare and epic tiers.

Note: LEARN uses the hero’s own cash ($money register), not the player’s. Gifts from the player raise the hero’s cash. Faction Missions rewards feed the same pool.

Preservation across clone respawns

LEARNed + unlocked perks are preserved across clone respawns. When a bearer is KIA’d and the lineage’s clone spawns 120 game-minutes later, the clone’s $perks_state inherits the previous bearer’s perks_state exactly.

This is the important part. Sarah Kowalski (original) accumulates 30 M cr through player gifts + kills → auto-unlocks + LEARNs Attentive + Capital Ship Commander. Sarah Kowalski dies in a Xenon incursion. 120 game-minutes later, Sarah Kowalski (Clone #1) spawns:

• ★1, 0 XP, 0 RP, empty kill count (fresh combat record)
• BUT $perks_state inherited: Logistic + Lucky + Master Logistic + Attentive + Capital Ship Commander all active from turn 1
• Full starting fleet immediately (RP-bypass grant, see Recovery Points)

The lineage’s institutional weight — the accumulated perks — survives the individual clone’s death. This is the mechanical reason to care about a specific lineage across multiple bearers. See Lineage succession for the full clone model.

Full catalog (v0.1)

Tier: common (20 M cr to LEARN)

Perk	Applies to	Effect
Attentive	admiral, raider, coordinator	+50% XP gain from combat
Capital Ship Commander	admiral, coordinator	+1 L-class destroyer escort (kicks in from ★3)
Heavy Squad Commander	admiral, coordinator	+2 M-class corvettes/frigates in escort (kicks in from ★2)
Leader	admiral, coordinator	+1 faction hero cap when this hero reaches ★4
Logistic	admiral, raider, coordinator, engineer	+50% Recovery Points accrual rate
Long Lasting Buff	engineer	Engineer station buff duration +50%
Lucky Leader	admiral, coordinator	+1 faction hero cap when this hero reaches ★3 (early Leader)
Khaak Seed	hive_lord, seeder	Each Kha’ak ship lost adds +1 RP, outpost +5, hive +10
Prepared	all	+200 Recovery Points at spawn — fleet-building reserve ready from day one
Quartermaster	admiral, raider, coordinator, hive_lord	-25% RP cost when rebuilding escorts
Second in Line	all	Cannot spawn until faction has ≥1 active hero (delayed spawn — better templates fill first)
Squad Commander	admiral, raider, coordinator	+2 S-class fighters in escort from ★1
Third in Line	all	Cannot spawn until faction has ≥2 active heroes
Veteran	all	+200 XP at spawn — promoted to ★2 immediately
Volunteer	all	Spawn weight ×10 (10× more likely to be picked when template is available)

Tier: rare (50 M cr to LEARN)

Perk	Applies to	Effect
Capital Ship Expert	admiral, coordinator	+2 L-class destroyer escorts from ★3 (rare upgrade of Capital Ship Commander)
Dedicated Hunter	admiral, raider, hive_lord	+100% XP gain from combat (rare upgrade of Attentive)
Efficient Service	engineer	Engineer service cooldown halved (30 min instead of 60 min)
Heavy Squad Expert	admiral, coordinator	+4 M-class corvettes/frigates in escort (rare upgrade of Heavy Squad Commander)
Lucky	all	-10% chance of KIA in death roll
Master Logistic	admiral, raider, coordinator, engineer	+100% Recovery Points accrual rate (rare upgrade of Logistic)
Master Quartermaster	admiral, raider, coordinator, hive_lord	-50% RP cost when rebuilding escorts (rare upgrade of Quartermaster)
Master Technician	engineer	Engineer station buff potency relative +20%
Quick Learner	admiral, raider, coordinator	-25% XP needed to reach next star
Reduced Cost	engineer	Engineer service costs 50 RP instead of 100
Squad Expert	admiral, raider, coordinator	+4 S-class fighters in escort from ★1 (rare upgrade of Squad Commander)

Tier: epic (100 M cr to LEARN)

Perk	Applies to	Effect
Legendary Veteran	all	+1000 XP at spawn — promoted to ★3 immediately
Tactical Genius	all	-50% XP needed to reach next star (epic upgrade — doubles Quick Learner)

Design intent

• Personality without stat inflation. Perks give hero-vs-hero differentiation without touching combat stats. Two heroes with the same template + same star can still play very differently.
• Player investment survives death. Cash + LEARN spending on a lineage is preserved across clone respawns — the player’s investment is protected against permadeath.
• Cash is the currency of care. Gifts, mission rewards, and (later) kill-based favours all flow into hero cash. Cash → auto-unlock → LEARN. The whole progression is one economy.
• Authored + generic mix. Each pool template authors a specific personality through its perk list. LEARN adds a generic power curve on top. Neither replaces the other — a well-designed template + LEARN progression makes a hero uniquely-shaped.

What’s next

• Phase 2 unlock triggers (deferred) — kills:500, stars:3, age:24h, quest:argon_supply_chain style condition-based unlocks are spec’d in C-009 but not currently wired into runtime. Instead, the auto-unlock at 10 M cr + LEARN system covers the perk progression path in v0.1.
• Perk removal / re-spec (design open) — currently perks are one-way. A future “clinic” or “meditation” mechanic may allow re-spec at a cash cost.
• Faction-wide perk pools — currently the LEARN eligible pool is filtered by $applies_to archetype match. A future upgrade may add faction-flavour filters (e.g. only Teladi admirals can LEARN “Auditor Auditor” — a Teladi-specific rare perk).

Related mechanics

• XP and star progression — the star tier is what perks like Squad Commander, Leader, Capital Ship Expert are keyed off
• Recovery Points — the RP tick that Logistic / Master Logistic modify
• Lineage succession — the clone system — how LEARN investments survive clone respawns
• Faction Missions — cash rewards that feed hero cash → auto-unlock → LEARN