In Planetfall your character's capabilities are described by their Abilities. These describe either innate things your character can do, techniques they have learned, or powers they have access to. Many Abilities cost Energy (generated as per your Energy Regimen) and these are listed in brackets next to the ability name.
Characters purchase Abilities with Experience Points (XP) by spending these Ranks before Missions. Each Ability costs 1 XP. You may only purchase Abilities that you have the relevant Rank for, and are in an Ability Tree you have access to. Your Rank increases with every 3 XP spent after your first Mission.
You may buy Abilities from any Tree that you have access to at that Rank:
In this way, you may mix and match Abilities from different Trees and specialise more in two. It is up to you how your character comes to their abilities.
The available Ability Trees are:
Melee - specialising in movement and striking your opponent directly, force, and swords
Ranged - specialising in death from afar and precision, shock and awe, and guns
Systems - specialising in physical and virtual control, communications, and hacking
Engineering - specialising in construction, repairs, and sheer endurance
Medical - specialising in the boundaries of the biological, to heal at all costs, and to augment
Navigation - specialising in tactical movement, the space between stars, and scouting
The Various -
Locked - Background Required - the capabilities of the half-machine half-organic entities that assimilate the power of their opponents
Synthetic -
Locked - Background Required - the capabilities of the completely outlawed artificially intelligent androids that should not exist
Experimental -
Locked - Access Gained In Play - experimental abilities that come with great risks to use