Player Guide > Activities
Standard-character infiltration, slicing, poisoncraft, trapcraft, and how Espionage XP is earned.
Espionage perks are for Standard characters and use the Espionage skill. Their branches cover infiltration and back attacks, slicing and poisoncraft, traps, disguises, and utility.
Choose Stealth I, Poisoncraft I, Slicing I, or Trapcraft I in the Perks window. All four are available at Espionage rank 0. You can train with your chosen activity without buying the other starter perks. Craft at a marked Espionage Workbench beside a market terminal in Veles Shops.
Stealth is activated out of combat and drains STM while maintained. Hostile actions break stealth. Back Attack bonuses require attacking from behind the target, so position matters.
Right-click a lockbox and choose Activate Item, or use a Sealed Field Crate to slice its electronic lock. Rotate or swap circuit tiles to connect the entry to the core before trace runs out. Lockpicking and Perception add trace. Tier 1 crates can be found in the Viscaran Wildlands, CZ-220 maintenance level, and Abandoned Nano Station. Slicing II-V unlock at Espionage ranks 22, 30, 42, and 48. Each tier awards XP until the next unlock; tier 5 trains to 50.
Consumables are optional. The Veles General Store sells tier 1 Copper Trace Fuses, Ratchet Bypass Pins, and Continuity Samplers. Select supplies inside the slicing window. Advanced tools come from slicing rewards; higher-tier trace fuses are crafted by engineers. Cancelling before commitment is free. After a move or information-tool use, aborting counts as failure. The first lockbox failure cannot destroy it; later failures can. Field crates are shared and respawn after 45-75 minutes.
Start with Venom Coating I: 3 Kath Hound Blood and 2 Viscaran Rosemary. Recipe level 3 means crafting difficulty; its required Espionage rank is 0. Poisoncraft II-V unlock at ranks 15, 28, 40, and 48. Each coating recipe trains to the next unlock, with tier 5 training to 50. Right-click a vial, choose Activate Item, and select a melee or thrown weapon in your inventory. Anyone can apply coatings; energy blades cannot be coated.
Start with Snare Kit I: 3 Ruined Electronics and 2 Refined Veldite. Right-click the kit and choose Activate Item to deploy at your feet; no active trap ability is needed. Stay still during placement. Trapcraft II-IV unlock at ranks 18, 30, and 45; Master Saboteur unlocks tier 5 at 50. Kit recipes and hostile NPC triggers train to the next tier. You can maintain 1 trap by default. Traps need 3 meters of spacing, arm after 3 seconds, and last 5 minutes. Trap Management increases capacity; placing over capacity removes the oldest trap.
Kit-built traps are concealed. Matching Trapcraft training reveals nearby traps and allows disarming; Master Saboteur grants tier 5 access. A failed disarm triggers the trap. Disarming another player's trap grants no XP. Dismantling your own trap does not return a kit.
Espionage XP comes from bypassing hostile NPCs while stealthed, slicing, crafting espionage items, enemy trap triggers, and successful trap disarms. A stealth bypass requires you to evade Detection, move through the NPC's nearby threat area, and leave it while still hidden. Each NPC grants XP only once per life; being detected grants a smaller amount.
Standard characters who meet the relevant Espionage skill and perk requirements.
No. Poisoncraft I, Slicing I, and Trapcraft I each start at rank 0 and can train independently.
You reached the next tier's unlock rank. Purchase that tier's perk and use its recipes or targets to continue training.
At a marked Espionage Workbench beside a market terminal in Veles Shops.
One by default; Trap Management increases your active-trap limit.
Hostile actions break stealth, and maintaining it continuously drains STM.