Stats are numeric values that signify your character's skill in various areas. Besides being a rough guide to your character's knowledge, they also affect the probability of some actions succeeding, depending on the stat. There are three “general purpose” stats: Mechanical, Cognition, and Biology, as well as three “combat oriented” stats: Robustness, Vigilance, and Toughness. These stats can be altered indefinitely, with the stats of a character generally determined by their role combined with their species. Stats can not only be modified by either character creation and background, and assigning your 15 extra points into them on the same screen before even playing, but also in-game via “leveling up” while holding an oddity that increases them permanently, or gaining temporary bonuses and maluses through various questionably legal stimulants or toxins.

Stats are what makes or breaks a character when it comes to performing their job, handling combat, or doing anything for their own (or someone else's) benefit. They handle how you interact with other players, mobs, or objects on a multitude of tasks. There are a total of six individual stats, and two extra stats affecting the abilities (and capabilities) of your character. Each one will come with a full list of every single interaction handled by them in the game.

All things building and fixing.

Mechanical handles the following:

Everything that requires any kind of tool you'll find on a toolbelt. From wrenching, to screwdriving, wiring, welding, wire-cutting and performing most repairs (including duct tape fixing) and disassembling of stuff, and any construction steps in-between.

Crafting mechanical items, including but not limited to: Appliances, Airlocks, Furnitures, Floor Tiles, Guns, Junk Prosthetic Legs, Splints and Bone Braces, Storage items, Robots and Walls, and handling Repairs of guns (all in the Crafting Menu).

Identifying what each wire does on a given machine or airlock if high enough.

Operating certain esoteric machinery, like the Matter NanoForge and Bullet Fabricator (40 MEC), or cutting edge R&D machinery like the Exosuit Fabricator (30 MEC)

Operating and performing maintenance on Mechs (25 to 30 MEC required)

Success chance for escaping from bear traps (formula picks the highest value between your ROB and MEC)

Keeping your tools from breaking (reduces tool degradation on each tool use)

Speeds up applying and removing mods from tools and weapons, and increases success chance when removing them, reducing the chance of breaking them.

Increasing the odds of finding additional materials when disassembling machines for those with a perk oriented on salvage (COG helps with this as well)

Increasing the value of Screwdriving, Bolt turning, Drilling, Welding, Prying, Pulsing, Wire cutting and Sawing qualities of a psionic-summoned tool (up to 50 quality at MEC 62).

Removing the safeties out of a hardsuit on a person by using a tool of drilling quality on their chest while they're buckled to a bed (Note that you'll still need to remove their RIG module located on their back slot to fully take it off)

Handling every type of prosthetic repair and surgical step involving mechanical parts on a body, either FBP or prosthetics (suggested MEC of 40)

Everything technological and smart, or practical and general.

Cognition helps with the following:

Hacking access into computers (25 COG) and repairing them (60 COG)

Decreases craft time of Janicart, Mop, Mop bucket, Computers (Frame, Modular, Laptop, PDA, Tablet, Telescreen) , AI Core, and Clothing, Storage, Tools, Weapons and Medical tabs under Construction menu

Bypassing the Science training perk for operating research machinery like the DNA Modifier Console (80 COG needed), R&D Control Console (60 COG), Science Tool (25 COG),

Being a bypass stat. That means, when you don't have enough BIO to operate a machine, you can use them if your COG is double its requirement: Body Scanner console and Sleeper (50 COG), Chem Dispenser, Chem Master, Chem Heater, Electrolyzer, Centrifuge, Cryo Cell, Reagent Scanner, Mass Spectrometer and Health Scanner (30 COG), Syringes (20 COG on yourself, 30 COG on others). You can also detect reagents on a container if you have at least 35 COG.

Success chance on disarming an active Mine with a Multitool (or tool with Pulsing quality)

Increasing speed on collecting Spider Silk from Spider Webs with a Metal Silk Weaver

Success chance on collecting items from inside Strange Rocks found in Xenoarcheology when using a tool of Welding quality on them.

Success chance on using a tool with Excavating quality on a Rocky Debris, and finding stuff through Xenoarcheology in this way.

As a Psion, it increases your maximum Psi Points and your Cognitive Potential (Psi points regeneration)

Handles the use of many computer programs and modular computers (15 to 25 COG required depending on the program)

Handling full repair of a non-functional (dead) Nanobot from a Nanogate implant, or Custom-made Drones, when using a tool of Pulsing quality on them.

Bypassing science perk requirements for operating Xenogenetics machines like the Xenofauna Genetics Pulper (35 COG), Vat Control Console (75 COG), Belvoix Genetic Analyzer (80 COG), and Belvoix Xenofauna Cloning Vat (90 COG)

Making simple assemblies, like igniters and timers.

Reducing your chance of tripping on underplating if running (50 COG is a 100% chance to not trip)

Increasing the chance of finding a bypass when hacking secure lockers, thus reducing the number of required attempts to 1 (Next successful attempt should unlock the locker)

Increasing the odds of finding additional materials when disassembling machines for those with a perk oriented on salvage (MEC helps with this as well)

Increasing the success chance on unlocking a display case with a tool of pulsing quality (and locking it with a tool of screwdriving quality)

Success chance on changing the detonation time of a grenade with a tool of screwdriving quality.

Reducing calibration fail chance on Handmade hand-teleporter when using a tool of screwdriving quality on it.

The handling of a Bluespace Harpoon correctly.

Cutting hair out of wet leather to prepare for tanning.

Increasing the amount of Cognition you permanently lose on dying and being revived. The higher your COG, the more you lose.

Knowledge of the body and its inner workings.

Biology handles the following:

Everything surgery related, from success chance to speed of each step, to bypassing medical training for using trauma kits for organ repair.

Reducing crafting times on recipes for the ranch, hydroponics, and medical divisions under crafting menu, and crafting improvised splints and bone braces.

Increasing your chance of harvesting more product from plants when using your bare hands (100 BIO is a 100% chance)

Bypassing the need for the medical perk to use the Body Scanner and Sleeper (25 BIO needed), and Cryo Tube, Chem Dispenser, Electrolyzer, Chem Master, Chem Heater, Centrifuge, Mass Spectrometer, Reagent Scanner and Health Analyzer (15 BIO)

Increases the chance for people with the Advanced Medical perk or Trained Herbalists to not consume a stack of gauze/ointment/advanced kits when patching external wounds.

Bypassing the need for the medical perk to use Advanced Trauma and Burn Kits (25 BIO), Bruisepacks and Burnpacks (15 BIO), and Syringes (10 BIO on yourself, 15 BIO on someone else, having less than 15 BIO causes you to break the syringe in use).

Not causing pain on the patient (or yourself) when using syringes.

The speed and success chance of butchering a corpse, or cutting up pieces of meat from a monkey hanging on a butchering rack.

Detecting reagents on any given container (50 BIO required)

Bypassing science perk requirements for operating Xenogenetics machines like the Belvoix Genetic Analyzer (60 BIO), Xenofauna Genetics Pulper (70 BIO), Vat Control Console (150 BIO) and Belvoix Xenofauna Cloning Vat (180 BIO)

Increasing the amount of damage healed through the tissue restoration surgical step per use of trauma kit / burn kit, up to a cap.

Increasing the value of Cauterizing, Clamping, Retracting, Bone setting, Cutting and Bone grafting qualities of a psionic-summoned tool (up to 50 quality at BIO 62)

Increasing the amount of Biology you permanently lose on dying and being revived. The higher your BIO, the more you lose.

Any disciple of Maint-Fu knows how to defend themselves.

Robustness helps with the following:

Success chance for escaping from bear traps (formula picks the highest value between your ROB and MEC). Robust protip: Use a crowbar on the trap instead.

Reducing embedding chance of weapons that have that chance (chainsaws, etc)

Increasing unarmed melee damage, up to a soft cap.

Increasing damage of melee weapons by 1/4 of your ROB.

Increasing the damage of your Psionic Blade and Telekinetic Fist attacks up to a cap.

Removing plating with your bare hands (minimum of 25 ROB needed).

Wrenching and unwrenching things with a tool of Bolt Turning quality.

Forcefully unjamming things via tool of Prying quality when it's anchored to the floor.

Taking airlock electronics out of an airlock.

Prying open blast doors faster (when their power is down)

Taking out the amount of metal sheets you slapped on an airlock you're repairing with a tool of prying quality (for whatever reason)

Prying open the airlocks faster with a tool of Prying quality (when power is down)

Hammering cracks in plating closed faster.

Forcefully removing objects from magnetic seals without an exosuit or mech

Destroying certain oddities with a hammer (YOU MONSTER)

Increasing the amount of Robustness you permanently lose on dying and being revived. The higher your ROB, the more you lose.

Increasing throwing damage of objects with throwing damage values, up to a cap.

Reduces the chance of you losing your grip when using the Rocket Hammer's ranged attack.

The Assassin's Dagger needs minimum 30 ROB to penetrate armor so that it can inject the reagents it contains.

Collapsing burrows with a tool of Digging quality.

Prying open wooden crates with a tool of Prying quality.

Digging out a stump from the floor with a shoveling or digging tool.

Digging up crystals.

Cutting down vines with tools of shoveling, cutting or welding qualities.

Digging any kind of mineral from rocks (including indestructible ones that might yield some ore, you get the ore but the impassable rock isn't destroyed)

Digging a hole in sand/asteroid turf (retrieving dirt from it)

Repairing the huge mining drill with a welding quality tool.

Increasing damage of dropkicking move (secure grab, target groin, harm intent) and suplex move (neckgrab, target chest, harm intent)

Decreasing grab resistance of whoever you try to grab (your ROB vs target's ROB)

Decreasing the slowdown for aggressively grabbing someone (your ROB vs target's ROB)

Resisting out of grabs (your ROB vs assailant's ROB)

Escaping out of being handcuffed faster.

Increasing your hit chance with unarmed attacks.

Increases the volume of the sound you make when you punch someone.

Disarming someone or preventing being disarmed (disarmer ROB vs victim's ROB)

Knocking over some mobs when using disarm intent to shove them.

Negating or reducing some weapons' slowdown if your ROB is above 30.

Increasing the value of Digging, Hammering, Shoveling and Excavation qualities of a psionic-summoned tool (up to 50 quality at ROB 62).

Increasing the base weapon damage of a summoned Psychic Fist or Psionic Blade.

Decreasing the time it takes to rummage through trash piles with a Shoveling tool, or hammering said trash pile with a Hammering tool.

How much do you think you can take?

Toughness handles the following:

If revived through anything that isn't an Advanced Defibrillator, the more Toughness you have, the less severe your level of Resurrection Sickness on revival will be. If they revive you with the Advanced Defibrillator, you will always have the mildest tier of Resurrection Sickness applied.

Conversely, the higher your TGH on revival upon death, the more TGH points you permanently lose.

Charging a cell faster through the use of a Manual Recharger, or using a Manual Centrifuge.

Helps blocking better with shields by reducing how much durability damage they take, and reducing how much pain you feel after successfully blocking an attack.

Reducing stumbling and falling over chances when receiving damage from any sources.

Reducing the chances of getting addicted to any kind of reagent the higher your TGH.

Reduces the severe effects of certain chemicals and gasses (Falling asleep through soporifics or N2O, getting knocked down by Tramadol overdose, becoming harder to get drunk, etc)

Those that possess a keen eye with a gun, and nerves of steel to overcome anything.

Vigilance helps with the following:

Increases the speed of climbing over structures.

Helps you identify shoe types on bloody/oily footsteps (VIG 40 required)

As with every other stat, the higher your VIG is upon death, the more of it you'll permanently lose on revival.

Reduces the chance certain mobs' screaming attacks will affect you (Hivemind Tormentor screams, Xeno screeches, Bear roars, etc)

Increases your chance to evade unspotted traps, up to a cap. (An “unspotted trap” is a trap you might have seen on the screen, but you didn't right click it to examine it. When examined, you become aware of that trap, and will have less chance of triggering it when stepping on it.)

Reducing gun recoil, up to a cap.

Increases a gun's projectile penetration multiplier, or the damage of the Charge mode of certain energy guns.

Gaining inspiration for “leveling up” easier. You're better off not knowing how.

These stats affect the health of your character, and are impossible to permanently increase with leveling up or modify in other way than receiving bonuses or penalties on character creation.

Drugs are bad, mkay?

Vivification gives a bonus (or penalty) to your maximum Neural System Accumulation, meaning you can take certain hard drugs and medicines without causing instability to your neural system, inducing vomit and other negative ailments to your health.

Two kinds of people: Those with loaded guns, and those with twigs for arms.

Anatomy increases (or decreases) your maximum health, allowing your body to tolerate more punishment before entering critical condition or dying, or becoming more frail and weak to damage from all sources.

See also Sanity and Mood.