Cloning

Overview
For additional flexibility, and in order to allow the player to test the different classes without leveling from scratch, the game allows the player to clone a character. Cloning a character requires a clone credit.

Cloning a character creates a new character which can be named and customized, just as a new recruit would be. The clone will have the same attribute points (Body, Mind, Spirit, plus any unspent attribute points), class, level and xp as the original character, but will have his/her training points reset.

The clone will begin with no money and no weapons, but with a full set of level 1 Motor Assist Armor (plus any new recruit accessories chosen). Money and items can be transfered to the clone just like any other character via the footlockers. Any missions that have been completed by the original character are considered to have been completed by the clone (and thus cannot be retaken, unless they are normally repeatable). The clone will have no active missions in the mission log though, and thus any progress towards any uncompleted mission will be lost*.


 * If you clone your character before completing a Targets of Opportunity quest and claiming your clone credit, special rules apply. Any non-repeatable portions of the quest that have already been completed by your original character will be credited to your new clone. These include things like completing the main story missions in a zone, previously fulfilled quests, etc. Any repeatable portions of the quest, such as kill tasks, must be started over and completed by the clone.

Purpose of Cloning
The design intent of clones is to allow a character to clone prior to selecting a class when a new tier is reached (indeed, a clone credit is automatically awarded when a player reaches enough xp to select a new class). This allows a player to experience both branches of a tier.

Additionally, the refunding of training points makes cloning a viable method of rechoosing how you spend those points. Often top-tier characters will get skills that make points spent in lower-tier skills useless. Making a clone is an opportunity to reclaim those points and spend them in developing more useful areas.

Creating a Clone
A clone may only be created at the character selection menu. The player is provided with a button "Clone" in the tier selection menu for convience, but this simply returns them to the character selection menu so a clone can be created from there. To clone a character, simply select them on the menu and hit the "Clone" button. It will only be available if the selected character has 1 or more clone credits. The number of clone credits the currently selected character has can be seen in the information listed on the left of the screen.

Tips

 * It is important to remember that while cloning does allow you to re-spend your skill points, it does not allow you to undo any class choices that have been made. If you think you might want to experiment with an alternate class branch, clone before you choose your class.
 * Some players recommend saving your first clone credit rather than using it before progressing from Recruit to Soldier or Specialist. The time investment necessary for an experienced player to get to level 5 is minimal. and for some players much less valuable than the freedom gained by having one more clone credit in the bank, "just in case."
 * You will not lose any experience if you continue to play the game without choosing a class branch. All experience will be saved up and applied after you make your choice. If you have half-done quests or quests that you'd rather not repeat once you clone, it may be better to finish those up at your current level before cloning and training.
 * Clone credits are awarded as soon you've earned enough experience to complete a class tier. If you clone before this point, then your new clone will also earn a clone credit upon completing the tier. If you clone after completing the tier, even if you have not yet trained in a new class, your clone will not be awarded the additional clone credit. (In other words, if you want to earn an easy clone credit with your new clone, clone at level 14.9, not at 14.9999999.)


 * Targets of Opportunity missions will ONLY keep the following completed for cloned characters:
 * Story Missions - broken; see below
 * Logos
 * Waypoints
 * Control Points
 * Operations


 * Targets of Opportunity missions will NOT keep the following completed for cloned characters:
 * Enemies Killed
 * Bosses Killed


 * Instanced story missions completed by a clone's parent, before cloning, may not be repeated by the clone. Unfortunately, these missions are also not properly credited toward the completion of ToO quests. So, as it stands now, clones may not complete ToO quests for zones in which the clone's parent has already completed any of the instanced story missions.

Clone patterns
The game suggests a very simple pattern, clone whenever you get a new tier:


 * Level 5, Tier 2 clone point and clone
 * Level 15, Tier 3 clone point and clone
 * Level 30, Tier 4 clone point and clone

With this pattern you make one character, do no double leveling, and get eight characters with no clone points at level 30.

This, of course, is not very efficient. You can level 1-5 for that first clone point in less than an hour, and a clone point is likely to take quite a bit more effort to obtain. So for our first change, let us make two characters and level both to 5 without using the Tier 2 clone point:


 * Level 5, Tier 2 clone point
 * Level 14, clone
 * Level 15, Tier 3 clone point
 * Level 29, clone
 * Level 30, Tier 4 clone point

Your characters now have one clone point at level 30, for practically no extra effort. You even get to those the character customization for your second char when you make it, instead of while playing another char.

Now, 1-5 was a cakewalk. But then you ask, what about 5-15? That's pretty fast too, especially when you're filthy rich (for a level 5) and know your way around already. So let's take one of those starting characters and split it in two, and get both of those to 15 in the same Tier 2 tree:


 * Level 5, Tier 2 clone point
 * Level 15, Tier 3 clone point
 * Level 29, clone
 * Level 30, Tier 4 clone point

Here you double level 1-15, but your characters have two clone points at level 30. It's also fully possible to mix-and-match this and the previous. You could as example clone your soldier at 15, but decide to take two specialists to level 15 (one for biotech and one for sapper) so they get an extra clone point each.

To complete the set, there's also the option of not cloning at all before level 30. You don't want any other Tier 4 (or maybe you have them all already), so you decide to save all the points.


 * Level 5, Tier 2 clone point
 * Level 15, Tier 3 clone point
 * Level 30, Tier 4 clone point

This isn't really interesting as a pattern for getting different Tier 4 characters, it's more something that happens on its own when you decide you want a certain class and don't have any clones available. It's also possible as a last-ditch effort if you mess up your attribute points.