Al Rivera Talks Skills, and a new Ask Cryptic

Star Trek Online's Lead Designer Al Rivera explains STO's robust skill system! Also they are taking questions about this system for the next Ask Cryptic!

from the article:

In Summation:

Low rank Skills grant small bonuses to many items and abilities.
High rank Skills grant large stat bonuses to fewer items and abilities.
Accumulate Skill Points by completing missions and defeating enemies.
Spend Skill Points to increase grade and rank.
Increasing grade and rank improves a character and unlocks access to additional items, ships and more Skills.
When ranked up, most skills come with a Stat bonus number. Typically, this number is the bonus applied to the items or abilities that use that stat. For instance...

Starship Energy Weapons Training: 17
Starship Beam Weapons: 22
Starship Cannon Weapons: 28
Starship Phaser Weapons: 36
Starship Disruptor: 40
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Al Rivera Talks Skills, and a new Ask Cryptic | Star Trek Online Official Site