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Character Creation and Progression
April 4, 2026 at 10:52 AM
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Character creation in The Expanse: Osiris Reborn begins with a choice that goes beyond cosmetics. Players pick one of three origins, each rooted in the lore and physics of The Expanse universe. From there, progression follows an open, classless system that lets players build their character however they see fit. Creative Director Alexander Mishulin has compared the build philosophy to Dark Souls: find the weapon and playstyle that feels right for you and build around it, rather than picking a class and following its predetermined path.
The three available origins correspond to the three major human populations in The Expanse setting. Each origin affects the player character's physical appearance, starting stats, and how factions react to them throughout the game. Dialogue options, NPC attitudes, and certain quest branches shift depending on where the player character was born and raised.
Origin | Physiology | Background |
|---|---|---|
Earther | Average height, medium build. Adapted to full Earth gravity (1g). | Born on Earth under the authority of the United Nations. Earthers tend to be physically compact and well-muscled from living their entire lives under full gravity. They carry the political baggage of being part of the dominant inner-planet power. |
Martian | Taller than Earthers, bulkier build. Adapted to Martian gravity (0.38g). | Raised on Mars under the Martian Congressional Republic. Martians grow up in roughly a third of Earth's gravity, resulting in taller, broader frames. Mars is a military-industrial society obsessed with its terraforming project, and Martians tend to carry a sense of discipline and purpose. |
Belter | Extremely tall, very thin frame. Adapted to very low gravity and micro-gravity. | Born and raised in the asteroid belt or outer stations. Generations of living in low to zero gravity have made Belters distinctly different from inner-planet populations. They struggle physically in high-gravity environments and face widespread discrimination and economic exploitation. |
The physiological differences between origins are not just cosmetic. They are a fundamental part of The Expanse's worldbuilding. A Belter who grew up in micro-gravity has bones and muscles that literally cannot handle full Earth gravity for extended periods. The game reflects these differences both mechanically and narratively.
The game prioritizes book canon over the TV show when depicting Belter culture. Belter NPCs speak Creole (a distinct language that evolved in the Belt from a mix of Earth languages) and use unique gestures that developed in low-gravity living. These gestures include hand signals and body language that replace or supplement spoken communication in environments where sound does not carry well (vacuum, noisy stations, across distances in large open spaces). Players who choose the Belter origin will have dialogue options in Creole and will understand these gestures natively.
Origin affects how every major faction treats the player. An Earther or Martian arriving on Ceres Station will encounter hostility from the local Belter population. Prices may be higher, certain NPCs will refuse to speak openly, and some side quests only trigger if the player is a Belter. Conversely, a Belter origin opens more side quests and dialogue options on Belt stations but closes doors in inner-planet territories where Belters are treated as second-class citizens. The Belter origin is described as having the most additional side quest content, reflecting the richness of Belt culture and politics in the source material.
Osiris Reborn does not use a traditional class system. There are no rigid archetypes like "Soldier," "Engineer," or "Medic" that lock players into a specific playstyle. Instead, the progression system is fully open. As the player levels up through combat and quest completion, they earn points that can be invested in any combination of skills, abilities, and passive upgrades.
Mishulin's Dark Souls comparison is instructive. In Dark Souls, every player starts with the same basic framework and can develop in any direction: heavy armor and great swords, light armor and daggers, pyromancy, miracles, sorcery, or any hybrid. Osiris Reborn applies a similar philosophy where the early game is about experimentation and the mid-to-late game is about committing to the build that feels natural. The developers want players to try different weapons and abilities in the early hours, then gradually invest more deeply in the combinations that suit their playstyle.
While there are no classes, the progression system naturally supports several distinct playstyle archetypes. The following examples illustrate the kinds of builds players can create.
Build Archetype | Focus | Playstyle |
|---|---|---|
Gunslinger | Gunplay and weapon mastery | Prioritizes weapon damage, accuracy, reload speed, and secondary fire mode effectiveness. Spends most of its time behind cover, landing precise shots and swapping between fire modes. |
Ability-Heavy (ME Adept style) | Skills and tech abilities | Invests heavily in ability cooldown reduction, device power, and area-of-effect upgrades. Uses grenades with thrusters, energy shields, shoulder cannons, and other tech as the primary damage source. Similar to playing a Mass Effect Adept who relies on powers rather than weapons. |
Commander | Companion effectiveness | Focuses on upgrades that boost companion damage, durability, and ability frequency. Turns the player into a force multiplier who issues commands and keeps companions alive while they do the heavy lifting. |
Device Specialist | Drone and gadget mastery | Combines protective drones, deployable turrets, and trap-style devices to control the battlefield. Excels at locking down chokepoints and creating safe zones during defensive encounters. |
Sniper | Long-range precision | Centers around sniper rifles with armor-piercing rounds and the Tactical Visor for target acquisition through walls. Prefers to engage from maximum distance and uses companions as a frontline screen. |
Hacker / Engineer | Skill checks and tech synergy | Invests in Hacking and Science skill checks to unlock alternative mission paths, then supplements with tech abilities that disable or redirect enemy equipment. |
Tactical Visor Build | Information and precision | Centers around the Tactical Visor ability combined with AP ammo to shoot through walls at highlighted targets. Uses information advantage to set up ambushes and coordinate companion flanking. |
These archetypes are not mutually exclusive. A player could invest primarily in gunplay while picking up a few drone abilities for defensive situations, or focus on companion effectiveness but still unlock the Tactical Visor for better battlefield awareness. The system rewards experimentation and hybrid approaches.
Three skill categories govern non-combat interactions: Persuasion, Science, and Hacking. Each has multiple proficiency levels. Skill checks are flat pass/fail based on the player's current proficiency. There is no random element. If you meet the threshold, you pass. If you do not, you fail. Failed checks never block the main story but can close off optional dialogue branches, bonus rewards, and alternative approaches to objectives.
Experience is earned through combat encounters, quest completion, and exploration milestones. Each level grants points to distribute across the skill tree, which branches into abilities, upgrades, and passive stat bonuses. Equipment (weapons, armor, and tech devices) can be found in the world, purchased from vendors at social hubs, or built through the crafting system. Better gear provides raw stat increases and unlocks new tactical options; a higher-tier grenade launcher might add a homing feature, while an upgraded drone might gain the ability to revive downed companions.
The combination of three origins and an open progression system gives players a strong reason to replay the game. An Earther gunslinger will have a very different experience from a Belter ability specialist, both in terms of combat feel and narrative content. Faction reactions, dialogue options, and even certain quest outcomes change based on origin, meaning a second playthrough can reveal story threads that were invisible the first time around. The companion permadeath system adds another variable: different choices lead to different crew compositions by the endgame.
