Finally sat down to read the Genesys Corebook and was confused by two statements made in the character creation section.

Quote

Secondly, [careers] let your character start the game
with four ranks in four separate career skills of your
choosing, representing your character’s greater training
and focus in matters concerning their career. -pg40

Then it says...

Quote

However, regardless of any character
creation options, your character cannot have any
skills higher than rank 2 once character creation is
finished, unless a rule specifically states otherwise. -pg44

So if I'm reading the first part correctly, you can pick 4 skills from your career skills list and raise them to rank 4. But then it says you can't have any skills higher than 2 ranks to start. That makes me think they meant to say you get to raise 4 career skills 1 rank (for a total of 4 ranks) in the first part, but that's not how it reads. In the second quote, do they mean non-career skills? What am I getting wrong?

As it says later on page 40, "After you select a career, choose four of its eight career skills. Your character starts the game with one rank in each of those four skills, without spending XP."

So four ranks in four skills, as in one rank per skill.

You definitely don't start with anything at rank 4.

Your get 1 rank in 4 separate career skills (you have 8). I would say the first section is poorly worded, but it certainly isn't 4 ranks.

The second section details that no matter what you do at char-gen, you cannot exceed 2 ranks in a skill. You can't spend starting XP to get to that point, you can't stack archetype benefit + career skill + xp, etc.

That's what was blowing my mind. If everyone started with 4 rank 4 skills, it would be lopsided as ****. Guess I should have read more carefully. Thank y'all!

Yep, it means 4 points distributed between 4 different skills, which result in 4 skills with 1 rank in each.

And one important thing, cause characters have these base skills/talents due career and archetype/specie in the character creation + XP to spend.

FIRST: Choose and distribute all skill points and talents you receive for free.

SECOND: Spend the XP.

It's important cause maybe a "smart" player can try to spend first, picking 1 rank in a few skills paying 5 XP per each rank and after this put the skill points due the career and specie. This is WRONG.

The right scenario: first spend the free points. After this you use the XP. So if you want to increase one skill with 1 rank, you would need 10 XP to increase to level 2. Ok?