We're starting another EotE game here in a couple of weeks, and I thought it would be fun to try and learn how the Force works. The rules seem pretty simple, save for one point of clarification: do you have to have a Career (and specialization) in addition to the Force Tree, or can you do force exclusively? In other words, do I have to pick a Smuggler->Thief (for example) first and then save up the points for buying the Force tree? Or can I just be all Force all the time?

You need another career and then take the universal force specialization.

Presumably the Force & Destiny line will have Careers and Specializations that go directly into Force powers (i.e. Jedi Career, Guardian Specialty or something like it). That's explicitly not the case for EotE/AoR though; you have to take a "mundane" Career/Spec and then buy into a Forceful Spec separately.

That's what I thought - at the very least, you'd screw yourself out of all the class skills if you bypassed the Mundane Career, so even if you could it would be a bad idea. But I wanted to make sure before I proceeded with the build.

Until Force & Destiny is released, if you want to be a Force-user of any type, then you need to select a mundane Career and mundane Specialization the same as any other character. Once that's done and you're on to the step of spending your Initial XP from your species, then you can purchase one of the Force-sensitive specializations.

However, bear in mind that you're going to be a very weak Force-user, as only having 1 Force Die means the odds aren't in your favor for activating basic effects; you're more likely to roll a dark side pip, and you may not always want to spend a Destiny Point and suffer Strain to activate a power, especially if you're trying to role-play the character as not wanting to become too reliant upon the dark side of the Force.

You're also going to have to decide which is more important: starting out with a couple powers and various upgrades, or increasing your Characteristics. This is a pretty major decision, since again you're going to have some difficulty in activating your powers, particularly a base power + an upgrade, and in some cases (Move especially) you may have to pick which Upgrade you can activate, as you won't generate enough Force Points on your single Force Die to activate more than the base power and a single upgrade.

My understanding is that FFG went above and beyond the minimum 'limits due to setting' (i.e. not getting to play an Order 66 survivor) to also prevent creation of a "birth-trained" Force-user in the style of the prequels' younglings/Initiates -- or at least, as one who isn't 'only just now upon/after character creation' rediscovering such.

I would suggest investing your initial experience points into Characteristics. I started as a Bounty Hunter Survivalist and bought Force Sensitive Exile with my starting points. It doesn't do anything on its own, since you need to also buy talents and powers to use the Force Dice.

You will earn XP to buy specializations after play starts, but you'll only be able to increase Characteristics with the Dedication talent after the start of the game.

What Jedi Master Gunner said -- the closest rule I'd say to 'min-maxing' would be to maximize Characteristics during character creation, then use the remaining XP on whatever, or save it for use (alongside accumulated XP) during play if the GM allows you to.

Your most effective use of that Force Rating 1 is going to be dedicating it to some useful "always on" power because, as was said above, odds are you will waste your action trying to activate powers unless you're willing to dip into the Dark side half the time. Force users are best with a campaign with some serious long-term visibility since it's a lot of up-front XP before you see as much gameplay return.

Your most effective use of that Force Rating 1 is going to be dedicating it to some useful "always on" power because, as was said above, odds are you will waste your action trying to activate powers unless you're willing to dip into the Dark side half the time. Force users are best with a campaign with some serious long-term visibility since it's a lot of up-front XP before you see as much gameplay return.

I'm inclined to agree.

My Force-sensitive street rat has been fairly lucky in activating his Force Powers so far (but I also haven't been trying to use them all the time either, which probably helps), but has instead focused on the "combat upgrades" for Sense, currently having the defensive Control Upgrade and the Duration Upgrade. Of course, the only time that I've been attacked in combat, I forgot to go into "combat mode," but I suspect that will change now that the massive rifle-toting Chiss gunbunny has left the group and I'm now the "big gun" by way of the heavy blaster pistol I swiped from a bounty hunter (who also provided the Chiss gunbunny with a shiny new disruptor rifle). Probably should invest some XP in the Strength Upgrade since Valin is currently lacking in both Wound Threshold and other defensive abilities.