The “Your Expertise” Window

When you start a new game, your character is given an expertise: a product industry such as Apparel or Jewelry, or, with the Digital Age DLC, a software class such as Office Software. Expertise makes your research faster, your advertising stronger and more, but until now the game never told you what yours was. On the first day of every new game, the Your Expertise window now shows your expertise, your rating, the products of that industry, and every benefit with its actual numbers.

No DLC needed. The window appears in every new game where your character has an expertise. Software expertise needs the Digital Age DLC.

When the window appears

The window opens once, on the first day of a new game, after the other start-of-game windows: after you pick a goal set, or after the Survival Mode introduction. Read it, then click OK (or press Enter or Esc) to start playing.

Game	Does the window appear?
A new custom game	Yes
A new scenario game	Yes
A new game in Survival Mode	Yes, right after the Survival Mode introduction
A mission	No: the mission briefing already names your expertise
The tutorial	No
Loading a saved game	No: it only appears at the start of a new game
Your character has no expertise	No (see How your expertise is chosen)

What the window shows

Under the Your Expertise banner, a headline names your expertise, for example “You possess expertise in the Apparel industry.” Below it are two cards and a tip.

Card	What it shows
Left card: Your industry	The name of your industry and, for products, the wider category it belongs to (for example Jewelry in Luxury Goods). Then your Expertise Rating on a bar from 0 to 100, and pictures of the products in that industry, up to four.
Right card: What it gives you	Each benefit of your expertise, with a green tick, worked out from your own rating. So a rating of 80 reads “Product research is 80% faster.” A short note underneath reminds you who gets the benefits (see below).

At the bottom, a tip with a light bulb suggests where to begin, for example “Start your business in the Apparel industry, where your expertise gives you an edge over your rivals.”

The benefits, in numbers

The window lists only the benefits that apply in your game, and its numbers come straight from the game’s own rules. Your rating is the number from 0 to 100 on the bar.

Product expertise

Benefit	How much	When it is shown
Faster product research for the products of your industry	1% faster for each rating point (rating 80 = 80% faster)	Always
Stronger advertising for the products of your industry	0.4% more effective for each rating point (40% at rating 100)	Unless your company uses the Corporate Brand strategy
No level loss on technology upgrades: when you upgrade a manufacturing unit making these products to a better technology, the unit keeps its level	—	Always
Higher unit levels for units working on these products	A level bonus that grows with your rating	Only with the Industry Expertise Only option
No reinvention needed for the products of your industry	—	Only in Survival Mode, where most products must be invented again

Software expertise (Digital Age DLC)

Benefit	How much
Faster technology research for your software class	1% faster for each rating point (rating 70 = 70% faster)
A head start in technology: your company starts with part of the highest technology level of every software type in your class	30% of the highest level

Who gets the benefits

Under the benefits the window says: “These benefits apply to the firms you manage yourself.” This matters, because expertise works through whoever manages each firm:

As CEO, you manage your company’s firms yourself by default, so your expertise applies to them.
Once you hire a CTO, the CTO runs your R&D centers. From then on the CTO’s expertise counts there, not yours.
If you appoint one manager for all your firms, that manager’s expertise counts instead of yours.

Hiring tip. When you hire a CTO later, check their expertise on the Person report. A CTO who is an expert in the same industry as your company keeps the research bonus going after you hand over the R&D centers.

How your expertise is chosen

Your expertise is drawn at random when the game starts, so each new game can steer you towards a different industry. A few settings affect it:

Setting	Effect on your expertise
AI Expertise Level (game setup)	Sets the range of your product rating: Low 40–80, Moderate 60–100, High 80–100. With None your character has no product expertise, and without software expertise the window does not appear
Player Expertise (Digital Age DLC settings)	Software Only, Product Only, or Product or Software (one of the two, at random). A software expertise has a rating of 50–100
A scenario	May set your expertise and rating itself

The “?” button. With the Digital Age DLC, the left card has a small ? button next to your expertise. Hover over it as a reminder: the kind of expertise is chosen before the game begins, with the Player Expertise option in the Digital Age DLC settings of the game setup. The industry or software class itself is still drawn at random.

Finding your expertise later

You don’t need to remember what the window said. Your expertise is always shown in the game:

Person report, Expertise tab: your product, software and Internet expertise with their ratings. Hover over a row for a tooltip with the same benefits the window listed. You can also raise a rating there with Knowledge Points.
R&D product lists: the products of your expert industry are shown in green.

Making the most of your expertise

Start where you are strong. Your expertise is the closest thing to a head start you get on day one. Building your first factories and stores in that industry puts the research and advertising bonuses to work straight away.
Research pays off most. With a high rating, your R&D centers improve your products far faster than rivals without the expertise. That is a lasting quality lead.
Upgrade without fear. In your expert industry, moving a factory to better technology does not cost you unit levels, so you can keep your production lines up to date.
Watch your brand strategy. The advertising bonus applies with Unique Brand and Range Brand. With Corporate Brand, the window leaves the advertising line out.
In Survival Mode, it is your way in. Your expert products are not locked, so together with Food and Beverage they are what you can make from the start without inventing anything.

At a glance

Question	Answer
What do I need?	Nothing: it is in every new game where your character has an expertise. Software expertise needs the Digital Age DLC
When does it appear?	Once, on day one of a new game, after the other start-of-game windows
What does it show?	Your expertise, its rating, the products of your industry, every benefit with its number, and a tip on where to start
Who gets the benefits?	The firms you manage yourself (your R&D centers go to your CTO once you hire one)
Can I choose my expertise?	Not the industry: it is random. With Digital Age you choose the kind (software, product, or either) in the game setup
Where can I see it again?	Person report → Expertise tab

See also: Version 12.5 new features.