Yet another commentary on the skills system

I'm in the camp that TOW2's skill point system is *almost* great. I'm naturally a jack-of-all-trades kinda player and it was a little bit of a shock to realize how much I needed to focus in and maximize fewer skills. But on my first run, I ended up appreciating that. My main skills (Engineering and Hack) got me through much of the game, complemented my Brilliant/Professor choices, and did give a strong sense of build identity.

That said, I am also in the camp that thinks the skill points/checks system is too arbitrarily punishing at times. I am definitely not saying I want to godmode my way through every possible check, not at all, but it does sometimes feel like the game penalizes the player for not having an EXACT distribution of points. IMO, this aspect could be mitigated in one of two ways:

1) Allow for a respec later in the game. Right after the prologue is just too early, especially because the game doesn't really telegraph how much you're going to need to hone in on a few key skills. I think this could be accomplished by having one of the high security lockboxes contain a "Respec Token" that the description makes clear can only be used ONE time. So players can't abuse the ability to respec, but players who are genuinely unhappy with their build have a fair chance to fix it.

2) Bring back small skill buffs, whether from companions or from food/drink. The defense I commonly see of TOW2's skill system is "it means your build choices matter" or "it makes for better RP." For the most part, I agree: if I have zero points in Engineering, I absolutely should not be able to buff my way into passing an Engineering 10 check. But if I have 9 points in Engineering and I can't even *attempt* an Engineering 10 check? That doesn't make me feel like my build choices matter, it feels like I'm being blocked because I didn't exactly micromanage my points the right way. Having a way to get over the line with those "close enough" skill checks would cut back on that frustration. And from an roleplay perspective, if I'm *that* close to passing an Engineering check, why shouldn't I be able to pull in Niles for a little additional help? If my build is clearly heading in an Engineering direction, why can't I at least *attempt* a check that stretches my abilities?

And yes, I know you CAN beat the game without investing any skills at all, but being able to use the skills you've invested in to creatively solve problems in a more than "bare minimum" way is part of the fun of playing an RPG. Again, I do appreciate that Obsidian clearly designed this to be played a certain way and I think that works well 90% of the time, but that other 10% just sucks the fun out of it sometimes.