I think the persuasion skill is really useful through out the gameplay, espacially at the beginning. you can gain time and save ammo. Security and wealth were useful to have. A point in boost pack is fun too. I did not invest in exploring or crafting since I didn’t engage much in them. Later, investing in pure DPS was profitable too (ballisitc/energy, pistol/rifle, etc). If ship building is your thing, piloting and ship design later on is also nice.