Skills

Degradation scale
Level	Turn
1	32768
2	16384
3	8192
4	4096
5	2048
6	1024
7+	512

Skills are raised upon practice (combat, crafting, tools usage), but only when the character has at least [skill level]+1 points of focus. The focus pool is not capped, but it requires higher morale to increase to higher levels, every few turns your focus is increased or decreased depending on your current morale. You can increase the speed at which you gain focus by increasing your morale.

As of 0.A-2015, performing a crafting or construction task of certain difficulty can only bring your skill to (difficulty*1.25)+1, rounded down. For example, boiling water and digging pits (skill 0) will only bring cooking and construction to 1. Even the easiest task will still stop skill rust.

You can also increase skill levels by reading books or being taught by NPCs. Note that reading skill books costs focus, but being trained does not.

You can toggle on and off the skill-gain of individual skills by pressing the SPACE bar in the Skills section of the player menu @.

The Melee and Firearms skill will improve both accuracy and damage of their respective weapons, but not as much as the weapon's main skill (handguns, cutting weapons etc.)

Stats will also affect a player's skills by making them more/less effective depending on the value of the stat. Dexterity will affect the accuracy and effectiveness for most attacks. Strength will affect the damage of all melee attacks. Intelligence can improve certain skills, increase the rate of learning, and reduce the time needed to read a book. Perception can increase a player's accuracy for ranged attacks, and increases trap detection.

Skill Rust

If skill rust is turned on, skills will degrade after a while without practice. Every X turns, there is a percentage chance the current practice percentage may be decremented. This chance is multiplied by 1.33 with the Forgetful trait and by 0.66 with the Good Memory trait. Skills that are displayed as red or pink have gone long enough without practice that they are in danger of rusting. If rust takes the current practice percentage below zero and the current rust setting allows level loss, the skill level will be decremented and then the practice percentage will be set to 99%.

The Enhanced Memory Banks bionic will prevent skill rust as long as power is available.

Setting	% Chance	Level Loss?
Off	0	No
Vanilla	50	Yes
Capped	50	No
Int	50 - (Int-8)*3.5	Yes
IntCap	50 - (Int-8)*3.5	No

Skills

Bartering

Your skill in bargaining, haggling, and trading with others. Note: Until NPC's are fixed, this skill is basically worthless (as of V-0.A stable release).

However, in the experimentals, trade values are governed by a comparison between your bartering skill and that of the NPC, with the more skilled party getting a better deal. There are Static NPCs willing to trade with you, and they are fairly skilled at bartering, so if you want good stuff in trade, it would be a good idea to take a point or two of skill in Bartering.

Computers

Your skill in accessing and manipulating computers. Higher levels can allow a user to navigate complex software systems and even bypass their security. Theoretically Computer skill can be increased by bypassing the security of computer systems but the gain from bypassing the security of a single system is so minute that its not practical to increase the Computer skill by this method. Furthermore, failure in bypassing the security of a system can cause some anti-breach systems to be deployed (manhacks, electric shocks and such) which can prove dangerous and sometimes, fatal. In practice, Computer skill can only be increased by books as opposed to most of the skills which can be increased by experience.

Construction

Your general competence in building construction. This governs the complexity of structures that can be built, and the time required to build them.

You can raise this skill by deconstructing and reconstructing furniture and by chopping trees (using the construction menu, smashing doesn't count).

Cooking

Your skill in combining food ingredients to make other, tastier food items. It may also be used in certain chemical mixtures and other, more esoteric tasks.

Driving

Your skill in operating and steering a vehicle in motion. A higher level allows greater control over vehicles at higher speeds, and reduces the penalty of shooting while driving.

Low skill levels will result in you "fumbling with vehicle's controls", which turns the vehicle without your intervention. Since driving skill is trained by maneuvering the vehicle, recovering from these fumbles will eventually reduce their frequency.

Electronics

Your skill in dealing with electrical systems, used in the craft and repair of objects with electrical components. This skill is an important part of installing and managing bionic implants.

Apart from reading books on the subject, you can raise this skill by disassembling ( any electronic device you find and don't need (like any flashlights after your first).

Fabrication

Your skill in working with raw materials and shaping them into useful objects. This skill plays an important role in the crafting of many objects.

[First Aid (Skill)|First Aid]

Your skill in effecting emergency medical treatment. Higher levels allow better use of medicines and items like bandages and first aid kits, and reduce the failure and complication rates of medical procedures.

Mechanics

Your skill in engineering, maintaining and repairing vehicles and other mechanical systems. This skill covers the craft of items with complex parts, and plays a role in the installation of bionic equipment.

Apart from reading books on the subject, you can easily raise this skill by removing and reinstalling parts of a vehicle, or using a soldering iron to repair plastic items.

As of 0.A-2015, experience from removing non-destroyed car parts is not capped.

Speaking

Your skill in speaking to other people. Covers ability in boasting, flattery, threats, persuasion, lies, and other facets of interpersonal communication. Works best in conjunction with a high level of intelligence. Even though NPC's may seem like a waste of time, this skill can increase the chance of getting some free equipment from NPC's that spawn in shelters.

Survival

Your skill in surviving the wilderness, and in crafting various basic survival items. This also covers your ability to skin and butcher animals for meat and hides.

For a more efficient butchering you'll need this skill at level 3, dexterity at 8 and strength at 4 or higher.

Apart from reading books on the subject, you can easily raise this skill by butchering corpses (including those of zombies), crafting stone hammers and, later, digging sticks and snare triggers.

Swimming

Your ability to stay afloat and move around in bodies of water. This skill keeps you from drowning, affects your combat effectiveness and speed in deep water, and determines the detriment of swimming with heavier gear.

Tailoring

Your skill in the craft and repair of clothing, bags, blankets and other textiles. Affects knitting, sewing, stitching, weaving, and nearly anything else involving a needle and thread.

A good way to increase this skill is repair up to reinforced any cloth pieces you find when looting and that you don't plan to use for yourself. Avoid practicing on your own clothes at lower levels, as you might destroy them in the process.

There are various clothing types that are not made out of cloth, these require a welder or a soldering iron to refit. Repairing these items raises your Mechanics skill.

Trapping

Your skill in setting and disarming traps safely and effectively. This skill does not affect the detection of hidden traps in versions prior to development 31May2014 (Stats), or the evasion of traps that are triggered (see dodge below).

Archery

Your skill in using bow weapons, from hand-carved self bows to complex hunting crossbows. Quiet and effective, they require strength of body and sight to wield, and are not terribly accurate over a long distance.

You can start training this skill either by reading a magazine or by using any bow, composite bow or crossbow you find. Those are usually found in sporting goods stores or by deactivating or triggering traps (only for the crossbow trap). Alternatively you can make one with 1 Survival.

Bashing weapons

Your skill in fighting with blunt weaponry, from rocks and sticks to baseball bats and the butts of rifles. Skill increases damage, and higher levels will improve the accuracy of an attack.

Cutting weapons

Your skill in fighting with weaponry designed to cut, hack and slash an opponent. Lower levels of skill increase accuracy and damage, while higher levels will help to bypass heavy armor and thick hides.

Dodge

Your ability to dodge an oncoming threat, be it an enemy's attack, a triggered trap, or a falling rock. This skill is also used in attempts to fall gracefully, and for other acrobatic feats.

Marksmanship

Your overall skill in using firearms. With higher levels, this general experience increases accuracy with any gun, but is secondary to practice with the type of gun in question.

It also allows you to apply modifications to your guns.

Remember, the accuracy for any ranged attack is affected by the dexterity and perception stats.

Launchers

Your skill in using heavy weapons like rocket, grenade or missile launchers. These weapons have a variety of applications and may carry immense destructive power, but they are cumbersome and hard to manage.

Melee

Your skill and finesse in personal combat, both with and without a weapon. Higher levels can significantly increase the accuracy and effectiveness of your physical attacks.

The dexterity stat also affects your accuracy.

Piercing weapons

Your skill in fighting with knives, spears and other such stabbing implements. Skill increases attack accuracy as well as the chance of inflicting a deadly and critical blow.

Throwing

Your skill in throwing objects over a distance. Skill increases accuracy, and at higher levels, the range of a throw.

Increases both accuracy and, at higher levels, range. Throwing costs 125 moving points.

An easy way to raise this skill is by gathering some rocks and throwing them at the evac shelter walls.

The damage and accuracy of a throw can be increased/decreased via the strength and dexterity stats respectively.

Unarmed combat

Your skill in hand-to-hand fighting. For the unskilled, it's a good way to get hurt, but those with enough practice can perform special blows and techniques to quickly dispatch enemies.

Raising this skill allows you to use more powerful martial arts techniques.

The damage done by each hit is mostly affected by your strength stat. This skill is supplemented by the Melee skill, which is affected by the Dexterity stat. Base damage can be seen at the upper left corner of the character screen (default key:@).

Upon reaching level 2 in this skill, you'll automatically learn Brawling.

Handguns

Handguns have poor accuracy compared to rifles, but are usually quick to fire and reload faster than other guns. They are very effective at close quarters, though unsuited for long range engagement.

Accuracy for all ranged attacks is affected by your Dexterity stat.

Rifles

Rifles have terrific range and accuracy compared to other firearms, but may be slow to fire and reload, and can prove difficult to use in close quarters. Fully automatic rifles can fire rapidly, but are harder to handle properly.

Accuracy also affected by dexterity stat.

Shotguns

Shotguns are easy to shoot and can inflict massive damage, but their effectiveness and accuracy decline rapidly with range. Slugs can be loaded into shotguns to provide greater range, though they are somewhat inaccurate.

This skill also includes the use of flamethrowers.

Accuracy also affected by dexterity stat.

Submachine guns

Comprised of an automatic rifle carbine designed to fire a pistol cartridge, submachine guns can reload and fire quickly, sometimes in bursts, but they are relatively inaccurate and may be prone to mechanical failures.

Accuracy is also affected by the dexterity stat.