Terrible skill system

[Veritas]

now let me preface by saying that I spent like 50hrs playing this game in the first week since I bought it- so this is not to diss the whole game. Im really excited to see where it goes.

I understand the current intention with the skill system is to make it so people take on roles and level up certain skills BUT for someone who wants to play solo and does not have a server or people to play with-

The skill system is terrible. I know I can go in sandbox and tweak the xp multiplier to help but that kind of takes the fun out of it. My first try I put the skill multiplier at 10 and from one episode on tv I gained 4 cooking skill and 3 carpentry skill. So now I need to figure what the right number of multiplier feels challenging but not demoralizing and also not overly OP. This seems like something the game should already have set up for me to choose with some balanced options.

Also the books are an interesting idea but if you for some reason dont happen to find the lvl 1 book of something, you are held hostage in having to level up that skill ridiculously slow. Specially since those books are so important in the first few weeks of the game.

It seems the devs are trying to keep the game realistic but cutting 500 logs for 4 hours is not an enjoyable experience- maybe some people like that kind of grind but I just want to build skills in a way that is challenging and also sufficiently rewarding in solo. Also it appears the other skills like mechanic and electric are even more of grind to level up- dismantling hundreds of electronics seems like exhausting way to get a skill that could be really fun (for example, repairing cars).

Also I dont want my skills to get passed down to new characters through a mod. I like the realism of playing one character and after they die, they die. Skills in life really couldn't get passed down to others without some kind of work / studying / practice.

I really like this game- but I want some of the skills to be more accessible for players like me who like playing solo and still want to eventually be fully leveled up and rewarded.

I know someone is going to say "well thats just how the game is and if it is not for you then dont play it." It seems exclusionary and honestly kinda hateful to not let the game be playable for other people who want a slightly different experience that could potentially be adjusted or brought on board and still keep the "grind" option.

I will likely just tweak the xp multiplier until I find whats right for me but yeah I had to say this.

[dubsmith]

Everyone has their own preferences which is where this simulator really stands out. You can make it a game where you have to specialize or you can be lv 10 all, your choice. Some of us have been playing this for 10 years and have had the chance to try tons of variations. Having the ability to tweak all the options from the game menu rather than editing files is awesome.

Get to know the sandbox settings and spend time experimenting. You can also try different MP servers and still play solo. Varied experiences will show you more setting setups. Some may be enjoyable that you hadn't considered. Just a recommendation. Have fun with whichever way works best for you.

[a three-colored carp]

I find that with 1.6 XP multiplier and fast learner the skill gain is quick without being too quick.

To get carpentry skill fast, disassemble queen or king-sized beds. Go to book stores or school libraries to find all the skill books -- between dozens of characters I've never had an issue in Riverside or Muldraugh getting these things.

To level electronics, just scoop up electronic watches off the zombies you kill. Then disassemble all of them in one go after you've read the level 1 skill book. Not much of a need to get it past level 1 unless you want to relocate a stove or something.

[Greb]

It's there for role play, like you said. Someone with +3 levels in a skill upon character creation gets a huge boost to XP for that skill, in order to add credence to their profession and focus before the world went to death. Going for a blanket coverage of the more common professions and general individual skills anyway - the idea being that you're skilled with whatever you spent your life doing before the event and thus can easily adapt your skillset around that, but you'd struggle with other concepts that you didn't have anything to do with in your previous life. Something like that, anyway.

All I'd like is a much clearer picture of how much bonus XP you get and things of that nature, as that +125% bonus XP thing for having 3 levels in a skill sounds small but it's actually extremely strong, I used to consider traits like "Brawler" and "Gymnast" or whatever fairly worthless, but they actually pay for themselves pretty quickly with the bonus XP, especially if synergised with Fast Learner and such.

Of course you can just edit the XP rates like you said, that's what the sandbox settings are for after all. One of the best things about this game is how customisable it is in regards to that, down to the individual preferences.

[KillerKommando]

I play on 1x XP for long runs, and have the Literacy mod installed to boost skills as necessary. If I were doing a short term run, I would consider a 2.5x XP boost and not worry about the books unless needed for a requirement (e.g. hotwiring needs Mechanics 2 and Electricity 1). The requirements for most things are relatively easy to hit XP-wise in vanilla gameplay.

The issue with the skills that you mentioned is that XP gets more difficult to achieve the next level even if you have the skill book. For example, without the Literacy mod I sincerely doubt I would ever put in enough play time to go from level 9 Fitness to level 10. It's more feasible for something like Carpentry where you can find large XP boosts in the form of beds or picnic tables. For skills like Nimble, that's not the case and it's closer to Fitness difficulty in raising. Electricity can be easier if you treat it like Carpentry and focus on the large XP items instead of low XP ones, e.g. driving around and disassembling phone booths instead of all the clocks in an office building.

You should be aware that some skills will naturally progress far slower simply because the opportunity to gain XP is rarer or you need to have specific items like Farming or Mechanics.

[Slowpork]

Yes, the skills experience curve is terrible. It can be alleviated with mods and sandbox settings for the most part though. I find x4-5 XP gain pretty good for solo play.

Before someone get in here and says it's realistic, no. It's not. Have you ever tried physical training? The first 6 months - 1 year will have the most gains. And you don't need to train every single day. Your muscles will not have time to recover, your nervous system will be a wreck and without sufficent rest and nutrition any effective long-term physical training is impossible. What do we have here? For some reason you need to train every single day to make tiniest amount of gains while you can get away with eating berries and veggies. Yeah, realistic as heck, my man. And don't get me started on losing weight in this game...

In real life healthy people can prepare themselves for a marathon in 4-6 months. Army training can turn nerdy, skinny dude into a fit and relatively muscular guy in 2-3 months. Rest, training and good nutrition. In PZ on default settings you need to grind like hell, and for what? For 5% more damage per level? Even MMORPGs and gachas don't have such ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Good thing this can be avoided.