Skill Observations/Warnings

[Bravak]

After having played the game for several weeks and class-changing through all of the various classes, I've made a few observations about skills that I feel would be helpful for new players. I'd also like to warn against certain character paths and other issues that may not pan out the way you would think.


Berserking Skill
This skill only seems to function while your current class is Berserker. If you change from a Berserker into a different class then you will never be able to use the skill again. So, if you would like to use this skill make sure to end with Berserker as the character's final class.

Unarmed Attacks & Lethal Blows
Only Assassins and Jesters may make lethal blows with their unarmed attacks, and only while they have greater than 75 skill points in Lethal Blow and are currently one of those two classes (just like Berserking above). If you change into another class your unarmed attacks will no longer inflict lethal blows (weapons can still do so). As a side note, races with special attacks like a Naga's poison bite gain full functionality from training Lethal Blow, and I suspect Iron Hands and Ninjitsu also as well since my unarmed Naga Assassin deals incredible damage with his bite attack and can inflict lethal blows.

Spellcasting Skills and Spells
Only train the spellcasting skill (Sorcery, Alchemistry, etc.) for your character's ending class. If you plan to change class from a Wizard into a Necromancer then end as a Thaumaturge, be aware that only Alchemistry will benefit you in the end. If you spend points in Sorcery, then all of those points will be wasted when you change class. Also, be aware that spells selected while a Wizard or Necro will still benefit from Alchemistry once you change into a Thaumaturge, even if they are unique to the Wizard or Necro class. To be clear, only your current spellcasting skill applies, and it affects all of your spells regardless of when they were selected.

Physical Skill Difficulty
Physical skills, such as Lock Picking, Berserking, Lethal Blow, Inspection, etc., are the hardest skills to train. Only three of the classes get the bulk of their skill points in Physical Skills (Bards, Thieves, and Rangers). Unless you change class a lot, you will have a difficult time training more than one physical skill for most characters, so if you're hoping to have a single character train Lock Picking and Inspection then try to focus on those exclusively. If you're going for an unarmed fighter, then be prepared for a long haul. Lethal Blow will train on its own, albeit slowly, but Iron Hands and Ninjitsu have to be increased by spending skill points. In my current party I've had every character change class multiple times, and even still some of my characters are really struggling to get enough points in their physical skills.

Race-Class Combo Bonuses
This final observation is a bit of speculation on my part, but it seems to contradict other information I've seen on the forum. Race-class combo bonus multipliers seem to affect skill gains when leveling-up while the character's current class is the one associated with the bonus (I've seen comments in some posts that suggest that the bonus only applies during character creation). My Naga gained far more skill points when he leveled as an Assassin (several gains of 63+) compared to my Barrower while he was leveling as an Assassin. The same thing was quite apparent for all race-class multiples (Barrower Metalsmith, Aeorb Sage, Saurian Berserker, Wolfin Ranger, etc.). Combined with the above observation about the difficulty of increasing physical skills, I would therefore strongly advise physical skill-heavy characters to have a race-class combo bonus for at least some of their careers.


Please let me know if any of these observations are in error, and I'll edit the post accordingly. I'm just hoping to spread useful knowledge to help other players when planning their characters.

Lastly, I'd like to ask a question. Does the Jester skill Trickery actually function, and if so, how? I have a Jester with 52 skill points in Trickery and I've never noticed it activate on its own. It doesn't seem to activate like the Berserker skill (by selecting it prior to the combat round) so does it require actual items from the game (props), or am I missing something? I'd just like to know if it is currently implemented before I spend any more skill points in the skill. Thanks!

[DkSavant]

The spell casting skill is interesting... Does this mean casters are mostly useless until on their final class? I don't get many casts to land without fizzling, backfiring, or getting saved by the monster at such low skill levels. I guess buffing and utility spells are still fine, anything that doesn't have to hit an enemy.

Regarding race/class skill points on leveling, my experience is that the modifier affects level gains as well. My Aeorb sage consistently gets between 25 and 35 mental skill points.

For lockpicking, I focused the skill points on my thief far more heavily into inspection. She gets a point of lockpicking every time she successfully picks a lock, and there's dozens in the early game. Ditto scribing spellbooks - each success boosts scribe skill by one. Make sure every book is getting scribed by someone.