Skills

Skills measure what a survivor has learned, from swinging an axe to farming, cooking and fixing cars. Each skill runs from level 0 to level 10 and rises through practice. Higher levels make actions faster, safer and more rewarding, and some unlock new recipes. Occupations, traits, skill books and TV shows all speed the climb.

All Character Categories

Leveling

Experience comes from doing the task. Chopping with an axe trains Axe, building trains Carpentry and harvesting trains Agriculture. The game's guide explains that some books give a skill multiplier, and that magazines, VHS tapes and some TV shows teach recipes or grant experience. Levelling up a skill sometimes unlocks new recipes too.

Each level costs more than the last. A regular skill needs 75 experience for level 1, 150 for level 2 and 300 for level 3. Level 4 takes 750 and level 5 takes 1500. After that the cost climbs to 3000, 4500, 6000 and 7500, and level 10 takes 9000. A survivor feels the first levels come quickly and the last ones crawl. Fitness and Strength are passive skills and cost far more, from 1500 for level 1 to 150000 for level 10.

Starting skills learn faster. The occupation screen lists each starting skill with an "XP boost", a "Big XP boost" or a "Huge XP boost". Fast Learner reads "Increased XP gains," and Slow Learner reads "Decreased XP gains." Crafty raises experience for crafting skills only.

Combat

The melee skills are Axe, Long Blunt, Short Blunt, Long Blade, Short Blade and Spear. Each one "Increases attack speed and damage" with its weapon type "and reduces their muscle strain." Each weapon class trains its own skill. Maintenance "Decreases the chance of melee weapons being damaged." It trains through melee combat with any weapon.

Firearms use two skills. Aiming raises the chance to hit with firearms and the chance of extra damage. Reloading raises the speed of reloading firearms and magazines. It trains by reloading.

Crafting

Carpentry "Allows the building of wooden constructions." Carving "Allows the creation of small wooden objects." Cooking "Allows the creation of more nutritious and delicious food." Electrical "Allows the creation and maintenance of electrical devices." Mechanics "Increases the effectiveness of vehicle repairs." Tailoring "Increases the quality of clothing repairs, and defensive padding of clothes." Welding "Allows the building of crude metal barricades and objects."

The newer crafts follow the same pattern. Blacksmithing "Allows the creation of metal items and objects." Knapping makes small stone objects. Masonry builds brick and stone. Pottery makes clay objects, and Glassmaking makes glass.

Some crafting levels teach recipes. Electrical 3 teaches the Generator recipe. Mechanics 8 teaches Basic Mechanics, Mechanics 9 teaches Intermediate Mechanics and Mechanics 10 teaches Advanced Mechanics. The Inventive trait brings each of these one level earlier.

Survival and Farming

First Aid "Increases the available information for injuries, and the quality of medical treatments." Fishing improves the catch and makes fishing gear "less likely to break." Foraging "Increases the quality of items found using Search Mode, available search categories, and the search radius." Tracking reveals more about wild animal clues in Search Mode. Trapping "Increases the chances of catching an animal in a trap, and allows better traps to be crafted."

Agriculture "Increases the available information for crops." It trains only by harvesting crops the survivor planted. Agriculture 10 teaches every growing season. Animal Care increases the information shown about animals and the resources taken from them. Butchering "Increases the quality of meat harvested from animals."

Physical and Agility

Fitness "Increases melee attack speed, and speed and success chance of climbing. Decreases exhaustion rate." Strength raises melee damage and knockback, and it raises the carrying limit. Both rise through running, carrying loads and exercises from the Health menu. The game's guide warns that overdoing it causes muscle strain.

Fitness and Strength also set traits during play. Fitness 0 to 1 means Unfit, 2 to 4 Out of Shape, 6 to 8 Fit and 9 or more Athletic. Strength 0 to 1 means Puny, 2 to 4 Weak, 6 to 8 Stout and 9 or more Strong. Passive skills can also fall if their experience drops too low.

The agility skills cover movement. Running raises running speed. Lightfooted quiets footsteps, whether running, walking or crouching. Nimble raises movement speed in combat stance. Sneaking shrinks the distance at which zombies spot a survivor, and quiets crouched footsteps.

Books, TV and Tapes

Skill books exist for most crafting, survival and farming skills, plus Aiming, Reloading, Long Blade and Maintenance. Each book covers two levels. Reading it before practice multiplies the experience earned at those levels.

The Life and Living TV channel runs lessons in many skills. Watching in the same room as the set grants experience. VHS tapes do the same on a working television. Some shows and tapes teach recipes instead.

Notes

• Doctor starts with First Aid 6, the highest starting skill of any occupation.
• Skills a character starts with keep their faster learning rate for the whole run.
• The skills panel groups skills as Combat, Firearm, Crafting, Farming, Survivalist, Agility and Passive.

All Skills