Maintenance Skill

Maintenance

Class	Skills
Type	Skill
Skill Group	Combat - Melee
Max Level	10
Total XP	32,775
Skill Books	Maintenance Skill Books
Best Occupation	DIY Expert (+2)

The Maintenance Skill governs how well a character looks after melee weapons. It lowers the chance that a melee weapon loses condition with each hit. It belongs to the Combat - Melee group, even though it covers every kind of melee weapon at once.

Weapons wear down fast in a long run, and a broken bat in the middle of a horde can be fatal. A high Maintenance level keeps weapons working for far longer. It also makes repairs more likely to succeed and restores more condition per repair. Tools last longer too, because the skill reduces their wear during crafting and building. The skill also opens many weapon recipes, from shivs to spears and mauls. The DIY Expert starts with the most of it. The Burger Flipper, Carpenter, Chef, Construction Worker, Lumberjack and Blacksmith each start with a smaller head start.

How to Level Maintenance

Maintenance experience comes from melee combat. Each hit with a melee weapon has a chance to give some experience. That includes hits on zombies, trees, cars and doors. Weapons that rarely lose condition give much less Maintenance experience per hit. Fragile weapons train the skill faster.

Crafting is the other way up. Many simple recipes give Maintenance experience. A common early plan is to make a Shiv, a Toothbrush Shiv or an Improvised Screwdriver from easy loot. Each of these gives a good chunk of experience for little effort. Sharpening blades also gives a little, so carrying a whetstone and sharpening every bladed item found keeps the skill climbing.

Fixing weapons with tape, glue or zipties gives experience too. Repairs with Duct Tape give the most among the simple fixes.

The Fast Learner trait raises the experience rate to 130 percent. The Slow Learner trait lowers it to 70 percent. The Reluctant Fighter trait lowers it to 75 percent.

Chopping trees counts as a melee hit for this skill. A character who fells trees with an axe for firewood or logs also trains Maintenance. That makes base work a quiet way to train without fighting zombies.

Crafting gives the steadiest progress early on. Improvised weapons, spear assembly and tire armour all award experience as they are made. Each recipe uses cheap materials, so a pile of tires, tape and scrap turns into skill levels. The weapons made along the way serve as spares or as cheap training weapons for other combat skills.

A balanced plan uses both routes. Craft and sharpen at the base during quiet hours. Fight with a fragile weapon when out looting. The two routes together raise the skill much faster than either alone.

The XP each Maintenance level asks for, with the running total from level 0.

Level	XP Needed	Total XP
1	75	75
2	150	225
3	300	525
4	750	1,275
5	1,500	2,775
6	3,000	5,775
7	4,500	10,275
8	6,000	16,275
9	7,500	23,775
10	9,000	32,775

Maintenance Level Effects

Each level lowers the chance that a melee weapon loses condition on a hit. The effect covers every melee weapon, from a frying pan to a katana. A well-trained character can fight for days with one good weapon.

Repairs also improve. A higher level raises the chance that a repair works, and it restores more condition each time. Tools wear down more slowly during crafting and building.

New recipes open as the skill rises. Level 1 brings most of the stone, bone and improvised weapons, plus spear assembly. Level 2 allows fixing saws and making tire forearm and shin armour. Level 3 brings epoxy repairs, railspike weapons and the jawbone axe. Levels 4 and 5 add the heavier mauls and the tire body armour.

The chance of a weapon losing condition depends on two skills at once. One is Maintenance, and the other is the skill for that weapon type. A character with high levels in both barely wears down a sturdy weapon. That pairing is why Maintenance helps every fighting style, whether the character uses an axe, a bat or a spear.

The benefit grows most noticeable with fragile weapons. Spears and knives break quickly at low skill. With a high Maintenance level, the same weapons stay in use for many more fights.

Maintenance Skill Books

The Maintenance Skill Books come in five volumes. Each volume speeds up experience for two levels. Maintenance I: "Basic Repairs" covers the first two levels. Maintenance V: "Understanding Biomechanics of Tool Use" covers the last two. Reading a volume just before its levels gives the most benefit.

The five volumes, the levels each one speeds up, the XP bonus while those levels are trained, and how long each takes to read. Reading times are game time at the default two minutes a page. Sitting down and wearing Reading Glasses each cut the time by a tenth, the Fast Reader trait cuts it by about a third, and Slow Reader adds a third.

Volume	Levels	XP Bonus	Pages	Read Time	Spawn ID
Maintenance I: "Basic Repairs"	1 to 2	x3	220	7 h 20 min	`/additem Base.BookMaintenance1`
Maintenance II: "Better Tools, Made Easy"	3 to 4	x5	260	8 h 40 min	`/additem Base.BookMaintenance2`
Maintenance III: "Home Guide to Tool Repairs"	5 to 6	x8	300	10 h	`/additem Base.BookMaintenance3`
Maintenance IV: "Maintaining High Grade Tools"	7 to 8	x12	340	11 h 20 min	`/additem Base.BookMaintenance4`
Maintenance V: "Understanding Biomechanics of Tool Use"	9 to 10	x16	380	12 h 40 min	`/additem Base.BookMaintenance5`

Set of Maintenance Books bundles all five volumes in one item and unpacks into them.

Item	Image	Spawn ID
Set of Maintenance Books		`/additem Base.BookMaintenanceSet`

Maintenance Starting Levels

The DIY Expert begins with two levels of Maintenance. The Burger Flipper, Carpenter, Chef, Construction Worker, Lumberjack and Blacksmith each begin with one level. The Blacksmith Knowledge, Handy, Tinkerer and Bushcrafter traits each add one level.

A head start means weapons last longer from the first fight. It also opens the level 1 crafting recipes straight away.

The DIY Expert is the strongest pick for a character built around weapon care. Its two levels open every level 1 recipe and part of the way to level 2. A trait such as Handy or Tinkerer stacks on top of an occupation level for an even stronger start.

These occupations and traits start a character with levels in Maintenance.

Name	Type	Levels	Points
DIY Expert	Occupation	+2	-2
Blacksmith	Occupation	+1	-6
Blacksmith Knowledge	Trait	+1	-6
Burger Flipper	Occupation	+1	+2
Bushcrafter	Trait	+1	-8
Carpenter	Occupation	+1	-2
Chef	Occupation	+1	-2
Construction Worker	Occupation	+1	-2
Handy	Trait	+1	-8
Lumberjack	Occupation	+1	0
Tinkerer	Trait	+1	-4

Maintenance Recipes

At the lowest level, the skill covers simple repairs. Weapons can be fixed with Adhesive Tape, Duct Tape, Glue or Wood Glue. Blades can be sharpened with a file, a whetstone or a grindstone.

The next step opens most improvised weapons. These include the Shiv, Glass Shiv, Bone Club, Crude Stone Axe and Stone Hammer. Spear heads can be bound to a shaft, and weapons can be wrapped in barbed wire.

Mid levels add the jawbone weapons, railspike weapons and tire armour pieces. The highest Maintenance recipes make the Bolt Metal Bat, Kettle Maul and Bucket Maul, plus the Tire Body Armor.

Every recipe that asks for Maintenance or trains it, one tab per level asked.

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
Spear with Glass Head		Bind Spear Head With Duct Tape	1x Broken Glass or similar 1x Long Stick or Sapling 2x Duct Tape	-	Maintenance: 0	In Hand	No	`/additem Base.SpearGlass`
-	-	Fix With Adhesive Tape	3x Adhesive Tape	Axe	Maintenance: 0	In Hand	No	`/additem Base.Scotchtape`
-	-	Fix With Duct Tape	2x Duct Tape	Axe	Maintenance: 0	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.DuctTape`
-	-	Fix With Glue	2x Glue	Axe	Maintenance: 0	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Glue`
-	-	Sharpen Blade	-	Axe Whetstone	Maintenance: 0	In Hand	No	`/additem Base.Axe_Old`
-	-	Sharpen Blade Poorly with File	-	Axe File	Maintenance: 0	In Hand	No	`/additem Base.Axe_Old`
-	-	Sharpen Blade with Grindstone	-	Axe	Maintenance: 0	Grindstone	No	`/additem Base.Axe_Old`
-	-	Fix With Wood Glue	2x Wood Glue	Axe	Carpentry: 2	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Woodglue`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
Simple Shortsword		Assemble Bladed Item	1x Simple Shortsword Blade or similar 1x Small Handle	Claw Hammer	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.CrudeShortSword`
Simple Metal Knife		Assemble Crude Knife	1x Simple Metal Blade or similar 1x Small Handle 1x Rag	-	Maintenance: 1	In Hand	No	`/additem Base.CrudeKnife`
Axe		Assemble Long Implement	1x Axe Head or similar 1x Large Handle	Claw Hammer Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Axe_Old`
Mace		Assemble Mace	1x Mace Head 1x Short Bat or Large Handle	Claw Hammer Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Mace`
Ball-peen Hammer		Assemble Medium Implement	1x Ball Peen Hammer Head or similar 1x Medium Handle	Claw Hammer Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.BallPeenHammer`
Spear with Long Metal Head		Assemble Spear	1x Long Metal Spearhead or Metal Spearhead 1x Long Stick or Sapling	Claw Hammer Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.SpearLong`
Stone Mace		Assemble Stone Mace	1x Stone Mace Head 1x Short Bat or Large Handle	Claw Hammer Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Mace_Stone`
Garden Hoe		Assemble Very Long Implement	1x Garden Hoe Head or similar 1x Long Stick	Claw Hammer Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.GardenHoe`
Broom with Barbed-Wire		Barbed-Wire Wrap Weapon	1x Broom or similar 1x Barbed Wire	Pliers	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.Broom_BarbedWire`
Spear with Glass Head		Bind Spear Head	1x Broken Glass or similar 1x Long Stick or Sapling 2x Zip Ties or similar	-	Maintenance: 1	In Hand	Yes	`/additem Base.SpearGlass`
Spear with Glass Head		Bind Spear Head With Wire	1x Broken Glass or similar 1x Long Stick or Sapling 2x Wire or Electrical Wire	Pliers	Maintenance: 1	In Hand	Yes	`/additem Base.SpearGlass`
-	-	Fix With Zipties	1x Zip Ties	Axe	Maintenance: 1	In Hand	No	`/additem Base.Zipties`
Bone Club		Make Bone Club	1x Animal Bone or Large Animal Bone 2x Leather Strips	-	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.BoneClub`
Bone War Hatchet		Make Bone War Hatchet	1x Bone War Hatchet Head 1x Tree Branch 2x Leather Strips	Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Hatchet_Bone`
Crude Stone Axe		Make Crude Stone Axe	1x Tree Branch 1x Sharp Flint Flake 2x Rag	-	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.AxeStone`
Glass Shiv		Make Glass Shiv	1x Broken Glass 1x Rag	-	Maintenance: 1	In Hand	Yes	`/additem Base.GlassShiv`
Improvised Screwdriver		Make Improvised Screwdriver	1x Steel Bar Quarter or similar 1x Rag	Whetstone	Maintenance: 1	In Hand	Yes	`/additem Base.Screwdriver_Improvised`
Improvised Whetstone		Make Improvised Whetstone	2x Stone	-	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.CrudeWhetstone`
Large Stone Axe		Make Large Stone Axe	1x Large Handle 1x Large Stone Axe Head 3x Rag	Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.StoneAxeLarge`
Iron Pipe with Railspike		Make Railspike Iron Pipe	1x Railroad Spike 2x Duct Tape 1x Iron Pipe	-	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.MetalPipe_Railspike`
Shiv		Make Shiv	1x Steel Bar Quarter or similar 1x Rag	Whetstone	Maintenance: 1	In Hand	Yes	`/additem Base.KnifeShiv`
Stone Hammer		Make Stone Hammer	1x Tree Branch 1x Stone 2x Rag	Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.HammerStone`
Stone Maul		Make Stone Maul	1x Large Handle 1x Stone Maul Head 3x Rag	Large Knife	Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.StoneMaul`
Tire Sandals		Make Tire Sandals	1x Tire Piece 2x Leather Strips 2x Buckle 1x Thread	Large Knife Hand Drill Needle Awl Hacksaw	Tailoring: 1, Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Shoes_TireSandals`
Toothbrush Shiv		Make Toothbrush Shiv	1x Toothbrush 1x Lighter 1x Rag	Whetstone	Maintenance: 1	In Hand	Yes	`/additem Base.Toothbrush_Shiv`
Crash Helmet - Spiked		Spike Large Armor	1x Crash Helmet or similar 2x Small Leather (Crude) 4x Sinew Thread 6x Nails	Scissors Needle Awl Claw Hammer	Tailoring: 5, Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.Hat_CrashHelmetFULL_Spiked`
Spiked Football Shoulderpad - Left		Spike Soft Armor	1x Football Shoulderpad - Left or similar 1x Small Leather (Crude) 2x Sinew Thread 3x Nails	Scissors Needle Awl Claw Hammer	Tailoring: 5, Maintenance: 1	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.Shoulderpad_Football_Spiked_L`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
-	-	Fix Saw	-	Hacksaw File	Maintenance: 2	In Hand	No	`/additem Base.Saw`
Jawbone Club		Make Jawbone Club	1x Jawbone 1x Medium Handle 2x Leather Strips	-	Maintenance: 2	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.JawboneBovide_Club`
Machete Blade Knife		Make Knife From Machete Blade	1x Machete Blade (No Tang) or Machete Blade (No Tang) 1x Rag	Whetstone	Maintenance: 2	In Hand	No	`/additem Base.MacheteKnife`
Tire Forearm Armor		Make Tire Forearm Armor	1x Tire Piece 2x Leather Strips 2x Buckle 2x Nuts and Bolts 1x Sinew Thread	Large Knife Hand Drill Wrench Needle Awl Hacksaw	Tailoring: 3, Maintenance: 2	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.VambraceTire_Right`
Tire Shin Armor		Make Tire Shin Armor	1x Tire Piece 2x Leather Strips 2x Buckle 2x Nuts and Bolts 1x Sinew Thread	Large Knife Hand Drill Wrench Needle Awl Hacksaw	Tailoring: 3, Maintenance: 2	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.GreaveTire_Right`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
-	-	Fix With Epoxy	1x Epoxy 1x Fiberglass Tape	Scissors Axe	Maintenance: 3	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Epoxy`
Jawbone War Axe		Make Jawbone Axe	1x Jawbone 1x Tree Branch 2x Leather Strips	Large Knife	Maintenance: 3	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.JawboneBovide_Axe`
Large Handle with Railspike		Make Railspike Large Handle	2x Railroad Spike 1x Leather Strips 1x Large Handle	-	Maintenance: 3	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.LongHandle_Railspike`
Short Bat with Railspike		Make Railspike Weapon	1x Railroad Spike 1x Leather Strips 1x Short Bat or Tree Branch	-	Maintenance: 3	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.ShortBat_RailSpike`
Tire Thigh Armor		Make Tire Thigh Armor	1x Tire Piece 2x Leather Strips 2x Buckle 2x Nuts and Bolts 1x Sinew Thread	Large Knife Hand Drill Wrench Needle Awl Hacksaw	Tailoring: 3, Maintenance: 3	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.ThighTire_R`
Tire Shoulder Armor - Left		Make Tire Shoulder Armor - Left	1x Tire Piece 2x Leather Strips 1x Buckle 2x Nuts and Bolts 1x Sinew Thread	Large Knife Hand Drill Wrench Needle Awl Hacksaw	Tailoring: 4, Maintenance: 3	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.Shoulderpad_Tire_L`
Tire Shoulder Armor - Right		Make Tire Shoulder Armor - Right	1x Tire Piece 2x Leather Strips 1x Buckle 2x Nuts and Bolts 1x Sinew Thread	Large Knife Hand Drill Wrench Needle Awl Hacksaw	Tailoring: 4, Maintenance: 3	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.Shoulderpad_Tire_R`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
-	-	Fix With Epoxy And Rags	1x Epoxy 2x Rag or Denim Strips	Axe	Maintenance: 4	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.Epoxy`
Metal Baseball Bat with Bolts		Make Bolt Metal Bat	1x Metal Baseball Bat 2x Nuts and Bolts	Wrench Hand Drill	Maintenance: 4	Any Surface	No	`/additem Base.BaseballBat_Metal_Bolts`
Kettle Maul - Wood Handle		Make Kettle Maul	1x Kettle 1x Large Handle or similar 2x Rag or similar 1x Nuts and Bolts 2x Bucket of Concrete 1x Rope	Wrench Hand Drill	Maintenance: 4	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.KettleMace_Wood`

Name	Image	Recipe	Crafting Materials	Tools	Skill	Station	Learned	Spawn ID
Bucket Maul - Wood Handle		Make Bucket Maul	1x Bucket 1x Large Handle or similar 2x Rag or similar 1x Nuts and Bolts 2x Bucket of Concrete	Wrench Hand Drill	Maintenance: 5	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.BucketMace_Wood`
Tire Body Armor		Make Tire Body Armor	2x Tire Piece 4x Leather Strips 4x Nuts and Bolts 1x Sinew Thread	Large Knife Hand Drill Wrench Needle Awl Hacksaw	Tailoring: 6, Maintenance: 5	Any Surface	Yes	`/additem Base.Cuirass_Tire`

Notes

Make shivs and improvised screwdrivers early for quick experience.
Sharpen every blade found to keep the skill rising.
Fragile weapons train Maintenance faster than sturdy ones.
The skill protects every melee weapon, so it pays off for any fighter.
A higher level also slows tool wear during crafting.

All Character Categories

All Skills

Skill	Type	Total XP	Spawn ID
Axe	Skill	32,775	`/additem Base.Axe_Old`
Long Blunt	Skill	32,775	-
Short Blunt	Skill	32,775	-
Long Blade	Skill	32,775	-
Short Blade	Skill	32,775	-
Spear	Skill	32,775	-
Maintenance	Skill	32,775	-

Skill	Image	Type	Total XP
Aiming		Skill	32,775
Reloading		Skill	32,775

Skill	Type	Total XP
Carpentry	Skill	32,775
Carving	Skill	32,775
Cooking	Skill	32,775
Electrical	Skill	32,775
Glassmaking	Skill	32,775
Knapping	Skill	32,775
Masonry	Skill	32,775
Blacksmithing	Skill	32,775
Mechanics	Skill	32,775
Pottery	Skill	32,775
Tailoring	Skill	32,775
Welding	Skill	32,775