Skills System

Skills determine your proficiency in various survival tasks. Performing actions earns Experience Points (XP) in the corresponding skill, which leads to level-ups and unlocks powerful bonuses.

Skill List

Core Skills

Gathering: Finding edible plants, medicinal herbs, and natural resources. Reduces food poisoning risk.
Hunting: Accuracy and damage with bows/spears. Affects trap success and game tracking.
Fishing: Success rate when fishing. Improved by Agility attribute.
Tracking: Success in finding game, checking traps, and detecting danger early.
Butchering: Amount of meat/resources harvested from animals (meat, organs, fat, sinew).
Cooking: Food quality, nutrition value, amount produced, and reduced burn chance.
Crafting: Success rate and durability of crafted items (tools, traps, weapons).
Carpentry: Required for advanced buildings (Cabins, Greenhouses, Apiaries). Improves structure durability.
Farming: Crop yield, planting success rate, and growth speed.
Stealth: Ability to avoid detection and reduce encounter rates.

XP and Leveling

XP Gain

Base XP: Actions grant XP based on difficulty and random factors.
Intelligence Bonus: Higher Intelligence increases XP gain (+5% per point above 3).
Sleep Penalty: Sleep deprivation reduces XP gains (up to -60% at severe deprivation).
Success Multiplier: Successfully completing actions grants more XP than failures.

Leveling Formula

XP required to next level: 5 + 0.7 × Level + 0.015 × Level² (quadratic scaling)
Skill Cap: Level 100 maximum

Attribute Synergy

Skills contribute to attribute XP (50% of skill XP):

Strength: Hunting, Butchering, Carpentry
Agility: Stealth, Fishing, Tracking
Intelligence: Crafting, Cooking, Farming
Endurance: Gained from movement and surviving damage

Skill Unlocks

Each skill unlocks powerful bonuses at levels 20/40/60/80:

Gathering

Level 20: Identify rare medicinal plants
Level 40: 15% gathering efficiency bonus
Level 60: Notice hidden caches while gathering
Level 80: Master Gatherer - 25% chance for double yield

Hunting

Level 20: Track prey over longer distances
Level 40: 20% less arrow wastage (improved aim)
Level 60: Harvest premium cuts from game
Level 80: Master Hunter - Critical hits deal 50% more damage (20% crit chance)

Fishing

Level 20: Identify the best fishing spots
Level 40: 15% better catch chance
Level 60: Catch rare fish species
Level 80: Master Angler - 30% chance for double catch

Crafting

Level 20: Repair items more effectively
Level 40: +20% crafted item durability
Level 60: Improvise tools from scavenged materials
Level 80: Master Crafter - +40% item quality and durability

Tracking

Level 20: Identify animal species by tracks
Level 40: Notice danger signs earlier
Level 60: Predict animal movement patterns
Level 80: Master Tracker - Never lose a trail

Cooking

Level 20: Preserve food longer
Level 40: +20% nutrition from cooked meals
Level 60: Create gourmet meals from simple ingredients
Level 80: Master Chef - Meals provide temporary stat bonuses

Butchering

Level 20: Waste less meat when butchering
Level 40: Harvest additional organs and fat
Level 60: Expert Butcher - 25% more yield from carcasses
Level 80: Master Butcher - Harvest rare materials (sinew, bladder)

Carpentry

Level 20: Build basic furniture
Level 40: +20% structure durability
Level 60: Design complex multi-room buildings
Level 80: Master Carpenter - Weatherproof structures last 50% longer

Farming

Level 20: Understand crop rotation basics
Level 40: Crops grow 15% faster
Level 60: Cultivate rare and exotic plants
Level 80: Master Farmer - Crops yield 35% more produce

Skill Synergies

Related skills boost each other's effectiveness. For every 10 levels in a related skill, gain +0.5 bonus to the primary skill (max +10 total).

Synergy Relationships

Gathering: Boosted by Tracking, Cooking
Hunting: Boosted by Tracking, Butchering
Fishing: Boosted by Gathering, Cooking
Crafting: Boosted by Carpentry, Gathering
Tracking: Boosted by Hunting, Gathering
Cooking: Boosted by Gathering, Butchering
Butchering: Boosted by Hunting, Cooking
Carpentry: Boosted by Crafting, Gathering
Farming: Boosted by Gathering, Cooking

Example: If you have Tracking at level 50 and Butchering at level 40, your Hunting skill gets +2.5 from Tracking (50 ÷ 10 × 0.5) and +2.0 from Butchering (40 ÷ 10 × 0.5) = +4.5 total bonus.

Passive Bonuses

Beyond unlocks, high skill levels provide passive benefits:

Universal Bonuses

Level 40+: 15% efficiency bonus
Level 60+: 15% yield bonus
Level 80+: 25% quality bonus, 10% speed bonus

Skill-Specific Passives

Gathering 80: 25% double yield chance
Hunting 80: 20% critical hit chance
Fishing 80: 30% double catch chance
Crafting 80: 40% better durability
Cooking 40: 20% more nutrition
Butchering 60: 25% more yield
Carpentry 80: 50% better durability
Farming 40: 15% faster growth
Farming 80: 35% more yield

Starting Skills

Starting skill levels depend on your chosen loadout and perks:

Primary Skill: 60-75 (based on profession)
Secondary Skill: 50-60
Cooking/Butchering: 20-50 (general survival skills)
Farming/Stealth: 10-40 (specialized skills)
Other Skills: 0-50 (random)

Perk Modifiers

Outdoorsman: +15 Tracking, +15 Gathering
City Dweller: -10 Tracking, -10 Hunting

Companion Skills

Recruited NPCs have their own skill sets based on their specialization:

Hunter: Tracking 70, Hunting 60, Stealth 65
Builder: Crafting 75, Carpentry 70
Gatherer: Gathering 65

Companions provide passive bonuses to related actions when active.