Skills

Skills are specific talents or nonmagical attacks that crawlers can learn and train inside the Dungeon. Skills are distinct from Player Stats, which are more general ability scores, and from Benefits, which cannot be leveled up.

See Also: Crawler Mechanics • Category:Skills

New Crawlers

New crawlers enter the Dungeon with a laundry list of skills, most of which are level 1-3. A crawler may have 6-8 levels in a few skills related to their profession or something they "trained" for a long time (for example: Carl starts with 6 levels in "Basic Electrical Repair Skill" and 8 levels in Frogger, which he played continuously for a chunk of his childhood, but only 3 levels in "Breathing").^[1]

Example of Starting Skills	Base Level (Carl)
Basic Electrical Repair Skill	6[1]
Breathing	3[1]
Dumpster Diving	?[2]
Frogger - 1981 Video Game Cabinet Version (result hidden due to filters)	8[3]
Lacing Boots	3[3]
Operating a Sony Brand RMVLZ620 Universal Remote Control	1[3]
Swimming	4[1]
Walking	4[1]
Unarmed Combat Skill	3

Skills Menu

After completing the Tutorial, crawlers may access the Skills Menu through the "Crawler Menus" option in their Heads-Up Display (HUD).^[1]

The Skills Menu ultimately allows crawlers to review their current levels in all skills they possess, but, in the absence of some unknown/possibly nonexistent enhancement, does not allow crawlers to see their progress toward the next level.

The basic Skills Menu is a seemingly endless list of pages containing seemingly infinite skills. If a crawler does not have at least one level in a skill, the skill appears "blurred out" on the list.^[1] The menu includes a search box, or crawlers can check and uncheck boxes to filter the list by criteria such as skill level.^[3][1]

Skill Mechanics

Skills can be gained from equipped gear, potions, race and class selection, specialized guildhalls, or by actions taken in the Dungeon.

Skills are gained and trained independently of Player Stats; corresponding stats may affect a skill's strength, but do not affect a skill's level, progress, or a crawler's access to the skill. (For example: Love Vampire Skill works better with higher charisma, but charisma does not impact the skill’s level or experience.^[4])

Skill Levels

In general, skills have a maximum level of 15. A crawler's race or class may unlock the ability to train specific skills (or, in the unique case of the primal race, all skills) up to level 20. Only a few crawlers each season successfully train one or two skills up to level 16 or higher.^[5]

As skills increase in level, the power difference between each level also increases. A level 15 skill is devastatingly powerful, but a level 16 skill may be four times stronger.^[5]

Training Skills

For the most part, skills are trained and leveled up by using them. It's relatively easy to level a first floor skill up to 10 or 11 by the end of the third floor if you use it regularly; however, stronger skills such as Powerful Strike Skill may remain stuck at level nine for a week or longer.^[5][6]

Training skills past level 10 or 11 is a slog, and it becomes more difficult and time-consuming as the skill's level increases.^[5] Various benefits, gear, classes, and races increase "skill progression" for certain classes of skills by a set percentage (%), most likely by applying a multiplier to experience earned toward that skill. Crawlers gain a bonus from training skills in Training Rooms and guildhalls, or can level up skills permanently with potions (e.g. Legendary Skill Potion).

There are no achievements for leveling skills up for the first time. Each time a skill levels up, the crawler receives the notification:

You've gained a skill level!
[Skill Name] Level #

Skill Buffs

Various enchanted gear, Personal Space upgrades, and daily buffs may increase a crawler's level in a certain skill by a set number of points (expressed as "+ #"). This generally works as intended until the combined total of the crawler's base skill + equipped gear + buffs reaches 15+.^[6]

Starting around when a Skill reaches a combined total of level 14, the value of additional gear and buffs scales down; rather than boosting the base skill by a full point, they instead seem to boost the skill by an experience value. As the experience required to level up the skills increases with each new level, the value of the buff decreases.^[6] For example, if a crawler has (12) levels in Skill A: a +3 buff will put them at level 14, and a +6 buff will put them at level 16 (if unlocked).^[7][6] To reach an overall skill level of (20) with a +6 level buff, the crawler would need to train the skill's base level to 17 or 18.^[6]

References