Whether your character inCaves Of Qudis a Mutant or a True Kin, they’re going to need to rely on learning skills in addition to their genotype powers. The game’s skill tree is one of the few things that’s completely the same each run, and you can use that consistency to your advantage.
Skills encompass just about everything you can do in the game, from crafting and exploration to combat and survival. There’s more to them than just spending a few points every time you level up, though; Qud has ways to circumvent the skill tree entirely.
How To Use Skills In Caves Of Qud
When you learn a new skill, it will give your character new abilities. This can take the form of either apassive bonusthat is always on, or anactive abilitythat can be used from the bar at the bottom of the screen.
Pressing the A key lets you set up the ability bar however you’d like.
Some passive skills can betoggled on or offby using their associated ability. This is usually a free action that doesn’t take any time.
When you activate an ability, you’ll usually have tochoose a target, typically an enemy or a point on the map within range. Activated abilities, whether they come from skills, Mutations, or Cybernetics,have a cooldown measured in turnsbefore they can be used again.
Your Willpower Attribute reduces the cooldown of your powers.
How To Use Harvestry, Butchery, And Scavenging
TheHarvestry and Butcheryskills from theCooking & Gatheringset, as well as theScavengingskill fromTinkering, allow your character to instantly collect raw materials when they pass them on the map. These are all toggleable, but unless you’re nearing your carrying capacity you’ll usually want to leave them on.
Again,these actions are automatic as long as they’re turned on. If you have one or more of these skills, thenall you need to do is move over a searchable tileto harvest, butcher, or scavenge an item.
How To Learn New Skills
The most basic way to learn a new skill is tospend the SP that you gain from leveling up. Every character getsfour SP times their Intelligence score per level, plus a bonus based on their genotype, as follows:
10
50
70
11
54
74
12
58
78
13
62
82
14
66
86
15
90
16
94
17
98
18
102
19
106
20
110
21
114
22
118
23
122
you may spend SP to eitherunlock a new skill setorlearn a new skill within a set that you’ve unlocked.The cost ranges from 50 to 200 SP. Unlocking a skill set doesn’t have any prerequisites, butthe skills within a set all have minimum Attribute scoresthat you’ll need before you can learn them.
Every skill set includes afree skillthat you learn automatically as long as you meet the Attribute requirement for it.
Once you’ve unlocked a skill set, you canlearn the skills from that set in any order. There are a handful of exceptions that require other skills as prerequisites, but other than those, you don’t need to take the skills from top to bottom; as long as you have the Attributes and the SP, you’re good to go.
Learning Skills Without SP
If you’re playing a True Kin character, you’re able to also learn skills byinstalling Skillsoft Cybernetics.These take up License Points, but as long as they’re equipped you’llknow the skill written on them.
You can also learn skills from NPCs byperforming the Water Ritualif you have a high enough Reputation with their faction. The starting Village always has a skill to teach based on its biome, so after you’ve completed your initial quests you might want to consideroffering water to the village leaderand asking them toteach you their ways.
Like the skills that your character has at the start of the game, skills gained through either of these methodsignore the usual prerequisites; you can learn them regardless of whether your stats would normally prevent you from doing so.
