They’re not as flashy as mutations or cybernetics, but skills are one of the most important parts of your character inCaves Of Qud.From active abilities to passive bonuses, skills are going to be what keeps you alive in the unforgiving wilderness of Qud more than anything else.
Your character always starts with a small array of skills based on their Calling or Caste, but after that all the selections are up to you. As long as you meet the requirements, consider taking these skills early to keep your character alive long enough to try the others.
Skill choices can be very situational in Caves Of Qud; these picks aren’t given in any particular order, so take the ones that work the best with your current build.
8Lionheart
Self-Discipline, 21 Willpower, 100 SP
Lionheart is useful throughout the game, but if you’re a new player getting your bearings it can really help you make your way through the introductory quest,What’s Eating The Watervine.The dungeon of Red Rock is usually filled with Dreadroot; these plants are harmless in that they don’t attack, but straying near one has a chance ofcausing your character to become terrified, fleeing in a random direction until they calm down.
Lionheart makes itmuch easier to remove the terror effectonce it’s inflicted, reducing the distance that you’ll flee and mitigating the chance that you’ll barge straight into a nest of giant centipedes or a swarm of snapjaws. The high Willpower required to learn it alsohelps you heal faster, especially if you make use of theMeditationability that gets unlocked when you learnSelf-Disciplineas a prerequisite.
7Mind’s Compass
Wayfaring, 15 Intelligence, 100 SP
You’ll learn Mind’s Compassas soon as you unlock the Wayfaring Skill, provided your Intelligence is high enough, and it’s well worth the investment. This incredibly useful skilldoubles your rate of movement on theWorld Map, making it easier to get where you’re going without getting hungry or thirsty.
Even better, Mind’s Compassreduces your base chance of getting lostandincreases your chance of regaining your bearings. Getting lost can be anything from a minor inconvenience to a deadly detour, so it’s best to keep it from happening as much as possible.
6Steady Hands
Bows & Rifles, 19 Agility, 100 SP
If you don’t start the game with access to a ranged attack, it’s a good idea to get one as soon as possible. For most characters, this means scrounging up a shortbow or, if you’re lucky, an Issachari Rifle and learning to use it.
19 Agility is a bit of a steep investment if you have Attribute Points you’d rather spend elsewhere, but given how important Agility is to surviving in Caves Of Qud (you’re going to see it come up a lot more on this list), there are worse places to overcommit. Steady Hands comes with the Bow & Rifle skill, and allows you tofire those weapons as if your Agility were four points higher, effectively giving you a+2 to hiton every shot.
5Swift Reflexes
Acrobatics, 17 Agility, 75 SP
Just as it’s important to be able to bring down enemies from afar, it’s equally important to make sure that they don’t do the same to you. TheAcrobaticsskill set is fairly small, and all but one of its abilities has a very reasonable requirement of only 17 Agility, and it’s very good for staying alive in Qud.
The introductory Acrobatics skill, Swift Reflexes, gives youan excellent +5 to your Dodge(DV for short) against ranged attacks. It’s not a guarantee that opponents will miss, especially if they’re expert marksmen or have other advantages, but it willsave you a ton of damage over the course of an engagement, to say nothing of the entire campaign.
4Spry
Acrobatics, 17 Agility, 100 SP
In for a penny, in for a pound. Once you unlock Swift Reflexes, there’s no reason not to spend the extra hundred SP andget Spry as well.It gives you aflat +2 to your Dodgeagainst all attacks, ranged or melee.
This stacks with the bonus that you get from Swift Reflexes, giving you a very nice +7 to avoid enemy shots!
This bonus can work brilliantly with a light armor build,pushing your DV well into the double digits.On the other hand, if you got your hands on a nice set of lacquered carbide armor and want to use it,Spry can help offset the DV penalty from heavy armor as well, letting you get the best of both worlds.
3Intimidate
Persuasion, 17 Ego, 200 SP
Caves Of Qud doesn’t pull any punches, and neither should you. Intimidate is perfect for characters with ahigh Ego Attribute,like Mental Mutants and Consuls, and gives you a potential escape route if you find yourself overwhelmed.
When you activate Intimidate,the game tests your Egoagainst the mental defense of every hostile creature adjacent to you. Each one that you overcomeflees in terrorfor 6–24 rounds, giving you a chance to slip away yourself.
Menacing Stare, which comes for free with the Persuasion skill set, can do the same thing to a single target.
2Jab
Short Blades, 17 Agility, 100 SP
Having a short blade in your off-hand(s) is a great way to increase the number of attacks that you make in melee, shortening fights and helping you level up faster. Jab lets you do so even more effectively,making a free extra attack every time you get an off-hand attack with a short blade.
You can increase the chances of this by taking skills in theMultiweapon Fightingset.
Unless your character has Night Vision or another way of lighting up the dark, you may need your extra hand for carrying a torch. The other option, of course, is touse the torch as your main hand weaponand use theBloodletterskill to make your off-hand knives inflict bleed.
1Swipe
Long Blades, 17 Strength, 200 SP
Versatility can be your biggest strength in Caves Of Qud.Long Blades are the most versatile weapon class, and Swipe is an early way to help you get the most out of them.
Unlocking the Long Blades skill set gives you access tofighting stances, and the effects of Swipe will vary based on your stance. If you’ve also unlockedDueling Stance, you’ll have a powerful third option at your disposal as well.
Make one attack each against every adjacent enemy.
Defensive
Push every adjacent creature one space away from you and attempt to trip them.
Dueling
Attack one opponent for a guaranteed hit plus a chance to disarm them.
You must have a Long Blade equipped in your primary hand (the one with the green asterisk on your equipment screen) to adopt a stance, and therefore to use Swipe.
Caves Of Qud
WHERE TO PLAY
Caves of Qud is a science fantasy roguelike epic steeped in retrofuturism, deep simulation, and swathes of sentient plants. Come inhabit a living, breathing world and chisel through layers of thousand-year-old civilizations. Decide: is it a dying earth, or is it on the verge of rebirth?Do anything and everything. Caves of Qud is a deeply simulated, biologically diverse, richly cultured world.DEEP PHYSICAL SIMULATION — Don’t like the wall blocking your way? Dig through it with a pickaxe, or eat through it with your corrosive gas mutation, or melt it to lava. Yes, every wall has a melting point.FULLY SIMULATED CREATURES — Every monster and NPC is as fully simulated as the player. That means they have levels, skills, equipment, faction allegiances, and body parts. So if you have a mutation that lets you, say, psionically dominate a spider, you can traipse through the world as a spider, laying webs and eating things.DYNAMIC FACTION SYSTEM — Pursue allegiances with over 70 factions: apes, crabs, trees, robots, and highly entropic beings, just to name a few.RICHLY DETAILED SCIENCE FANTASY SETTING — Over fifteen years of worldbuilding have led to a rich, weird, labyrinthine, one-of-a-kind storyworld, layered on top of the simulation, all for you to explore. Live and drink, friend.TACTICAL GAMEPLAY — Turn-based, sandbox exploration and combat offers as many solutions as you and your mutations, implants, artifacts, and skills are creative enough to invent.
