Topic

Updated Explanation of Skills! (Particularly those tricky plant-related ones)

I have updated my old skills-explanation post to include the new skills, as well as include Better Learning now that we actually know what it does. I don't know if anyone else still uses this in their planning, but I know people found it helpful when I first posted it, and maybe some of our newer players will find it helpful as well. 

With the introduction of Unlearning as well as the new value of Herbalism skills, knowing what all those darn plant skills do seems more important than ever!

As always, if you find errors or additions, please let me know.

Here's the old post, with updates:

In Beta I mostly just stayed away from the brown columns of the skills periodic table because I found it so confusing trying to figure out which plant-related skills did what. There were some for plants and trees, others for crops (aren't crops plants?), and wait, another whole set of skills also for plants and trees?  

Well, yesterday I sat down and made myself a list of every skill and what it does, along with the prerequisites for each skill and the other skills each skill is a prerequisite for. I finally understand the mystery of the plants! It was also just generally helpful for mapping out what skills I want to learn next and what skills I'll need to learn first. 

For the record (and I think this is what was causing most of my confusion): "Plants and trees" refers to what I think of as "trees": Bean trees, fruit trees, bubble trees, wood trees, gas plants, spice plants, and paper trees. It does NOT refer to what you grow in the plots in your garden (like potatoes, corn, spinach, etc.). Those are "crops." And then of course "herbs" refers to the other things you can grow in your garden, but only if you have an herb garden. "Herbs" are things like rookswort and purple. 

This is not the fanciest chart, but hopefully it can be helpful to at least someone besides me. =P This will be totally obscure to someone who is not at all familiar with the game, but it's intended more to clear up the fine distinctions between skills and let you see at a glance (without having to hover over each one) what improvements you get from each advancement along a skill path. 

The key:  

*PRE = prerequisite (you must learn this other skill before you can learn the skill in question). I have not listed the obvious - you need AK1 before you can learn AK2, for example. Sometimes the prereq is an Achievement rather than a skill.

*NEC = the skill in question is necessary for learning another skill. For example, AK2 is needed before you can learn HK, so in the AK2 description it says "*NEC for HK" 

*GIANT NAME = You need to have spent the emblem of this giant before you can learn this skill

SKILLS
AK1 - pig, butterfly, chicken: no fail, faster, less energy 
AK2 - more meat, more milk, more grain *NEC for HK 
AK3 - chance of large milk/meat/grain bonuses 
AK4 - more milk/meat, *NEC for AH 
AK5 - no lotion, naming animals 
AK6 - no pet, no massage, 2x/day harvest *HUMBABA 
AK7 - higher xp, frequent rewards *PRE is HK 

HK - capture piggies, free backyard animals, *PRE is SA2, AK2, *NEC for RHK 
AH - season & hatch eggs, *PRE is AK4 
RHK - automated milk & meat collection, *PRE is HK, AK6 

SA1 - dig faster, get loam 
SA2 - faster/more xp patch tending, more loam *NEC for G1, HK, Jellisac 
SA3 - patch tending mood boost, less wear, bonus items *NEC for Croppery, Bog 
SA4 - faster/more xp tending & digging *SPRIGGAN 
SA5 - more bonus, more loam, less energy dirt & patches 

LGT1 - watering & petting trees: no fail, less time, gain xp  
LGT2 - xp/faster watering trees, *NEC for Fruit, Bubble, Spice, Gas 
LGT3 - xp/mood watering trees *GRENDALINE 

G1 - Harvest trees: 50% greater yield, *PRE is SA2, LGT1 
G2 - harvest trees 2x/day, xp for harvest 
G3 - less energy, super harvest, bonus from trees *MAB 
G4 - super harvest, xp harvest, bonus from trees 
G5 - super harvest, bonus from trees 

C1 - 2x crop yield, *PRE is SA3, G2 
C2 - less energy on crops, super harvest 
C3 - mood/xp tending crops, 3x super harvest 

B - bean seasoning, poison trees *PRE is SA2, IA 
BS - bigger peat yields, *PRE is SA3, *NEC for H1, Fuelmaking 
JH - fast/less energy jellisac, *PRE is SA2, *NEC for Fuelmaking 

H1 - herb: bonuses, potential double yield herb plant/shuck, *PRE is G2, BS, *NEC for Tincturing 
H2 - herb: bonuses, potential 3x harvest, 2x shuck 

G - no fail, faster/less energy to make gas, *PRE is LGT2 
FC - no fail, faster/less energy to do fruit change, *PRE is LGT2 
SM - no fail, faster/less energy to do spice milling, *PRE is LGT2 
BT - no fail, faster/less energy to do bubble tuning, *PRE is LGT2 

EZC1 - cutting board, *NEC for C1, B1 
EZC2 - new recipes, more efficient, *PRE is Able Chopper (use board 11 times)

C1 - frying pan, *PRE is EZ1, *NEC for Grill, Sauce 
C2 - new recipes, more efficient, *PRE is Decent Hash Slinger (use pan 11 times)
C3 - recipes, *NEC for MC1 

G1 - grill, *PRE is C1, *NEC for MC1 
G2 - new recipes, more efficient, *PRE is Brazier Apprentice (use grill 11 times)  

S1 - saucepan, *PRE is C1, *NEC for MC1 
S2 - new recipes, more efficient, *PRE is Rolling Boiler (use saucepan 11 times)

B1 - blender/juice, *PRE is EZ1, *NEC for CC1, MC1 
B2 - new recipes, more efficient, *PRE is Pulse,Frappe,Mix,Blend (use blender 11 times)

CC1 - cocktail shaker/cocktails, *PRE is B1
CC2 - new recipes, *PRE is Mediocre Mixologist (use shaker 11 times), *FRIENDLY

MC1 - Awesome pot, *PRE is S1, B1, G1, C3 
MC2 - new recipes, more efficient, *PRE is 1-Star Cuisinartist (use pot 11 times) *POT 

Distilling - brew hooch with still, *NEC for Tincturing 
Tincturing - combine herbs & hooch into tinctures, *PRE is H1, D1, *NEC for PM 
PM1 - make potions w cauldron, *PRE is Tincturing 1 
PM2 - make advanced potions 

EH - allows elemental pouch, *NEC for A1, R1 
A1 - test tube elements into compounds, *PRE is EH, *NEC for IA, Crystal, Fuel 
A2 - tongs plain metal into fancy metal, *PRE is Smelt 
IA - beaker compounds into powders, *PRE is A1, *Emblem of Tii
C - less wear on crystal chamber, *PRE is A1 

R1 - grind ore into elements, grind barnacles *PRE is M1, EH, *NEC for S1 
R2 - less energy/time to refine 
S - smelt metal rocks into plain metal, *PRE is R1, A1 

M1 - mining, *NEC for R1 
M2 - less time/wear on pick, more gem 
M3 - more gem, more xp, less time, *ZILLE 
M4 - more gem, more xp, less time 

MA1 - focusing orb for mood & energy, *NEC for FM, Teleport, Eyeball 
MA2 - meditation: more mood/energy/xp, *NEC for TR 
MA3 - meditation: more mood/energy/xp, *COSMA, *NEC for Levitation, Piety 

L - levitation, *PRE is MA3, visit 251 locations (Rambler, 1st Class) 
FM - choose energy or mood meditation, *PRE is MA1, *NEC for SS 
TR - mood/energy for others, *PRE is MA2, *NEC for Martial Imagination 
MI -  stun rooks, *PRE is TR 
Piety - use shrine to defeat rooks, *PRE is BA3, MA3 

BL1 - increase no-penalty skill cap to 21, skills take 2% less time to learn, *NEC for Teleport 1, BA1, Pen 1, Eyeballery 
BL2 - no-penalty cap is 24, 5% reduction in skill-learning time 
BL3 - no-penalty cap is 28, 8% time reduction, *LEM, *NEC for BA3, Teleport 4, Piety  
BL4 - no-penalty cap is 32, 12% time reduction 
BL5 - no-penalty cap is 37, 20% time reduction, *NEC for U1 

BA1 - papers = house, subway, *PRE is BL1, Card-Carrying Qualification 
BA2 - permits, *PRE is You Have Papers 

U1 - unlearn a skill in the same time it takes to learn (base time, without penalty), *PRE is BL5 
U2 - unlearn skill in 50% of base learning time 
U3 - unlearn skill in 20% of base learning time 

T1 - 1 teleport point, *PRE is BL1, MA1 
T2 - 2 teleport points, less energy 
T3 - 3 points, less energy 
T4 - map teleports, less energy, write tp scripts, *PRE is BL3 
T5 - summon, more map teleports, less energy/cooldown 

T1 - tinkertool repair tools 
T2 - faster, less energy repair 
T3 - faster, self-repair, *NEC for Engineering 
T4 - faster, craft tools (+Engineering = more tools), *ALPH 
T5 - faster, less energy, craft more tools 

Pen - write notes w paper & quill, *PRE is BL1 

Eyeballery - scan entire street, *PRE is MA1, BL1, *NEC for SS 
SS - take pictures using camera, *PRE is Focused Meditation, Eyeballery 

Engineering - assemble machines, +T4+5 = craft tools, *PRE is T3, *NEC for Blockmaking 
BM - use machines to make blocks, *PRE is Engineering 
FM - use fuelmaker to make fuel cells, *PRE is A1, BS, JH

Posted 12 months ago by Meridian Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I think you get more grain at AK6, and more milk and meat at AK7.  Gardening 3 increases yield from trees, but not G4 or G5.

    It would be great to add the specific amounts of yields to the chart.  
    Posted 12 months ago by Scarlett Bearsdale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks Meridian! This is super helpful!
    Posted 12 months ago by starrkittyface Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @Scarlett - thanks for the suggestion! I made this entirely based on the info given on the skill chart, not through recording how much of everything I got at each skill level, so I have no idea when & how much things increase unless it says it in the skill description. If you (or anyone reading this) has that info, it would be so great to add to this!

    @Starrkittyface - I'm really glad it's helpful!
    Posted 12 months ago by Meridian Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Bookmarked. Thank you Meridian!
    Posted 12 months ago by Bu-chan Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Great list!

    I have a question about SA3:
    "SA5 - more bonus, more loam, less xp dirt & patches "
    Less xp? That's unusual.
    Posted 12 months ago by MaryLiLamb Subscriber! | Permalink
  • @MaryLiLamb - thanks for catching that! Xp was meant to be energy. I've corrected it. Yay community proofreading!
    Posted 12 months ago by Meridian Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Crystalography also grants a strong chance of getting +5 favor for a random Giant or even, rarely, All Giants, with crystal creation.
    Posted 12 months ago by Rosencrantz Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Great work.

    One addition:

    As mentioned here, Croppery 1 also grants a +1 herb for certain herbs (Yellow, Purple, Silvertongue). This is, contrary to the explanation of the skill, not exactly a "double yield", nor does it appear in the 3 other herbs (Gandlevery, Hairball, Rookswort).

    Don't know how you want to implement this, and I am still waiting for the answer from the devs if this is intended or a bug, but at the moment with everybody going crazy for herbs, it might be an important detail.
    Posted 12 months ago by Louis Louisson Subscriber! | Permalink
  • thanks for list- very helpful ;)
    Posted 12 months ago by serenitycat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • check out this spreadsheet for a handy skills table
    Posted 12 months ago by PurpleLogic Subscriber! | Permalink
  • In response to Scarlett's suggestion, I'm wondering if maybe we could try and collect specific data regarding yields by asking everyone with different skill levels to post what they receive? For instance, with AK7 i know i can squeeze a chicken and receive 10 grains per squeeze (excluding super harvest). I think i can squeeze each chicken 3 or 4 times a day. It would definitely take a fair amount of time and teamwork to collect the data, but i'm sure it would be very helpful to have!
    Posted 12 months ago by starrkittyface Subscriber! | Permalink
  • At AK7, you can squeeze a chicken 5 times per day, for 10 grains each time.  You can milk a butterfly twice, for 4 milks each time, and nibble a piggy 2x for 4 meats each time.
    The superharvest bonuses are 10, 16, and 20 respectively.
    Posted 12 months ago by Scarlett Bearsdale Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks everyone for your input! I won't have time until later, but I will edit the post to incorporate all of this info!
    Posted 12 months ago by Meridian Subscriber! | Permalink
  • At AK6 I can squeeze 5x for 5 grains, milk/nibble 2x for 4 milk and 3 meat.

    At G2 I can harvest 2x for 6 output.
    Posted 12 months ago by Lrdwhyt Subscriber! | Permalink
  • At AK5 I can squeeze 4x for 5 grains, milk/nibble 1x for 3 milk and 3 meat.
    Posted 12 months ago by Scarlett Bearsdale Subscriber! | Permalink