skill guide?

[Archaven]

is there a skill guide around? i'm not asking about party assist. i kinda understand how much party assist contribute.

 

let's say alchemy. if my character specialized in alchemy, how many points is the ideal? is there a formula on how much it can help potions etc.?

arcana i think it's not that difficult to guess as you only pump to the level where the scrolls indicate how many arcana you required.

 

how about mechanics? is 16 mechanics enough? i always have eder with the highest mechanics. that makes him with no room for athletics. considering if i'm getting +4 with party assist, he only needs 12 mechanics? that leave him with not much room for other skills as i see mechanics are really important skill to take.

 

as for aloth, since i've determined that he should use the chromo staff, he definitely needs the metaphysics. how many points should i pump for this skill? i dont want to over-pump the points with diminishing returns.

 

also, MC skills. i always prioritize diplomacy first. what are the most beneficial skills to pic for dialogue options?

 

thanks in advance!

[Hulk'O'Saurus]

Arcana, Athletics, Alchemy, Explosives will always add benefits the more you put into them. Especially Arcana. 

 

Stealth, Mechanics don't need to be maxed out--you do get some equipment to help you deal with the traps and so on, so you can use other things with these skills. 

 

About the passive skills, things are bit more undefined, because it comes down to roleplaying. There are always skill checks for passing throughout the game and determining which one best suits you has to come with the question of what exactly do you want to get out of it? Is it a particular piece of equipment you're after, or you want access to something early, ect, ect.

[Logos]

For the choose your own adventure sections, I've found that it pays off to have decent amounts of athletics, stealth, and survival. They rarely check anything else. In regular dialogue, intimidate, diplomacy, and bluff are the ones you'll see most that have the best payoff. Metaphysics, history, and insight usually only give you more lore (with one significant exception in the water shaper's temple), streetwise gives you more money, and religion lets you pray at shrines. 

[Purudaya]

One thing to keep in mind during those choose your own adventure sections: if you pass a skill check and it results in the entire party taking an action (sneaking through a forest, climbing down a rope, etc.), any party member with a 0 in that skill will typically incur a partial failure/injury. A character with 0 in athletics will get hurt often even if you select a character with high athletics to pass the check (when it results in a group action), for example, so it helps to make sure that every party member has at least 1 point in whatever skills you expect to use regularly in non-conversation checks. I don't know exactly how the thresholds work, but having Aloth with 1-2 in athletics vs. 0 made a significant difference in my playthough.

 

Also, you'll be running into skill checks with requirements of 14-17 by the endgame, so try to avoid spreading yourself too thin unless you're willing to have your party members mirror your skills for party assist. For my first playthrough I invested in bluff, insight, diplomacy, and streetwise and frequently fell short on skill checks because I didn't know how much I would eventually need and didn't spec my party accordingly. When it comes to skills, jack of all trades/master of none doesn't really have a place in this game.

Edited October 4, 2018 by Purudaya