Skills



Horizon introduces Skills system, similar to Fallout 3 (New Vegas). Skills can be raised generally by reading Magazines, picking Perks and using the skill itself (Skill Gains).

However, it is also similar to classic Fallout games (Fallout 1/2/Tactics) in that skills can go over 100. Most caps are at 200, but there is some variation - some are as low as 140 while others cap at 250. In addition, it is a hybrid system between all previous Fallout games and the Elder Scrolls, as you can gain some (but not all) skill from performing actions relating to the skill. For example, you can level up your Ballistics skill by breaking down and making ammo.

You can also gain some skill (but not a lot) by finding skill Magazines and Guides, Bobbleheads, leveling up your SPECIAL, and leveling up your skill in the Elder Scrolls fashion by simply doing it. This is usually not enough to have access to the benefits of a high skill, however - you cannot become a master hunter by reading books alone! Every method in gaining Skill is limited to some degree/points.

NOTE: On the more technical side, these are not actually skills but are perks dished out in increments of 10, so a skill is actually a perk with 20 ranks. A hunting skill of 90 and 99 have the same effect as technically, the game thinks you have 90. When you reach 100, it will give you a new perk with more effects.

Dynamic Skill Advancement
The new Dynamic Skill Advancement system uses a REAL system for skills, allowing you to gain skill in different ways
 * Some skills can be gained by just doing normal activities while you play the game (ex: picking locks)
 * Some skills can be gained by crafting items
 * The amount of skill you can gain by doing activities/crafting is often capped at a certain point
 * Skill can be gained from level-up perks (ex: Locksmith)
 * Skill can be gained from Magazines/Guides, and Bobbleheads
 * Settler Skills can sometimes grant you a small bonus to your own total skill
 * A small amount of skill can be gained from your hard points spent in SPECIALS (NOT from buffs or equipment)
 * Skill usually goes from 0-200
 * Many skills are balanced so that if you want to reach 200 skill, you need to gain skill from all sources possible
 * A few skills may benefit above 200, in the case that you gain increases to loot chances that aren't capped out yet
 * Skills that grant bonuses to loot will continue to increases even "in between" the perk ranks
 * Many recipes now require Skill instead of specific perks
 * A few skills have an ongoing decay multiplier based on how often you use them

NOTE: Some of the numbers may be tweaked in the future, to fine-tune the skills better.. however any future patches will retroactively adjust your total skill automatically!

Common Skill Boosts

 * Performing activities
 * Perks and Bobbleheads
 * Magazines and Guides
 * S.P.E.C.I.A.L. and Settler Skills

Overview
The skill system has been tweaked so that most skills follow the same basic formula, to reduce confusion (this only applies to non-weapon skills)
 * Up to 100 skill can be obtained from the perk chart (usually)
 * Up to 50 skill can be obtained from magazines
 * Up to 50 skill can be obtained from activities/crafting
 * Up to 5 skill can be obtained from a Bobblehead
 * Up to 10 skill can be obtained from specials
 * A few skills also still give some skill from misc sources like Settler Skills, but thats considered an extra bonus
 * Weapon skills remain unchanged

Hidden Skills

 * Crafting Skill: gained by crafting weapons and reverse engineering them (ZX-1 Experimentation Lab)

Skill Progression
You can always watch your current Skill progression using your Field Kit > Skills.

Weapons Skill
NOTE: Killing enemies with explosives or other means, still gives the "credit" to the main equipped weapon. While this isn't a perfect system, it's acceptable enough considering the tracking method is fast, and should keep combat efficient.
 * Weapon Skill gain messages will show, but only when you've passed intervals of 10 points of skill
 * Weapon Skill totals will update shortly after you gain skill from kills
 * Weapon Skill is usually based on the weapon itself, and NOT the mod attachments (except Sniper which requires a Scope)
 * Weapons can only be 1 skill. ex: Gatling Laser is a Heavy Weapon and NOT a "Standard" Energy Weapon
 * Weapon Skill is gained upon killing enemies, based on your current equipped weapon
 * Synths are worth 2x skill gain
 * Robots are worth 1.5x skill gain
 * Legendary enemies are worth 5x skill gain
 * If you can't figure out what skill your current weapon uses, there's a button in the skill menu that can tell you

Active Skill Gains
The "Skill Gain Pool" is the amount of skill you're allowed to gain by performing activities and crafting certain items
 * In the skills menu, there is now a 2nd column of numbers which tells you how much skill gains you have REMAINING in the Gain Pool
 * As noted above, most skills will now allow up to +50 skill from activities and crafting (this should be a lot less confusing now)
 * When you craft an item that gives skill, there's now a 5 second delay before it shows a message on your recent skill gains
 * Crafting specific items now has it's own self-cap for how much skill they can give to your current Gain Pool..
 * For example: Crafting cloth linings lets you skill up to 20 pts and then it stops giving skill, but ballistic weaves can go to max
 * This cap is for the Gain Pool, so it doesn't matter what your total skill is at (from perks, magazines, etc.)
 * Recipes that give skill will be suffixed in the item name as "[+Skill]"
 * A suffix such as "[+Skill/10]" means this recipe stops giving skill at 10 points in the Gain Pool
 * Generally speaking, if you see no skill gain messages after you craft something, it probably means that item no longer gives skill

Performing in the Field
NOTE: - ? = needs testing! - All Skills except Combat Skills cap at 50 points in the Skill Gain Pool. All Combat Skills instead cap at 90 points.

Crafting Items
NOTE: A suffix such as "[+Skill/10]" means this recipe stops giving skill at 10 points in the Gain Pool!

Skill Recalculation

 * Skills aren't updated in realtime, instead they're only checked once in awhile to keep them efficient
 * Skill recalcs are done every time you exit your level-up perk chart
 * Skill recalcs are done once every 6 game hours if they haven't been checked by then
 * Skill recalcs are done briefly after you load a save game
 * The very first time you load the game after updating to v1.5, it may take about a minute to fully set all your skills