Armor Skills

Energy Tank Tactics
Energy Tanks are used to supply energy to laser weapons and to power protective shields. A higher skill in Energy Tank Tactics opens up different abilities that improve your energy tank usage.

Light Armor Tactics
Light armor is the lightest armor available and provides a small amount of protection from all types of weapons, but is most ineffective against fast firing weapons, like automatics. Increasing your skill with Light Armor will allow you to add ever improving fittings to your light armor to make it better. Light armor also allows you to make use of the more nimble skills such as Assassination, Stealth, Dodge, and Balance.

Medium Armor Tactics
Medium armor is the middle option available for a modest protection from weapons while still being able to make use of the nimble skills and provide protection against all weapon types. Medium armor is a good solid option for most encounters and offers the most versatility out of the available armor types. Increasing your skill will allow you to use ever improving fittings.

Heavy Armor Tactics
The armor of choice if you are expecting a fire fight of any kind. Heavy armor provides excellent protection against quick firing weapons such as automatics and provides solid protection against all other weapon types as well including the heavy hitters such as sniper rifles. The extra armor does come at a loss of mobility making you wear out faster when running or sprinting and making the more nimble skills harder to use. Increasing your skill will allow you to use ever improving fittings.

Shield Tactics
In the age of laser weapons and high powered energy shields sometimes a good blunt weapon is the answer to your problems and a shield is a good defensive and offensive solution as well when you want to get up close and personal. Increasing your skill with a shield will open up different abilities and allow you to add improved fittings to your shield.

Beneficial Skills

Animal Handling
Animal Handling is the first of the 3 part pet system in the Repopulation that allows you to tame young creatures and then grow them as pets. There are a variety of young animals out in world that can be tamed, once tamed they will continue to grow in power. Animal Handling and Veterinary Medicine go hand-in-hand as you will need to be able to heal and keep up the health of your pet otherwise the pet risks actually dying from lack of medical attention.

Diplomacy
Sometimes a sharp tongue is better than a sharp knife (or the combination of the two). One skilled in Diplomacy can find themselves with additional options in missions and other PvE encounters.

Entertainment
A reflection of your ability to entertain others, through Music, Dance, Storytelling, Crowd Manipulation or other means. Entertainers will be able to work together to chain together sequences of moves to build long lasting benefits for those who were entertained by them.

First Aid
First aid is the ability to provide in and out-of-combat healing and is vital to keeping one’s self alive and keeping a group alive in a fight with a larger or more skilled opponent. There are a variety of quick and large healing options.Many healing abilities make use of crafted components to do their job.

Intimidation
Sometimes a sharp tongue is in order, Sometimes the risk of doing bodily harm is enough to get someone to open up and spill the beans. Intimidation is a social skill that opens up dialog opportunities with NPCs and missions and allows a few other options in PvE combat.

Leadership
A good leader makes for a solid fighting group and can even turn the tide of battle. Leadership opens up abilities that offer benefits to your group members. The most elite leaders are even rumored to be able to use their status to radio in for additional assistance beyond a few friendly words of encouragement.

Veterinary Medicine
An important skill to have if you are going to be an animal handler. Increasing your skill in Veterinary Medicine will allow you to better handle the ailments of your trusted pet and allow you to properly treat the animal after being nearly beaten to death. Lack of care for the pet will eventually lead to the pet actually dying, so Veterinary medicine is important in the upkeep of your hard earned investment.

Combat Skills

Aerosol Tactics
Aerosol weapons are effective weapons for crowd control and area-of-effect damage such as flame throwers. They might not do the most damage, but they make up for it with damage-over-time and being a general annoyance to both PvE and PvP targets. Increasing your skill will allow for better fittings and open up new abilities.

Assassination
Cheating and the element of surprise can often be the keys to victory, why not get your fight off to a good start? Improving your skill in assassination opens up many powerful abilities that make use of different weapon types to do extra damage if the circumstances are correct.

Automatic Weaponry Tactics
Automatic weapons provide an excellent option to mow down enemies with the highest DPS and firing rate of any weapon, but are most effective against lightly armored opponents. Automatic weapons also offer AoE abilities along with suppression options. The downside to automatic weapons is they are not as accurate as other ranged weapons, requiring you to get a little closer than you might like to. Increasing your skill will open up new abilities and allow for better fittings.

Axe Fighting
Axes provide the best solution to medium armor out there while still doing pretty well with light and heavy armor . Improving in your axe skill opens up many combat abilities that allow for precise (somewhat) strikes to open up holes in your opponent’s defense or wild swings that can hit more than one enemy, unleashing your inner barbarian. Improving your skill will open up these abilities and allow for better fittings.

Bladed Weapon Tactics
Bladed weapons include both knives and swords, they offer a good option against all armor types. Their abilities offer quick strikes and attacks that open holes in the enemies’ defense making them good for use in groups. Improving your skill will open up these abilities and allow for better fittings.

Blunt Weapon Tactics
Sometimes you just need a big heavy weapon like a hammer or maul to get the job done. Blunt weapons offer the best option against heavy armor, they can stun the target and deal out punishment. Blunt weapons do offer some attack options for groups, but not as many as the bladed counterparts do. Improving your skill will open up these abilities and allow for better fittings.

Combat Knowledge
A true warrior trains in just not the physical ability of using a weapon, but also in the mental aspect of combat as well. Combat Knowledge is a general skill that effects most combat calculations by a modest amount and will help to turn the tide of an otherwise even battle. General combat activity will help to improve this skill and increasing it will open up a few general combat based abilities as well.

Counter-Attack
The best defense is to take an attack and turn it against the enemy, at least if you like to keep all of your limbs and teeth. Counter-Attack allows you to more easily counter a melee attack. You can open up abilities that make this easier to do as you get more skilled.

Dirty Fighting
Sometimes a good eye poke is all you need to get the upper hand. Dirty fighting isn’t going to win you any style or good guy points, but it is an effective additional option to turn the tide of a battle or get an extra sucker punch in.

Dual Wielding
Two handguns are better than one as long as you can shoot both of them effectively the same can be said with swinging two axes. This skill will allow you to be more precise when using two one-handed weapons together instead of a weapon and shield. Increasing the skill will also open up some abilities only possible if you are bringing the fury times 2.

Handgun Tactics
Pistols and revolvers are excellent options, usable by themselves, dual-wielded or with a shield if you want to get all crazy up close. Handguns are effective against lighter armored enemies and the pistol improves effectiveness against heavy armors versus the handgun and semi-handgun. Handguns also offer a decent amount of attack options for openings in a group battle and of course you can put one in each hand and go to town. While revolvers excel against light armor, semi-automatics offer improved penetration when used on heavily armored targets. Handguns offer a decent array of abilities including some useful group options. Increasing your skill will open up new abilities and allow for better fittings.

Protection
Everyone appreciates the guy who takes the brunt of the damage, and the Protection skill allows a player to do just that. Those who increase their protection skill will be able to better handle target and AoE damage that would otherwise injure a companion, they will also acquire abilities allowing them to taunt the enemy in to attacking them instead of weaker or dying friends.

Rifle Tactics
Rifles offer an excellent option against all armor types and include sniper rifles for expanded range and take-down power against heavily armored foes. Rifles offer solid accuracy and range and a decent amount of attack options for groups (not as many as handguns though). Increasing your skill will open up new abilities and allow for better fittings.

Shotgun Tactics
Feeling bad because you forgot your massive hammer? Want to get up close and personal? Shotguns are the way to go as their standard attack style is designed for short range AOE damage. While they don't do as much damage to a single target as other weapons, they do offer some useful abilities and, of course, allow you to spread the love like no other. Increasing your skill will open up new abilities and allow for better fittings.

Siege Tactics
While not the most effective weapon against a small moving creature or even a large moving creature, siege weapons are best against armored vehicles and those pesky walls people build to keep you out; how rude of them. Siege weapons are PvP/Nation oriented and will not have a ton of use in the PvE side of the game aside from a few encounters.

Thrown Weapon Tactics
A well thrown grenade can turn the tide of any battle so you might as well get used to chucking them at your enemy. Improving your thrown weapon skill will allow you to use different kinds of grenades and other thrown weapons providing increased advantages and damage options.

Unarmed Tactics
Unarmed tactics allows you to use your hands and feet either exclusively or in conjunction with certain melee weapons to improve their damage. A well aimed punch or kick can do plenty, and a well timed strike to a nerve bundle can open the enemy's guard up wide for a finish blow with that hammer you've been trying to use on them Improving your skill in Unarmed Tactics will open up damage and attack openings that can be used in battle to do even more damage.
Defensive Skills

Aerosol Defense
The only real advantage to being in the area of effect of a flamethrower, and living through it, is that you know where not to stand the next time around. This skill improves the more you encounter enemies using these types of attacks.

Automatic Weaponry Defense
Gained through experience on the bad end of an automatic weapon, this skill helps to mitigate the damage taken from these weapons and even offers a couple of abilities to make those fast firing slug throwers a bit less intimidating.

Axe Defense
Ever wonder what you would do if someone swung an axe at your head? Find out the hard way often enough and you might even figure it out. This skill, improved by fighting enemies who use axes, allows you to better defend against them, mitigating some damage and even offering up a couple of abilities.

Bladed Weapon Defense
The good news? You now know how to properly parry an attack from a swordsman. The bad? It's your clone that gets to use that knowledge because you had to learn the hard way. Spending time fighting enemies that use bladed weapons allows you to develop techniques to reduce the damage you take from them and even some abilities that help out in defending yourself.

Blunt Weapon Defense
Getting out of the way of a fast moving, heavy, blunt object is reflex for most of us. Unfortunately, some of us have better reflexes than others, and we have to learn by doing. You will gain some resistance to damage inflicted by hammers, clubs, etc, by fighting enemies that use them.

Defensive Knowledge
The Defensive counterpart to Combat Knowledge, Defensive Knowledge is the general knowledge of defense while in combat. Increasing your skill will make it easier to defend in general and open up a few common abilities that can be used to save your hide.

Defensive Tactics
Defensive Tactics is a leadership skill that allows someone to better organize and motivate their party members to defend themselves.

Dodging
While it might seem like a good idea to take that sword attack with your armor, evading it will hurt a lot less. Dodging can be done in all 3 armor types, but is much easier to do in light armor versus medium and heavy. Dodging is only effective against melee attacks including Unarmed attacks and as projectiles and lasers move too fast. Increasing your skill in Dodge makes it easier to avoid attacks and opens some abilities to give you a temporary advantage when used.

Handgun Defense
While not personally fans of getting shot at in general, we can assure you that spending enough time doing it will teach you some pointers as to how best to deal with situations involving hostiles leveling revolvers and pistols at you.

Parrying
When you can't get out of the way of an attack, put something in the attack's way. Parrying is the art of using your own weapons to deflect the attacks of others. Most effective with and against smaller weapons such as swords, the higher your parry skill, the more opportunities it will open up for you.

Rifle Defense
Learning how to take cover and properly engage an enemy using a rifle can be troublesome considering their long range. Those who manage to do it on a regular basis will find themselves with the upper hand when faced with a rifle user.

Shotgun Defense
The easiest way to defend against someone using a shotgun up close is to not pick a fight with them in the first place. Barring that, however, experience can teach you several tricks for reducing the damage you'll take from a shotgun-wielding foe, eventually even giving you some abilities you might gain an advantage with.

Thrown Weapon Defense
While significantly easier to avoid than bullets in some cases, being around too long after someone lobs a grenade at you can make your day bad. Learning how to spot incoming thrown hazards and properly react to them takes time and experience against such weapons.
General Skills

Acrobatics
Acrobatics will provide you with defensive and movement enhancing abilities as you increase your skill. There are also times where having a high acrobatics will allow you to avoid taking damage passively.

Concentration
Concentration is a general Mental skill that is used in and out of combat to improve your well being and reaction to certain situations. Like Acrobatics, increasing your skill will help to avoid negative situations and open up a few helpful abilities.

Disguise
When walking right in and sneaking in through a backdoor aren’t good options, try a disguise! This skill will allow you to alter your appearance to look like something else in the world. Using it increases your chances of success and even opens up savory new disguise options.

Stealth
No matter how skilled of a combatant you may be, or how talented your team is, sometimes it’s just easier to avoid a fight in the first place. The stealth skill will allow you to move around without being detected, masters of this skill can seemingly vanish in to thin air.

Survival
Rhyldan is crawling with hostile creatures, unsavory people, and other hidden dangers, it’s critical that you have some basic survival skills to get by. This skill line provides the ability to set up usable camp sites and find useful items like the best parts of a corpse or the nearest access to the teleport system.

Swimming
While some adventurers might not ever set foot in water, others might decide to go explore the great depths under water. Increasing your skill in swimming makes you more efficient at swimming and able to swim under water for a longer time before you need to come up for air.

Thievery
Instead of starting nasty rumors about prowlers and making people hide at night because you're constantly breaking in to people's homes and killing them to take that one little item you wanted why not just learn how to take the item without anyone noticing? As your skill in thievery increases so will the value or usefulness of objects you can pilfer.

Tracking
Tracking allows you to find targets using clues they've left behind in their travels. The higher your skill the better your chances of success and the more difficult the quarry you can hunt.

Vehicle Control
Skill allows you to better able to control a vehicle that you are driving. Still a bit of WIP.
Trade Skills

Armor Crafting
Armor Crafters specialize in creating fittings for armor. Increasing your skill allows you to create higher tier and quality fittings from the recipe process. Like all recipes the combination of your skill and the recipe skill reflect the total quality of the item once it is finished and the skill reflects your maximum ability to create a higher tier result.

Artillery
The Artillery skill encompasses crafting siege and vehicular scale weapons for use by you or your nation. Increasing your skill will allow you to make higher tier and quality results from the different Artillery based recipes.

Carpentry
Carpentry is both a general use trade skill and a specific creation of wood products used in housing and nations such as furniture.

Chemistry
Chemists are very popular because they create components used in recipes formany other crafting skills. They also excel at making other more sinister items such as poisons and toxic compounds.

Cosmetic Styling
Cosmetic Stylists are able to create products to change the look of the player (hair, armor, clothes, etc) and are able to perform the tinting process as well.

Culinary Arts
Culinary arts specialized in creating high quality food and drink that can be consumed or used for other purposes.

Cybernetics
Sometimes being a genetically superior being with cybernetic implants simply isn't good enough, Cybernetics allows the crafting of fittings and upgrades for cybernetic implants along with components for other trade skills.

Firearms Crafting
The skill line that covers the manufacture of weapons and their fittings, a very popular profession for those who like to shoot things.. and who doesn't? Improved skill will allow a wider variety of options and higher quality variants of those items.

Fishing
Fishing increases your skill and ability to land better and higher quality fish from fishing spots in the world.

Foresting
Why anyone would want to waste a perfectly good axe on a tree instead of alien flesh is beyond us, but for those that do, the Foresting skill will let you fell even the mightiest of lumber bearing giants.

Genetic Engineering
Genetic engineers are able to extract DNA samples from certain creatures and use it to create genetically engineered and cloned pets. Pets created through genetic engineering retain the abilities and traits of the sampled creatures but due to the complexity of the high speed cloning process used to generate them don't last forever. Higher skill allows you to create more powerful versions of various creatures and to extract DNA from higher powered creatures in the first place.

Hacking
Virtually all of the security mechanisms used on Rhyldan are electronic, whether they are stand alone door locks or networked security systems. Hacking allows you to bypass these security measures directly and offers crafting recipes for unique tools used to do so.

Horticulture
A pure nation skill, Horticulture allows you to plant and take care of different products in a Nation. This is still in development.

Installations
Installations is another nation skill that has to do with building, altering, and repairing buildings and structures. It is also a trade skill used to make certain products as well.

Melee Weapons Crafting
Responsible for creating blades, hammers, axes and the fittings for them, melee weapon crafters keep people who like to get up close and personal in business.

Mining
The mining skill is used to… well… mine. Higher skill means higher yield.

Pharmaceuticals
Much like Chemists, pharmaceuticals is a utility crafting skill used to create fittings (Cybernetics in particular) and also used in abilities to heal and inflict damage.

Repairing
Items and structures take damage, and this skill allows you to repair and upkeep those items.

Robotics
The 3rd part of the pet system, Robotics is used to create robotic pets, repair them, and to sabotage them. You can operate a robotic pet without much skill in robotics, but it is easier to maintain and take care of them if you are skilled in Robotics.

Tailoring
Tailors specialize in creating cosmetic clothing for players to wear. This includes both armor and non armor varieties. The armor variety is just the shell and takes fittings like other purchasable armor.

Trap Knowledge
Trap Knowledge allows you to create traps, detect them, and disarm them. A well placed trap can be quite useful in both the PvE and PvP situations.

Vehicle Engineering
Vehicle Engineering specializes in creating vehicle alterations and applying them to the vehicle.

Wilderness Gathering
Wilderness gathering is used to pick out useful plants and resources from the abundance of mundane or even harmful items in the wild.