questions about abilities

[Smitty]

Hi Everybody

Excellent game. Fun helpful players. Please help me select General Abilities. Sorry if I have missed resources that provide answers to these questions.

Dual Wield: What are the "balances and penalties" mentioned in the wiki? Can a moderately experienced character take down a stag with 2 generally available daggers?

Lightfoot: What does "mostly unencumbered" mean? Is it about weight, cumbersome armor, or both? If my backpack is full, is this encumbered?

Skinning: Does value of the pelt depend upon the quality of the knife/dagger used in the skinning process? Is a common combat-oriented dagger effective at skinning?

Slings: Can an moderately experienced character take down a stag with a sling?

Smitty

[Kunren]

Dual wielding balances and penalties eh, let's see. Well, with a single weapon, you have the option of using larger two handed weapons, which focus on single strikes of big damage, or hand and a half weapons, which usually focus on a few strikes of moderately high damage when held with one hand free. It also gives you the option of using shields should you so wish, an extreme benefit, especially when fighting ranged weapons, as shields block, while weapons parry, and you can't parry projectiles.

With dual wielding, you have a whole extra skill to worry about, two weapon combat, which decides how often you get strikes with your second weapon. However, two weapons means two parry rolls. Your defense will be better than people using a single weapon without a shield, but slightly worse than shield users defense in general. Dual wielders usually focus on using lighter weapons, as they are easier to get offhand strikes with, which leads to dual wielders tending to focus on many, light strikes in combat.

All styles can work, but some are more suited to certain situations than others.

For encumberance, pretty much anything you are wearing has weight, and the total weight decides your encumberance level. You can check this by typing "encumberance" (without the quotes). They are mostly self explanatory, but generally the closer you are to are "You feel light and unencumbered" the lighter you are. As for lightfoot, or pretty much works better the lighter you are is all I can say. I'd try to stay within the first few lightest levels of encumberance while using it, which isn't hard unless you are heavily armored or are a pack rat

Skinning:As far as I know, the quality of the tool used to skin does not affect how well you skin at all, it's all based on your skinning skill.

Stags: Your fixation on these is a bit weird as a measuring stick lol, as they aren't exactly high on the "This be tough yo" list, but yes a moderate skilled player could fairly easily take down a stag with either daggers or slings. A stags biggest problem is that it runs, unlike many enemies, and it's always trying to do so. Try to get it from stealth, that should help. A brand new character probably couldn't take one in a fair fight, but I'd say a few weeks of combat training ( I may be low balling this estimate, haven't seen stag rolls in a while) or so of combat training would give you fair chances, though you'd still have to deal with the running away thing.

Help on general abilities: Well, you seem interested in dual wielding. It opens up a lot of freedom in playing around with weapon choices and styles, not a bad pick. If you intend to stay on the lighter side, lightfoot is of course great. Tumble is amazing as well, it's most simple described as an extra invisible dodge roll. Melee focus or ranged focus perhaps, or both if you like. Either of them open up differing abilities for their particular styles. Feint is a useful one, on success it will lower the enemies defense rolls heavily for the next attack you make, and it can also lead in to things like hamstring, which is a guaranteed fairly strong hit to the leg with a bladed weapon on success. Tackle is quite useful as wel, knocked down opponents A.Cant move until they get up, and B.Have much lowered defenses. Disarm is an extremely useful skill. There's nothing stopping you from disarmed many mobs and simply picking up their weapons and either putting them away or killing The now much less deadly mob with it. You seem interested in skinning, so skinning focus would be a good pick. If you think of getting bushcraft basics for the skinning bonus it gives alone, don't, bushcraft basics is supposed to be a wilderness general knowledge package thing. it lets you skin moderately well with work, but it's skinning parts are completely overridden by skinning focus.

Final piece of advice: Leave some room open! If you haven't joined a guild yet, you probably will soon, and you will likely have oodles of guild abilities that have to share room with general ones.

Welcome to Clok, friend, and feel free to ask any more questions you have.

[Smitty]

Wow. Super informative and timely answer. Thank you.

I will select BUSHCRAFT, TRAILBLAZING, SKINNING, RANGED COMBAT, MELEE FOCUS, DUAL WIELD, and LEATHERWORKING now. Will work on SLING and DAGGER skills to add those abilities. And perception (to add TRACKING) and stealth skills. Will watch my character's encumbrance and try to determine whether LIGHTFOOT would work for him.

TACKLE would be cool! Thanks especially for that tip. Then there's Leatherworking ADVANCED and EXOTIC. Whoops, I need to leave room for some of the other activities you mentioned. I want them all. Would a suggestion to raise the activity limit get any traction?

I may be more weird than using sling to take down stags for leatherworking. But you'll find that I'm inconsequential, mostly. My characters are not macho and generally don't participate in PvP/CvC combat (but being combat-competent frees one somewhat from dealing with aggressive new players). A little weirdness can be fun.

Smitty

[merin]

I think slings totally awesome. I don't know anyone who uses them as a primary weapon. I've only seen them used to goof around with, truthfully.

We got one the other day after they released herbalism focus. A few of us have suggested it, but, more people behind it wouldn't hurt our cause :p.

[preiman]

amongst other things, slings are on my to learn list.

[Acarin]

Stealth sling mummer = unstoppable.

Just saying.

[Akila]

*quietly joys down Acarin's idea and scoots off with it.*