Skills
Skills refer to abilities that monsters can learn and use in combat. Active skills, known as Actions, are directly used during battles, while passive skills, referred to as Traits, provide ongoing benefits or effects. Each monster species has two starting actions and a signature trait. Additional skills become available as the monster levels up. A monster can only learn skills that match at least one of its type. For actions, the required spent Aether must also match at least one of the monster's assigned elements.
Upon leveling up, the monster will be able to learn either a new trait or action depending on its level. When a monster learns a new skill, three skills are randomly selected from the monster's skill pool, from which the player must choose one. Lily may also offer to replace an existing trait or action of a chosen monster with one of three available skills, mirroring the process of learning a new skill.
Maverick Skills
Maverick skills are special skills that combine two different types, although not all skills with two types, such as Air Dart, are considered Maverick. A monster can only learn a Maverick skill if its type matches at least one of the required types and if there is a monster in the party with the other required type. This means that a monster with both required types can learn these skills without needing another monster in the party. If a Maverick skill is among the possible skills a monster can learn, it has a 50% chance of appearing on the skill selection screen.
Maverick skills are designed to enable synergies between different monster types. Once learned, the skill remains available even if there are no longer any monsters with the other required type, unless the skill is replaced.
Skill Selection System
When a monster learns a new skill, the selection is not entirely random; instead, it employs a weighted system. Each skill begins with a weight of 1.0. When a monster learns a skill, the weight of all other skills of the same type that the monster has not yet learned increases. For instance, if a monster has a Power skill, it becomes more likely for the monster to learn additional Power actions or traits in the future.
The skill's type also influences the availability of skills for other monsters in the party, albeit to a lesser extent. This mainly affects the availability of Maverick skills or skills for monsters of the same type. For example, if a monster has a Sidekick skill, the likelihood of a different Sidekick monster in the party learning a Sidekick skill will slightly increase.
Signature traits and starting actions do not have any type assigned. Therefore, by default, the first generated skills of the first monster each have a weight of 1.0. Some skills also have certain requirements, such as a skill that affects a particular Buff or Debuff may require the monster to possess a skill capable of applying that Buff or Debuff. This prevents the appearance of "pointless" skills during skill selection.
Weight Values
Each skill has a base weight of 1.0, which increases based on the skills the monster and other monsters on the party has learned:
- Each trait on the monster that overlaps a type adds 0.3 weight.
- Each trait on other monsters that overlaps a type adds 0.075 weight.
- Each action on the monster that overlaps a type adds 0.5 weight.
- Each action on the monster that overlaps two types adds 0.7 weight.
The higher the weight of a skill, the more likely it is to appear on the skill selection screen. For example, without accounting the traits of other monsters, if a monster has a Power trait, a Heal trait, and a Power/Aether action:
- The weight of Power skills are 1.8 (1.0 + 0.3 + 0.5)
- The weight of Heal skills are 1.3 (1.0 + 0.3)
- The weight of Aether skills are 1.5 (1.0 + 0.5)
- The weight of Power/Heal skills are 2.1 (1.0 + 0.3 + 0.3 + 0.5)
- The weight of Power/Aether skills are 2.0 (1.0 + 0.3 + 0.7)
- The weight of Heal/Aether skills are 1.8 (1.0 + 0.3 + 0.5)