Skills

Skills (特技) are found in almost all types of RPGS, including Elder Tale. Skills are special techniques that Adventurers, Monsters, and some People of the Land can use, oftentimes requiring the usage of Mana Points (MP).

An Adventurer's skills are determined by their Class, Class Type, Subclass, and Race. Some skills can be learned by using special items or clearing certain quests. All skills are acquired at the "Initiate" level and can then be ranked up from there.

Most skills are classified as either Combat Skills (戦闘特技) or General-Purpose Skills (一般特技).

Obtaining Skills
Skills that haven't been unlocked are categorized under either the Auto-Unlock List (自動取得リスト) or the Optional List (追加取得リスト). Skills on the Auto-Unlock List are obtained after reaching a certain level, while skills on the Optional List can be unlocked by paying into proficiency or using certain items. Upgraded ranks of auto-unlocked skills are also listed under the Optional List.

Unlocked skills appear on the Skill menu as.

A player's skill lists are determined at the start of the game by their main class and race. Subclasses add more skills and if the player changes to a different subclass, the skill lists will change again. Furthermore, special items or clearing certain quests may add even more optional skills.

All in all, Elder Tale players can have hundreds of skills to choose from.

Skill Ranks
All skills are obtained at Initiate rank. Basic progression goes from Initiate → Elementary → Intermediate → Esoteric → Secret. Ranks are all named after skill grades in martial arts.

Raising a skill's rank requires Proficiency Points (習熟ポイント) and/or certain items. Proficiency Points are obtained by leveling up or as rewards from certain quests, and enough are supplied so that any player can raise every auto-unlocked Initiate skill to Elementary. However, there aren't enough to get every skill to Secret-rank, and only a certain number of skills can be upgraded every ten levels.

Initiate
Initiate (会得) is a skill's rank immediately after being unlocked.

Elementary
Elementary (初伝) is the next step after Initiate. Upgrading to Elementary-rank only requires Proficiency Points; enough Points are provided so even casual players can raise all their auto-unlocked skills to Elementary.

Intermediate
Going from Elementary to Intermediate (中伝) requires using an Intermediate Scroll, created by high-level players or purchased from NPCs, to register it on the Optional List. The scrolls aren't expensive, so it is practical for everyone to get. Most casual players stop here.

Esoteric
Getting to Esoteric-rank (奥伝) requires using an Esoteric Scroll, obtained as rare drops and through high-difficulty quests, to register the skill to the Optional List. On top of that, unlocking the skill requires a large amount of Proficiency Points are required. Because the skill's abilities are enhanced quite significantly, these limitations are considered reasonable.

Generally speaking, members of small-to-mid-sized guilds will get to this level. You can buy Esoteric Scrolls from other players, but it is somewhat costly.

Secret
Secret-rank (秘伝) skills can be obtained from quests that typically involve raids. It's not rare for large-sized guilds to have players with Secret-rank skills, but it is very rare for smaller guilds. It is impossible to have every skill at Secret due to Proficiency Point limitations.

Mystery
Mysteries (口伝) are not part of the typical Skill Rank progression and only appeared after the Catastrophe. It is defined as a skill or a usage of a skill that did not&mdash;and could not&mdash;exist in the game world.