Any suggestions for my Survivor's fifth skill? Something that'd make her good in any community.
Posted May 19, 2022, 5:43 AM UTC
2974
A really underatted skill to have is Driving! It’s saved my life so many times it’s unreal, but if you wanna play it safe I’d suggest you go with Pharmacology or Fishing, there’s lots of good and bad ones to pick from so I’d make sure you read it closely before you pick one (accidentally gave my survivor animal facts which literally does nothing lmao) I hope you’re happy with what you choose :)
6
A bunch of people have suggested driving, and it's up there on my possible picks.
Pharmacology and Fishing I'd rather have on someone else though.
But thanks and I also hope I'll enjoy whatever I do decide to pick :D
(Also I didn't know you could learn animal facts, why does a book for that exist?)
3
I wish there was a book to learn sexting...or farting around...
5
My favorites are (in order):
- Sewing
- Sleep Psychology
- Hygiene
- Soundproofing
- Poker Pace
Because:
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+1 item stack is just so nice for everyone, and getting +10 health on top? Best one for sure.
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Getting free bed is nice as it frees up facility space and those beds also don't have a morale penalty.
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+10 health for everyone is nice. The infection resistence too, though not really a game changer if you aim to not get hit (which you should). I don't go out with someone who has any Plague build up, so whether I come home with 80% filled bar or 40% doesn't matter at all.
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Not required whatsoever, I just love lower risk at my base. No Juggernauts is chill. Makes home assaults super easy every single time, while still allowing a super large base.
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Stamina is hugely important, so even though this one only applies to the actual character, +20 is still really good.
5
Kudos on the list, quite comprehensive.
Sewing seems to be many people's favorite, and maybe I am underestimating the power of +1 stack size because it never appealed to me too much.
Sleep psychology is definitely an interesting one. Only recently have I experienced the joy of not needing a bed facility, and boy does it sound tempting to get this.
Yeah the infection resistance didn't really click with me, especially if I can manage to avoid getting hit in the first place.
How much noise reduction did soundproofing give again? I never really paid much attention to it because it just reduced threat and did nothing else.
I didn't know poker face was a learnable skill, or the fact that it gives stamina. Probably not necessary for my survivor since she already has a nice trait for stamina.
Anyway, thank you so much for the input!
1
maybe I am underestimating the power of +1 stack size because it never appealed to me too much.
It's not ultra powerful, just super nice and comfortable to have. It mostly matters because most people tend to only want to occupy one slot to painkillers and leave the rest for scavenging stuff. Being able to carry 4 instead of 3 feels safer.
One of the quickest ways to deal with Plague Hearts is explosives. Usually either Pipe Bombs or Grenades. Depending on the difficulty you play you need varying amounts. Grenades require 4, so being able to carry 4 in one slot is again pretty nice.
For looting it generally allows you to just come home with more stuff too. And it applies to everyone. And everyone also gets +10 health. It's just a good one.
Sleep psychology is definitely an interesting one. Only recently have I experienced the joy of not needing a bed facility, and boy does it sound tempting to get this.
Yeah, a lot of people use outposts for safe beds and those provide 2. So Sleep Psychology is basically an outpost in skill form, except better because it also gives additional Morale.
How much noise reduction did soundproofing give again? I never really paid much attention to it because it just reduced threat and did nothing else.
-4, the equivalent of 2 fully upgraded guard towers, so pretty substantial.
You absolutely do not need it. However, I personally like it because even on Nightmare it allows me to have the biggest base, fully occupied and still not be in Siege risk (Sieges spawn Juggernauts that attack your base, which is highly dangerous. Every level below it does not).
You can just have less survivors or go for a smaller base to have the same effect. Alternatively, you can heavily invest in Guard Towers and Sniper Tower and you'll get it that way too. Or just do the Sieges if you are comfortable of course.
But personally, I like having my plans for my base wide open, so I like Soundproofing.
I didn't know poker face was a learnable skill
I actually don't know if it is tbh. Was just listing my 5 favorites overall.
2
Depends if she is going to be taking out PHs or staying at home
Blood Plague survivors are best used “in the field” so to speak, so a resource skill or Driving would be good. This way if you lose her, it won’t have a big effect on the community or access to facilities/crafting capabilities
4
What do you mean by resource skill? You mean something like fishing or lichenology?
But yeah you do raise a good point there. I should probably just give her Driving and use her as my active char semi-permanently.
4
Correct. Resource skills that produce Materials, Meds, Food, etc...
3
So would lichenology be good?
3
Yes
1
Yes
1
Maybe pathology, I always like have one in my community
3
While I do like the sound of discounted blood plague cures and community infection resistance, I'm a bit hesitant to get pathology because it loses a lot of its use if you can avoid infection.
Thanks for the suggestion though!
2
In the case, Surgery sounds good.
3
Probably anything relating to combat
3
Like what, Sewing or hygiene for the extra health?
1
I suppose, probably hygiene would be my suggestion
2
As this is going to be a field agent: Driving would be good, so would Sewing or Hygiene.
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Driving does seem good by the looks of it. Might as well put her traits to good use and have her be active all the time.
2
Pharmacology, use a pill press, so you can make Cheap Strong Painkillers so you can sell and buy anything from anyone
3
That is definitely a good strat for influence, but I personally think it's a waste to have it on this survivor in particular (Blood Plague Survivors are kinda rare).
Anyway, I gave pharmacology to another survivor after hearing about strong painkillers. Best influence farm ever.
3
Pathology or mechanics if you don't already have one. Or wait until the rare skills trader comes and get hygiene or sewing. They both add to the community.
2
Oh Sewing does sound good. Some extra health and stacking would be useful.
Thanks!
3
That’s a very nice trait combination. Too bad it’s such a meh hero bonus.
I’d either give her something useful for the community (probably Lichenology) or go full on ‘fun to actively play character’ and go with Sewing.
2
I was gonna give her lichenology, but I wanted a second opinion first. Now I am heavily considering driving, because a couple others make a good point about it.
Also I didn't know moral support is meh, I thought it was good since it could let you run the same character for much longer.
1
Moral support is decent.
Driving is meh, most of it only affects the one driving.
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That's why I never gave much attention to driving. That is, until people pointed out using this character for most, if not all, field operations.
3
Then still, why use driving? On Nightmare, fuel cans are plentiful, you don't need less consumption. Same with repair kits, you don't need to decrease how many you use unless you actively try to wreck your car.
So it's just for the stealth. Which... Meh? Like, that doesn't really help anywhere.
2
I sorta feel like a respec book for shooting is a priority, so you can swap to gunslinging... Personal opinion of course. I just prefer the characters I'm going to run as mains have it. And this survivor certainly feels like a survivor you'll use frequently, with both JKG and BPS.
As for fifth skill, I'd probably take sewing, driving, or fishing. (Depending on playstyle, I can see picking up Sleep Psychology too -- or any morale boosting fifth skill really, although morale AND beds is never bad.)
2
I wasn't given the option of gunslinging before, if I respec will it give me the option then?
Sleep psychology is good too. I didn't realize how useful free beds was until one community managed to get enough to never need a bed facility ever again.
2
Yes, respec will allow you to pick any of the shooting options (sharpshooting, weapon handling, assault, gunslinging). The only downside is a super minor one, and it's that your survivor will gain experience slower. But it's such a non-issue that it shouldn't be a problem at all.
3
Oh I never knew that. Looks like I'm paying a visit to the mysterious trader soon.
2
Yes, but Gunslinging is a bit overrated though. It's exceedingly easy to shoot Ferals in the head. They are prone, like 90% of the target is the head. You don't need to aim snap.
Outside of that, you really don't want to rely on aim snap as it drains your stamina for no reason. You can just aim yourself. Everything is on the same head level, it isn't hard to hit your shots.
You're much better off with Sharpshooting which literally reduces the amount of bullets you need to kill things by killing multiple at once, or Assault for the increased ammo stack size. Gunslinging is fine, but really not necessary.
3
I go to gunslinging for the reload speed since I usually go with crossbows. Aim snap is just a nice bonus for when something gets a bit too close too fast. The stamina drain is also very manageable once you max out gunslinging.
Nonetheless, I will try out sharpshooting some more because bullet pierce sounds interesting. Hard to find a good reason to use guns outside of sieges though, as the noise attracts way too much attention for my liking.
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Sharpshooting + Shotgun = murder everything!
3
Definitey use a special book. Not anything normal, so sewing, scrum, lichenokogy or fishing
Honestly I like lichenology but it’s up to you
2
Seeing a lot of lichenology and I totally get that. Lichenology is basically herbalism, but better right?
4
Lichenology gives you gardening / herbalism, and +2 meds a day
5
And herbalism gives the same, but only 1 meds at max level.
If anything, the +2 meds is good for infirmary upkeep at least
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Yes, it’s a straight upgrade and makes you completely self sufficient on daily meds. It’s gives you the highest level of meds farming and highest level of food outpost. It is most useful on high difficulty.
2
It’s really useful, if it wasn’t that I’d personally go for sewing
2
Yea
1
Depends on what other 5th skills but most useful ones I find are fishing, lichenology and sleep psychology.
2
Is fishing really that good? Aside from the 2 food, what else does it give?
I agree though, sleep psychology and lichenology are great picks.
1
Fishing is meh on higher difficulties, especially now that outposts can be upgraded
6
Yeah get 2 food outposts upgraded to level 2 with a level 3 farm and your basically good
2
Farms are out, it's all about hydroponics now
2
I gave it a character that had a consumes 50% less food trait. Helped with keeping food stores up at my base when I only had 3 to 4 survivors
2
I've never actually used one, but I also don't have any survivors with utilities
2
Thank you all for the wonderful input. In the end, I couldn't decide between Driving and Sewing. So I decided to put it up to fate and give her whichever of the two was offered by the Rare Skills Trader first.
And so, the winner was Driving! Looks like I'll be using her for everything now (Moral support coming in real handy for that as well). And to all those who suggested, I am very grateful. I learned a lot about which skills to look out for future survivors :)
2
Sewing
2
Construction +1 labor
1
Labor is good, but the other bonuses of construction is kinda meh to me. It feels like scrum would be the better choice if I needed the extra labor.
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That's fine, you just asked for a suggestion and I delivered bud.
2
Ohhh I didn't know respec does that. I'll keep that in mind the next time I see the mysterious trader.
1
Sewing or sleep psychology. Sewing increases community max hp and +1 item stack size while sleep psychology gives +2 beds
Yeah seems like everyone agrees on both sewing and sleep psychology. The question now is: which one's better?
I think that's up to preference, to be honest with you I'd be torn between the two myself of what to get