I couldn't find any good guides on skills. After playing the game on both difficulties and trying different builds I thought I would put this guide together to help anybody out. Having a basic knowledge of skills and traps will also help.

These Skills are an absolute must no matter what difficulty you play on.


LUMBERJACKING 1,2,3 - Grants you money for AP

When even the developers say this is an overpowered skill then you know it's good. Max this tree out as soon as possible. Make sure you spend points in this skill before placing your traps and starting your day to get the most out of it. The more money of you have the faster you can buy better gear, weapons and alcohol.


BAITING - The beasts now take longer to devour your bait and take damage

Bait is one of the most important traps in the game and required for other traps to work so making it stronger is a given. The longer enemies stay with the bait the better.
BALLISTICS -Your Ballistae now cause 37.5% more damage for a total of 110 points of damage.
With this skill your Ballistics can now one shot any enemy in the game. Very powerful against some of the tougher enemies. Makes fighting certain waves late game very easy.


BLOOD THIRST 1,2,3 - Increase maximum hit Points and heal yourself after every melee kill

An important skill especially if you are playing on hard mode given your lack of health. Once you get good at combat, you can actually regain some of your health over time.

SECOND WIND 1,2,3 - Increase overall stamina and regain stamina after every melee kill.
Having tons of stamina makes fighting some of the tougher enemies much easier and gives them less of a chance to attack you

These skills are based on your own preference. If you have skill points to spare, putting them in these skills will help you out.


FIRE WALL -Your fire wall now frighten the Will-o'-the-Wisps.

Not too many instances where I needed to redirect the will-wisps but it does have its uses especially if this enemy gives you problems.

FAITH 1, 2

The wayside cross is only good for taking out will-o-wisps, and since they are easy to kill with a holy weapon I prefer to attack them head on. The good news about the cross is that the damage stacks so you could place two of them side by side and avoid having to spend any skill points here. Again it depends on how much you hate fighting the will-o wisps.



BONFIRE 1,2,3

Bonfire is a good last resort type of trap and not really needed for the majority of the game. Still, having a bonfire near a building is never a bad idea. Even without spending any points on bonfire I still found this trap useful.

ANIMISM - Increases the charge of your Sacred Tree

The great thing about Sacred Tree is that you can activate it and leave it. Sacred Trees work great against Maikan warriors and shamans. If you love this trap then spend points here, otherwise, like the cross you can just build two of them side by side.


ENGINEERING - Your Spike Traps now cause 37.5% more damage for a total of 55 points of damage.

The spike trap is an all around good trap. It's one of the most useful traps in the game. The problem with this skill is that you get it late game and by that point, spike traps are already good at taking out weak to average enemies anyways. You will be using some of the more heavy duty traps for harder enemies.

Avoid these skills


RAGE 1,2,3,4

The problem with this skill is that it requires a huge investment in skill points to make it effective costing you valuable skills elsewhere. Given that it takes a while to increase rage, or you could max out the bonfire skill tree to increase rage, it's too much of an investment to make it worthwhile. Most enemies will be dead anyways, either from your traps or from using the right weapon. Avoid this.

MARKSMANSHIP 1,2,3 - Increase reload speed and automatic aiming

This skill tree is for your rifle. The rifle is a support weapon used to activate traps from a distance and not meant to be used as a main weapon. You should only be using a rifle to fight enemies with a bonfire and even with a maxed out marksmanship it still take a good 3 seconds to reload a rifle, by that time enemies will already be attacking you. I beat hard mode with the starting rifle.

INTIMIDATION - Your skill shout is refreshed faster and increases fear factor

The basic shout is good enough, you should never be fighting a large group of enemies anyways, that usually means you're not placing your traps correctly. If you want to increase your fear factor use a bon fire and/or whiskey from the store. This skill is only good if you are planning to go for the intimidation achievements.

TRAPPING - Wolf Traps holds beasts and inflicts damage

On the surface this looks like a good skill tree, the problem is that wolf traps are only useful in early game and become almost obsolete by mid to late game.


CARPENTRY - Buildings and Watchtowers become stronger

If you find enemies reaching your buildings then you are not placing your traps correctly. This is a useless skill.



SNIPING - Your rifle shots now cause 100% more damage when you fire from the top of a Watchtower.

Rifles should not be used as a main damage dealing weapon. This game is about moving around constantly and attacking your enemies. Standing up on a watchtower is ill advised.


NET CRAFTING 1,2 - Hanging Nets cause more damage

Like the trapping skill, this looks useful however Hanging Nets are more useful in the early game and not mid to late game. Avoid this skill


EXPLOSIVE - Your Explosive Barrels now cost 20 cents less for a total of 45 cents.

Explosives becomes more useful in late game and by that point you should have so much money that this skill is pointless.