Talents
Talents are how a citizen becomes specifically themselves. Everyone of the same race starts from the same root and nobody can afford the whole tree, so what you spend points on is the difference between two Tigers.
Points come from levelling: one point per level. Your total is what the world has granted you; what is left is that total minus what you have already committed.
Two kinds of tree
Every citizen works on two trees at once, and they answer different questions.
- A race tree asks what you are. Six of them, one per race, eight talents each.
- A profession tree asks what you do. Eleven of them, one per trade, and they hold the larger share of the 164 talents in the game.
The shape of a race tree
All six races share one skeleton, which makes them comparable without making them the same. Eight talents, arranged in four steps:
a root, then three branches, then a continuation on each branch, then a single capstone at the end of one of them.
Here is the Bengal Tiger's, as it exists today:
Read the branches and you have read the race: the Tiger's three are the hunt, the hide and the senses. A Penguin's, a Rhino's and a Reptile's each answer the same three slots differently, which is where the character of a race actually lives.
Most talents can be taken more than once. A branch talent typically has two or three ranks, while the root and the capstone are single-rank: you either have them or you do not.
What a talent gives you
| Reward | What it does |
|---|---|
| Passive | A permanent adjustment to your stats or your yield. Most talents are this. |
| Skill | Unlocks an ability you can actually cast. |
| Recipe | Unlocks something you can make. |
| Item | Grants an object outright. |
| Stat | A direct, named stat increase. |
The capstone
The talent at the end of a branch is the one worth planning for. Eight of them currently unlock a skill rather than a passive, which is the clearest reason to commit to one branch instead of spreading points evenly: Colony Call, Troop Signal, Unstoppable Charge, Ambush Coil, Quiet Resolve, Timberfall, Reinforced Weave and Forge Strike.
Three of those belong to professions rather than races. A woodcutter who reaches the end of their tree does not merely cut faster, they get Timberfall.
Profession trees
All eleven professions that a citizen can practise have a full tree behind them: the gathering trades, the making trades, and the wage jobs. The largest run to ten talents. Like the race trees they end in a capstone, and three of those capstones are the skills named above.
Points are scarce and nothing is refunded lightly, so the practical advice is dull and correct: pick the branch that matches how you already play rather than the one that looks strongest on paper. A Tiger who never fights gets more out of Keen Senses than out of Predator's Instinct.
Skills & Effects
Talents can unlock powerful Skills that you can use in combat or utility situations. Each skill may apply one or more Effects to targets.
Combat Skills
| Skill | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Physical | Basic sword attack dealing STR-scaled damage | |
| Fire | Magical projectile that applies effect | |
| Fire | Devastating AoE attack dealing massive INT-scaled damage | |
| Frost | Ice projectile that slows the enemy |
Status Effects
Skills can apply various effects to targets:
| Effect | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Debuff | Deals damage over time to the target | |
| Debuff | Internal burning sensation | |
| Buff | Restores health while frozen |
Recipe Talents
Some talents unlock the ability to craft specific items. Investing in profession talent branches teaches you new recipes automatically.
Example: Bread Recipe
By unlocking the Baker talent in the Herbalist tree, you learn to craft
:| Recipe | Ingredients | Result |
|---|---|---|
| + |
Note: You can also find
scrolls in the world. Reading them teaches you the recipe permanently.
Combining Talents
Your race tree and your profession tree are spent from the same pool of points, which means the interesting characters are the ones where the two agree. A few pairings that reinforce each other:
| Race | Profession | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Bengal Tiger | Blacksmith | The Tiger's branches favour raw force; the forge is where that turns into goods other people need. |
| Rhino | Lumberjack | Momentum against ironbark. The trade that most rewards simply being harder to stop. |
| Lemur | Delivery Guy | The race built around moving, in the one job the city pays by the run. |
| Panda | Herbalist | Patience is the whole profession: the good growths are the slow ones. |
| Reptile | Skinner | Neither hurries, and neither is bothered by the parts of the work other races avoid. |
None of these are enforced. Nothing stops a Rhino from becoming the best cook in the world; the pairings above are simply the ones where your two trees are pulling in the same direction rather than splitting your points.