Revision as of 20:04, 1 May 2010

Description

There are a variety of skills in EverQuest, and learning and developing those skills are the keys to a character's success in the game. How a skill works in game depends on the type of skill. Some skills are triggered automatically, while others are used at the player's discretion. Also, some skills are very general and shared by all, while others are specific to certain races and classes. In general, the more the character attempts to use a skill, the better he or she will become at it.

Skills

Abjuration

One of the several skills related to the art of magic, abjuration deals with defensive magic; for example, a spell that enables the character to take less damage from extreme cold.

Alteration

Another of the several skills related to the art of magic, alteration deals with changing things, whether it is illusion or an actual physical change. An example would be a spell that teleports something, or that enables a character to move faster, or forces him or her to move more slowly.

Archery

In addition to the skills dealing with melee combat, range weapons are also prevalent in the world. The skill of archery deals with a character's efficacy in using bows, crossbows, and other, similar devices.

Apply Poison

An ability that is limited to rogues, apply poison enables them to inflict even more damage to their foes after the initial strike. There are numerous steps to learn and perfect in order to use this skill effectively.

Backstab

The rogue has many unique skills in his repertoire, including the ability to strike at his opponent from behind, often inflicting a great deal of damage in one blow.

Bash(Slam)

Certain races and classes have the ability to disorient an opponent, thereby lowering his defenses and also interrupting the process of spellcasting.

Bind Wound

Bandages can be used to stanch the flow of blood from a wound, thereby healing the victim to some extent. This can only be used on seriously injured patients who are not actively pursuing some other activity.

Block

Negating an attack by deflecting the blow with one's body is a skill unique to the monk, and blocking is one of several skills available to that class.

Channeling

One of the several skills related to the art of magic, channeling allows you to continue casting without being interrupted if you are hit while casting the spell.

Conjuration

Another of the several skills related to the art of magic, conjuration brings something from elsewhere into the world, whether they are elemental creatures or powerful clouds of energy.

Disarm

This skill allows the combatant to dislodge a wielded weapon from his opponent's hands, knocking it to the ground and forcing him, at least for the moment, to fight hand-to-hand.

Divination

Another of the several skills related to the art of magic, spells of divination allow the caster to both detect things previously concealed and conceal things previously visible.

Dodge

One of the better ways to negate damage is to completely avoid the blow itself, and the skill of dodging allows the combatant to do just that.

Double Attack

When a fighter becomes particularly adept at his craft, he may become fast enough to hit his opponent twice in the time it would normally take to hit once. Needless to say, this can be very advantageous in a difficult battle.

Dual Wield

Certain classes are able to wield a weapon effectively in both hands, thereby increasing the number of attacks and thus the amount of damage inflicted in a given period of time.

Evocation

Another of the several skills related to the art of magic, evocation deals with things that go boom. Fireballs, force spells, etc., all fall under the auspices of this offensive skill.

Feign Death

Some creatures are said to pretend to be dead, in order to fool their attackers into leaving them alone. Clever monks have mimicked this behavior and found it to be very effective for them, too.

Flying Kick

The monk's body is a finely honed weapon, as this rather acrobatic strike demonstrates. The force of a flying kick is much greater, due to the length of one's legs, than a blow from the upper extremity.

Foraging

Being at home in the wilderness has many benefits, including the ability to forage food. This skill has been known to save quite a few trips back to town when the supplies have inadvertently run out mid-quest. Only those whose classes bring them in tune with nature have refined this ability to any degree.

Hand to Hand

Although this skill can be mastered only by monks, most every other class can at least throw the occasional punch. Besides, one never knows when one might be relieved of one's weapon, both during combat and at other times.

Hide

Hiding from an opponent can be a valuable skill to learn, particularly if one finds oneself without defenses unexpectedly. It should be mentioned, however, that some creatures are able to see better than others. Therefore, this skill is not foolproof.

Kick

Being able to dish out a bit more damage during combat is attractive to many of the melee classes in the game, and kicking one's opponent in unpleasant places in between sword swings does just that.

Meditate

Another of the several skills related to the art of magic, meditation allows casters to memorize spells and regain their mana more quickly.

1H Slash

1H Blunt

2H Slash

2H Blunt

Piercing

Combat is rather integral to the game, and there are a variety of weapons available to the combatant. In general, these weapons are broken up into three categories: blunt, slashing, and piercing, as well as whether they require one or two hands to wield. The higher the skill level, the more effective one is with that weapon.

Brass Instruments

Percussion Instruments

Stringed Instruments

Wind Instruments

Certain bard songs require certain instruments, and the better the minstrel is at playing these instruments, the more effective he or she will be at playing those songs. Each type of instrument learned, whether it is percussion, string, brass or wind, can improve the musician's effectiveness by enhancing their magical compositions.

Pick Lock

Oftentimes finding that precise key is just too time consuming or expensive, and the lock picking abilities of the Rogue class come in very handy. Bards, being somewhat roguish themselves, also have this ability.

Pick Pocket

Rogues, particularly the halfling variety because of their unique and convenient size, have a tendency to lighten those overly heavy pockets of passers-by, but only as a courtesy, of course. Their intended victims, however, will at times detect this activity and will rarely appreciate the attempt.

Safe Fall

Monks, being typically unencumbered by heavy armor and weapons, often work on their ability to fall great distances, yet still land on their feet incurring minimal if any damage. Bards and rogues also practice this skill.

Sense Heading

Although compasses are known to exist, they are also typically rare and expensive. Nearly anyone can learn to determine their heading and direction if they are persistent. Then again, they are also often times wrong.

Singing

Bards (one can at least hope) have great singing voices. And the better they are at this art, the more effective their songs, which are themselves often magical in nature.

Sneak

Some races are better at sneaking than others because of size, but class is also an important factor. In order to bypass a dangerous enemy, it might be advisable to slow one's movement and creep cautiously along, being very quiet.

Specialize Abjuration

Specialize Alteration

Specialize Conjuration

Specialize Divination

Specialize Evocation

Magic users of advanced experience levels tend to specialize in one or another of the skills available to them, depending on which type of magic they find most useful. Specializing in one of those areas allows casters to cast spells using less mana and with a higher rate of success.

Swimming

Many areas in the world of Norrath are covered by water, and one's ability to maneuver in that environment is directly related to one's skill level in swimming. As one becomes more adept at this skill, it is possible to move much faster in the water, and possibly even remain underwater for a bit longer as well.

Tracking

Rangers, druids and bards, through natural or magical abilities, are able to follow traces of others over varying distances. They have never been known to share the secret of this ability with the other classes, which leads one to believe that it is a very difficult skill.

Taunt

Taunting an attacker to attack oneself instead of another is a method by which one member of a team or group can help prevent the death of another, if successful. Warriors in particular are known to do this in order to protect the physically weaker magic users of their parties.