Skills and Gear Locks

This is the system that makes Arcadia an RPG. If you read only one page after Getting Started, read this one.

How skills work

You spend XP levels in the skills screen to raise skills. A skill does two things:

It gives you perks: damage, armor, speed, spell power, mining speed and more.
It unlocks gear. Most weapons, armor, spell books and bows have a skill requirement.

Rules of the road:

Every skill caps at 50.
Your total spent levels are capped too, so you must make choices.
Every 30 total levels you gain an extra heart.
Dying does not reset your skills.
You can carry locked gear. You just cannot use it until you meet the requirement. Hover an item to see what it needs.

Skill	What it does
Attack	Raises melee damage
Defense	Raises armor
Magic	Raises spell power
Agility	Raises movement speed
Mining	Speeds up mining
Gathering	Speeds up chopping and digging; unlocks fishing and horses
Farming	Raises crop yields and hoe power
Building	Extends your block reach

Skill	What it does (per 5 levels)
Dexterity	Raises attack speed
Casting	Reduces spell cast time
Sturdy	Raises armor toughness
Quick Draw	Raises bow draw speed
Sharp Arrow	Raises bow damage
Rejuvenation	Raises natural regeneration

Item	You need
Fishing rod	Gathering 3
Iron sword	Attack 5
Iron armor	Defense 5
Iron pickaxe	Mining 5
Iron axe / shovel	Gathering 5
Iron hoe	Farming 5
Bow	Agility 4
Crossbow	Agility 5 and Defense 5
Diamond sword	Attack 10
Diamond armor	Defense 10 and Sturdy 10
Diamond tools	10 in the matching skill
Trident	Attack 16 and Agility 10
Netherite sword	Attack 20 and Sturdy 10
Netherite armor	Defense 20 and Dexterity 20
Any Too Many Bows bow	Agility 10 and Defense 5 (Flame and Wind bows also want Quick Draw 5; Flame also wants Sharp Arrow 5)
Iron spell book	Magic 12 and Casting 10
Gold spell book	Magic 16 and Casting 10
Diamond spell book	Magic 22 and Casting 15
Netherite spell book	Magic 28 and Casting 15
Necronomicon spell book	Magic 30 and Casting 25
Iron's Spells mage armor	Defense 14 to 25 and Magic 14 to 25
Netherite Mage armor	Defense 25 and Magic 25
Boss-forged sets (Dragonslayer, Crucible Knight, Dark Lord)	Defense 30
Ignitium armor	Defense 30 and Magic 25
Cursium armor	Defense 35 and Magic 30
Incinerator	Attack 36 and Magic 30
Soul Render	Attack 35 and Magic 28
Annihilator	Attack 40 and Magic 38
Meat Shredder	Attack 50, Dexterity 40 and Mining 50

Rule of thumb: pick a build, raise its skills, and the gear follows. Treat every locked item as a goal, not a wall.

Quest rewards. Almost every quest pays XP levels or hands you skill levels directly.
Bosses. A Slay step pays 5 to 15 levels.
Contracts. Repeatable hunts pay levels.
Training Manuals. Buy skill levels outright with gold.
Bottled Wisdom. Experience bottles sold in the Vault.

Pick one main Path and one supporting one.
Magic builds need Magic and Casting. Do not raise only one.
Bow builds need Agility, Defense, Quick Draw and Sharp Arrow.
Tank builds need Defense and Sturdy for anything better than iron.
Netherite gear needs Dexterity as well as Defense.
Skill totals are capped, so plan your last 100 levels before you spend your first.

Mistake	Fix
Raising only Magic and wondering why your book will not equip	Raise Casting too
Buying netherite armor and finding it locked	You need Dexterity 20 as well as Defense 20
Putting all levels in Attack	Balance with Defense and Sturdy or you will not survive the fights you unlock
Hoarding XP levels "for later"	Skills pay off immediately; spend as you need the next piece of gear