Skill Masteries
Skill Masteries let you specialize your character beyond the normal skill cap. Once a skill reaches 90, you can learn its mastery from a matching NPC, then level it up by earning XP from hunting (or harvesting, for the gathering masteries). Each mastery grants passive perks and a powerful ultimate ability (proc) that triggers randomly in combat.
Skill Masteries are PvM only. Perks and procs never work against other players — they are automatically disabled while you are in PvP combat. This is purely a monster-hunting progression system.
The Basics
Every character has:
| Component | What it is |
|---|---|
| Base Mastery (Character Enhancement) | A separate passive track: armor, magic resist, melee damage and spell damage bonuses |
| Skill Masteries | One per eligible skill (19 skills), each with 3 perks and 1 proc |
| 2 active slots | Only two skill masteries can be active at a time |
| Template bonus slot | One of your two active masteries is your "template" — it also grants its third perk and its ultimate proc |
Each mastery has:
- Perk 1 and Perk 2 — active whenever the mastery occupies one of your two slots.
- Template Bonus Perk — a third perk, only active for the mastery in the template bonus slot.
- Proc (ultimate) — a chance-based super ability, only for the template bonus mastery. Every successful proc also fully heals you.
You can swap which masteries are active at any time; perks switch over immediately.
Learning a Mastery
- The skill must be at 90.0 or higher.
- It costs 10,000 gold.
- Right-click the matching NPC and choose the mastery training option:
| Mastery | Taught by |
|---|---|
| Swords, Fencing, Macing, Parry | Weaponsmith, Blacksmith |
| Arms Lore | Weaponsmith, Blacksmith, Armorer |
| Tactics | Weaponsmith, Blacksmith |
| Archery | Ranger, Bowyer |
| Evaluating Intelligence | Mage, Scribe |
| Meditation, Magic Resist | Mage |
| Inscription | Scribe |
| Alchemy | Alchemist |
| Poisoning | Alchemist, Thief |
| Stealth | Thief |
| Musicianship | Bard |
| Animal Lore | Animal Trainer |
| Mining | Miner |
| Lumberjacking | Carpenter |
| Skinning | Butcher, Leather Worker |
Earning XP
- Killing creatures grants mastery XP based on the creature's loot quality — tougher monsters give more.
- Deep dungeon bonus: kills on dungeon level 2 grant +20% XP, level 3 and boss rooms grant +40%.
- Harvesting (for Mining, Lumberjacking and Skinning masteries): every successful harvest grants XP scaled by the material tier — rarer ores, woods and hides give far more.
- Town citizenship can grant an additional XP bonus.
- No mastery XP is earned in the newbie areas.
XP is split across your masteries automatically:
| Destination | Share |
|---|---|
| Base Mastery (Character Enhancement) | 35% |
| Active template bonus mastery | 40% |
| Second active mastery | 25% |
If you only have one mastery active, the 25% share is lost — always run two. A mastery that is already at the XP cap absorbs nothing, and its share is lost as well (it is not redistributed). The XP message after a kill shows what you actually received after these losses.
The Skill Mastery window shows these shares directly: the Character Enhancements headline displays "(35%)", and each selected mastery name shows its cut — e.g. "Macing (40%)" for the template bonus mastery and "(25%)" for the second slot.
XP per Level (cumulative)
| Level | XP | Level | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 12 | 924,000 |
| 2 | 7,500 | 13 | 1,212,000 |
| 3 | 19,500 | 14 | 1,566,000 |
| 4 | 45,000 | 15 | 1,998,000 |
| 5 | 75,600 | 16 | 2,520,000 |
| 6 | 117,000 | 17 | 3,150,000 |
| 7 | 180,000 | 18 | 3,906,000 |
| 8 | 261,000 | 19 | 4,806,000 |
| 9 | 369,000 | 20 | 5,868,000 |
| 10 | 511,200 | 21 (max) | 7,110,000 |
| 11 | 694,200 |
Every level-up grants 1 point to spend on that mastery's perks or proc. Perks and procs each go up to level 8.
Level-Up Items
Leveling a mastery costs items in addition to XP. Each mastery has its own color-coded item set; Aether versions are universal and work for any mastery.
| Levels | Cost | |
|---|---|---|
 |
2–7 | Mastery Gems (2 at level 2, up to 7 at level 7) |
  |
8–14 | Mastery Prisms + Totems (7 Prisms/1 Totem at 8, shifting to 1 Prism/7 Totems at 14) |
 |
15–21 | Mastery Totems + Relics (7 Totems/1 Relic at 15, shifting to 1 Totem/7 Relics at 21) |
How to get them:
- Gems, Souls and Fragments drop as monster loot (and from gathering procs for the gathering masteries). The gathering versions can also be bought in the citizenship town shop for export points.
- Prisms, Totems and Relics are crafted with Tinkering from gold ingots plus the matching Gem, Soul or Fragment respectively.
The six item types, their colours, the tinkering recipes and the full per-level cost table have their own page: Mastery Gems.
Special Items
| Item | Effect | |
|---|---|---|
 |
XP Ball | Stores XP; using it grants the XP to your active masteries. It reports the amount actually credited, and if all your masteries are at the XP cap it refuses to be used instead of being wasted |
 |
Skill Mastery Reset Deed | Resets all mastery levels, refunds the spent items and gold, and puts all your XP into an XP Ball |
 |
Skill Mastery Perk Reset Deed | Resets only your spent perk/proc points — levels and XP are kept |
Base Mastery (Character Enhancement)
The Base Mastery levels alongside your skill masteries (it receives 35% of all XP) and uses its own Gems/Prisms/Totems/Relics. Its points buy four passive bonuses, each up to level 8:
| Bonus | Effect per level |
|---|---|
| Armor | Bonus armor, scaled so lightly-armored characters gain relatively more |
| Resist | +2% Magic Resist |
| Melee Damage | +1% melee damage plus a small flat bonus |
| Spell Damage | +1% spell damage plus a small flat bonus |
The 19 Masteries
Each mastery has its own page with per-level numbers, level-8 totals and its ultimate in full.
| Mastery | Perk 1 | Perk 2 | Template Bonus | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alchemy | Volatile Reactions | Flask Blessing | Fire Starter | Nuke |
| Animal Lore | Dominion | Master's Reins | Expert Trainer | Call For Blood |
| Archery | Piercing Shot | Crippling Arrow | Sharpshooter | Rapid Fire |
| Arms Lore | Two-Handed Mastery | Stunning Blow | Executioner | Rampage |
| Eval Intelligence | Arcane Insight | Vitalizing Spirit | Annihilation | Arcane Tempest |
| Fencing | Sway Hit | Swift Piercer | Abusive Assault | Fury |
| Inscription | Scroll Amplification | Parchment Preservation | Scribe's Fortitude | Arcane Overload |
| Macing | Armor Crush | Knockdown | Skull Splitter | Seismic Shock |
| Magic Resist | Silence | Magic Retaliation | Sudden Expulsion | Arcane Echo |
| Meditation | Magical Wrath | Free Cast Chance | Mana Regen | Mana Surge |
| Musicianship | Rhythm of Ruin | Virtuoso | Repertoire | Melodic Mayhem |
| Parry | Physical Retaliation | Unbreakability | Shield Strike | Vengeance |
| Poisoning | Toxic Surge | Stultifying Poison | Poisonous Doom | Noxious Cloud |
| Stealth | Backstab | Phantom | Paralysing Ambush | Shadowstrike |
| Swords | Bleed Infliction | Dodge | Wound Strike | Bloodbath |
| Tactics | One-Handed Mastery | Combat Reflexes | Combat Insight | Lightning Strike |
| Mining | Rich Haul | Sturdy Pick | Deep Vein | Motherlode |
| Lumberjacking | Bountiful Timber | Sturdy Axe | Heartwood | Old Growth |
| Skinning | Careful Skinner | Steady Hand | Prime Cuts | Flawless Harvest |
Arms Lore vs Tactics: these are two separate masteries. Arms Lore is the two-handed and bow specialization; Tactics is the one-handed specialization. (Independently of the mastery, the Arms Lore skill itself also grants a passive swing speed bonus in PvM and PvP alike — 5% faster swings at GM, 6% at 120 — and the skill gains up to 120.)
Perk Details
Every perk's per-level value and its level-8 total live on that mastery's own page — see the table above.
Two mechanics are shared across masteries and worth knowing before you pick:
- Charge — shields (Parry) and Grimoires (Magic Resist) build up charge by absorbing damage, over 10 levels, fading after 30 minutes without damage. Both retaliation perks and both active strikes scale with it. The charge table is on the Parry page.
- The gathering trio — Mining, Lumberjacking and Skinning share one perk structure and one proc outcome roll, and level from harvesting rather than kills.
Ultimate Abilities (Procs)
Only the template bonus mastery's proc can trigger. Every successful proc also fully heals you. Chance shown is per proc level (max level 8).
| Ultimate | Mastery | Chance/lvl | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuke | Alchemy | 2% | 5x potion damage plus 100 flat bonus damage |
| Call For Blood | Animal Lore | 1% | Your pet unleashes its own ultimate ability |
| Rapid Fire | Archery | 0.5% | 50% faster swings for 20 seconds |
| Rampage | Arms Lore | 0.5% | One devastating blow at triple damage that hurls the enemy back up to 4 tiles and knocks it off its feet (rooted creatures stagger in place) |
| Arcane Tempest | Eval Intelligence | 1% | Triple spell damage |
| Fury | Fencing | 0.5% | 30-second frenzy: +20 damage on every landed fencing hit, plus +20 Tactics |
| Arcane Overload | Inscription | 1% | Triple spell damage when casting from a scroll |
| Seismic Shock | Macing | 0.5% | 250 damage split among all creatures within 6 tiles |
| Arcane Echo | Magic Resist | 1.5% | Reflects 400% of incoming magic damage and halves damage taken for 30s (triggers when you are hit by magic) |
| Mana Surge | Meditation | 1% | Bonus spell damage equal to your current mana |
| Melodic Mayhem | Musicianship | 0.5% | 150 damage to everything within 8 tiles (target must be under a bard effect) |
| Vengeance | Parry | 0.5% | Reflects 50% of melee damage for 30 seconds (requires a shield) |
| Noxious Cloud | Poisoning | 1% | Poisons all creatures within 6 tiles |
| Shadowstrike | Stealth | 2.5% | 3.5x damage and instantly re-hides you (requires a stealth attack) |
| Bloodbath | Swords | 0.5% | Bleeds all creatures within 6 tiles (30 damage per tick, 10 ticks) |
| Lightning Strike | Tactics | 0.5% | Chain lightning: 250% of the hit on the target, arcing to up to 3 nearby creatures at 50% each |
| Motherlode | Mining | 0.5% | Gathering bonus roll (see below) |
| Old Growth | Lumberjacking | 0.5% | Gathering bonus roll (see below) |
| Flawless Harvest | Skinning | 0.5% | Gathering bonus roll (see below) |
The three gathering ultimates share one outcome roll (triple yield, material upgrade, or a mastery item) and never fizzle. The full outcome table is on the Mining, Lumberjacking and Skinning pages.
Suspected unattended (AFK) gatherers receive no mastery bonuses at all.
Mastery Spells
Two enhanced spells belong to the mastery system and pair with the Inscription perk Scribe's Fortitude:
| Spell | Circle | Reagents |
|---|---|---|
| Greater Magic Reflection | 5th | Garlic, Mandrake Root, Spider's Silk |
| Greater Reactive Armor | 1st | Garlic, Spider's Silk, Sulfurous Ash |
They cannot be scribed or learned: with Scribe's Fortitude unlocked, using a regular Reactive Armor or Magic Reflection scroll automatically casts the greater version instead. The scroll itself stays a normal scroll — it can be traded, stacked, and stored as usual.
Related
- Barding — the Musicianship mastery's Virtuoso and Repertoire perks power the bard song system
- Skills Overview
- Mining, Lumberjacking, Skinning