Skills
Every skill: what it does, how many times you can take it, and what it builds on.
All Skills
| A Taste for Revenge | Taking damage guarantees next attack is a crit. | — | — | Crit | — |
| Adrenaline | Ignore afflictions for 4s after taking damage. | 2 | — | — | — |
| Back to Back | +50% damage for each ally within 3m. | 2 | — | — | Solo games |
| Bare Knuckle Specialist | +100% punch damage. | — | — | — | — |
| Blood Money | Executions earn you 3 coins. | — | — | — | Rome and the Senate |
| Blood Rush | Backstabs give vigor for 3s. | — | — | Vigor | — |
| Brawling Reflex | Dodges give fury for 2s. | — | — | Fury | — |
| Concussive Strength | Stuns last 50% longer. | 4 | — | — | — |
| Deep Rage | Fury causes +50% extra damage. | 5 | Fury | — | — |
| Deflections | Shields have a 40% chance not to lose durability when hit. | 2 | — | — | — |
| Draw Fire | Enemies are more likely to target you while blocking. | — | — | — | Solo games |
| Drive It Home | Punching enemies causes all weapons embedded in them to do melee damage twice. | — | — | — | — |
| Endless Energy | Vigor lasts 2s longer. | 3 | Vigor | — | — |
| Endurance | Maximum stamina increased by 50%. | 3 | — | — | — |
| Fan Favorite | Crowd are wild for longer. | — | — | — | — |
| Furious Flurry | Damaging 3 different enemies within 7s gives fury for 3s. | — | — | Fury | — |
| Furious Punches | Every third punch gives fury for 5s. | 2 | — | Fury | — |
| Furious Throws | Throws do +60% damage during fury. | — | Fury | — | — |
| Gorilla Press | Crowd goes wild when you pickup an enemy. | — | — | — | — |
| Grapple Master | You can pick up stunned enemies. | — | — | — | — |
| Hard Learned Lessons | +3% damage for each skull you have. | 4 | — | — | — |
| Heavy Punches | Unarmed hits cause enemies to drop shields and dislodge embedded projectiles. | — | — | — | — |
| Hobbies | Gain 2 random Skills. | 6 | — | — | Carthage |
| Hold it Together | Ignore afflictions while aiming. | — | — | — | — |
| I've Had Worse | Remove 2 skulls from first 3-skull affliction. | — | A 3-skull affliction | — | — |
| Ice Cold Rage | 35% crit chance on all attacks during fury. | 3 | Fury | Crit | — |
| Iron Stance | Blocks trip enemies instead of stunning them. | — | — | — | — |
| Jealousy | If an ally has the crowd going wild and you don't, gain vigor. | — | — | Vigor | Solo games |
| Just a Flesh Wound | Cure first 2-skull affliction. | — | A 2-skull affliction | — | — |
| Knockout Blows | Punches have a 40% chance to trip for 2s. | 2 | — | — | — |
| Kung Fu | 30% crit chance on punches and punch crits stun for 1s. | 2 | — | Crit | — |
| Lick Your Wounds | Heal 5% of your max health if it's below 40% at the end of combat. | — | — | — | — |
| Loyalty | -75% damage to your allies. | — | — | — | Solo games |
| Maintain the Rage | Fury lasts 2s longer. | 3 | Fury | — | — |
| Moments of Brilliance | 20% crit chance on all attacks. | 4 | — | Crit | — |
| Momentum | Chain tripping an enemy gives vigor for 4s. | 2 | — | Vigor | — |
| No Mercy | Melee attacks against tripped enemies are always backstabs. | — | — | — | — |
| No Pain No Gain | +1 XP for each affliction gained at the trainer. | — | — | — | — |
| On A Roll | Kills grant 4s of invulnerability if the crowd is going wild. | — | — | — | — |
| One-upmanship | Allies killing enemies guarantee your next attack is a crit. | — | — | Crit | Solo games |
| Overcome the Odds | +15% damage for each different enemy hit in the last 5s. | 4 | — | — | — |
| Overwhelming Assault | Crits have 50% chance to trip enemies. | 2 | Crit | — | — |
| Pain Threshold | Take half damage during fury. | — | Fury | — | — |
| Patience | +5 XP at the next trainer. One use only. | 2 | — | — | — |
| Perfect Darts | The Crowd always love throws. | — | — | — | — |
| Powerlifter | Heavy objects don't slow you down and deal +50% damage when thrown. | — | — | — | — |
| Prankster | Hitting an ally gives them fury and you vigor for 3s. | — | — | Vigor | Solo games |
| Precision Zone | Throw kills guarantee next attack is a crit. | — | — | Crit | — |
| Punching Down | Attacking tripped enemies gives fury for 3s. | 2 | — | Fury | — |
| Push through the Pain | Ignore afflictions during vigor. | — | Vigor | — | — |
All Beast skills
| Proud Lion | Posing to a wild crowd after kills gives allies a damage and speed boost. | Lion I |
| Regal Lion | Posing to a wild crowd after kills makes them throw coins. | Lion II |
| Hoarding Lion | Posing to a wild crowd after kills makes them throw weapons. | Lion III |
| Lethal Eagle | Powerful throw after melee kills. | Eagle I |
| Silent Eagle | Powerful throw after backstabs. | Eagle II |
| Patient Eagle | Powerful throw after blocking. | Eagle III |
| Hulking Bear | More health, less movement speed. Brief invulnerability and fury on taking damage. | Bear I |
| Mighty Bear | More health, less movement speed. Attacks with blunt weapons deal 20% more damage and briefly stun. | Bear II |
| Vengeful Bear | More health, less movement speed. Upon dying, revive with 10% health and permanent fury. | Bear III |
| Deadly Panther | More damage, less health. +50% special attack damage. | Panther I |
| Pouncing Panther | More damage, less health. Dodge becomes a tripping Pounce. | Panther II |
| Unrelenting Panther | More damage, less health. Consecutive hits on one enemy increases damage. | Panther III |
| Agile Ibex | Faster movement. Dodges cost 50% less stamina. | Ibex I |
| Desperate Ibex | Faster movement. Permanent vigor when less than 25% health. | Ibex II |
| Binding Ibex | Faster movement, longer chains. Chain trips and squeezes do extra damage. | Ibex III |
| Armoured Rhino | Shields last twice as long. 30% less damage taken. | Rhino I |
| Stomping Rhino | Shields last twice as long. Stun duration +50%. | Rhino II |
| Reckless Rhino | Shields last twice as long. Shield Throw (block + throw). | Rhino III |
| Clever Monkey | Reroll Trainer skills. Start with 2 Skills and a 2-skull affliction. | Monkey I |
| Vicious Monkey | Reroll Trainer skills. +50% unarmed damage. Unarmed special sends enemies flying. | Monkey II |
| Curious Monkey | Reroll Trainer skills. Only one skill choice, but earn a bonus skill every third level. | Monkey III |
| Ferocious Wolf | More dismemberments. Deal +200% damage with enemy body parts. | Wolf I |
| Bone Collector Wolf | More dismemberments. Earn coins when picking up body parts. | Wolf II |
| Ravenous Wolf | More dismemberments. Heal yourself when picking up body parts. | Wolf III |
All From surgery
| Arm Surgical Rod | Can block without a shield and take 25% damage. |
| Inspirational | Allies within 5m deal +40% damage. |
| Metal Skull Plate | Immune to stun. |
| Stunning Looks | Stun enemies for 2s when they first approach and the crowd likes you more. |
| Third Kidney | 2-skull and 3-skull affliction potions have their effect reduced by 1 skull. |
| Third Lung | Stamina increased by 50%. |
Fury, Vigor and Crit
Many skills build on three states the game calls Fury, Vigor and Crit, which the Needs and Leads to columns name.
What each does, and what a backstab does:
- Fury makes you deal 50% more damage, and each level of Deep Rage adds another 50%.
- Vigor makes you move 40% faster.
- A crit deals double damage.
- A backstab, a hit from behind, deals double damage when you play on your own, and 1.5 times the damage in a party.
What a skill needs
The Trainer only offers you a skill once its Needs are met: one that needs Fury comes up only once someone in your party has a skill that leads to Fury, and the same goes for Vigor and Crit. The skills that cure afflictions need one to cure: a 3-skull affliction, a 2-skull one, or at least two 1-skull ones. A skill stops coming up once you have it at its highest level.
Learning skills
The Trainer is the last of the people you meet between fights. Training there earns you experience, and each level you gain lets you choose a new skill. Your party shares one pool of experience. From Legionnaire on, when training ends, the experience you’ve earned toward your next level shrinks to two thirds; Red Meat stops that. It offers 3 choices at a time when you play on your own, and one more than there are players in a party. Take a skill you already have and its level goes up, as far as its Levels column allows. Beast skills don’t come from the Trainer: each is the skill of a beast’s level, and comes with it.
Skills from surgery
The Surgeon, whom you meet between fights on the first day of Germania and Rome, offers you a choice of operations. Some cure an affliction, paid for with health, coins or a new random affliction; others heal you, pay you coins for a risk, amputate a body part, or give you one of the 6 skills from surgery, like Metal Skull Plate.
When skills are offered
Some skills, afflictions and Merchant items are held back in some games: never when you play on your own, never in a local or two-player game, or never in a given act. Their Not offered in column says where. Learn every skill for Talented.