Skills
Ultima Online has 58 different Skills currently in game (and 1 removed) which determine the capabilities of your Character. You can expend up to 720 points between these however you desire.
In order to improve in a skill you simply carry out the associated actions. For example, if you wish to train as a Swordsman, simply fight Monsters with a sword equipped. Likewise, casting a Fishing Pole out into the water is all it takes to become a better Fisherman. Each skill is associated with certain Stats, which are trained in the same manner.
You can usually pay NPCs for training up to a certain level. For example, visit your local blacksmith's shop and you should be able to learn some of their trade via their Context Menus. You will be expected to pay for these services, of course, though the Gold requested is a pittance. The gold amount is 1 GP per 1/10 of skill with the highest amount of skill costing 400 gold for 40 skill points.
Each skill has an individual cap of 100 points, though in some cases this can be extended by using Power Scrolls. It's also possible to boost the rate of your gains using a Scroll of Alacrity. A Scroll of Transcendence, on the other hand, boosts the skill's total directly.
The introduction of New Haven brought with it New Player Quests, which offer tips towards training as well as accelerated skill gains. While the rewards are mostly trifles, some (especially the Crafting related items) are well worth keeping.
Of especial note is the Skill Tutor Statuette obtained by defeating the Dark Knight, which provides details on whether a given action is too easy or difficult to provide a decent gain rate. Crystal Ball of Knowledge which is obtained by completing the A Mystic's Journey Quest serves the same purpose.
One way to skip some of the lower levels of skill training, provided you have an extra character slot, is to create a new character with 50 in a skill, transfer the skill to a Soulstone or Soulstone Fragment, then transfer the skill to the desired character.
Another option is the Advanced Character Token which will start some skills off at 85 depending on the template chosen. This too can benefit from soulstoning the skill off an extra character and transferring it to a desired character.
The Skill Menu can be used to select those you wish to improve in, those you wish to "forget", and those you wish to lock at their current level.
List of Skills
Each page details what a given skill does, how it is used, and the best methods to train it.
Combat · Magical · Rogue
Healing · Bardic · Creatures & Sensing · Resource Gathering
| Healing | Bardic | Creatures & Sensing | Resource Gathering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Healing | Discordance | Anatomy | Fishing |
| Veterinary | Musicianship | Animal Lore | Mining |
| Peacemaking | Animal Taming | Lumberjacking | |
| Provocation | Camping | ||
| Forensic Evaluation | |||
| Herding | |||
| Taste Identification | |||
| Tracking |
Crafting
| Crafting |
|---|
| Arms Lore |
| Blacksmithy |
| Bowcraft & Fletching |
| Carpentry |
| Masonry |
| Cooking |
| Item Identification |
| Cartography |
| Tailoring |
| Tinkering |
| Basket Weaving |
| Imbuing |
See Also
Stats
Stats are the three core attributes of every character:
- Strength (STR): Carry weight, melee damage, total Hit Points.
- Dexterity (DEX): Stamina; affects skills like Snooping and Parrying.
- Intelligence (INT): Mana; affects skills like Magery.
Stat Locks & Caps
On the Character Status menu, each stat has a small yellow arrow (“lock”): - Up = allowed to rise - Down = allowed to fall - Horizontal = locked (no change)
Per-stat caps - Natural (without items): 125 per stat max - With items: a single stat (natural + item bonuses) can be at most 150
Total stat cap (sum of natural STR+DEX+INT) - Base total: 225 - Can be increased by stat scrolls, +5 veteran reward (accounts ≥ 6 months), and Scroll of Valiant Commendation - Absolute maximum total (with all upgrades): 260
New characters on accounts ≥ 6 months old start with the +5 total stat bonus automatically.
Gaining Stats (how it works)
- There’s no daily limit and no fixed interval for stat gains.
- Each skill has a primary and secondary associated stat.
- If both associated stats are set to rise: primary increases 75% of the time, secondary 25%.
- If the primary is locked, the secondary is chosen to rise.
- Chance per skill gain:
Stat_gain_occurs = 1 / 20(i.e., 5% chance each time the skill advances)
To raise a specific stat, use skills that list that stat as primary (best) or secondary (okay), and set that stat’s arrow to Up.
Skills → Primary / Secondary Stat
| Skill | Primary | Secondary | Skill | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alchemy | INT | DEX | Lumberjacking | STR | DEX |
| Anatomy | INT | STR | Mace Fighting | STR | DEX |
| Animal Lore | INT | STR | Magery | INT | STR |
| Animal Taming | STR | INT | Meditation | INT | STR |
| Archery | DEX | STR | Mining | STR | DEX |
| Arms Lore | INT | STR | Musicianship | DEX | INT |
| Begging | DEX | INT | Necromancy | INT | STR |
| Blacksmithing | STR | DEX | Ninjitsu | DEX | INT |
| Bowcraft/Fletching | DEX | STR | Parrying | DEX | STR |
| Bushido | STR | INT | Peacemaking | INT | DEX |
| Camping | DEX | INT | Poisoning | INT | DEX |
| Carpentry | STR | DEX | Provocation | INT | DEX |
| Cartography | INT | DEX | Remove Trap | DEX | INT |
| Chivalry | STR | INT | Resisting Spells | STR | DEX |
| Cooking | INT | DEX | Snooping | DEX | INT |
| Detect Hidden | INT | DEX | Spellweaving | INT | STR |
| Discordance | INT | DEX | Spirit Speak | INT | STR |
| Evaluate Intelligence | INT | STR | Stealing | DEX | INT |
| Fencing | DEX | STR | Stealth | DEX | INT |
| Fishing | DEX | STR | Swordsmanship | STR | DEX |
| Focus | DEX | INT | Tactics | STR | DEX |
| Forensic Evaluation | INT | DEX | Tailoring | DEX | INT |
| Healing | INT | DEX | Taste Identification | INT | STR |
| Herding | INT | DEX | Tinkering | DEX | INT |
| Hiding | DEX | INT | Throwing | DEX | STR |
| Inscription | INT | DEX | Tracking | INT | DEX |
| Item Identification | INT | DEX | Veterinary | INT | DEX |
| Lockpicking | DEX | INT | Wrestling | STR | DEX |
Training Example (targeting INT for a Mace Fighter)
Goal: Add Chivalry but need more INT (mana). Want to lower STR and raise INT.
- Set INT arrow Up, STR arrow Down (if you want it to drop), DEX as needed.
- Train Evaluate Intelligence until it rises by ~10–12 points.
- Switch to Musicianship and let it gain while Eval Int drops those ~10–12 (reallocation).
- Repeat the back-and-forth cycle until INT is where you want it.
Tip
Both Evaluate Intelligence and Musicianship are resource-free skills, which makes this loop cheap and consistent.