Skill
Skills are abilities used by players, allies, and monsters that are not inherent effects. For players, most skills are obtained by placing a skill gem in the skills menu, which grants the ability to bind that skill to a keybind. Certain items can also grant skills, which are automatically added to the skills menu. For non-player allies and monsters, skills simply describe all of their used abilities.
Using skills
Skills are used when the corresponding keybind on their skill bar is pressed, as long as the character can pay the skill's cost and meets any specific conditions or requirements to use it. The most common varieties of skills usually involve attacking with a martial weapon, shield, or unarmed hand, casting a spell, summoning a minion or totem, using a warcry, or throwing a trap or grenade. Most of the skills require an initial animation to be played, which scales with player's stats such as attack speed, cast speed, throw time, etc. It is possible to animation cancel most skills by using a dodge roll or certain other skills, and skills with longer animations usually have some form of maneuverability to adjust aim.
Some skills are considered instant skills and have no animation time. These can be used without interrupting other actions. Additionally, other skills may not require active use, and instead reserve a resource called spirit to provide permanent buffs, maintain automatically reviving permanent minions, or trigger other skills automatically when a condition is met. Notably, triggered skills do not count as "you using a skill", but are still considered a "skill use".
The number of permanent minions of each type can be customized in the skills menu for a fixed reservation for each minion.
All players have a default of 9 skill slots in their skills menu in which skill gems can be placed. Inserting a skill gem unlocks several linked gem sockets, which can be socketed with support gems to modify the skill's effects. Certain types of skill gems called meta gems also can be supported by skill gems, often to trigger them automatically. Each skill gem has a listed minimum level requirement and attribute requirement to equip and use it. Support gems also have a level requirement, and will add to the skill's attribute requirements. Support gems are also limited in how many can be socketed overall of each colour based on the player's total attributes; for example, a player with high dexterity will have a higher limit of green support gems than red or blue.
In addition to these skill slots, all players have a default skill based on their currently equipped weapon which can also be supported by support gems. For martial weapons, these are a thematically appropriate basic attack. For wands, staves, and sceptres, these are unique spells, minion skills, or auras that cannot be found as skill gems. These default skills have no cost or reservation, allowing them to be used relatively freely regardless of the player's mana or spirit.
Other skills granted from items or passive skills such as from ascendancy classes do not use skill slots and are automatically added to the skills menu. Likewise, they are supportable by support gems.
Obtaining skills
Skill gems
All skill gems grant skills.
Hybrid gems
Support gems may sometimes have a skill component, usually as a trigger; these are sometimes called "hybrid gems".
Items granting unique skills
All wands, staves, and sceptres grant unique skills as an implicit modifier. Certain unique items may also grant unique skills as an explicit modifier.
Items granting existing skills
Certain items may grant skills that exist as skill gems as an explicit modifier. These are functionally identical to their gem counterparts, but cannot be corrupted or given quality.
Passives granting skills
Certain passive skills, typically ascendancy passive skills, can grant exclusive unique skills.
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