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Skills

Skills & Raids Skill System Guide

Master every ability and unlock your party's full potential.

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Skill Overview

Skills & Raids features a deep skill system where Shelldon, Clawrk, and Owlivia each bring unique abilities that can be combined for powerful effects. Since the Steam launch on July 27, 2026, the developer has clarified several mechanics in launch-week patch notes—most notably the rename of Fading Core Skills to Free Skills, improved healing node behavior, and clearer targeting indicators in combat.

Every hero equips two active skills per extraction run, but your full collection—including enemy drops—shapes long-term builds. Understanding Free Skills, looted abilities, focus resources, and on-screen targeting separates steady extractors from repeated wipes.

Free Skills (Formerly Fading Core Skills)

Patch 1.0 renamed Fading Core Skills to Free Skills. These baseline abilities ship with each hero and do not require rare crafting materials to equip. They are your safety net when experimenting with riskier loadouts.

  • Shelldon — Taunt, Shield Wall, and Fortify-style defenses anchor threat control
  • Clawrk — Claw Strike, Frenzy, and mobility skills deliver reliable damage
  • Owlivia — Healing Wave, Regeneration, and Purify cover sustain and cleanse

When planning a run, pair one Free Skill with one looted or crafted skill per character until your stash supports exotic combinations. Free Skills remain available even if you lose a rare drop on a failed extraction.

Enemy Skill Drops

Enemies can drop their own skills after defeat—a core loop advertised on the Steam store page. Drops appear as skill items in your raid inventory and transfer to stash on successful extract.

  • Drop rates scale with zone difficulty and elite encounters
  • Target farming — DPS players chase offensive drops; healers hunt support skills from caster enemies
  • Safe pocket priority — Move rare skill drops to your safe pocket before optional fights (see Extraction)

Losing a legendary enemy skill to a wipe hurts more than losing common ore. Extract early when your inventory holds irreplaceable abilities.

Combining Skills

Skills & Raids lets you combine multiple skills to create synergies that redefine how you approach combat. Each hero runs two actives in a raid, but between runs you mix Free Skills, crafted abilities, and enemy drops into new pairings.

Tank + Healer Combos

  • Shield Wall + Regeneration — Maximum damage mitigation during long extractions
  • Taunt + Healing Wave — Sustain through heavy damage spikes
  • Fortify + Barrier — Layered defense for elite encounters

DPS + Tank Combos

  • Expose Weakness + Taunt — Amplified damage on controlled targets
  • Frenzy + Shield Wall — Burst damage while Shelldon absorbs pressure
  • Critical Surge + Threat Generation — Damage without pulling aggro off the front line

Full Party Combos

  • AoE Taunt + AoE Heal + AoE Damage — Group control for dense packs
  • Single Target Focus — Eliminate priority elites before they enrage
  • Sustain Rotation — Long fights with constant regeneration and defensive cooldowns

Test new combinations in safer zones before deep pushes. Sample party setups live on Builds.

Focus and Resource Mechanics

Combat resources extend beyond cooldown timers. Focus points gate Owlivia’s strongest heals and cleanses—burn focus on trash and you arrive at elites empty. Treat focus like classic healer mana: regenerate during pauses, avoid spamming high-cost skills, and coordinate with Shelldon’s defensive windows.

Mshard serves as both a crafting currency and a combat resource tied to extraction survival. Launch-week patch notes confirm Healing Nodes restore 50% of your Health and Mshard (detailed in the Extraction guide). Owlivia players should plan routes past healing nodes before boss rooms; Clawrk should not burn every offensive cooldown when Mshard reserves are low.

Resource discipline applies to all three heroes: do not waste abilities on weak enemies when the next room holds an elite pack.

Skill Targeting Indicators

On-screen indicators show valid targets before you commit an ability. Ground circles mark AoE placement; directional cones preview cleave angles; ally highlights confirm heal range. The tutorial introduces these markers—keep them enabled during your first dozen extractions.

In pause mode, hover each skill to read targeting rules. Some abilities require line of sight; others need adjacent positioning. Clawrk’s flanking skills reward reading indicators from the rear arc. Shelldon’s taunt indicators show which enemies are in threat range. A red invalid-target flash means the cooldown is wasted—pause, reposition, then fire.

For control bindings that affect targeting speed, see the Controls Guide.

Character Skill Profiles

Shelldon’s Skills

Defensive Skills

  • Shield Wall — Major damage reduction cooldown
  • Fortify — Self-defense buff
  • Iron Skin — Passive armor increase

Aggro Skills

  • Taunt — Force enemies to attack Shelldon
  • Challenging Shout — AoE taunt effect
  • Threat Generation — Passive aggro increase

Utility Skills

  • Intervene — Protect an ally from damage
  • Rally — Party-wide defense buff
  • Last Stand — Survival when near death

Clawrk’s Skills

Damage Skills

  • Claw Strike — Basic high-damage attack
  • Frenzy — Rapid attack sequence
  • Execute — High damage to low-health targets

Combo Skills

  • Expose Weakness — Increase damage taken by enemy
  • Chain Attack — Hit multiple enemies in sequence
  • Critical Surge — Increase critical chance temporarily

Mobility Skills

  • Dash — Quick movement ability
  • Backstab — Increased damage from behind
  • Evasion — Dodge incoming attacks

Owlivia’s Skills

Healing Skills

  • Healing Wave — AoE heal for party
  • Regeneration — Heal over time effect
  • Quick Heal — Fast single-target heal

Support Skills

  • Purify — Remove negative status effects
  • Blessing — Increase ally stats temporarily
  • Mana Restore — Restore ally resources

Defensive Skills

  • Barrier — Absorb damage for an ally
  • Cleanse — Remove all debuffs from party
  • Divine Protection — Prevent fatal damage once

Skill Optimization

Cooldown Management

  • Track all ability cooldowns per hero during pause
  • Plan rotations for maximum uptime on priority targets
  • Save powerful abilities for elites and extraction choke points

Timing and Positioning

  • Use abilities at optimal moments identified by enemy telegraphs
  • Position for maximum effectiveness—Shelldon front, Clawrk flank, Owlivia at heal range
  • Coordinate with party members before unpausing
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the most common questions.

What are Free Skills in Skills & Raids?

Free Skills are baseline abilities each hero starts with. They replaced the pre-launch label Fading Core Skills in the July 2026 patch and do not require rare materials to equip.

Can enemies drop skills I can use?

Yes. Defeated enemies may drop their own skills. Transfer them to stash on successful extract and combine them with Free Skills for unique builds.

How do focus points and Mshard work?

Focus gates Owlivia's strongest heals. Mshard is a crafting and combat resource restored at healing nodes, which now recover 50% Health and Mshard after the launch patch.

What do skill targeting indicators show?

Ground circles, cones, and ally highlights preview valid targets before you cast. Red flashes mean invalid targets—reposition or pause before wasting a cooldown.

How many skills can each character equip in a raid?

Each hero equips two active skills per extraction run, but your stash can hold many more for combination experiments between runs.