Skill System Mod FAQ

About the Mod

Is this mod still being updated?
Yes. Until 2.0, updates will be bug fixes only. 2.0 will bring a reworked XP system and new skill trees. Suggestions and feedback for it are very welcome on the discussion page.

Is it achievement compatible?
No, and it probably never will be. It's also a little on the cheaty side, but play it your own way!

Getting Started

How do I open the skill window?
Press Alt+K, click the ✦ Skill System button on the shortcut bar, or click the XP bar in the top-left corner of the screen.

Is there a cheat/debug menu?
Yes. Alt+Shift+K opens the developer panel, where you can add levels, give yourself XP or skill points, or wipe your progress and start over.

Do I need Space Age?
Yes. Several skills and the Apex Belt depend on Space Age buildings and materials.

Can I add this to a save that's already in progress?
Yes. Everyone starts at level 0 when the mod is added. To make up for lost time, you're offered a catch-up bonus of skill points based on how much you've already researched (1 point per researched technology by default, adjustable in Mod Settings → Map). The offer only goes to players who haven't earned any XP yet. As with any mod, back up your save first.

What happens if I remove the mod and add it back later?
Removing the mod cleanly takes away all of its bonuses, so your character and factory go back to normal. Your skill progress isn't kept, though. Once a save has been saved without the mod, adding it back starts you from level 0 again.

I removed the mod and some bonuses are still there.
That shouldn't happen. Please report it on the discussion page with the mod version you were using, and a fix will follow as soon as possible.

Earning XP

How do I earn XP?
Almost everything you do earns XP: mining, chopping trees, hand-crafting, building, killing enemies, finishing research, and shooting down asteroids in space. Buildings placed by robots or from blueprints don't give XP.

Why did crafting a particular item stop giving XP?
To stop endless hand-crafting from being an XP farm, each recipe gives less XP the more often you craft it. The first 550 crafts of a recipe give full XP, the next 100 give 40%, and after that that recipe gives no XP. Other recipes are unaffected, so variety keeps the XP coming.

Why did my asteroid XP slow down or stop?
Asteroid XP has an allowance, so a platform full of turrets can't run as an endless XP farm. Each player gets a window that refills every 5 minutes. The first 300 asteroid XP in that window comes at the full rate, the next 200 at 25%, and after that asteroids give nothing until the window resets. You get a chat message when you drop to 25% and another when you hit the limit, each saying how long until the reset. A normal platform rarely notices.

Both numbers can be changed in Mod Settings → Map: Asteroid XP: Time Window and Asteroid XP: Full-Rate Allowance per Window. Set the allowance to 0 to turn asteroid XP off completely.

What's the bar in the top-left corner?
That's your XP bar. It shows your level and your progress towards the next one, and clicking it opens the skill window. To hide it, turn off Show XP Bar in Mod Settings → Per player. In multiplayer it's each player's own choice.

Can I move the XP bar?
Not yet. A movable XP bar is planned for 2.0.

Can I see where my XP is coming from?
Yes. Turn on XP popups and you'll see floating text above your character, like "+12 XP mining". XP earned close together is added up into one popup, so mining a patch doesn't flood the screen. There are three ways to switch popups on and off, and they all control the same setting:
- the Toggle XP Popups button on the shortcut bar
- the Show XP popups checkbox at the bottom of the skill window
- Show XP Source Messages in Mod Settings → Per player

Popups are off by default.

Progression

Progression feels too fast. I'm getting too many skill points.
Turn off Balanced Progression in Mod Settings → Startup, then lower Skill Points per Level. With Balanced Progression on (the default), you get 3 points per level.

Progression feels too slow. I can't afford the skills I want.
Raise the XP Gain Multiplier in Mod Settings → Map. You can also use the developer panel (Alt+Shift+K) to add levels, or focus your points on one branch early on.

What is the level cap?
999, which is effectively endless for a normal playthrough. The XP needed climbs steeply, and every level past roughly 65 costs a good deal more than the one before.

Can I max everything?
At default settings, maxing every skill that has a cap takes 447 points, which you'll reach at around level 150. After that, the Capstone skills Synergy and Research Productivity have no cap and will take as many points as you can give them.

I changed my mind. Can I get my points back?
Yes, and you keep your level and XP either way. At the bottom of the skill window:
- Reset Tree refunds only the tab you're looking at.
- Reset All refunds every point you've spent.

You'll see a confirmation screen listing exactly what's being refunded. If a reset breaks a Capstone's requirement, that Capstone is refunded too, and the confirmation screen warns you first.

Can I turn off a skill's effect without losing the points?
Yes. Every skill you've put at least one level into has an Effect active / Effect disabled toggle. Disabling a skill switches off its bonus but keeps your levels, and it still counts as a prerequisite for the next skill. This is handy when you want to reach a later skill without the earlier one's bonus.

What happens to my skills when the mod updates?
Your level, XP and skills are kept. If the skill trees change, you'll be offered an optional free reset so you can reinvest. If a skill's max level is lowered, the extra levels are refunded automatically.

Skills & Trees

What do the tabs mean?

Which skills should I prioritise early?
Swift Feet (Speed), Fortitude (Survival), Keen Eye (Production) and Eureka (Knowledge) all pay off straight away and keep paying off for the rest of the game.

What are the alternate recipes from the Engineering tab?

Each recipe unlocks at level 1 of its skill and shows up in your crafting menu and assembling machines automatically.

How does Production Mastery work?
It adds productivity to a wide range of assembler and furnace recipes, unlocking four tiers of items as you level it:
- Level 1: basic items (gears, cable, pipes, belts, inserters, green circuits), up to +40%
- Level 3: mid-game items (fast belts and inserters, assemblers 1–2, plastic), up to +32%
- Level 5: advanced items (red circuits, express belts, bulk inserters, engines and more), up to +24%
- Level 7: late-game and Space Age items, up to +16%

Each tier starts at +12% when it unlocks and grows by +4% per level after that. The bonus applies to your whole force, so every machine benefits.

What does Adrenaline Rush do?
When you take damage, you get a burst of extra movement speed. The burst lasts 3.5 seconds at level 1, rising to 7 seconds at level 8, and can trigger at most once per second.

What's the deal with Lone Wolf?
When you're more than 50 tiles from any of your force's roboports, Lone Wolf gives you +5% movement speed and damage per level. The bonus switches off when you come back into range. By default, your distance is checked every 3 seconds and the bonus switches on and off at the next check. The check interval, plus an optional delay before it turns on or off, can be changed in Mod Settings → Map.

What are Capstone Skills?
There are three:
- Synergy: unlocks when the final skill of any 5 of the 9 branches is maxed. Each level gives +10% to the health and crafting speed you get from skills, plus +10% mining productivity, furnace productivity and research speed for your force. It doesn't affect movement speed. There's no level cap.
- Research Productivity: needs Synergy level 1. Each level adds +5% lab productivity for your force. There's no level cap.
- Apex Transport Belt: a one-point unlock (see below).

What is the Apex Belt?
A new belt tier with twice the throughput of turbo belts, covering the belt, underground belt and splitter, plus a loader if you have Vanilla Loaders HD installed. To unlock it, max the final skill of both Logistics branches: Cargo Drone (Robotics) and Belt Mastery (Transport). Apex belts can only be made in a Foundry, and only once you've set up production chains on Vulcanus, Fulgora and Gleba.

Research Productivity doesn't show a bar in my labs. Is it working?
Yes. The bonus is applied directly to your force's lab productivity. Factorio 2.1 removed the lab productivity bar from the interface, so there's nothing to see, but research does go further per science pack.

Multiplayer

Does this work in multiplayer?
Yes. Each player has their own level, points and skills. Personal bonuses like speed, health, reach and inventory only affect the player who bought them. Factory-wide bonuses like mining productivity, robot speed and lab productivity apply to the whole force, using whichever player has invested the most in that skill.

Is there a shared XP option?
Yes. Turn on Shared XP in Mod Settings → Map. When anyone earns XP, every connected player on the same surface gets the same amount. Asteroid XP already goes to every player on the platform, so it isn't shared a second time.

Settings & Troubleshooting

Can I make a bonus weaker or stronger?
Yes. Mod Settings → Per player has bonus sliders (0–500%) for movement speed, reach, combat damage, health, crafting speed and Lone Wolf. You can tune the mod to your taste without touching your skills.

Can I change the keybinds?
Yes. Go to Settings → Controls and search for "Skill System".

Can I turn off the level-up sound or chat message?
Yes. Both are in Mod Settings → Per player, along with a volume slider for the level-up sound.

Something is broken.
Please report it on the discussion page with your Factorio version, the mod version, a list of your other mods, and what you were doing when it happened. A save file, screenshot or your factorio-current.log helps a lot.

Misc

Will this conflict with other mods?
Rarely. The mod lets productivity apply to a handful of base-game recipes that don't normally allow it. Its bonuses are added on top of other mods' bonuses rather than replacing them, and removing the mod takes away only what it added. Mods that set health, crafting speed or mining speed outright, rather than adding to them, may still clash.

Does it work with Rampant or other enemy overhaul mods?
Compatibility isn't guaranteed yet. If you try it, please report how it goes.

Can I suggest new skills or features?
Please do! Suggestions are always welcome on the discussion page.