Difference between revisions of "Aptitude"

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'''Aptitudes''' are a measure of how fast you can advance in a skill. Every [[species]] has separate aptitude rating for each skill, and the higher your aptitude, the less [[experience]] you will need to advance the skill in question. Aptitudes are rated from -5 to 9, with 0 being average; the higher over that you are for your main skills, the better. Aptitudes are determined by your species, though [[manual]]s increase an aptitude by +4 for a finite amount of training.
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'''Aptitudes''' are a measure of how fast you can advance in a skill - the higher the aptitude, the faster you'll learn the skill. Aptitudes are determined by your [[species]], where each species has a separate aptitude rating for each skill. Therefore, some species will prefer certain skills over others. For example, [[Deep Elves]] have an easier time learning magic, and [[Hill Orc]]s have an easier time learning melee combat.
  
As a result, certain species are biased or specialized towards certain [[background]]s. For example, [[Deep Elves]] perform much better at magical backgrounds than purely melee-oriented ones, while the reverse is true for [[Minotaur]]s. One of the keys to winning the game is paying attention to your species' aptitudes, and choosing a playstyle that takes the most advantage of them. Luckily, the character select screen helps you with that, as backgrounds that your species has good aptitudes for are highlighted as "recommended".
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You can press '''? %''' in-game to see the big table of races and aptitudes, or you can check each each [[species]]' individual pages on the wiki.
  
Press <font size="3"><code>?%</code></font> in-game to see the big table of races and aptitudes, or check each each [[species]]' individual pages on the wiki.
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==Useful Info==
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Aptitudes are rated from -5 to +11, with 0 being the baseline. A higher aptitude means it takes less XP to gain each level of a skill, meaning the skill is faster to learn.
  
== Comparison Table ==
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The relative amount of XP required for a given aptitude is tabulated below:
 
 
The table below shows the ''relative'' experience needed to go up a skill level, assuming that with the aptitude of 0, 100 experience is needed. For example an aptitude of -4 means 200 experience is required to go up a skill level, or twice as much as aptitude 0.
 
  
 
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
 
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
 
!Aptitude
 
!Aptitude
!Skill Points
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!Skill Cost
 
!Description
 
!Description
 
|-
 
|-
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|}
 
|}
  
Occasionally an aptitude may be listed as "NA".  This means that the species is unable to learn or use that skill entirely; [[Felid]]s are unable to wear [[Armour]], for example.
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If an aptitude is listed as "NA", it means the species is completely unable to learn that skill. For example, [[Felid]]s can't wear [[armour]], so they can't gain any levels of the [[Armour skill]].
 
 
=== Aptitude / XP formula ===
 
 
 
If you're interested in the actual math, an aptitude of <font size="4"><code>n</code></font> means that you need <font size="4"><code>2^(-n/4)</code></font> times as much exp to advance as a character with an aptitude of 0.
 
  
Notably, this means that every interval of +4 aptitude means half/twice as much experience. A +1 aptitude requires half as much experience as a -3 aptitude, for example.
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===Formula===
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If you have an aptitude of <font size="3"><code>n</code></font>, you'll need <font size="3"><code>2^(-n/4)</code></font> as much XP to gain a level of that skill, compared to a species with aptitude 0. Example: a [[Vampire]] has a +4 aptitude in [[Hexes]], while a [[Human]] has an aptitude of 0. If a Human would require 100 XP to advance a level, it would take the Vampire <code>100 * 2^(-4/4)</code>, or 50 XP, to advance that same level.
  
''Example'': A [[Vampire]] has a +4 aptitude in [[Hexes]], while a human has an aptitude of 0 in that skill. If it would take a [[Human]] 100 experience points to advance a level in Hexes, it will take the Vampire <font size="4"><code>2^(-4/4) -> 2^(-1) -> 0.5</code></font> times as much experience, or 50 experience points to advance a level.
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Notably, this means that every interval of +4 aptitude means twice/half as much XP is required per level. So a +8 aptitude requires half as much XP as a +4 aptitude, a +1 aptitude requires half as much XP as a -3 aptitude, and so on.
  
== Trivia ==
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Also, note that half the XP cost =/= twice the amount of levels, since XP cost rises for each level you have of a skill. So if a Human had 10 levels of Hexes, a Vampire wouldn't have 20 levels of Hexes (the Vampire would have ~14 Hexes).
  
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==Trivia==
 
The table below shows the average aptitudes of all currently playable species. Due to their skill training restrictions, [[Gnoll]]s' aptitudes and [[Djinni|Djinn]]'s magic aptitudes are not included. Of the [[Draconian]] variants, only base Draconian is included.
 
The table below shows the average aptitudes of all currently playable species. Due to their skill training restrictions, [[Gnoll]]s' aptitudes and [[Djinni|Djinn]]'s magic aptitudes are not included. Of the [[Draconian]] variants, only base Draconian is included.
 
{{species aptitudes|Average|noheading=true}}
 
{{species aptitudes|Average|noheading=true}}
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
*Prior to [[0.7.0]], aptitudes were expressed in numbers smaller or larger than 100 (average), as in the ''Skill Points'' table above.
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*Prior to [[0.7.0]], aptitudes were expressed in numbers smaller or larger than 100 (average), as in the ''Skill Cost'' table above.
  
 
[[Category:Skills]] [[Category:Characters]]
 
[[Category:Skills]] [[Category:Characters]]

Revision as of 20:07, 8 March 2024

Version 0.31: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

Aptitudes are a measure of how fast you can advance in a skill - the higher the aptitude, the faster you'll learn the skill. Aptitudes are determined by your species, where each species has a separate aptitude rating for each skill. Therefore, some species will prefer certain skills over others. For example, Deep Elves have an easier time learning magic, and Hill Orcs have an easier time learning melee combat.

You can press ? % in-game to see the big table of races and aptitudes, or you can check each each species' individual pages on the wiki.

Useful Info

Aptitudes are rated from -5 to +11, with 0 being the baseline. A higher aptitude means it takes less XP to gain each level of a skill, meaning the skill is faster to learn.

The relative amount of XP required for a given aptitude is tabulated below:

Aptitude Skill Cost Description
-5 (238) abysmal aptitude
-4 (200) very poor aptitude
-3 (168) poor aptitude
-2 (141) bad aptitude
-1 (119) slightly disfavoured aptitude
0 (100) standard aptitude
+1 (84) slightly favoured aptitude
+2 (71) strong aptitude
+3 (59) very strong aptitude
+4 (50) outstanding aptitude
+5 (42) exceptional aptitude

If an aptitude is listed as "NA", it means the species is completely unable to learn that skill. For example, Felids can't wear armour, so they can't gain any levels of the Armour skill.

Formula

If you have an aptitude of n, you'll need 2^(-n/4) as much XP to gain a level of that skill, compared to a species with aptitude 0. Example: a Vampire has a +4 aptitude in Hexes, while a Human has an aptitude of 0. If a Human would require 100 XP to advance a level, it would take the Vampire 100 * 2^(-4/4), or 50 XP, to advance that same level.

Notably, this means that every interval of +4 aptitude means twice/half as much XP is required per level. So a +8 aptitude requires half as much XP as a +4 aptitude, a +1 aptitude requires half as much XP as a -3 aptitude, and so on.

Also, note that half the XP cost =/= twice the amount of levels, since XP cost rises for each level you have of a skill. So if a Human had 10 levels of Hexes, a Vampire wouldn't have 20 levels of Hexes (the Vampire would have ~14 Hexes).

Trivia

The table below shows the average aptitudes of all currently playable species. Due to their skill training restrictions, Gnolls' aptitudes and Djinn's magic aptitudes are not included. Of the Draconian variants, only base Draconian is included.

Skill Aptitude Skill Aptitude Skill Aptitude
Attack Miscellaneous Magic
Fighting 0.200 Armour -0.636 Spellcasting -0.833
Dodging -0.120
Maces & Flails -0.667 Shields -0.333 Conjurations -0.708
Axes -0.625 Stealth 1.400 Hexes -0.125
Polearms -0.625 Summonings -0.458
Staves -0.625 Invocations 0.583 Necromancy -0.417
Unarmed Combat -0.120 Evocations -0.120 Translocations -0.500
Throwing -0.625 Shapeshifting -1.043 Alchemy -0.208
Fire Magic -0.750
Short Blades -0.083 Ice Magic -0.500
Long Blades -0.375 Air Magic -0.875
Ranged Weapons -0.708 Experience -0.360 Earth Magic -0.417

History

  • Prior to 0.7.0, aptitudes were expressed in numbers smaller or larger than 100 (average), as in the Skill Cost table above.