The skill a person has in an area determines how well that person accomplishes tasks in that area. Skills increase in rank with experience: every time a person completes a task successfully, the corresponding skill will increase by an amount of experience points (XP). Once the XP reach the amount required for the next level, the rank will increase.
The highest skill or skills of a dwarf determines their profession.
Starting a new Skill
Dwarven peasants and members of other trades can learn a new skill by having the labor associated with the skill turned on in their preferences screen. The first task related to their new skill they preform will grant them the "Dabbling" skill level. Dwarves may then advance through the skill levels listed below.
Skill ranks
To reach Novice level in any skill requires 500 XP. Reaching each successive level requires an additional 100 XP, so to go from Novice to No label requires 600 XP; No label to Competent requires 700 XP, and so on. The following figures are the cumulative XP needed to go from unskilled to any given skill level.
Although Legendary is the highest skill level displayed, there are actually five skill levels above it. These higher skill levels are known to have an effect on item quality; a Legendary dwarf will make masterpiece items 15% of the time, on average, where a Legendary+5 dwarf will make masterpieces 27% of the time (and exceptional items the other 73% of the time). Skill beyond Legendary+5 does not increase the probability of creating a masterpiece item.
You can't find out exactly when a dwarf gets to Legendary+5, but it will happen 1000 XP before their eighth attribute if they have no other skills -- so when they get eight attributes, they are at Legendary+5. Although skill is capped at Legendary+5, experience is not capped at any level; a dwarf can keep gaining attributes by using a skill that has long since topped out.
| Level |
XP
|
| Dabbling |
1
|
| Novice |
500
|
| No label |
1100
|
| Competent |
1800
|
| Skilled |
2600
|
| Proficient |
3500
|
| Talented |
4500
|
|
| Level |
XP
|
| Adept |
5600
|
| Expert |
6800
|
| Professional |
8100
|
| Accomplished |
9500
|
| Great |
11000
|
| Master |
12600
|
| High Master |
14300
|
|
| Level |
XP
|
| Grand Master |
16100
|
| Legendary |
18000
|
| Legendary+1 |
20000
|
| Legendary+2 |
22100
|
| Legendary+3 |
24300
|
| Legendary+4 |
26600
|
| Legendary+5 |
29000
|
|
List of fortress mode skills
The following list of skills is grouped by the professions they fall in. Each skill has a corresponding labor which is usually named similarly. There are several notable exceptions:
| Skill |
Labor
|
| Ambusher |
Hunting
|
| Bowyer |
Crossbow-making
|
| Building designer |
Architecture
|
| Engraver |
Stone detailing
|
| Grower |
Farming (fields)
|
| Herbalist |
Plant gathering
|
| Metalsmith |
Blacksmithing
|
| Thresher |
Plant processing
|
"Professions" determine the color of the dwarf, their odds of entering a strange mood, and their profession name (if you haven't set it yourself).
Job Management
To view a list of every dwarf and significant creature (Elf, Goblin, dog, livestock, etc.) and the job they are currently performing, press u and from there, if you want to order specific jobs to be done in bigger amounts, press m. You can order up to 30 of single job from the manager screen. To see a list of all jobs and dwarves doing them press j.
