So I'm trying to understand skill levels...

EramTheLiar

I get it in the most basic sense:

- There is a "skill family" level that represents your level of advancement within the entire skill family - when you advance this skill level, you get access to the higher level skills.

- There is a "skill-specific" level that represents your level of advancement in a specific skill. After you advance four levels, you can choose to morph that skill into something with extra effects, and then you can morph it again.

What I'm wondering is if those skill levels do anything more than just track whether you can add new skills. I ask that because the morphed skills *also* advance four levels -- so for example, my sorcerer currently has Thunderous Form II. Do the skill advancements do anything? Do they increase your damage or buff or spell duration? I assume they have to do have an affect beyond opening up skill lines otherwise there'd be no point in advancing them after a morph, but I haven't noticed anything that can't be explained by gaining class levels and increasing in power that way...

nerevarine1138

Generally, skill levels buff the skill itself. Skills that do damage/healing do more, stun durations last longer, and skills that remove debuffs often remove more.

Gix

It's easier to understand if you use the in-game terms: Skill and Abilities.

Each Skill has various Abilities (some active and others passive) and the Skill level will influence the output of all associated Abilities. The Ability's level will only boost itself.

To my limited understanding, it goes like this:

Ability power = Ability level + Skill level + Attribute (Magicka / Stamina).

seanolan

The general skill level, for instance, Heavy Armor, will not affect anything other than unlocking skills within the tree. In other words, a Heavy Armor of 1 and a Heavy Armor of 50 will have identical armor ratings in the same gear. However, the 50 will have access to all the passives and skills within the Heavy Armor family, which require skill points to unlock. With skill-bar skills, the ones you slot onto your bar and can use in battle, there is separate advancement, and they do increase in power and sometimes effect as your level within that single skill goes up. So for instance, you have Dragonknight skills, Ardent Flame, and you have Firey Grip slotted. Your skill in Dragonknight and your skill in Ardent Flame have no effect, as far as can be told by experimentation, on your damage with Firey Grip. However, your skill level with Firey Grip does go up as you have it slotted and gain experience, and that does increase its damage.

EramTheLiar

OK, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanations everyone!

PBpsy

You can only morph a skill once, there is no second morph at skill level 8.

nerevarine1138

PBpsy wrote: »

You can only morph a skill once, there is no second morph at skill level 8.

Right. Did someone say differently in this thread?

vyndral13preub18_ESO

EramTheLiar wrote: »

I get it in the most basic sense:

After you advance four levels, you can choose to morph that skill into something with extra effects, and then you can morph it again.

The op gives the impression he thinks a skill can be morphed twice.

seanolan

PBpsy wrote: »

You can only morph a skill once, there is no second morph at skill level 8.

What are you responding to?

nerevarine1138

vyndral13preub18_ESO wrote: »

EramTheLiar wrote: »

I get it in the most basic sense:

After you advance four levels, you can choose to morph that skill into something with extra effects, and then you can morph it again.

The op gives the impression he thinks a skill can be morphed twice.

Oh, totally missed that. So right: OP, you don't get to morph a skill twice.

EramTheLiar

Er... sorry, I actually knew you couldn't, I just sort of got lost in that sentence.

PBpsy

nerevarine1138 wrote: »

PBpsy wrote: »

You can only morph a skill once, there is no second morph at skill level 8.

Right. Did someone say differently in this thread?

The OP. Sorry I should have quoted.