Character Stats and Attributes
Understanding and developing your characters' stats and attributes is paramount to survival and success in the harsh world of Kenshi. Unlike traditional RPGs, Kenshi's progression is entirely skill-based; there are no experience points or levels. Every action contributes to a specific skill, making focused training essential.
Core Attributes
These foundational attributes influence a wide range of skills and overall character performance. They are difficult to train directly but increase slowly as related skills improve.
- Strength: Dictates carrying capacity, damage with heavy weapons, and resistance to being knocked down.
- Training Strategy: The most efficient way to train Strength is to equip a character with a heavy backpack (e.g., a Trader's Backpack or Large Backpack) filled with heavy items like Iron Plates or Copper Ore. Have them run long distances or engage in combat while encumbered. Mining Copper Deposits or Iron Deposits and carrying the raw materials is also effective.
- Early Game Tip: Purchase a cheap Wooden Backpack from a General Store in Squinn or The Hub and fill it with cheap Iron Ore from nearby mines.
- Dexterity: Affects attack speed, damage with light weapons, and the effectiveness of dodging. Crucial for martial artists and light weapon users.
- Training Strategy: Dexterity increases primarily through combat using light weapons (katanas, sabres, short cleavers) or unarmed combat. The faster your attacks, the more opportunities for Dexterity gains. Using a Training Dummy (level I or II) in your outpost or a purchased building is a safe way to start.
- Advanced Training: Engage in combat against weak, numerous enemies like Dust Bandits or Hungry Bandits. Equip a low-damage weapon (e.g., a Rusty Junk Katana) to prolong fights and maximize hits.
- Toughness: Determines how much damage a character can take before falling unconscious or dying, and how quickly they recover from injuries.
- Training Strategy: Toughness is gained by taking damage and recovering. The more times a character is knocked down and gets back up, the faster it increases. This is inherently risky.
- Controlled Training: Find a lone, weak enemy (e.g., a single Dust Bandit or Swamper) and let them beat on one of your characters. Have another character ready to heal with First Aid Kits. This is best done near a town for quick escape if things go wrong.
- Recommended Location: The area around The Hub is relatively safe for early Toughness training, with plenty of Hungry Bandits.
- Endurance: Influences how long a character can sprint or fight without becoming exhausted.
- Training Strategy: Endurance improves by performing strenuous activities like running, fighting, and mining.
- Passive Training: Simply playing the game and having characters perform their daily tasks will slowly increase Endurance. For faster gains, have characters run long distances, especially while encumbered.
Combat Skills
These skills directly impact a character's effectiveness in battle.
- Melee Attack: Increases the chance to hit an enemy in melee combat.
- Training Strategy: Engage in combat. The more attacks you land (or attempt), the faster this skill grows. Training Dummies are excellent for initial gains.
- Efficient Training: Fight against enemies with high defense to prolong combat and get more attack attempts. Holy Nation Paladins or Samurai are good targets once your characters are strong enough.
- Melee Defense: Increases the chance to block or parry incoming melee attacks.
- Training Strategy: Take hits in combat. Every time an enemy attacks you, your defense skill has a chance to increase.
- Controlled Training: Similar to Toughness, let a weak enemy attack your character while others are ready to heal. Equipping heavy armor can help mitigate damage during this process.
- Martial Arts: Governs damage, attack speed, and defense when fighting unarmed.
- Training Strategy: Fight unarmed. This skill is challenging to train safely early on due to the lack of weapon damage.
- Recommended Training: Once your Toughness and Dexterity are decent, engage in unarmed combat against low-level enemies. Alternatively, use a Martial Arts Training Dummy (requires research) in your base.
- Precision Shooting: Affects accuracy with ranged weapons (crossbows).
- Training Strategy: Shoot at enemies or targets.
- Dedicated Training: Build a Shooting Range in your base (requires research) and have characters practice. This is the safest and most reliable method. Alternatively, engage in ranged combat against slow, large targets like Beak Things or Gorrillos.
- Dodge: Determines the chance to completely avoid an incoming melee attack.
- Training Strategy: Dodge attempts occur automatically when an enemy attacks and your character is not blocking or attacking. It's tied to Dexterity.
- Passive Training: Improves naturally as characters engage in melee combat without heavy armor that restricts movement.
Utility Skills
These skills are vital for survival, resource gathering, and base management.
- Athletics: Increases movement speed.
- Stealth: Reduces visibility to enemies and allows for sneaking past patrols.
- Training Strategy: Activate stealth mode (default 'C' key) and move around.
- Optimal Training: Sneak past hostile patrols (e.g., Holy Nation Patrols, Bandit Patrols) in populated areas. The more enemies you successfully sneak past, the faster it trains. Training at night is more effective.
- Thievery: Increases success chance for stealing and lockpicking.
- Training Strategy: Attempt to steal items or pick locks.
- Lockpicking Training: Purchase Lockpicks from a Thieves Guild Fence in The Hub or Mourn. Find an abandoned shack or a locked chest in a safe area and repeatedly attempt to pick the lock. You can also build Lockpicking Training Chests in your base.
- Stealing Training: Start with low-value items in dimly lit shops. The Thieves Guild in The Hub offers basic training and a safe environment for early attempts.
- Medic: Improves healing speed and effectiveness.
- Training Strategy: Heal injured characters.
- Dedicated Training: Have a character repeatedly heal another character who has minor injuries (e.g., from a controlled Toughness training session). Using higher quality First Aid Kits (e.g., Standard First Aid Kit) can sometimes provide better gains.
- Labouring: Affects speed and efficiency of mining, farming, and construction.
- Training Strategy: Perform any labor task.
- Passive Training: As your characters mine Copper Deposits, farm Greenfruit, or construct buildings, this skill will naturally increase.
- Science: Determines research speed.
- Training Strategy: Research technologies at a Research Bench.
- Essential Training: Assign a dedicated researcher early on. Ensure they have a steady supply of Ancient Books, Engineering Research, and AI Cores (found in ancient ruins and labs) to keep researching.