Stat Gain

Muscles grow by swinging hammers, minds by reading scrolls — and both are governed by Scripts/Misc/SkillCheck.cs.

When stats gain

Stat gain piggybacks on skill use: whenever a skill with lock set to up processes a gain event, TryStatGain runs. On this EJ shard the modern (ML-era) path is used.

1. Chance roll: 5% for players (PlayerChanceToGainStats=5.0 in Config/PlayerCaps.cfg); also 5% for pets (PetChanceToGainStats=5.0).
2. Stat selection: every skill defines a primary and secondary stat in the SkillInfo table (Server/Skills.cs). If both stats are set to up:
   • 3/4 chance the primary stat gains,
   • 1/4 chance the secondary gains. If only one is set to up, that one gains. If neither, nothing happens.
3. Timer check: the per-stat gain delay is disabled on this shard (EnablePlayerStatTimeDelay=False), which the code collapses to an effective 0.5-second cooldown per stat — in practice, no throttle.

Examples of primary/secondary pairs (from Server/Skills.cs):

Skill	Primary	Secondary
Swordsmanship, Blacksmithy, Mining, Lumberjacking, Tactics	Str	Dex
Magery, Evaluating Intelligence, Meditation	Int	Str
Healing, Veterinary	Int	Dex
Hiding, Fencing, Snooping	Dex	(Int / Str)
Animal Taming	Str	Int

So a smith bulks up, a mage gets clever, and a tamer somehow gets both.

Note on StrGain/DexGain/IntGain factors

SkillInfo also carries per-skill StrGain/DexGain/IntGain values (e.g. Blacksmithy 1.0/0.0/0.0, Magery 0.0/0.0/1.5). These drive the pre-ML gain path ((info.StrGain / 33.3) > random), which is not used on this EJ shard — here only the primary/secondary designation and the flat 5% roll matter.

Caps and the swap rule

From Config/PlayerCaps.cfg (see the shard card):

• Per-stat cap: 125 (StrCap/DexCap/IntCap), enhanceable to 150 (StrMaxCap etc. — e.g. via stat-boosting items).
• Total stat cap: 225 (TotalStatCap).

When your three raw stats already total 225, IncreaseStat performs a swap: the gaining stat goes up by 1 only if another stat is set to down and can afford to drop (it must stay above 10). The lower of the two eligible down-stats is reduced first. With no stat set to down, you gain nothing at the cap — so set your stat arrows, not just your skill arrows.

Fast-training one stat (the “spam a skill” trick)

Because stat gain rides on the primary stat of whatever skill is gaining, you can pump a single stat fast by spamming a cheap, fast-gaining skill tied to it. The recipe:

1. Set the stat arrows. In your skills/status gump, set the stat you want to Up and set the other two to Down (or Locked). This guarantees every successful roll lands on your target stat, and — once you’re at the 225 total cap — lets the target keep rising by swapping points out of a Down stat.
2. Pick a skill whose primary stat is your target (table below).
3. Spam it. A skill still climbing (especially below ~70) gains on a large fraction of uses, and each gain rolls the flat 5% stat chance. With the stat-gain timer disabled on this shard, those rolls aren’t throttled — so the stat climbs quickly.

The classic example: Dexterity via Snooping. Snooping’s primary stat is Dex, and you can snoop the same container (a pack animal, a co-operative friend, any container) over and over with almost no setup — so it’s the go-to “just raise my Dex” skill. Set Dex Up, Str/Int Down, and snoop repeatedly.

The Intelligence equivalent: Poisoning. Poisoning’s primary stat is Int, and it’s wonderfully spammable — keep a stack of cheap Lesser poison potions and apply them to food or an Infectious-Strike weapon over and over (each application is a skill check that rolls the stat chance). Set Int Up, Str/Dex Down, and envenom repeatedly. It raises Poisoning and Int together, which is why it’s a favorite Int-pump. (Heads-up: applying poison costs karma, and a failed attempt under 80 skill can poison you — see Poisoning.)

Best spam-trainers by stat (primary-stat skills; pick whichever you can repeat fastest):

Target	Primary-stat skills to spam	Easy choice
Dexterity	Snooping, Stealing, Lockpicking, Hiding, Stealth, Tailoring, Tinkering, Musicianship	Snooping (or Hiding)
Strength	Mining, Lumberjacking, Blacksmithy, Carpentry, Tactics	Mining (dig nonstop)
Intelligence	Magery, Meditation, Evaluating Intelligence, Poisoning, Inscription, Alchemy	Poisoning / Meditation

Caveats: a stat can’t pass 125 (or 150 enhanced), and you can’t exceed 225 total unless a Down stat has room to drop (above 10) — that’s why step 1 sets the other stats Down. And the skill itself must still be gaining (a maxed skill stops rolling); a low or mid skill you’re actively raising is what feeds the stat.

Practical training notes

• Two birds, one stone: training a skill you want also pulls its primary stat along — a warrior swinging weapons (Tactics → Str) or a mage casting (Magery → Int) raises the right stat naturally without a dedicated grind.
• Fast-gaining skills train stats fastest — the 5% roll fires per skill-gain event, so a skill that gains often (low/mid level) pulls stats faster than a near-maxed one.
• Stat lock arrows are independent of skill locks — check both in your status/skills gump. A stat left Locked never moves no matter what you train.

Related

• Skill gain — the events that trigger stat rolls
• Skills index — primary stats for every skill