Skill (XC1)

Skills are a mechanic in Xenoblade Chronicles. Every character has a set of skills that - once unlocked - permanently boosts the abilities of that character. Most skills can also be linked to other characters which allows them to make use of the same effect. Skills are not present in Future Connected.

Skill branches
Every character has three skill branches available from the start, with the possibility to gain two additional branches later by completing certain s. Every skill branch has a character trait assigned which boosts a certain stat for that character while that branch is selected. Skills can only be unlocked in the currently selected skill branch. If all skills in this branch are already unlocked, any incoming are wasted.

Linking skills
Most skills can be linked to other characters. However, this is limited by three factors: The shape of the skill, the between the two characters, and available Affinity Coins.
 * Skill shape: Every character has a table of skill shapes. The shape of the skill and the skill slot must match to link it. There are no diamond-shaped slots, so these skills cannot be linked.
 * Affinity: At the lowest affinity, only one skill can be linked between any two characters - the topmost skill shape. For each new affinity level gained, a new slot becomes available.
 * Affinity Coins: Linking a skill costs affinity coins. The amount of linkable skills is therefore limited by the amount of Affinity Coins earned. The coins are not spent, but can be reobtained by simply unlinking that skill again.

List of skills
Every character starts with three skill branches with five skills each. Two additional skill branches can be obtained later, for a total of 25 skills per character.