Skills (Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town)

Skills are a mechanic in Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town based on the activities you do in the game. Raising your skill level will grant you special bonuses, which will enhance your ability to perform the related activities.

There are 12 skills in total, with many unlocking as you advance through the game.

Logging
"'Use the axe to cut down trees and stumps. Logging will also yield wood materials.'" Logging refers to the Player's ability to chop down trees and stumps, which then harvests logs. It is increased by using the Axe on trees and stumps on your farm. Note that although trees of greater experience value will unlock in further areas of your farm, you can technically max out your Logging skill while still in Area 1.

This skill is unlocked at the start of the game.

Reaping
"'Use the sickle to cut wild grasses. Cutting grass will also yield usable grass materials.'" Reaping refers to the Player's ability to cut down wild grass, which then harvests grass. It is increased by using the Sickle on wild grass on your farm. As your Reaping skill improves, you can obtain up to six additional materials at a time, making it much easier to collect grass materials.

This skill is unlocked at the start of the game.

Mining
"'Use the hammer to break rocks. Mining rocks will also yield ores and jewels.'" Mining refers to the Player's ability to break rocks and ore deposits, which then harvests minerals, such as rocks, gems, and ore. It is increased by using the Hammer on rocks and ore veins, found both on your farm and in mines. If you find yourself running out of energy too quickly in the mines, try improving your Mining skill to decrease your energy consumption.

This skill is unlocked at the start of the game.

Draining
"'Use the bucket to scoop water. Scooping water will yield materials like clay.'" Draining refers to the Player's ability to scoop water, which then harvests clay and reveals treasure. It is increased by using the Bucket on puddles or certain lakes. You can gain a lot of Draining experience by draining the large lakes in Areas 2 and 3; run multiple suction pumps at a time to drain the water more efficiently.

This skill is unlocked after Clemens provides the Player with a Bucket after the first rainfall.

Fishing
"'Use the fishing rod by rivers and the ocean. One day you might land a legendary catch!'" Fishing refers to the Player's ability to catch fish. It is increased by using the Fishing Rod on a body of water and successfully reeling in a fish, or catching a fish using a Fish Trap.

This skill is unlocked after Manuela provides the Player with a Fishing Rod when visiting her house.

Fieldwork
"'Use the hoe to till fields and sow seeds. Fully-grown field crops can be harvested.'" Fieldwork relates to the Player’s ability to till soil and sow crops. It is increased by using the Hoe on usable farmland, using Seeds on plowed land, using the Watering Can on dry soil, and harvesting crops.

At Fieldwork Lv. 4, the Player unlocks the ability to sow seeds in a 3x3 square by charging Y while having seeds equipped. At Fieldwork Lv. 9, Angela will visit the Player's farm the next morning (except during a Typhoon or a Blizzard) to announce that the stock sold at the General Store has increased significantly.

This skill is unlocked after Victor teaches the Player about sowing crops on the second day of the game.

Orcharding
"'Plant seedlings and harvest tree crops. Trees will take some time to grow.'" Orcharding refers to the Player’s ability to plant and harvest orchards. It is increased by harvesting crops from trees. Compared to the Fieldwork skill, it is much more difficult to gain experience in the Orcharding skill, so invest your time in it early.

This skill is unlocked after Victor teaches the Player about sowing crops on the second day of the game.

Cultivating
"'Set spores on mushroom logs. Mushrooms can be harvested after a few days.'" Cultivating refers to the Player's ability to grow and harvest mushrooms on mushroom logs. Growing high-value mushrooms is very lucrative, as is the ability to improve the quality of these mushrooms.

This skill is unlocked after the Player repairs the dilapidated mushroom log.

Beekeeping
"'Place a flower into a beehive. You'll be able to harvest the honey in a few days' time.'" Beekeeping refers to a Player's ability to collect honeycombs from beehives. Putting Hellebore flowers into the beehive is the most experience-efficient way to grow Royal Hive honey.

This skill is unlocked after the Player repairs the dilapidated beehive.

Animal Care
"'Take proper care of your livestock, and they'll provide you with byproducts.'" Animal Care refers to the Player's ability to raise livestock. By interacting with the animals on a daily basis, the Animal Care skill will improve and will unlock the ability to tame new kinds of animals.

This skill is unlocked after the Player tames their first animal.

Cooking
"'Utilize ingredients and whip up something tasty in the kitchen. Eating restores energy!'" Cooking refers to the Player's ability to cook. Increasing this skill will not only increase the quality of dishes, but also the variety of recipes the Player can make. It is increased when the Player cooks something using a Kitchen. The quality of the dishes you make has a large impact. You can improve the quality of the food even more by using toppings, when unlocked.

At Cooking Lv. 5, the Player is able to learn recipes from eating cooked dishes, including ones ordered at the Café and Bistro.

This skill is unlocked when the Player upgrades their home from a Campsite to a Log Cabin.

Communication
"'Speak with and befriend Olive Town's residents. Friendship is its own reward!'" Communication refers to the amount of friendship gained when talking to NPCs. It is increased once per day by talking to NPCs, as well as giving them gifts. The effects of this skill are not always immediately noticeable, but will have an impact on every greeting and gift to the residents.

This skill is unlocked at the start of the game.

Skill Experience
The Player accumulates experience points in each skill by performing actions associated with that skill. All skills require the same amount of experience to reach a given level.

Experience Gained from Skills

 * Experience values listed here are not representative of all possible experience gain. They are examples only.

Skills and Efficiency
As your skill level increases it takes less swings to destroy trees and rocks.

Trivia

 * Skills are a returning feature in Pioneers of Olive Town, as skills were a feature in the previous games Tree of Tranquility and Animal Parade. However, this title embellishes on the existing concept and goes beyond to include new skills like orcharding, beekeeping, and more.