Laughless Saint Skills List and How They Level

Your build changes while you play

The single most important thing to understand about progression here: your character is improving even when you are nowhere near a menu. Skills go up by being used. That covers combat skills, but also ordinary actions — sprinting, swimming and sneaking all climb on their own.

There is even a deliberately silly consequence of this design: repeatedly punching an early NPC is a viable way to grind unarmed.

The mistake this creates is spending hard-earned points on skills that were already climbing naturally, while neglecting the ones that never see use. The better habit:

Let frequently used skills grow on their own, then spend points where natural progression is actually costing you time.

Confirmed skill list

Read directly off the character sheet during a playthrough. The game groups them into combat, magic and utility:

Combat: one-handed · two-handed · spears · unarmed · archery · blocking · armory

Magic: sorcery · channeling · psionics — see magic schools

Utility: acrobatics · sprinting · swimming · sneak · lockpicking · pickpocketing · alchemy · fishing

SkillWhat is confirmed
SprintingEach level grants +2 max stamina, +5 walk speed, +7.5 sprint speed
Psionics”Own the power of the mind. Cast spells with reality-altering and illusory effects.” Psionic spells grow stronger with each level
AcrobaticsGates traversal; one guide author could not clear a bridge jump with low acrobatics
SwimmingBoosted +10 by the Fisherman’s Friend knife (unique weapons)
LockpickingHard-gates doors by level — see lockpicking
PickpocketingOne perk in this tree grants +100 carry capacity (perks)
AlchemyTraining observed at 25 gold (alchemy)
FishingNeeds a rod bought from a vendor (fishing)
UnarmedGrindable by repeatedly punching an early NPC

The sprinting figures are the clearest window into how skill levels pay out: every level gives a stamina bump plus two separate movement bonuses. That is why the advice below is to let used skills climb on their own.

Skills feed your attributes

Raising skills is not cosmetic. A review of the early access build described the loop as:

  1. Perform actions → the relevant skill improves
  2. Doing that earns experience → you level up
  3. Levelling grants skill points to assign, and potentially a perk pick
  4. Increasing skills passively raises health, mana and stamina — the three main attributes

So skills serve double duty: the skill’s own effect, plus attribute growth.

Skill levels gate content

Some skills are hard gates rather than soft bonuses. Two confirmed examples:

  • A door in the starting town requires lockpicking 60 — far beyond early-game reach, which forces an alternate route in
  • Another room was observed requiring lockpicking 20

Patch notes also record that pickpocket and lockpicking XP were increased in Update 7, so these skills climb faster now than they did at launch.

Race affects your starting point

Your race choice applies bonuses and penalties to individual skills plus a little starting ability. One playthrough noted the lizard race takes -15 to archery but gains considerably more carrying capacity.

Because this is a use-it-and-improve-it RPG, a starting penalty is recoverable — the player in that example reasoned they could simply keep shooting and make up the deficit. See races.

Sources

  • “First Look” gameplay playthrough for the on-screen skill list and race penalties.
  • “Check Out” early access review for the levelling and attribute loop.
  • “10 Things the Game DOESN’T Tell You” for skill-by-use guidance and the pickpocket carry perk.
  • NerveLabs Update 7 announcement, 21 Aug 2026, for the pickpocket/lockpicking XP increase.
  • “How to Break the Moonface Curse” walkthrough for the lockpicking 60 door.
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