The life skills are not a side menu in Emberville — they are half the progression system. The developers' own description names eleven of them, split between gathering and crafting, and hands-on players report that even picking herbs grants experience toward your character's growth. This guide lists the full set exactly as documented, explains how the two halves feed each other and your combat build, and sets out a starting order that works from the demo into Early Access.
Quick answer
Eleven life skills are documented: Mining, Woodcutting, Herborism and Fishing for gathering; Weaponsmithing, Armorsmithing, Alchemy, Cooking, Carpentry, Jewelcrafting and Tailoring for crafting.
Farming is its own pursuit at your estate: the developers list "farming basics" alongside the skill set.
Gathering levels you: hands-on coverage confirms gathering activities grant experience, so harvesting on the road is never wasted time.
Life skills are classes too: they sit inside the same learn-and-inherit framework as combat classes.
Rescued villagers teach trades: several crafting lines deepen through the people you bring home, not just through grinding.
At a glance
Gathering (4): Mining, Woodcutting, Herborism, Fishing
Crafting (7): Weaponsmithing, Armorsmithing, Alchemy, Cooking, Carpentry, Jewelcrafting, Tailoring
Plus: Farming basics at your personal estate
Experience: Gathering grants character experience (hands-on reports)
Teachers: Rescued villagers teach trades and unlock mechanics in town
Source note: The skill list is the developers' own store description, corroborated by the fan wiki's skill pages
1. The full list, as the developers publish it
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| Group | Skills | What they feed |
|---|---|---|
Gathering | Mining | Ore and stone for smithing, jewelcrafting and building |
Gathering | Woodcutting | Timber for carpentry, construction and crafting stations |
Gathering | Herborism | Herbs and mushrooms for alchemy and cooking |
Gathering | Fishing | Fish for cooking and alchemy ingredients |
Crafting | Weaponsmithing | Weapons — the core of your combat build |
Crafting | Armorsmithing | Armour and defensive gear |
Crafting | Alchemy | Potions and consumables (glowing kymia flasks fill the prison's labs) |
Crafting | Cooking | Food for sustain and buffs — your inventory holds gathered produce from hour one |
Crafting | Carpentry | Furniture, stations and building pieces for town and estate |
Crafting | Jewelcrafting | Jewellery and accessories |
Crafting | Tailoring | Cloth gear and outfits |
The "what they feed" column is the documented structure of the system — gathering professions supply the crafting professions — with the specific links stated at the level the sources support. Recipe lists and material tables are not published yet; they are a launch-week catalogue job for this page, not something to invent in advance.
2. Gathering is progression, not filler
Two hands-on facts set the tone. CGMagazine's preview praised "the leveling — even picking up plants can help you level up," and the Prologue's design agrees: the road from the prison to the town is lined with nodes, and the demo's inventory screenshots show gathered food and materials piling up beside your equipment. Gathering experience also carries over — it is part of the demo progress that transfers into Early Access.
The practical rule for the demo and the launch week: never walk past a node. Ore, timber, herbs and fishing spots are experience and future gear wearing a disguise, and the walk to any objective is the cheapest farming route in the game.
3. Crafting, stations and the people who teach them
Crafting happens at stations — a work bench is labelled in the camp scene the developers use on the store page, and the estate screenshot shows the mature version: furnaces, a cauldron, workbenches and crop fields arranged around your plot. The town's blacksmith works at an open forge on the main street. Expect crafting to scale with the town: the more townsfolk you rescue and house, the more trades are taught and the deeper the crafting bench goes.
That is the loop the whole game hangs on. Combat opens the world, gathering stocks it, crafting converts it into power, and rescued villagers raise the ceiling on all three. Our town rebuilding guide covers the rescue half of the loop in detail.
4. A starting order that works from day one
This order is our recommendation, built from the documented structure — it is advice, not a developer prescription:
1. Herborism and gathering-on-the-road first. Herbs feed alchemy and cooking, cost nothing to pick, and the experience is free.
2. Mining and Woodcutting on every route. Ore and timber gate the smithing and carpentry lines that gear you.
3. Cooking early. Food is the sustain layer for a combat-heavy game, and your first ingredients are already in your bag.
4. Weaponsmithing and Armorsmithing as soon as the town's teachers are home. These two lines convert your stockpiles into your build.
5. Alchemy, Jewelcrafting, Tailoring and Carpentry as the town grows — powerful, but they deepen latest because they depend on rescued teachers and built stations.
6. Fishing whenever you pass water. It is the most situational gathering skill; treat it as a bonus route, not a grind.
How many life skills does Emberville have?
Eleven named skills in the developers' own description — four gathering and seven crafting — plus farming basics at your estate. The list is corroborated by the fan wiki's skill documentation.
Does gathering really give experience?
Yes. Hands-on preview coverage singles it out: even gathering plants contributes to leveling. Gathering progress is also part of the demo save that carries into Early Access.
Are life skills affected by the class inheritance system?
The developers describe combat classes and life classes in one framework, with active and passive skills inheritable when you change class. The life professions are presented as part of that same learn-and-keep progression.
Which crafting skill should I learn first?
Cooking for sustain, then the smithing pair once the town's craftspeople are rescued — that is our recommendation from the documented structure. Recipe-level detail arrives with the live game; we will catalogue it here.