As you play through My Time at Sandrock, you’ll gather experience and gain Knowledge Points to spend on various skills. These points can be spent in four Knowledge areas — Gathering, Workshop, Combat, and Social. Each category requires you to perform specific tasks to acquire XP for that specific skill tree. Points are not lumped into a general pool to spend wherever you’d like.
This guide will outline all of the skills currently available in My Time at Sandrock, as well as their effects. It will also tell you how to respec Knowledge Points should you want to choose a different path. However, there aren’t too many available, with some locked at this point in Early Access, so it’s likely you won’t need to respec too much, if at all.
My Time at Sandrock Knowledge Skills Explained
Knowledge trees do not become available until you reach Character Level 5. Once you do, you’ll be able to find the four skill trees under the Knowledge tab in the menu. It is the lightbulb icon between the Calendar and Album on the right side.
You gain experience in each Knowledge category by performing specific tasks related to that category.
- Gathering: Interacting with junk and scrap piles, gathering various resources from the ground and trees, and mining.
- Workshop: Crafting items at your workbench and building items diagrams.
- Combat: Fighting monsters and enemies, as well as sparring with townsfolk.
- Social: Speaking with townsfolk, sparring with them, etc.
Each Knowledge area has its own Level to increase independent of Character Level. Your overall level and progress to the next level can be seen in the upper right corner of each category in the Knowledge tab.
You’ll see a lightbulb appear to the right of your stamina bar when you have an unspent skill point, and you can see how many unspent points you have by opening the Knowledge tab and looking at the four category icons in the upper left. There is no need to hoard skill points: every level costs only 1 point.
To spend skills points, select a category, double-click a skill node, and click the Learn button at the bottom of the description on the right. If you double-click a skill you do not want, press ESC to exit the menu entirely, click another category and choose “Cancel,” or right-click on the node (though the latter didn’t work during my time with the game).
Here are all of the skills currently in My Time at Sandrock as they are described in-game.
Gathering Skills
- Basic Gathering Knowledge
- Level 1: EXP gained by gathering increased by 10%.
- Level 2: Increase EXP gained from recycling by 10%.
- Level 3: Gathering Knowledge EXP from scavenging increased by 10%.
- Herbal Knowledge
- Level 1: Get twice as much dew when collecting herbs.
- Level 2: Gain a small chance to find a four-leaf clover when collecting herbs.
- Picker-Upper Knowledge
- Level 1: Get twice as many Dregs when digging through junk piles.
- Level 2: Gain a small chance to find gold and diamonds in junk piles.
- Basic Wood Knowledge
- Level 1: EXP gained from logging and kicking trees increased by 10%.
- Level 2: Gathering knowledge EXP from logging and kicking trees increased by 10%.
- Advanced Wood Knowledge
- Level 1: 2 points of stamina returned by logging and kicking 10%.
- Level 2: When kicking trees, there is a small chance you’ll knock out everything that would be available.
- Level 3: Gain a 10% chance to get extra materials when logging.
- Basic Stone Knowledge
- Level 1: EXP from mining increased by 10%.
- Level 2: Gathering knowledge EXP from mining increased by 10%.
- Advanced Stone Knowledge
- Level 1: 10% chance to return 2 points of stamina on a hit when mining with the Pickhammer.
- Level 2: Gain a 10% chance to get extra materials when mining.
- Fuel Finding Knowledge
- Level 1: When mining, gain a 10% chance to receive an extra Power Stone when you find the first one.
- Gem Finding Knowledge
- Level 1: When mining, gain a 10% chance to receive an extra gem when you find the first one.
- Gunpowder Finding Knowledge
- Level 1: When mining, gain a 10% chance to receive extra Nitre when you find the first one.
- Disc Finding Knowledge
- Level 1: When mining, gain a 10% chance to receive an extra Data Disc when you find the first one.
- Stamina Knowledge
- Levels 1 + 2: Stamina points max +5%.
- Stamina Recovery Knowledge
- Level 1: Stamina restored by ordering food increased by 10%.
- Level 2: Food recovers 10% more stamina.
Workshop Skills
- Mass Production Knowledge
- Level 1: Gain 10% more EXP from Making items on the Worktable.
- Level 2: Workshop Knowledge EXP gained from items made on machines or at your worktable increased by 10%.
- Water Conservation Knowledge
- Level 1: Water used by machines slowed by 10%.
- Level 2: Amount of dew needed to make water decreased by 2.
- Fuel Saving Knowledge
- Levels 1 + 2: Fuel usage slowed by 10%.
- Time Management Knowledge
- Levels 1 + 2: Improve machine production speed by 10%.
- Learner Knowledge
- Level 1: Gain 10% more EXP when constructing things on the Assembly Station.
- Level 2: Workshop knowlegde EXP gained from making things on the Assembly Station increased by 10%.
- Quality Goods Knowledge
- Level 1: better chance to get high quality items from the Assembly Station.
- Level 2: Better chance to get high quality items from the Worktable and machines.
- Quality Master Knowledge
- Level 1: Even better chance to get high quality items from the Assembly Station.
- Level 2: Even better chance to get high quality items from the Worktable and machines.
- Yard Knowledge
- Level 1: Max stat increase from furniture increased by 10%.
- Plant Knowledge
- Level 1: The growth of crops is sped up by 10%.
- Levels 2 + 3: Get 10% more crops from a harvest.
- Storage Knowledge
- Levels 1+ 2: Price of unlocking new backpack slots decreased by 5%.
- Expansion Knowledge
- Levels 1 + 2: Price for new land decreased by 5%.
Combat Skills
- Long Range Knowledge
- Level 1: Damage increased with long-range weapons by 5%.
- Survival Knowledge
- Level 1: Max HP increased by 10%.
- Level 2: Gain 20% more HP when using items.
- Basic Melee Knowledge
- Level 1: Melee weapon damage increased by 5%.
- Heavy Sword Novice
- Level 1: Learn a 3-hit combo with the heavy sword.
- Level 2: Learn a 4-hit combo.
- Level 3: Learn a 5-hit combo.
- Sword and Shield Novice
- Level 1: Learn a 3-hit combo with the sword and shield.
- Level 2: Learn a 4-hit combo.
- Level 3: Learn a 5-hit combo.
- Dagger Novice
- Level 1: Learn a 3-hit combo with the daggers.
- Level 2: Learn a 4-hit combo.
- Level 3: Critical hit damage with daggers increased by 10%.
- Spear Novice
- Level 1: Learn a 3-hit combo with the spear.
- Level 2: Learn a 4-hit combo.
- Level 3: Learn a 5-hit combo.
Social Skills
- Social Activity Knowledge
- Level 1: The social knowledge experience gained when socializing with NPCs increased by 10%.
- Level 2: When you reach “friend” status with someone in town, you can see them on the map.
- Social Butterfly Knowledge
- Level 1: Social knowledge EXP gained from interacting with townsfolks in day-to-day life increased by 10%.
- Commission Knowledge
- Level 1: Social knowledge EXP gained for completing commissions increased by 10%.
- Quality Bonus Knowledge
- Level 1: Extra reward received when turning in a high quality (higher than requested) commission increased by 10% beyond the initial bonus.
- Chart-topper Knowledge
- Level 1: All commission rewards increase by 5% while ranked in the Top 3 at the Commerce Guild.
- Quick Delivery Knowledge
- Level 1: Reward gained when completing a commission the same day it’s issued increased by 5%.
How to Respec Skills in My Time at Sandrock
It’s unlikely that you’ll find the need to respec any of your skills in My Time at Sandrock. However, there is a way to do so if you wish.
Go to the Clinic in the northwestern portion of the map, near the Game Center, Museum, and sparring ring. Speak with Fang and choose acupuncture, the third option. You’ll be able to respec individual categories, as well as all of your Knowledge Points at a single time.
Each respec costs a certain number of Gols to perform based on the number of skill points in a single category (1 point = 10 Gols). The exact price will be presented when you choose the category, but the more you have, the pricier the respec.
And that’s basically everything you need to know about Knowledge Points, skills, and how to respec in My Time at Sandrock as it stands this close to the game’s Early Access launch. For more, head over to our Sandrock guides page.
