Trueffel

OK then, it seems I misunderstood you... There are absolutely no penalty for upgrading skills! Raising skill levels is always, I mean always the best idea and it is my first priority. By raising your Focus skill you also raise the maximum possible level of your CAs. Usually I put slightly more points to the Focus skill then the Lore but basically it is good to keep them close to each other. You can not raise any skill over your character level (except by wearing +skill equipment, which is a very, very effective method to have a kick-ass character...) I'd seriously consider to read some Build Guides on this forum - you will immediately see what is really important when planning a character. Was that the answer you were looking for?

You're welcome ERK419! By leveling up CAs I meant eating runes. I am not sure what did you mean about CA points, if you mean modifaction points, you will have enough to modify all your CAs, but be warned - it is extremely tedious to gather a new point after, say, the first 5-6 ones. Every CA is different, and their regeneration times are up to several factors: your active Buff, your character level, your Stamina, the level of your Focus skill, item modifiers - just to mention the most important ones. My advice is to keep every CA on level 1 until you are absolutely satisfied with their individual regen times! This way you won't get overwhelmed. Then try to eat runes one by one. You can check the actual regen times on your Combat Arts window (by pressing RB). My first SW characters did very well with level 1 Combat Arts for a long time (until around level 35). Your buffs should be the last ones to read runes into, as they directly raise regeneration times! The mechanism of this game is the best I've ever seen - you have to balance several factors to survive. Sometimes it is definitely worth to sacrifice some aspects for the sake of others, sometimes it is forbidden - all depends on the character build you're playing. That is the reason why I can not stop playing this game since the day of release!

Thank you for your kind words Gogo. I am lurking here a long time ago, it was high time to contribute. Amazing community you have here guys, I spent a lot of time here and I come back again and again - sometimes to clarify a tiny bit of info, sometimes just to enjoy the quality of the conversation here. Respect!

Let me try to answer your latest questions. 1. Yes, you got that right, however, the game mechanism is extremely sophisticated. A lot of things will have a certain influence on your Combat Arts, but basically, to level them up, you have to read a rune or wear items with +CA modifiers. As the others stated before me, it is unwise to raise your CA levels too quickly. When I start a new character, I usually won't read a new rune until she passes level 20 (except for a High Elf, but that's another story). 2. To get modification points, you have to raise the level of your lore OR focus skill of the desired Aspect. Or both, of course. You get a modification point to spend each time when the level of the lore and the focus skills reach a certain value (3, 5, 9, 14, 22, 31, 42... etc). Mind you, only hard points count (which you add manually at each new level). On the other hand, weapon-based aspects, like the Malevolent Champion and Death Warrior of the Shadow Warrior, will benefit from raising the focus skill AND Tactics Lore. Please think about Tactics Lore as a general Lore skill for all weapon-based aspects. Also do not forget that you can raise the effectivity of your Combat Arts by raising the level of their Lore skill, as it will raise their damage, critical chance and casting speed! 3. Each and every Combat Art can be modified three times. You can choose ONE modification each time from the top or the bottom row, and yes, you can mix them as you like. Personally I find these modification issues the hardest choices of the game - I used to reroll characters completely because a wrong decision. Hopefully this helps! Enjoy the game!