Skill Suggestions

I would think specialization skills like using Foils, Katanas, Tonfas, etc will probably go under the Weapon Specialization extra skill. You guys can feel free to describe that skill when you obtain it.

Suggestions of my own, possibly to be added to the Core Skills soon (don't worry, I'll let you swap out old skills for new ones since we've just started)


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Core:

GRIP FOCUS.
A skill that governs the use of a 1-handed weapon in two hands for extra damage. As long as they do not have anything equipped in Off-Hand, players with this skill are allowed to treat the weapon as if it were 2-handed, allowing for them to use Sword Arts which require the 2-handed equivalent. Naturally, there is also a slight passive boost in the user's grip of 1-handed weapons, making it more difficult for a player to have their weapon knocked away by a strong impact.

CHARISMA.
A leadership-oriented skill that affects NPCs rather than players. But well, if you think you can find a use for it when dealing with other players, be our guest. This skill allows you to smooth over the details when talking to NPCs for any reason. Want to skip over the monologues for a quest without insulting the NPC? Want to change the subject after you 'accidentally' groped an NPC and would rather not get thrown in jail? Want to persuade the guard to let you go after you've already been thrown in jail? As you rank this skill, your abilities in convincing NPCs with tend to rise, even if you aren't the most subtle person out there.

CRITICAL HIT.
A skill that allows players to see weak points upon certain monsters as a vector that is overlayed upon the target's body which can be struck for greater damage. Areas where an attack would deal greater damage would appear as clear white spots, while weak points would appear as darker red points. This skill does not always activate especially in the earlier levels, so the higher the level, the more often it activates and the more likely it will activate when fighting a stronger monster.

GUARDIAN.
A passive skill that activates whenever you perform a switch to fight a monster that is attacking an ally. By putting yourself in harm's way to protect an ally, your defense obtains a passive increase. The higher the skill level the higher the defense increase, great for tanks. Take care while using it however; while you are sturdier, you are not invincible.

NATURAL SHIELD.
The improved ability to passively defend against ranged attacks such as thrown weapons. Possessing this skill reduces the damage of enemy ranged attacks, although even at mastery, it is merely a small amount. Still, any defense is better than no defense if you didn't see the strike coming. By ranking this skill, there is an increased chance that any ranged attack striking your body will be deflected and deal far less damage than expected.




Core+ skills:
(Core+ cannot be taken at start, you must obtain it by leveling up and then choosing it as a Core skill)

ARMS BLAST.
A skill that is very effective when fighting against an opponent whose strong point lies in their equipment's strength and durability, such as a monster with a thick protective shell or a duelist with powerful armor. Obtaining this skill grants the user an action that is treated as an E-Rank Sword Art. If the weapon should make contact with an enemy's equipment, it will cause durability damage, seen as noticeable cracks. If used often enough at the same point, even a tough piece of armor can lose its might over time. A higher skill rank in this skill denotes the ability to dent stronger defenses. If this skill is used against a player, the damaged equipment will regenerate after the duel.

ARTS SHIELD.
Sword Arts, which traditionally used to control the body to perform offensive techniques beyond what one can physically do, can be performed defensively given the right mindset. By taking this skill, a player will be able to create Defensive Sword Arts. More details to be released as players become close enough to taking this skill.

GRIP PLUS.
A skill that governs the use of a 2-handed weapon in one hand for versatility, allowing them to hold a shield in Off-Hand. Players with this skill are allowed to treat the weapon as if it were 1-handed, allowing for them to use Sword Arts which require the 1-handed equivalent. Naturally, there is also a slight passive boost in the user's grip of 2-handed weapons, making it more difficult for a player to have their weapon knocked away by a strong impact.





Supplementary:

DISGUISE.
A skill that grants you an E-Rank action to change your physical and facial features for 1 post, plus 1 post for every 100 points in the skill. At low ranks, any changes in your appearance will be very obvious, but higher ranks will allow you to disguise yourself as, say, the most feminine character around, even if your true appearance is that of a manly man. Unfortunately, your voice pitch and clothes will not change, so you may need to couple this skill with the Ventriloquism skill for best results.

AIR STEP.
A skill widely known in fiction as the ability to jump or simply change direction while in mid-air. Players who take this skill will often also favor the Acrobatics skill in order to improve their movements. While the physics of Sword Art Online are essentially the same as in real life, there are a few exceptions. With this skill, a player will be able to influence the air to some degree in order to perform stunts that would otherwise be impossible in real life. Note that the extent of this skill is very limited, however. Low ranks will barely be able to take an additional split-second step, much less a jump in mid-air, while mastery will only allow the player about five seconds of air time.

LABELING.
An effective intelligence skill for scout-type characters, allowing a player to leave a small message upon a target, be it a monster, object, or even another player. These messages appear as post-it notes which will automatically open whenever a player gets within visual sight of the target. It has a variety of uses, such as warning other players that the labeled target may be dangerous, or notifying players about certain quests associated with the target. The higher ranked the level, the longer the player's message lasts when placed upon a labeled target.

LINGUISTICS.
By default, the NerveGear technology allows players to speak to other players by automatically translating speech in real time. However, this same system is typically inactive whenever attempting to communicate with monsters and animals. Those who have acquired this skill will gradually be able to understand monsters' speech and likewise communicate with them as well. It's a particularly useful skill for those aiming for the Beast Taming skill or for those who simply want to negotiate with normally hostile monsters. However, just because you're beginning to understand monster speech doesn't mean that the translated content is 100% correct. Especially at lower levels, "Nice to meet you" might somehow be a mistranslation of "Look! Fresh meat."

TELEPATHY.
The NerveGear technology interprets the ability of speech through the initial calibration of the helmet as it relays this information to the player avatar, which responds by performing realistic physiological actions in order to speak. Essentially, the avatar follows instructions on how a person is supposed to speak. This skill, while supernatural in concept, can be explained merely by skipping the latter steps. This allows the player to project their speech without having to move their avatar's "vocal cords" and yet be audible to other players. As this skill is ranked, the user will be able to transmit their thoughts onto another player. Initial stages will likely cause problems such as much of the message being lost mid-transfer or the message contents spilling out into other nearby yet undesired players' minds. Mastery of this technique will allow the player to selectively transmit messages to anyone within close distance. Of course, this skill is active and can be turned off in case you'd prefer not to accidentally disclose information.



Extra:

CRYSTALLIZATION.
The use of alchemy in a slightly more flexible manner on the battlefield. The user can spend an E-Rank action to crystallize an existing potion in your inventory, be it a healing potion or an explosive potion, into a fragile crystal. When the crystal is broken, it will release the effects of the item. For example, a crystal made from an explosive potion will act like a bomb. For strategic purposes, the alchemist may also designate a time limit after which a certain crystal will break. Higher ranks allow higher ranking potions to be crystallized, longer time limits, and will expedite the process. This skill is also naturally ranked alongside the Alchemy skill.

SALVAGING.
By reforging old equipment into metal, tearing apart clothes into cloth material, or simply recycling potions and crystals into raw components, this skill can be used to decompose existing items into materials to be used to make other items. Depending on your rank in this skill, you will have a variable amount of success in obtaining items. Naturally, in order to acquire this skill, you need a good amount of knowledge in how to create the item and how the materials themselves work.

VICTORY CRY.
If Performing is the sound that reaches into the soul of players to grant them strength, Victory Cry are the words to accompany them. This skill will allow a player to use an E-Rank action to strengthen allies' stats by a small amount, merely by a motivational speech or even by singing. Supposedly obtained through a good mastery of Performing abilities and/or charismatic skill traits.

Skill Name: Ice Skating
Skill Type: Extra
Brief Skill Description: The ability to cross frozen water areas using ice skates to get to otherwise-inaccessible places. Can also be used fur fun, like playing hockey.

Skill Name: Battle Alchemy
Skill Type:core
Brief Skill Description:

Battle alchemy is a different kind of thing, think like a chemist from Final Fantasy Tactics. It would be tied to alchemy like weapon throwing is to others. However based on your skill you get a pouch that auto-replenishes after each thread. In that pouch is X number of weaker potions and tinctures which can be thrown to have varying in battle effects. They're much weaker than actual crafted potions. What potions are available for them to use would be taken from a moderator created list.

You throw a potion on something and it explodes or has some other kind of effect like a healing potion would recover a small amount of an ally's health. It's limited because you only have so many in your pouch at the start of the thread. This can be possibly further limited by adding a small cost to each time they use it. Those potions don't grow on trees.

Grip focus I like. It's like meatbone slash from Final Fantasy Tactics and would be beneficial. Plus if it happened, then katanas could be considered one handed weapons that are used with Grip Focus. I am not 100% on whether or not it should be core, though.

Samuru's suggestions are great, but OP. If they were toned down a bit, then they would be pretty awesome.

Skill Name: Scan
Skill Type: Supplementary or extra {Can't really tell the difference}
Brief Skill Description: The player whom has obtained the scan skill now possesses the capability of scanning either monsters or other players. Depending on the level of the player's current Scan, he is able to view various information about others. For monsters, this would include how much health they may have, what they drop, skills that they may possess, their weaknesses and so on. Being used against players may allow the user to view what they currently have equipped, or in their quick-bar, thus being capable of telling how strong another player may be compared to the player himself. A new menu is added to the user's interface once the skill has been obtained, which is a beatiary; allowing the user to access information about past foes without the need of re-scanning them, or to quickly search for whom drops a particular item they may need.

{Rough idea is there, could use some more work, but should suffice for others to grasp a general understanding of the skill.}

Skill Name: Beautification
Skill Type: Extra/Core
Brief Skill Description: This skill alows you to change another persons appearance to a certain degree, providing them with make up at first, up to being able to change their hair completely. May also be used to disguise someone or give them a fresh start after overcoming a big hurdle.

Skill Name: Suppression
Skill Type: Supplementary/Extra
Brief Skill Description:The player is able to suppress any battle that is going on between either players or monsters. But they have to have a higher complimentary level than the average of the battling group together.

Skill Name: Disguise
Skill Type: Supplementary
Brief Skill Description: A PK skill. Once you PK someone you can take on their form for a short while (skill level in minutes) and gain their danger level, being able to sneak past guards and the like.

Skill Name: Off hand shield
Skill Type: Supplemental
Brief Skill Description: With this skill, a player can equip a shield and a two handed weapon at the same time. Weakening the attack strength and speed of the two handed weapon in exchange for having an attachable shield at the off hand.