History Main / NonstandardSkillLearning

* In ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'', all spells are acquired by taking a magic scroll, except for the Lightning spell. For that one, you must take a lightning rod and put it in a orifice on a roof. A lightning will strike the rod and you will receive the electricity, which will give you the spell.

** ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' also has Blue Mages, called Vampires. [[AntiFrustrationFeatures The bestiary clearly indicates which monster skills they can learn]]. ...[[GuideDangIt Except for ones from DLC monsters that don't show up in the bestiary]].

* While most skill scores in ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 2}}'' can be learned by anyone from the start, two are conspicuously grey out: the South-Western Folklore and the Combat Shooting. The former is a ''Website/{{Kickstarter}}'' backer-exlusive reward, unlocked by giving a secret password to a specific character, while the latter is a PurposelyOverpowered ability that can only be learned from a unique hidden book.

** A variation. Most characters promote to their PrestigeClass by using a Master Seal (or class-appropriate promotion item) at Level 10 or above. Most of the main characters, however, have their promotion tied to a story event and cannot do so beforehand. Examples involve Ike being made a noble in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'' (because having a commoner lead the country's main army would cause a political scandal) and, most infamously, Roy aquiring the Binding Blade in [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade the game of the same name]] (infamous because it occurs a mere ''three'' chapters before the end of the game, making the protagonist very under-powered for most of it).

* In the ''VideoGame/{{SaGa}}'' series, you can generally spark learning new skills (randomly, of course) by spamming abilities lower on the skill tree.

** Also LimitBreak. Each character usually have their own methods of obtaining their ultimate attacks.

*** Because of a trauma, [[ChildMage Rydia]] cannot use the spell Fire, until [[WhiteMagicianGirl Rosa]] convinces her later in a storyline event. Hilariously enough, she can still learn Firaga given you do enough LevelGrinding.

*** Some of the character-specific abilities also had special conditions, including the resident Blue Magic user.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' averts this at the start, granting characters new Limit Breaks through repeated combat, but to teach a given character their level 4 Limit Break, you'll need a special item. There's also the Enemy Skill materia; see Blue Mages.
** The Limit Breaks in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' are like this. Squall's Limit Breaks are learned by upgrading his weapon, with the final upgrade teaching him all 4 finishers. Zell reads magazines to learn some of the stronger attacks and finishing moves. Quistis uses certain items to learn skills. Rinoa takes her dog for a walk, and learns a new skill during the plot. Irvine can use different bullets based on what's in inventory. Selphie (technically) has all of her best Limit Break Magic available from the word go, but once you use the special ones once they show up more frequently in future.
*** Technically speaking, you can also use all of Zell's moves right from the start, but you not only need to know the exact input to use them, but also what preceding moves you need to use for some of the finishers to be available, some of which also having the exact same requirements. In other words, unless you memorize a single specific path of moves to each finisher, you're better off just finding and reading the magazines for convenience's sake.
** The Overdrives in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' have this feel, due to the [[CastOfSnowflakes diverse nature of the party]]. Tidus and Lulu gain new Overdrives by using previous ones repeatedly and levelling up, respectively. Yuna only has one skill that she starts with, but gets new Aeons to summon with it during the plot. Rikku's overdrives are based on the party's inventory. Auron levels up by collecting movie spheres, Kimahri learns Overdrives from enemies, and Wakka gets additional Reels as prizes from winning Blitzball tournaments. One of the most {{Egregious}} example of GuideDangIt would be Valefor's Energy Ray attack. How do you obtain it? ''By talking to a friggin' dog in the very first village''.

** Ramza's skillset gets larger over the course of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''. There's also the Ultima spell (learnable only by Ramza and Alma, and only during two storyline fights) and the Zodiac summon (learnable only by summoners, during one optional fight), which are taught by being hit with (and surviving) the skill in combat, as opposed to most skill which are purchased with JP.
*** Most other high-end spells that you can normally learn by spending JP can also be learned the same way, but due to the difficulty in actually finding enemies able to cast them and the need to use the same class that naturally learns the said spell, few people find about it on their own. That, plus since the chance to learn the spell this way is the same as getting it from the crystal the enemy might turn into after dying and doing it that way doesn't require you to be the same class as the enemy, it's much more convenient to just kill them and attempt to get the skill from their crystal: the only real advantage of learning the spell by getting hit by it is the ability to possibly teach it to multiple characters, but chances are you won't have multiple mages of the right class available when you manage to find an enemy that can cast a spell that none of them have learned yet.

* ''VideoGame/{{Atelier}}'' series.
** Several examples in ''VideoGame/AtelierIrisEternalMana''.

** In ''VideoGame/AtelierIris2'', Gray and Fee learn Dragon Slayer and Ein Zecksclaw respectively during the main story.

** All of Gino's skills in ''VideoGame/AtelierTotori'' are obtained through [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 doing his character events]].

* In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', if you answer certain dialogue choices throughout [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo the two games]], [[TheChick Argilla]] and [[EleventhHourRanger Seraph]] will automatically obtain the skills Seraph Lore and Reincarnate respectively when you reach the final dungeon. Notably, you have to import a Digital Devil Saga 1 save into Digital Devil Saga 2 for those skills to be actually learned by those two, and should you merely import a Digital Devil Saga 1 save into Digital Devil Saga 2, then [[TheSmartGuy Gale]] will always learn Pyriphlegethon, regardless of dialogue choices.

* In ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' very many of the ultimate or signature attacks are only obtained through doing a sidequest, some of which can be impossible to get [[GuideDangIt if you don't make the right decisions]] during gameplay. In fact, getting the special ability for one character, Razzly the fairy, requires that you choose the ''worst'' option out of a quest in the previous disc and results in many innocent deaths (it's the tragedy that ends up empowering her).

* Smeargle, from ''Videogame/{{Pokemon}}'', who is the only Pokemon who can permanently learn attacks via Sketch. Everyone else has to level up to learn new moves, use a TM, HM or move tutor, or even be bred from two compatible mons with the moves you want.

* ''VideoGame/TwilightPrincess'': As with most Zelda games, Link needs to clear out dungeons so he can use items that will let him progress further in the environment. New sword skills to deal with unusual enemies, however, are learned by howling along with the wind at certain stones, finding a golden wolf on the overworld, and learning the technique [[spoiler:fromOoT's Link, now a gold-armored ghost]].

** In the previous game, SummonMagic was readily available and grew with the amount of Djinn used, doing large amounts of damage in return for lowering characters' stats. In TLA, new multielemental summons can be found in GuideDangIt-worthy locations.

** A variation. Most characters promote to their PrestigeClass by using a Master Seal (or class-appropriate promotion item) at Level 10 or above. Most of the main characters, however, have their promotion tied to a story event and cannot do so beforehand. Examples involve Ike being made a noble in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Path of Radiance]]'' (because having a commoner lead the country's main army would cause a political scandal) and, most infamously, Roy aquiring the Binding Blade in [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe the game of the same name.]] (Infamous because it occurs a mere 3 chapters before the end of the game, making the protagonist very under-powered for most of it)
** Even then, one particular promotion method stands out: in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Thracia 776]]'' Linoan can only promote by visiting the church in Chapter 21. And if anyone else visits it before she does, the chance to promote her is [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost for the rest of the game]].

** Another skill example in ''Radiant Dawn''. Normally characters learn their [[LimitBreak ultimate skill]] on promoting to their 3rd-tier class. Ike, however, learns Nihil in addition to [[SignatureMove Aether]] when promoting to Vanguard. This is probably a case of AntiFrustrationFeatures, as Nihil negates enemy skills and the Black Knight's Eclipse skill is so powerful no-one in the game can survive it. Given that Ike has a forced DuelBoss against the BlackKnight later, giving him Nihil avoid the fight being a complete LuckBasedMission.

* ''Franchise/{{Atelier}}'' series.
** Several examples in the first ''VideoGame/AtelierIris'' game.

*** Mostly downplayed in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', which require you to equip an item that teaches a skill before you're able to learn it by good ol' LevelGrinding. Played straight by the Thief class skill [[ImpossibleThief Steal: Ability]] in ''Advance'', which allows you to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin steal the knowledge of how to use a skill directly from an enemy's brain]][[note]]Steal: Ability can only steal skills that the thief would be capable of learning from equipment (based on their species, not on their current class; a hume can steal an Illusionist ability, for example, even if they're currently a soldier), and can't steal Reaction or Support abilities.[[/note]]. ''Advance'' [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs thieves can also steal equipment that teaches new skills from enemies, for you to equip and grind]]. Thieves were {{nerf}}ed in ''A2'', losing the ability to steal abilities and equipment. Blue Mages also show up in ''Advance'' and ''A2'', and learn skills [[PowerCopying the usual way]]; [[GuideDangIt some enemies are only in certain missions, though]], and missing them there means that [[PermanentlyMissableContent you won't be able to get their teachable skills until another run]]. [[LethalJokeCharacter Morphers]] can also use monster souls to transform into monsters, gaining the monster's stats and abilities; to do so, a Hunter has to capture at least one monster of the species to get a soul for the Morpher to equip; the aforementioned GuideDangIt monsters are morphable, too, so you need to capture them as well as let the BM be hit by them.

* While most skill scores in ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 2}}'' can be learned by anyone from the start, two are conspicuously grey out: the South-Western Folklore and the Combat Shooting. The former is a ''Website/{{Kickstarter}}'' backer-exlusive reward, unlocked by giving a secret password to a specific character, while the latter can only be learned from a unique hidden book.

** Finally [[TokenHuman Fuuka's]] [[HumongousMecha Prinny Kaiser XX]] in ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten''.

*** Mostly downplayed in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', which require you to equip an item that teaches a skill before you're able to learn it by good ol' LevelGrinding. Played straight by the Thief class skill [[ImpossibleThief Steal: Ability]] in ''Advance'', which allows you to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin steal the knowledge of how to use a skill directly from an enemy's brain]][[note]]Steal: Ability can only steal skills that the thief would be capable of learning from equipment (based on their species, not on their current class; a hume can steal an Illusionist ability, for example, even if they're currently a soldier), and can't steal Reaction or Support abilities.[[/note]]. ''Advance'' [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs thieves can also steal equipment that teaches new skills from enemies, for you to equip and grind]]. Thieves were {{nerf}}ed in ''A2'', losing the ability to steal abilities and equipment. Blue Mages also show up in ''Advance'' and ''A2'', and learn skills [[PowerCopying the usual way]]; [[GuideDangIt some enemies are only in certain missions, though]], and missing them there will leave their teachable skills LostForever. [[LethalJokeCharacter Morphers]] can also use monster souls to transform into monsters, gaining the monster's stats and abilities; to do so, a Hunter has to capture at least one monster of the species to get a soul for the Morpher to equip; the aforementioned GuideDangIt monsters are morphable, too, so you need to capture them as well as let the BM be hit by them.

** Even then, one particular promotion method stands out: in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Thracia 776]]'' Linoan can only promote by visiting the church in Chapter 21. And if anyone else visits it before she does, the chance to promote her is LostForever.

* Smeargle, from ''Videogame/{{Pokemon}}'', who is the only Pokemon who can permanently learn attacks via Sketch. Everyone else has to level up to learn new moves or use a TM, HM or move tutor.

[[folder:WesternRPG]]

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', each party member has a hidden perk tree of "Inspired" abilities, which are automatically unlocked at [[RelationshipValues 25, 50, 75, and 100 Disposition]] and gave increasing bonuses to their primary character stats. If their Disposition to the Warden dropped, however, the perks were revoked. Wynne additionally had an active power [[spoiler:Vessel of the Spirit]], which was unlocked by certain story events.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', reaching either end of the [[RelationshipValues Friendship/Rivalry scale]] of a party member made it [[UndyingLoyalty lock there permanently]] and unlocked that character's unique permanent bonus.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'', you normally learn skills by investing skill/feat points into them. However, you can only learn advanced lightsaber combat forms by receiving instruction from or fighting the Jedi Masters you find throughout the game.

[[folder:Action RPG]]
* The ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series spreads learning abilities across various methods (level up, progress the plot, defeat a boss, or complete some other challenge), but that comes across as not having one "standard" method in the first place. Though stat boosts come primarily through level-ups, so that might create an expectation that most character growth is from experience points.
* In addition to spending job level points on skills, ''VideoGame/TreeOfSavior'' has a second system which provides additional benefits. Each class has a Master associated with it, who can (for a sum of [[GlobalCurrency Silver]]) teach Attributes, which are either passive abilities that augment skills and stats, or toggleable abilities that significantly modify how those skills work. Most Attributes require time in addition to money to learn, but characters will continue to study them even while the player is logged out, similar to ''VideoGame/EVEOnline''.

[[folder:Eastern RPG]]

[[folder:First-Person Shooter]]
* In ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersUndying'', all spells are acquired by taking a magic scroll, except for the Lightning spell. For that one, you must take a lightning rod and put it in a orifice on a roof. A lightning will strike the rod and you will receive the electricity, which will give you the spell.

[[folder:LARP]]
* The ''LARP/OtakonLARP'' characters can only learn new skills, and can only earn one rank in that skill.

[[folder:Roguelike]]
* ''VideoGame/AncientDomainsOfMystery'' is unique in regards to this trope. You only improve your existing skills by levelling up and the usual way to learn new ones is from [=NPCs=] and wishes. However, mindcrafters and elementalists learn new Mindcrafting powers and new spells, respectively, upon level up.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WesternRPG]]
* Squad members' [[EveryoneHasASpecialMove unique Loyalty Powers]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' can be learned by Shepard, too, but only after completing their personal missions (and only one at a time). In the second game, the Loyalty Power would only be unlocked for the Squad Member themselves after completing said personal mission.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', each party member has a hidden perk tree of "Inspired" abilities, which are automatically unlocked at [[RelationshipValues 25, 50, 75, and 100 Disposition]] and gave increasing bonuses to their primary character stats. If their Disposition to the Warden dropped, however, the perks were revoked. Wynne additionally had an active power [[spoiler:Vessel of the Spirit]], which was unlocked by certain story events.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', reaching either end of the [[RelationshipValues Friendship/Rivalry scale]] of a party member made it [[UndyingLoyalty lock there permanently]] and unlocked that character's unique permanent bonus.
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic II'', you normally learn skills by investing skill/feat points into them. However, you can only learn advanced lightsaber combat forms by receiving instruction from or fighting the Jedi Masters you find throughout the game.
* Creator/{{Obsidian|Entertainment}} did something similar to the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' example two years earlier in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'', where increasing your RelationshipValues with party members unlocked bonus feats (mainly skill and ability boosts applied to both you and the party member). Meanwhile the ''Storm of Zehir'' expansion has a list of Teamwork Feats which require two steps to unlock: meet requirements outlined in the game manual, then accept and complete a corresponding sidequest from the Adventurers' Guild at Crossroad Keep. All three games also give history feats for completing story requirements, and in ''[=SoZ=]'' some of them grant bonuses.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has a number of skills that can only be acquired from consumable quest rewards, and a few from special encounters.
** Undersea skills are learned from following an old sea monkey who [[UnwantedRescue doesn't want to be rescued]] until he does something [[BadAssGrandpa badass]].
** The skills for [[BareFistedMonk The Way of the Surprising Fist]] path are [[WaxOnWaxOff learned entirely from special encounters]].
* In ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'', some perks/upgrades can only be learned by crafting and consuming unique mutagenic potions, e.g. Golem's Pith potion unlocks the Moonrise ability. Also, the [[FunctionalMagic Signs]] have to be unlocked at specific Circles of Elements before you can invest more skill points into them.
* Most {{Skill Score}}s in ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSin'' can be learned by investing skill points into them at character creation or at any point in the game. The hidden Tenebrium skill, however, which allows a character to safely handle Tenebrium items and raw ore, can only be unlocked by completing a specific side quest in Silverglen or stealing a unique skill book in Sacred Heart. Another, downplayed example would be the [[spoiler:Death Knight Bane]] active power, which is nonstandard in that its skill book does not disappear upon being used, like all other powers, but can be read by everyone in the party.
* While most skill scores in ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 2}}'' can be learned by anyone from the start, two are conspicuously grey out: the South-Western Folklore and the Combat Shooting. The former is a ''Website/{{Kickstarter}}'' backer-exlusive reward, unlocked by giving a secret password to a specific character, while the latter can only be learned from a unique hidden book.
* The Blaster skill in both ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic VI'' and ''VII'' is unlocked by story events towards the end of the games, unlike the standard method of finding a related store and paying for basic training.
[[/folder]]

* The ''KingdomHearts'' series spreads learning abilities across various methods (level up, progress the plot, defeat a boss, or complete some other challenge), but that comes across as not having one "standard" method in the first place. Though stat boosts come primarily through level-ups, so that might create an expectation that most character growth is from experience points.

*** Technically speaking, you can also use all of Zell's moves right from the start, but you not only need to know the exact input to use them, but also what preceeding moves you need to use for some of the finishers to be available, some of which also having the exact same requirements. In other words, unless you memorize a single specific path of moves to each finisher, you're better off just finding and reading the magazines for convinience's sake.

*** Most other high-end spells that you can normally learn by spending JP can also be learned the same way, but due to the difficulty in actually finding enemies able to cast them and the need to use the same class that naturally learns the said spell, few people find about it on their own. That, plus since the chance to learn the spell this way is the same as getting it from the crystal the enemy might turn into after dying and doing it that way doesn't require you to be the same class as the enemy, it's much more convinient to just kill them and attempt to get the skill from their crystal: the only real advantage of learning the spell by getting hit by it is the ability to possibly teach it to multiple characters, but chances are you won't have multiple mages of the right class available when you manage to find an enemy that can cast a spell that none of them have learned yet.

* In ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'', starting from the second game there is always one party member whose ultimate skill is obtained through story instead of leveling up.

* ''KingdomOfLoathing'' has a number of skills that can only be acquired from consumable quest rewards, and a few from special encounters.

*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII-2'' mostly uses the same system, but there is a notable new mechanic for the monster pets that serve as the third party member called Infusion, which consumes one monster to pass some of its passive and active skills to another one who might not normally be able to learn them.

* Most {{Skill Score}}s in ''VideoGame/DivinityOriginalSin'' can be learned by investing skill points into them at character creation or at any point in the game. The hidden Tenebrium skill, however, which allows a character to safely handle Tenebrium items and raw ore, can only be unlocked by completing a specific side quest in Silverglen or stealing a unique skill book in Sacred Heart. Another, downplayed example, would be the [[spoiler:Death Knight Bane]] active power, which is nonstandard in that its skill book does not disappear upon being used, like all other powers, but can be read by everyone in the party.

*** Mostly downplayed in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'', which require you to equip an item that teaches a skill before you're able to learn it by good ol' LevelGrinding. Played straight by the Thief class skill [[ImpossibleThief Steal: Ability]] in ''Advance'', which allows you to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin steal the knowledge of how to use a skill directly from an enemy's brain]][[note]]Steal: Ability can only steal skills that the thief would be capable of learning from equipment (based on their species, not on their current class; a hume can steal an Illusionist ability, for example, even if they're currently a soldier), and can't steal Reaction or Support abilities.[[/note]]. ''Advance'' [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs thieves can also steal equipment that teaches new skills from enemies, for you to equip and grind]]. Thieves were {{nerf}}ed in ''A2'', losing the ability to steal abilities and equipment; they can, however, steal

* In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', if you answer certain dialogue choices throughout [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo the two games]], [[TheChick Argilla]] and [[EleventhHourRanger Seraph]] will automatically obtain the skills Seraph Lore and Reincarnate respectively when you reach the final dungeon. Notably, you have to import a Digital Devil Saga 1 save into Digital Devil Saga 2 for those skills to be actually learned by those two, and should you merely import a DDS1 save into DDS2, then [[TheSmartGuy Gale]] will always learn Pyriphlegethon, regardless of dialogue choices.

* In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', if you answer certain dialogue choices throughout [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo the two games]], [[TheChick Argilla]], [[TheSmartGuy Gale]] and [[EleventhHourRanger Seraph]] will automatically obtain the skills Seraph Lore, Pyrriphlegethon, and Reincarnate respectively when you reach the final dungeon.

* In ''EarthBound'', spells are acquired by leveling up, except for the two tiers of Teleport for Ness. The first Teleport must be learned [[ItMakesSenseInContext from a talking monkey]], and the second one is automatically acquired after completing the Magicant level.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', Lucas learns [[LightEmUp PK Flash]] by ''getting struck by lightning.'' Kumatora also learns PK Starstorm in the same fashion, though it's voluntary in her case.
* Smeargle, from ''{{Pokemon}}'', who is the only Pokemon who can permanently learn attacks via Sketch. Everyone else has to level up to learn new moves or use a TM, HM or move tutor.

* Squad members' [[EveryoneHasASpecialMove unique Loyalty Powers]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' and ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' can be learned by Shepard, too, but only after completing their personal missions (and only one at a time).
** In the former case, the Loyalty Power would only be unlocked for the Squad Member itself after completing said personal mission.

Related to SkillScoresAndPerks.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Saga}}'' series, you can generally spark learning new skills (randomly, of course) by spamming abilities lower on the skill tree.
** In ''SagaFrontier2'', you can also enter one-on-one battle mode and enter your commands manually (i.e. "Slash + Backslash = Cross Slash", rather than selecting the "Cross Slash" skill from your menu), triggering new skills that way.