Have points but cannot learn a skill?

If you have skill points but cannot buy a skill, first identify its tree. Swordmastery and Witchcraft manuals must be read in the inventory before the matching node becomes purchasable; the node then still needs its displayed Skill Point and hourglass conditions. Vampirism does not use manuals and opens through Corruption. After purchase, check the time of day: Witchcraft is used by day and vampire abilities at night.

Choosing an early upgrade by the problem you have

For slow exploration, follow the day/night Haste steps. For repeated stamina exhaustion, inspect Endless Effort at the shrine and compare its displayed benefit with its current cost before buying. ATH's early-build roundup suggests that stamina option, but its maximum-rank numbers and unlimited-Haste claim are not verified here. Buy for the problem you actually encounter; a suggested order does not prove that every prerequisite is available in your save.

Where to spend the point after leveling up

An upgrade notification does not purchase a perk. At a usable shrine, choose Perks, select the desired node, and inspect its requirements before holding the displayed confirmation button. Check that the node changes to learned and that your available points decrease; highlighting it is not a purchase. If the shrine still offers a repair objective instead of its normal menu, finish that repair or visit another usable shrine. This menu sequence follows the published shrine walkthrough; controller bindings should follow your screen.

Read the node before guessing the missing requirement

1. Open character development, select the greyed-out or unavailable node, and read its missing requirement.
2. If it names a manual, perk, or ability, use the inventory process below. If it names Corruption, skip directly to the Vampirism check.
3. Skill points alone are not every gate. Official guidance confirms that learning also costs time, and that Swordmastery and Witchcraft first unlocks need their manuals.

Read the manual on PC, not merely pick it up

4. Press I to open the inventory and select the manual. Manuals share the grid with gear, food, and materials, so read its tooltip to confirm the named skill or tier.
5. With the manual selected, press Enter to read it. An in-world text page opens; when you close it, the manual disappears from the inventory. That is the completed reading action.
6. Do not treat a pickup as an unlock. Source checks show manual acquisition, but you must return to the inventory and read it. Taking a book does not automatically add its skill to your combat bar.

Return to the matching node for two checks

7. Open character development again and find the node with the same name. It changing from greyed-out to purchasable proves the manual gate is cleared.
8. Then inspect the remaining conditions: available Skill Points and any displayed time or hourglass cost. Reading a manual only makes the node purchasable; it does not learn the skill for you.
9. Confirm the purchase only when ready to pay those conditions. Check the node after purchase. If it still shows a clear prerequisite, follow that prompt instead of repeatedly using unrelated manuals.

The book is gone but the node is still unavailable

10. Confirm that you selected the same skill and the correct tier. Some abilities have multiple tiers, and each can require its own manual; one book does not necessarily open every later tier.
11. Then check Skill Points and the hourglass. If the node is purchasable but confirmation fails, inspect these conditions before hunting for another copy of the book.
12. If the book remains in the bag, it was not read. Select it again and make sure the cursor is not on adjacent gear; the manual guide notes that a cursor slip can trigger gear actions instead.

Do not use the manual route for Vampirism

13. If the target is in Vampirism, a manual is not the answer. Official guidance says deeper abilities open by raising Corruption through drinking blood.
14. When a vampire node stays locked despite a read book and enough points, inspect its Corruption requirement. Swordmastery and Witchcraft manuals are not prerequisites for that tree.
15. Experience and Skill Points are shared between all trees, so you do not need a separate night-time pool.

A purchased skill still will not cast

Witchcraft is available in daytime, vampire abilities at night, and Swordmastery works in both. If a purchase succeeded but the ability is unavailable, verify the current time and form, then follow any on-screen equip or use prompt. This guide does not generalise unverified bindings, values, or cooldowns.

Use this completion sequence: manual read → matching node purchasable → node purchased → current form can use it. When stuck, return only to the first check that failed; it prevents spending time on the wrong tree or manual.

Equip or replace a learned ability on PC

Open Active Abilities in the character menu. ATH describes double-clicking a learned ability to fill an available slot, then checking its icon in the equipped bar before returning to play. With a full bar, double-click an equipped ability to remove it first, then double-click its replacement.

The same report says Day and Night Quick Slots can only be edited during their matching time of day. If the other bar is locked, check the current cycle before spending more points. This editing restriction remains unconfirmed in our own playthrough; inspect the panel's prompt.

Learned ability, but no free slot?

Check the slot perk for the same tree as the ability you want to equip:

1. At a usable Shrine, find that slot perk and inspect its missing requirements.
2. Resolve the prerequisite or manual requirement, then check the displayed point and time costs before learning.
3. Return to the ability equipment panel and assign the intended learned ability to the newly available matching slot.
4. Confirm it appears in your equipped set; then check the day/night restrictions described above.

Master Fencer expands Swordmastery capacity; it does not expand Witchcraft capacity. Sustained Focus provides Activation Charges, which are distinct from slots. If the panel still shows no free slot, inspect the purchased perk's rank and tree before buying another ability.

Artery Strike ready again, but you still cannot cast?

With Sword Sage learned, a kill resets active-ability cooldowns; it does not guarantee enough Activation Charges for another use. Check the enemy died, then check the cooldown icon and charge meter separately. A surviving target means you should not expect the kill reset.

ATH proposes daytime Soul Stigma → Artery Strike on the marked enemy. Try it only after learning and equipping both; Soul Stigma is not a nighttime step. This is a reported combination, not a guaranteed decapitation or boss kill. For the manual route, see Volk's spar in Buried Past.

Night build: confirm bleeding before the finisher

ATH's Duelist build proposes Shred followed by Artery Strike at night. Treat the first hit as an attempt to apply bleeding, not proof that it worked. Check the target's status, your charges and the finisher's cooldown before committing. If the enemy survives, do not assume missing bleed is the only explanation; this site's sources do not establish universal decapitation eligibility. Keep the daytime hex route and night passive separate, and do not change difficulty settings on the assumption that an achievement will remain eligible.

Better Safe than Sorry: use the required hex

1. Prepare Burning Blood and Artery Strike during daytime, with enough charges for both.
2. Apply Burning Blood, then use Artery Strike on that same enemy while the hex remains active.
3. Check for a decapitation and the platform achievement. A normal kill does not satisfy the stated condition, and the Soul Stigma combination above uses a different hex.

The trophy condition is corroborated by PowerPyx. This site has not tested a guaranteed execution setup; inspect your Artery Strike rank rather than assuming every hit will decapitate.

For the character-level achievement, see Glass Ceiling: level 50 checks. Its completion check is separate from learning or equipping a skill.

Uriash Village XP: a reported reload method, not verified training

ATH reports defeating villagers while leaving one alive, saving afterward and loading that save to respawn them. Current-version reliability is unconfirmed here. It attacks residents, so retain an untouched save before testing; do not assume merchants or quests recover.

Compare XP and the clock before and after one reload. Stop if villagers stay dead or progress resets. Night-time kills alone are not verified Corruption gains; the official skill guidance above specifies drinking blood. More XP also does not replace a missing manual.

For access, follow Song of the Mountain. Do not confuse its peaceful entry route with this reported farming loop.