Pufferfish’s Skills
Pufferfish’s Skills (mod id puffish_skills) is a generic, fully data-driven skill-tree engine — “adds a fully configurable skill system to the game.” It supplies the N-key Talent Tree UI, per-category XP/leveling, and node unlock logic, but every actual tree (nodes, connections, XP curve) is authored as JSON under config/puffish_skills/categories/. In this pack there are 14 categories defined in config/puffish_skills/config.json, and this is the mod directly responsible for the Talent Tree system described in the “Talent Tree & Fate Talents” system note.
The main tree is prom (“Talent Tree”), which has 175 nodes and a level cap of 32 with XP required per level following 220 * 1.125^level (from experience.json). It branches from six root/path nodes: path_rogue, path_archer, path_arcane, path_protector, path_fire, and path_frost — the archetype entry points. From the node definitions (definitions.json), examples of real content include:
- Rogue’s Path: +1 Physical Damage, +5% Haste.
- Pyrotechnic Knowledge (fire path root): +1 Fire Power.
- Keystone Fate Talents deep in the tree, e.g. Arcane Archmage (+6 Arcane Power, +25% Spell Critical Damage, but abandons other elements), High Priest (+10 Holy Power but −60% Physical Damage — a full healer respec), and others named
fate_knowledge_of_runes_stars,fate_skellaks_blessing,fate_shadow_techniques,fate_sindorei_heritage,fate_decaying_devotion. - Big ascendancy abilities unlocked via keystones:
ascendancyBoneArmor(taunt nearby enemies, gain a stacking bone-armor shield up to 6 layers, removed as you take damage), plusascendancyRighteousShield,ascendancyRighteousHammers,ascendancyRapidfire,ascendancyDissonance,ascendancyCataclysm,ascendancySkywardSunder. - Passive nodes like
passive_omnivampirism(+2% lifesteal, procs on melee/ranged/magic hits),passive_critical_thinking,passive_focus_zone,passive_empower,passive_skellaks_call.
Beyond the main tree, each legendary/artifact weapon in the pack gets its own dedicated skill tree, unlocked by obtaining and leveling that specific weapon: thunderwrath (12 nodes), fyralath (12), frostmourne (12), azhar (11), apophis (12), vaazkar (13), orion (19), ekavar_staff (19), supernova (9), ashedar_essence (9), ghaj (11), fury_of_a_thousand_fists (11), and skillet (0 nodes — present in config but not yet populated, a joke-weapon tree for “Granny’s Pan” that hasn’t been filled in). The FTB Quests “Artifact Reforging” chapter ties directly into these — quest lore describes Frostmourne as “a runic artifact infused with soulfrost magic… whoever wields it will become the ruler of the Death Knights,” A’zhar as a demon trapped in a scythe that “will try to betray you,” and Supernova as forged “from remnants of a dying star.” These trees are all textured under a custom prominent_talents: resource namespace, meaning the modpack authors built this content specifically for Prominence rather than using Puffish Skills’ defaults.
SimplySkills sets disableDefaultPuffishTrees=true in its own config, meaning it replaces whatever default trees Puffish Skills ships with its own per-class trees rather than adding to the prom tree — the two systems coexist as separate categories rather than merging.
Anticipated questions
What is Pufferfish’s Skills?
A generic, fully data-driven skill-tree engine that supplies the N-key Talent Tree UI, per-category XP/leveling, and node unlock logic. Every actual tree is authored as JSON under config/puffish_skills/categories/. It’s the mod behind the Talent Tree & Fate Talents system.
How big is the main tree, and what’s its level cap?
The main prom tree (“Talent Tree”) has 175 nodes and a level cap of 32, with XP per level following 220 * 1.125^level. There are 14 categories total defined in config.json.
What are the six archetype entry points?
The prom tree branches from six root/path nodes: path_rogue, path_archer, path_arcane, path_protector, path_fire, and path_frost — the archetype starting points. See Archetypes & Builds.
What are Fate Talents? Keystone nodes deep in the tree with heavy trade-offs — e.g. Arcane Archmage (+6 Arcane Power, +25% Spell Critical Damage but abandons other elements) and High Priest (+10 Holy Power but −60% Physical Damage, a full healer respec).
Do legendary weapons get their own skill trees?
Yes — each legendary/artifact weapon gets its own dedicated tree, unlocked by obtaining and leveling that specific weapon: e.g. thunderwrath (12 nodes), frostmourne (12), orion (19), ekavar_staff (19), and even skillet (0 nodes — an unfinished joke tree for “Granny’s Pan”).
How does this coexist with SimplySkills?
SimplySkills sets disableDefaultPuffishTrees=true, so it replaces Puffish’s default trees with its own per-class trees rather than merging into the prom tree — the two run as separate categories.