Skeleton Race in The Veil
+10% speed and +10% summon damage come with -5% resistance.
The developer's October 10 update log says Skeleton now only has -5% resistance instead of -10%. The speed and summon damage bonuses are not mentioned, so they are unchanged.
Should you keep Skeleton?
Playable for a summoner, but usually reroll once you can do so without burning your last attempts.
| Trait | Brittle Bones |
|---|---|
| Current tier | C |
| Best fit | Early summon builds that can avoid damage |
Skeleton effect
Brittle Bones grants +10% speed and +10% summon damage while reducing resistance by 5%. The penalty was 10% until the October 10 update.
What the numbers come to
The three numbers are not on equal footing, and that asymmetry is the whole case against this race. The -5% resistance applies to every hit in every encounter with no condition attached. The +10% summon damage applies only while summons are alive and only to their damage. You pay reliably and you get paid conditionally.
The +10% movement speed is what keeps it playable, because speed is partly a defensive stat here. Moving out of an attack removes all of its damage, which can more than repay the resistance you gave up. That only works if you actually use it, and standing still turns Skeleton into a strictly worse race.
It is worth being blunt about where this leaves it. If you are running summons, another Rare race gives you the same offensive bonus with no penalty, so Skeleton's case rests entirely on the speed. Halving the penalty to -5% makes that speed cheaper, which narrows the gap without closing it.
Best build fit
Early summon builds that value movement and can avoid taking repeated hits.
Tradeoffs to check
The defensive penalty is always active, while half of the upside is summon-specific.
Skeleton compared with Gemhead
Gemhead has the identical +10% summon damage, adds +15% summon life, and charges no resistance penalty. The only thing Skeleton has that Gemhead does not is the +10% speed. For a summoner choosing between them that is the entire question, and for most players it does not outweigh a permanent defensive loss.
Open the Gemhead profile for the other side of that trade.
When to reroll Skeleton
Reroll once you have rerolls to spare. Do not spend your last one on it, since the +10% speed keeps it functional and there are worse places to be stuck.
A reroll replaces your race rather than adding a second one. The steps are on the race index.
What is not confirmed about Skeleton
- Whether -5% resistance is subtracted from gear resistance or applied as a separate multiplier, which decides whether the penalty grows or shrinks as you gear up.
- Whether the speed bonus applies to sprint and dodge distance or only to base movement.
Compare other races
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