# How to increase bashing skill?
**URL:** https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978
**Category:** The Bunker
**Created:** [April 23, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978 "2013-04-23T22:40:54Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@kastor246](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kastor246)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2013, 10:40pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/1 "2013-04-23T22:40:54Z")
So I was wondering can I increase my bashing skill by smashing stuff with something that has bash or do I have to actually find some sort of hostile enemy or some living thing?
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### Author:  [@Reservoir](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Reservoir)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/2 "2013-04-23T22:45:42Z")
Hit zombies with sticks. Have XP. Scarred zombies (Bee zombies) are great to train with, since they are very slow.
You could try and hit animals, but they are a bit fast đ
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### Author:  [@kastor246](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kastor246)
#### Post date: [April 23, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/3 "2013-04-23T22:49:16Z")
[quote=âReservoir, post:2, topic:978â]Hit zombies with sticks. Have XP. Scarred zombies (Bee zombies) are great to train with, since they are very slow.
You could try and hit animals, but they are a bit fast :P[/quote] Ah ok well I guess im gonna be chasing rabbits and squirrles around my farm house XD
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### Author:  [@Iosyn](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Iosyn)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/4 "2013-04-24T13:21:41Z")
Protip: Donât try to level piercing. It doesnât work.
Also cutting is pretty much useless unless you have a high strength.
Bashing is \<3 though.
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### Author:  [@eternalflame](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/eternalflame)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/5 "2013-04-24T18:52:07Z")
Piercing does not work? I have no issues poking a javelin into Z with 10+ piercing skill. Then again, 10+ unarmed is just as if not more effective. Remember, for melee combat there is no such thing as âexcessive skillâ.
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### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/6 "2013-04-24T19:05:53Z")
> [@Iosyn](#):
>
> Protip: Donât try to level piercing. It doesnât work.
What does not work? The leveling itself or are higher piercing skill leves lacking benefits?
I am currently wielding a crossbow and a knife spear as a secondary weapon if there is no time to reload.
My piercing skill is 1 (51%) atm and still increasing. The problem however might be, that your character does not always PIERCE with piercing weapons but does also use the BASH attack which is why my bashings skill is already 1, too.
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### Author:  [@kilozombie](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kilozombie)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/7 "2013-04-24T19:22:35Z")
Press Spacebar on Bashing in the character menu to disable levelling with Bashing.
When you have higher Piercing and lower Bashing you will attack more with the actual blade.
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### Author:  [@Iosyn](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Iosyn)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/8 "2013-04-24T21:01:44Z")
> [@Rookie](#):
>
> [quote=âIosyn, post:4, topic:978â]Protip: Donât try to level piercing. It doesnât work.
What does not work? The leveling itself or are higher piercing skill leves lacking benefits?
I am currently wielding a crossbow and a knife spear as a secondary weapon if there is no time to reload.
My piercing skill is 1 (51%) atm and still increasing. The problem however might be, that your character does not always PIERCE with piercing weapons but does also use the BASH attack which is why my bashings skill is already 1, too.[/quote]
You can turn off learning for any skill, as Kilo said, if you want to for example not waste all your exp on killing zombies and instead practice sewing, but piercing (with spears at least) was bugged last time I checked. Turned off everything bar piercing and stabbed a lot of stuff to death, but no increase.
Cutting and bashing weapons donât seem to suffer this problem. However I did get some piercing exp from something else, but Iâm not sure weapon I was using.
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### Author:  [@monkey](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/monkey)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/9 "2013-04-25T00:18:06Z")
Piercing is working now, I think it was fixed on the 14th, [https://github.com/TheDarklingWolf/Cataclysm-DDA/commit/a5db6af0d7e7bb7b6fd1fe2f799ccc32f8b9e142](https://github.com/TheDarklingWolf/Cataclysm-DDA/commit/a5db6af0d7e7bb7b6fd1fe2f799ccc32f8b9e142).
It reliably increases now.
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### Author:  [@system](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/system)
#### Post date: [April 25, 2013, 8:58am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/how-to-increase-bashing-skill/978/10 "2013-04-25T08:58:40Z")
[quote=âIosyn, post:4, topic:978â]You can turn off learning for any skill, as Kilo said, if you want to for example not waste all your exp on killing zombies and instead practice sewing, but piercing (with spears at least) was bugged last time I checked. Turned off everything bar piercing and stabbed a lot of stuff to death, but no increase.
Cutting and bashing weapons donât seem to suffer this problem. However I did get some piercing exp from something else, but Iâm not sure weapon I was using.[/quote]
Oh, I totally forgot about âfreezingâ skills, however, is it really a smart thing to do while fighting with spears? The bash attack is random and having some skill in there wonât hurt, I guess.
[quote=âmonkey, post:9, topic:978â]Piercing is working now, I think it was fixed on the 14th, [https://github.com/TheDarklingWolf/Cataclysm-DDA/commit/a5db6af0d7e7bb7b6fd1fe2f799ccc32f8b9e142](https://github.com/TheDarklingWolf/Cataclysm-DDA/commit/a5db6af0d7e7bb7b6fd1fe2f799ccc32f8b9e142).
It reliably increases now.[/quote]
Thanks!