# Tips, Tricks and Newb Questions: Reborn!
**URL:** https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870
**Category:** The Bunker
**Created:** [October 4, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870 "2018-10-04T17:58:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@mlangsdorf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/mlangsdorf)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 2:53am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/102 "2018-10-25T02:53:45Z")
Overmap specials have an
“occurrences”: [x, y],
line. Set the x to 0.
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### Author:  [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/103 "2018-10-25T03:26:20Z")
Thank you. Now I must go MY SAVE NEEDS ME!
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### Author:  [@Cendar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Cendar)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/104 "2018-10-25T13:58:13Z")
Hi, newb here!
I just started my first play and I have a question, I don’t understand what is the point of activate or deactivate skills in the character sheet. What does it do?
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### Author:  [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/105 "2018-10-25T14:12:09Z")
I’m sorry what? What do you mean you can activate/deactivate skills?
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### Author:  [@Cendar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Cendar)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/106 "2018-10-25T14:18:38Z")
You know, when you open (@) character sheet, you can hit tab to select the skills (survival, cooking, frabrication, etc…). When you hit enter on one skill, it becomes darker like it’s deactivated.
(Sorry, my native language is not english, I try to explain myself how I can 🙂)
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### Author:  [@darktoes](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/darktoes)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/107 "2018-10-25T14:23:37Z")
That’s to disable a skill so it doesn’t receive experience and use up your focus. It’s useful if you maxed out a combat skill or have high driving skill and want to keep your focus up while driving around.
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### Author:  [@Cendar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Cendar)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/108 "2018-10-25T14:30:50Z")
Oh ok thanks! I suspected it was linked to focus somehow. 🖖
Edit:
Is it ok to let them all active at the start, or should I disable some?
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### Author:  [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/109 "2018-10-25T17:36:26Z")
Okay so if used on a melee skill will all the focus be used to just improve the not disabled melee skil (increasing it faster) or something else.
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### Author:  [@darktoes](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/darktoes)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/110 "2018-10-25T22:36:46Z")
> [@Cendar](#):
>
> Is it ok to let them all active at the start, or should I disable some?
Under normal circumstances there’s no reason to disable them. It’s only really useful if you’re trying to train a specific skill and can’t keep your focus up because of some other skill, usually driving.
> [@DeWolf](#):
>
> Okay so if used on a melee skill will all the focus be used to just improve the not disabled melee skil (increasing it faster) or something else.
Correct. Disable a specific melee skill and any actions that would normally give experience towards that skill won’t, and won’t eat up focus. At least, that’s how I understand it.
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### Author:  [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/111 "2018-10-25T23:02:56Z")
Ok so then besides morale what can preferably increase a character’s focus?
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### Author:  [@darktoes](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/darktoes)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/112 "2018-10-25T23:07:12Z")
Morale is the only thing I know of. Good food, comfort, music, drugs, reading fun books, and alcohol all help with morale.
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### Author:  [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/113 "2018-10-26T01:22:24Z")
Unrelated to the focus questions. What determines if you can put something in the new smoking racks? Trying to figure out why I can’t shove a bunch of meat into a smoking rack.
EDIT: Okay figured it out except for how do you make something smoke into another thing via the new smoking method. Is it based on recipe or something else?
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### Author:  [@mlangsdorf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/mlangsdorf)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/114 "2018-10-26T01:51:29Z")
Load meat into the rack. Ignite the rack. Come back 6 hours later to smoked meat.
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### Author:  [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/115 "2018-10-26T02:08:34Z")
I should have specified what in the jsons. I was running with a load of mods and one was causing raw meats to not be loadable into the racks to do this. I have found out what the issue was and correct it. I was more of asking what in the json (if there is anything) that tells the smoke rack that smoking an item outputs another item. This part of the question is because unless it was changed recently putting offals into the smoking rack literally does nothing except waste time and charcoal.
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### Author:  [@Drakasin](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Drakasin)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2018, 11:27am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/116 "2018-10-26T11:27:34Z")
Where can I see what type of Melee Martial Art a melee weapon uses? On the wiki it says that it is described on each weapon but I cannot see it anywhere.
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### Author:  [@darktoes](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/darktoes)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2018, 6:39am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/117 "2018-10-27T06:39:44Z")
Once you’ve learnt some martial arts that can use weapons, like fencing or eskrima, the description of the weapon will list any martial arts that the weapon can be used with. It won’t show anything if the weapon isn’t compatible with any of the martial arts you know.
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### Author:  [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/118 "2018-10-27T16:29:48Z")
But also note that some martial arts still have effects when used even if you can’t use the combat style with the weapon. Main example I can think of is ninjitsu where even when using say a spear you still receive the silent melee weapon effect.
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### Author:  [@DeWolf](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/DeWolf)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/119 "2018-10-27T22:29:47Z")
Is there a way I can reset lua in an existing world.
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### Author:  [@Wojtek94](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Wojtek94)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2018, 10:30pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/120 "2018-10-28T22:30:34Z")
I live in a LMOE shelter which is located next to the forest and road. It is in the middle of nowhere. I have a question. Is it true that a given horde can randomly visit my shelter and knock on my doors if I will be quiet? Or maybe they wont spawn if I wont make a noise? I want to be prepared for a horde but I don’t know if they can visit me without my interference
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### Author:  [@Mantar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Mantar)
#### Post date: [October 29, 2018, 1:02am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/tips-tricks-and-newb-questions-reborn/16870/121 "2018-10-29T01:02:11Z")
Hordes spawn from populations on the overmap, and then proceed to wander. Noise will draw them from several tiles away.
If there’s a town on the other side of that forest, for example, you could expect to get the occasional horde wandering by, though it might be a “horde” of like two zombies.
The direction they come from can sometimes clue you in to where stuff is beyond the edge of your explored map, too.
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