Attributes and Skills - Disco Elysium Guide - IGN (2024)

Disco Elysium uses a simplified system of Attributes and Skills in all its dice rolls to determine the outcome of and decisions the player makes. This page will give you a full breakdown of what the Attributes are in the game and the general grouping of what Skills they affect. For even more of a breakdown on what the skills do, please see the individual skill group pages.

When starting a new game of Disco Elysium, the player can choose one of three archetypes for their Attribute distribution, or they can make a character from scratch. If make from scratch, all four attributes can range from 1 to 6 points inclusive with a maximum total of 12 points. This is the only time attributes can be changed; attributes do not level up.

Customized characters are allowed to have a total below 12 points, even entering the game with just a single point in all four attributes. This will significantly negatively affect all skill checks, but players can attempt the challenge if they wish.

Two skills, Volition of the Psyche Skills and Endurance of the Physique Skills, govern the character's Morale and Health respectively. When either of those reach zero, it's game over. It's advised that both Psyche and Physique have at least 2 points to ensure that any incredibly early mistakes won't kill the player-character.

Attributes set the character's starting values in the skills of each skill group. Attributes also set the character's TRAINABLE maximum for the skills in the skill group. This means if the character has an exceptionally low attribute, he still won't be able to level up the skills in that group beyond a very small number.

Disco Elysium has a strong variety of its skill checks throughout the adventure. It rewards both min/maxing and jack-of-all-trades style of attribute distribution. Further, skills (but not attributes) are greatly affected by equippable clothing items and can be changed freely during the game.

Note that clothing bonuses are not subject to any maximum number. Attributes set only the trainable maximum of skills in their skill group. Therefore it's possible to wear the right set of clothes to artificially increase a given skill well beyond a low value if the player needs to pass a certain check.

Attributes themselves do nothing in game terms. When conducting checks, Disco Elysium only does the check against the relevant skill, not the attribute governing it.

It's advised that the player needs to truly roleplay for the best chance at victory. The player should decide early on what kind of character they want to be; someone who is brilliant, or street-smart, or thieving, or a strong man, or a jack-of-all-trades, and set up their attributes accordingly. There is no wrong way to play, and no matter what path is chosen, a lot of checks will go with and against the player.

The four Attributes of Disco Elysium are Intellect, Psyche, Physique, and Motorics. In traditional RPGs, these could be equated to Intelligence, Wisdom (and a little Charisma), Strength, and Dexterity.

Each attribute has six skills in its skill group. Each group broadly determines the type of checks it will be used for, which can give the player an idea of what kind archetype they wish to make if not using a pre-made character.

This section will break down the various attributes and what their skill groups are generally for, but you can click a given skill group for a deeper dive.

Intellect Skills

The six Intellect Skills are Logic, Encyclopedia, Rhetoric, Drama, Conceptualization, and Visual Calculus. These skills are generally used in passive skill checks to advise the player which is the “correct” dialogue option to choose. Successful passive checks on these skills usually open new dialogue options in the current conversation. Intellect Skills are best used when the player wants to learn more about the background lore of Disco Elysium.

Psyche Skills

The six Psyche Skills are Volition, Inland Empire, Empathy, Authority, Esprit de Corps, and Suggestion. These skills are often used in passive skill checks to advise the player and open new dialogue options similar to the Intellect Skills. However, some of them, such as Authority and Suggestion, are used in more active checks when talking to other characters. Volition also sets the character's maximum Morale, one of the two “health bars” in the game. Psyche Skills are best used when the player wants to roleplay using the character's words as his primary weapon.

Physique Skills

The six Physique Skills are Endurance, Pain Threshold, Physical Instrument, Electrochemsitry, Shivers, and Half Light. These skills are often used in active skill checks when the character attempts to use their physical force to affect the world. A few of the skills may present themselves during passive checks, but for the most part they are used to perform an action. Endurance also sets the character's maximum Health, one of the two “health bars” in the game. Physique Skills are best used when the player wants to roleplay using the character's physical strength or intimidation as his primary weapon.

Motorics Skills

The six Motorics Skills are Hand/Eye Coordination, Perception, Reaction Speed, Savoir Faire, Interfacing, and Composure. This skill mix is used in a variety of passive and active skill checks when the character attempts to do any action not based fully and directly on intelligence or raw strength. It's used for both being sneaky or simply manipulating small devices. Motorics Skills are best used when the player wants to use objects and dexterous actions.

For a deeper dive of each skill group, please see the Intellect Skills, Psyche Skills, Physique Skills, and Motorics Skills pages. Or, check out the Walkthrough to see how all the skills come together!