skilldesc

SkillDesc.txt is the presentation layer for player skills: it controls what the in-game skill tree and tooltip display. 263 rows, 119 columns. Every player-class skill has a corresponding skilldesc row that defines its position on the skill tree, its icon, its tooltip text keys, and up to three sections of description lines — each with a display function, paired localization string keys, and calc-DSL formulas evaluated at the current skill level.

This table has no effect on game mechanics. Damage, mana cost, prerequisites, synergies, and animation data all live in skills. SkillDesc.txt is purely the UI render specification.

Relationship to skills.txt

skills.txt rows reference this table via their skilldesc column, which maps to skilldesc.skilldesc (the row name). The relationship is many-to-one: multiple skill rows can share a single descriptor (e.g., variants of the same ability), and some skill rows that are not player-facing (monster skills, engine pseudo-skills) have no skilldesc entry at all.

The text columns here (str name, str short, str long, str alt) hold localization keys like AbyssName or skillname66 — pointers into string.txt / expansionstring.txt, not the human-readable text the player sees. The string tables themselves are not part of the data-guide.

Identity and skill-tree position

Tooltip string keys

Damage display block

descdam function codes

Description lines — display function codes

All three description sections (desc*, dsc2*, dsc3*) use the same per-line shape:

descline<N>   — display function code
desctexta<N>  — first localization string key
desctextb<N>  — second localization string key (alternate / plural / two-value)
desccalca<N>  — first calc-DSL expression
desccalcb<N>  — second calc-DSL expression

The function code (descline<N>) selects how the four inputs combine:

Section line counts: desc has 6 lines (descline1–descline6), dsc2 has 5 lines (dsc2line1–dsc2line5), dsc3 has 7 lines (dsc3line1–dsc3line7).

Three description sections

Item-proc display block

Cross-references

• skills — each skill row's skilldesc column points here. Game mechanics live in skills, not skilldesc.
• missiles — descmissile1/2/3 links missile rows as reference values for tooltip calc formulas.
• String tables (string.txt, expansionstring.txt) — contain the human-readable strings that the localization keys here resolve to. Not in d2r-query.

Worked example: Abyss

Abyss is the Warlock summoning spell that drops poison sigils — a useful walkthrough because it touches every part of the table: a D2R-era descdam extension, a styled section-header line, and four real synergy lines.

The dsc3 block — read it line by line, the line numbers don't all mean the same thing:

Code 76 simply renders "[textb] [texta-template-with-calca-substituted]" — the actual phrasing ("adds %d% per point", "increases magic damage by %d%") comes from whichever string the texta localization key resolves to, not from this table. Don't paraphrase it as "[textb] adds [calca]% per level" without reading the string template.

-- All Warlock skills with their tree positions
SELECT s.skill, sd.SkillPage, sd.SkillRow, sd.SkillColumn,
       sd."str name", sd.descdam
FROM skills s
JOIN skilldesc sd ON s.skilldesc = sd.skilldesc
WHERE s.charclass = 'war'
ORDER BY sd.SkillPage,
         CAST(sd.SkillRow AS INTEGER),
         CAST(sd.SkillColumn AS INTEGER);

-- Every dsc3 synergy line (descline 76) and its source-skill localization key
SELECT skilldesc,
       dsc3textb1 AS source1, dsc3calca1 AS bonus1,
       dsc3textb2 AS source2, dsc3calca2 AS bonus2,
       dsc3textb3 AS source3, dsc3calca3 AS bonus3
FROM skilldesc
WHERE dsc3line1 = '76' OR dsc3line2 = '76' OR dsc3line3 = '76'
ORDER BY skilldesc
LIMIT 20;

-- All skills using the D2R-era descdam extensions
SELECT skilldesc, descdam
FROM skilldesc
WHERE descdam IN ('27', '28')
ORDER BY descdam, skilldesc;