The Almanac · 23 trades

Every skill, explained.

Tideward has 23 distinct trades — the depth of an MMO, the patience of a lighthouse-keeper. Each one trains at your pace, in any order, with full 24-hour offline progression. Below: every skill, what it does, and how it fits into the rest.

16 of 23 were renamed in the May 2026 rebrand from "Manu Idle" to "Tideward" — to dodge trademark clusters with RuneScape and Melvor Idle, and to position cleanly on the Apple editorial shelf. The mechanic of each skill is unchanged from its lineage. Old names noted on each page.

Combat

8 trades

Attack

Melee accuracy. The hand on the hilt that decides whether the sword lands.

Strength

Melee damage. Each level on Strength shows up at the end of every swing.

Defense

formerly Defence

Damage avoided is XP earned. Defense scales evasion across all three combat styles.

Vitality

formerly Hitpoints

Your hit-points pool. The skill that decides how long you stay standing.

Ranged

Bows, throwing knives, and the discipline of holding your distance.

Magic

Spells, runes, and the quiet third leg of the combat triangle.

Vigil

formerly Prayer

Bone-fueled prayers — combat boosts, damage reduction, restoration.

Quarry

formerly Slayer

Task-driven combat. Take an assignment, hunt the targets, repeat for XP no other skill grants.

Gathering

5 trades

Woodcutting

Trees to logs. The first AFK loop nearly every player runs.

Fishing

Raw fish for cooking, gold for the patient. The genre's most relaxing skill.

Mining

Ores for the Forging chain. Rocks deplete; you stand and swing.

Farming

Plant. Walk away. Return hours later. The skill that genuinely respects offline play.

Pilfering

formerly Thieving

Pickpocket NPCs and stalls for gold and unique drops. Risk per attempt, reward per success.

Artisan

7 trades

Kindling

formerly Firemaking

Burn logs for Kindling XP and bonfire bonuses that buff every other skill.

Cooking

Raw fish to healing food. The skill that makes long combat AFK possible.

Forging

formerly Smithing

Smelt ores into bars, hammer bars into gear. The metal economy in one skill.

Handicraft

formerly Crafting

Leather, gems, glass, dragonhide. Everything Forging doesn't cover.

Bowcraft

formerly Fletching

Bows, arrows, crossbow bolts. The Ranged skill's artisan supply chain.

Inscription

formerly Runecrafting

Craft runes at altars. The supply line for every spell Magic ever casts.

Apothecary

formerly Herblore

Brew potions from herbs. Combat boosts, restores, infused incense.

Wayfaring

3 trades

Wayfaring

formerly Agility

Path-running with stamina, shortcuts, and obstacle XP. The world becomes faster the more you train.

Stargazing

formerly Astrology

Constellation observation. Time-of-day buffs that shape every other skill.

Binding

formerly Summoning

Spirit-binding for combat familiars and skill helpers. The bridge skill.
Need to know how it all fits together? Read the FAQ on gameplay or see the dev blog.

Try the trades yourself.

Tideward is free in alpha on TestFlight, native on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro, and Apple Watch. One TestFlight invite covers every Apple device you own.

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