Little is known about the skill system, and it has undergone several transformations during development. Currently, there are about 27 learnable skills per class. Levelling up rewards you with a skill point, which can be invested into any skill you have access to (as in, you meet the required level and have all required precursor skills). The maximum skill level is lower than in Diablo II, because the character level cap is 50 instead of 99. Most skills max out at skill level 6-10.

Unlike Diablo II, where the best strategy was to choose as few skills as possible and put every available skill point into them, Hellgate: London will encourage more diversity by reducing the impact of additional skill points. Most attacks will use your weapon damage to determine their power; additional skill points will merely reduce the mana cost, increase the range, reduce the cooldown, or improve some other secondary property.

The skill trees are currently still under wraps, but some skills are already known. Examples include:

Blademaster

An offensive melee character, with few defensive skills but packing a lot of damage. Example: Whirlwind causes the character to spin like a top, swords outstretched, damaging everything nearby.

Guardian

A more defensively oriented melee character, doing less damage but gaining bonuses when surrounded by enemies. Example: Holy Fire Aura adds fire damage to your sword, based on how many enemies are within a given radius around you.

Summoner

A character that fights indirectly, summoning and managing minions to fight for the caster, and using damage over time weapons. Example: Summon Shrieker summons flying demons that attempt to attack and dive-bomb your enemies.

Engineer

A minion class similar to the Summoner, with expendable minions as well as combat drones that can wield weapons. Example: Assault Drone summons a hovering bot that can use two-handed rifles.