Neglected Skill Atrophy

13 Following

When it comes to skills, one adage states that "If you don't use it, you lose it", meaning that if you don't practice or use a skill often enough you will gradually lose that skill. While some stories have characters who retain skill at the same level despite years being out of practice, others acknowledge it by having characters lose skills or have said skills stagnate or deteriorate because they don't practice it. This is usually done with physical skills like fighting or athletics, or mental skills like technology or magic, but social skills aren't unheard of.

There are multiple reasons why a character might stop practicing a skill. Sometimes it's due to not having the time, as other obligations result in someone lacking the free time to practice a given skill and keep up with it. In other cases, a character might simply be lazy and kept slacking off on keeping their skills sharp to the point where they declined. In a few cases, a character might be retired and their skill deteriorated in their retirement.

In storytelling, there are a few ways this can be used as a plot point. Sometimes a person might decide to restore their skills by starting to practice again. If one character starts as more skilled than another, then sometimes the initially less skilled person might surpass the initially superior person by practice, while the initially skilled person ends up falling behind due to lack of practice. If someone was once great but became a washed-up has-been, then one reason might be because their lack of practice deteriorated their skills.

See also We Have Become Complacent, when a person or society becomes weak or stagnates because life became too comfortable. Compare Formerly Fit, which is sometimes caused by someone letting themselves go. A Retired Badass or someone guilty of Arrogance Breeds Laziness can suffer this. See also Villain Forgot to Level Grind, for when a villainous character doesn't grow stronger for one reason or another, which can sometimes be caused by lack of training. This can be an in-universe reason for Bag of Spilling in a sequel. Contrast Never-Forgotten Skill, where someone's skills remain the same despite not practicing it, as well as Still Got It, which is the Stock Phrase variant of Never-Forgotten Skill. Can be a justification for Badass Decay. Compare and contrast Feeling Their Age, when someone's skills decrease because of aging, and Dented Iron, for when someone is weaker in general due to wear and tear on their body.

Contrast No Stat Atrophy, a game trope in which game stats never atrophy. Due to it being an "exceptions only trope", examples involving video game stats decreasing due to neglect should go there instead. Also contrast Instant Expert, for when someone becomes good at something without working hard.

Examples: