How can you have a progression system with skill-based combat?

Like many action games these days, an underlying progression system affects how you fight in a variety of fashions. This includes the obvious methods such as modifying your health or the damage when you strike, but character and weapon stats can also change the way you shoot or swing.

For example, you can aim in any direction and fire away, but the spread on your shots comes from a variety of factors, including what kind of gun you’re using, its upgrades, and any accessories you’ve equipped to modify your accuracy . Your spread may increase while moving and decrease while zooming with a scope, and the extent to which these modifiers affect you may themselves have their own stats! Melee weapons are similarly affected, with the force on an attack compared against the stability of the victim to determine staggering, knockback etc.