Any way to use my skills/can I wait to autoheal, or some other free way?

[Dr_Nomz]

Remember how Fallout would let you heal just by waiting or using your skills every 24 hours? Is there anything like that in this game?

Also it's very jarring to not have a skilldex, can I use my skills on the environment at all, or is it all automatic like Fallout 3/New Vegas did it?

And do I REALLY need to use an expensive consumable every time I want to open something? That seems a little extreme.

[CrabClaw]

I'm assuming you're new to the game and have just started.

Remember how Fallout would let you heal just by waiting or using your skills every 24 hours? Is there anything like that in this game?

The doctor on the medical floor of SGS (your starting location) will heal you for free any time you talk to him. Other settlements typically have doctors that will heal you for a fee. Outside of doctors, you will not regen any health below 85% without special items. If you are at/above 85%, you will slowly regen back to max HP. Psi points regenerate every turn. Bandages can only be used if you have over 40% health, and not at all while in combat.

Also it's very jarring to not have a skilldex, can I use my skills on the environment at all, or is it all automatic like Fallout 3/New Vegas did it?

Skills (like lockpicking/hacking/trapping) are typically auto-used, e.g. when you use a lockpick/haxxor on a mechanically/electronically locked container, place traps, etc. There are dialog options / actions that are only selectable with the requisite skill level, like repairing the elevator shaft at the GMS compound requiring a certain skill level in mechanics. Feats, on the other hand, can give you activated abilities (like Aimed Shot or Blitz). These abilities are typically combat-focused.

And do I REALLY need to use an expensive consumable every time I want to open something? That seems a little extreme.

You have to use either a lockpick (mechanical locks) or a charge from your haxxor (electronic locks) to open locked containers, yes. Some locked containers (typically only story-specific ones) may also have a key/passcard hidden in the environment. Lockpicks are cheap. Using the base-level haxxor (mk1) uses 5 points of charge and does not consume the tool. Edit: higher tier haxxors consume more charge per use, but grant a bonus to your effective electronics skill for opening the lock. They're still not consumed on use. Recharge haxxors using batteries, the cheapest version of which are only 'expensive' in the beginning of the game.

[harperfan7]

Edit:  mostly ninja'd

If your health is at 85% or higher, you will regenerate slowly.  Also the doctor at SGS (and in a few other locations later on, potentially) will heal you for free. 

There is a narrow little button at the bottom middle of the screen, click it and drag things down to your hotkey slots.  Or drag things from your inventory there (like lockpicks, haxxors, crowbar, healing items, whatever).  You disarm a trap, just put the cursor on the trap and click.  Stealth is a hotkey button, so is pickpocket.  You need to rightclick your lockpick/haxxor/whatever to use it on something, or hotkey it.  That's all the skills I can think of that you'd use on your environment besides combat stuff. 

Lockpicks and batteries are not expensive.  Little tip:  do a specific thing for Old Jonas and he gives you a discount, and he sells both of those things. 

[Dr_Nomz]

Thanks for the info.

What about that discount? Does that affect cash, or selling prices? (on my end)

I sold him 2 traps for 6 credits, should I have waited?

[harperfan7]

I have never tested if it affects what you sell him.  If you sold him 2 traps for 6 credits, you probably sold the hopper traps, in which case good, because they're basically useless (and anything that cheap is not something you should worry about).

[TheAverageGortsby]

What about that discount? Does that affect cash, or selling prices? (on my end)

Just the prices that you pay to buy things.  The selling price of items doesn't seem to change except by game difficulty.  If you stored up a couple levels and threw 40 or even 80 points into Mercantile, you could see that your selling prices don't shift a jot, but buying prices come down a good bit for most merchants.  There's a point where there's no real return on additional Mercantile, though (somewhere around 150 effective, and if you assume you're buying mostly from vendors who like you, it's more like 80-120 because they have a more favorable base rate).