Bug or on purpose? (Skills after unsubscribing)
 

I've found that some of the skills you "learn" while being an unlimited member can still be used when you cancel your subscription.

For example, I was fighting with a cutlass and though the brawl skill was "locked", if I pressed 2 on the keyboard, it would use the skill and it recharged as normal. If I clicked on it, a screen came up asking me if I wanted to upgrage because that skill was unlimited access only. The same thing happened while using curse for the doll.

I think it's clear that you have to "learn" the skill before your subscription runs out, but I think it would be really useful to use those skills if you were just going to be saving up gold on say, a ship. I went sailing and since I have more than 13 levels in both cannons and sailing, I wasn't getting any rep for sinking ships, but I was raking in the gold. The only problem seems to be that you really have to find a good crew because you can't use a higher level ship. Find a crew with an unlimited access member and rake in the gold or go to Kingshead and use the doll and help out some grenadiers with healing and cursing the enemies to get some big time cash! Since you can apparently still use the skills, even without being unlimited access (at least at the time of this posting), you can get more out of the game than previously thought!

Ah perhaps this is the trick i'd heard of that people said that there was a way to do it.

It makes sense when I compare it to other behaviors ive seen in the game. I've noticed the game doesnt monitor certain actions at times. I can fight/level for hours by using just my mouse. Has a button for shift, and a button for R (to run), and all the rest for fightin, scroll to change weapons, etc. Anyhow... I can play for hours, and use only the mouse yet the game shows me AFK the whole time (until i hit an arrow key).

So, it would appear the programmers didnt capture all the options to use those supposedly "locked" skills.