Guardians of the Galaxy breathes a breath of simplistic air into leveling up and unlocking skills. Players won’t have to rely on hours of grinding to earn skill points, nor will they have to hunt down overly-specific crafting materials to unlock perks and upgrades. Usable unlocks break down into Guardian skills and Star-Lord upgrades/perks. So, what are the best skills and perks to unlock first in Guardians of the Galaxy?
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How to unlock perks and skills
Skills are all the different moves that Star-Lord and his fellow Guardians can trigger during combat. You’ll earn XP at the end of each fight based on your performance. The better you work as a team, the more XP you’ll earn. Every time the meter fills up, you’ll earn a skill point. Open the Guardians menu to view each Guardian and their unique skills.
Their primary skill, such as Rocket’s Cluster Bomb, will unlock as the early stages of the game progress and each Guardian is introduced. Then, you’ll have to spend skill points on their other two abilities. The middle skill will always cost two points, and the last skill costs three. Each Guardian also has an ultimate ability that unlocks as the game progresses, so you don’t have to spend skill points on those.
Perks are upgrades for Star-Lord that you’ll craft with Rocket at a crafting table. There’s always a crafting table on the Milano, but you’ll find one hidden on each stage in case you need a quick upgrade. You’ll use Components and Advanced Components to craft Star-Lord’s different perks. Both types of crafting material are hidden around each level, so exploration is your key to new upgrades. So, once you have enough crafting materials and skill points, what perks and skills should you unlock first in Guardians of the Galaxy?
Best skills to unlock first
Skill points will take time to accumulate, so you won’t unlock every available skill in the game until you near the final missions. However, buying the following skills first will make your life much easier.
Gamora’s Shadow Strike
Shadow Strike is the first skill you should purchase for two skill points. Gamora dashes between several enemies, doing moderate damage to each. You can also target a single enemy that Gamora will attack several times if nobody else is in range. However, we recommend using Shadow Strike with Groot’s Entangle Skill for the best effect. Gamora will kill two or three enemies with Shadow Strike, leaving the rest weak and open to killing blows.
Groot’s Mammoth Grab
Mammoth Grab is the first expensive skill (three points) we recommend unlocking. Mammoth Grab grapples a single large enemy in place and deals moderate stagger damage to them. Big enemies should be your primary target, especially once you encounter the Church of Universal Truth. Use Mammoth Grab with Drax’s Destroyer skill to completely stagger mini-bosses and big enemies. Once staggered, send Gamora in for the kill.
Star-Lord’s Vantage Point
Vantage Point only costs one skill point, so you can either unlock it first or save it for third. Star-Lord engages his jet boots and hovers around the battlefield, avoiding most damage and gaining a better commanding view. We primarily used Vantage Point to keep safe while waiting for our other Guardians’ skills to cool down. Vantage Point also helps against the electric nodes sent out by corrupted Nova Corps enemies.
Rocket’s Gravistack Grenade
Gravistack works like Groot’s Entangle skill; however, it covers more ground. Rocket throws a grenade at a single target that draws nearby enemies in like a magnet. They’ll float in the air, leaving themselves wide open to attack. Follow up with Gamora’s Shadow Strike or Groot’s Uproot. Shadow Strike, though, works better. The Gravistack Grenade was too similar to Groot’s Entangle to rationalize spending two skill points before the other skills on this list.
Best Perks to unlock first
Components are abundant in Guardians. There aren’t many game-changing perks to unlock for Star-Lord, making it easy to choose which ones you should grab first. By default, you’re forced to unlock Rapid Reload first. Other than Rapid Reload, here are the best perks to unlock first.
Consumables Magnet
Consumables Magnet attracts enemy drops within 15 meters of Star-Lord. Enemies either drop green health orbs or white elemental ammo orbs. Either way, Consumable Magnet keeps you at full health and elemental ammo during a fight as long as you’re constantly killing enemies.
Extra Shield
Extra Shield increases Star-Lord’s shield points by 50%. We’re going for survivability with this choice. While Guardians isn’t necessarily challenging, even on normal difficulty, the bonus shields paired with Consumables Magnet will make death an afterthought.
Charge Consumption
With Charge Consumption, you’ll consume less elemental ammo. A few extra shock blasts and wind pulls will come in handy, and Consumables Magnet will keep filling your elemental ammo.
Perfect Dodge
The inner Ghost of Tsushima fan appreciates the art of a perfect dodge. The same is true in Guardians of the Galaxy with the Perfect Dodge Perk. When you time your dodge right, you’ll slow time briefly, allowing you to follow up with an attack or get out of harm’s way.
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