Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 had a successful launch with more than 2.5 million copies sold in under 24 hours. Insomniac refined the combat and traversal enough in the sequel to give you the control of fully becoming Spider-Man. Do you want to know what skills will be the best for the early game or which will make the experience smoother? We have got you covered as after completing the game, we will recommend these skills to newcomers. The best way to level up early and get skill points is by progressing through the main story and doing a couple of side missions along with a few crimes. A combination of these will have you covered with enough XP to get those sweet abilities.
1. Combo Resupply:
This is our favourite skill, especially in the shared skill tree. By getting this skill, players will have the chance to use a free gadget shot at the end of every 4-hit combo. While this may seem to not be important at first, this skill can be incredibly powerful during combat. It can help you get out of a stuff situation at higher difficulties when you need a breather during the onslaught of enemies. Also, in Spider-Man 2018, many players did not use gadgets as they were immersed in the melee combat and using gadgets broke that flow. Insomniac has overhauled the use of gadgets this time which makes using them very fluid. Combo Resupply also helps remind you and push you to use the gadgets which when upgraded are really helpful.
2. Parry Disarm:
A big change in Spider-Man 2’s combat is the addition of the parry system. Some attacks can not be dodged and have to be parried by pressing L1 when the attack turns red. Parries can be used against every melee attack and help stun the enemy while also allowing to deal higher damage. Parry Disarm can be very helpful as it can disarm enemies of their weapons and this skill is particularly helpful against enemies holding guns. While the parry window in Spider-Man 2 is pretty generous, it can take time to master it. It is particularly helpful in late-game and this skill will push players to utilise parries more. Generally, when hordes of enemies attack you in Spider-Man 2, players tend to focus on enemies carrying weapons to mitigate the risk of getting high damage, and this skill helped me do that in a smooth manner as I just started parrying these enemies instead of having to web strike to them and disrupt the flow of combat.
3. Loop De Loop:
Aside from adding new combat mechanics, Insomniac also added new traversal abilities like Web Wings and one of my favourite skills, Loop De Loop. Instead of only focusing on combat-related skills, players should also invest in skills like these to make their overall experience of the game more enjoyable. When you are diving, and notice the slight air streaks start to come from your arms, hold R2 and Spider-Man will perform a loop manoeuvre that is so fun to do and watch, but also helps you gain speed by a lot. We recommend using L3 to dive when needed to use this skill, and also try opening your web wings after one successful loop for a burst of speed. While Slingshot Launch is great to use when you are stationary for a momentary boost in speed, Loop De Loop can be performed naturally during traversal which is why we prefer it more.
4. Spider Rush:
While it is important to invest in the shared skill tree, nothing helps more in combat than the abilities that you buy and upgrade through skill points. It is therefore important that you fill all the abilities slots as soon as possible with both Miles and Peter. Spider Rush is our favourite Spider-Arms ability for Peter especially when coupled with the Spider Rush Tornado skill which pulls in enemies during your Spider Rush attack. When the ability is fully recharged, press L1 + â–³ and Peter will use the Spider-Arms to push himself forward in a horizontal tunnel manner. This will push all enemies with you and deal them damage. This skill is especially helpful during crowd control as you can get out of the bad position yourself while also knocking a few enemies with you to deal with them separately. However, this ability requires the Tornado skill to function at its full so it’s recommended to get these two skills together. We would also not recommend wasting more skill points at this time on the Spider-Arms skill tree for Peter as the symbiote skills will be more needed and help a lot later in the game.
5. Venom Jump:
Miles is even more fun to play in Spider-Man 2 than he was in his spinoff game and my favourite starter ability of his in Spider-Man 2 is Venom Jump. While later on in the game, we would recommend only using Evolved Venom abilities because they are more useful and deal higher damage. Also, let’s be honest, they just look more cooler. However, in the early game, these abilities are not available to you which is why Venom Jump should be bought as it is pretty helpful. Spider-Man is safer in air combat and also deals greater damage, and Miles specifically deals greater damage to venom-stunned enemies. So, when you use venom jump and hit enemies, they are dealt a great amount of damage and are defeated easily. Venom Jump also helps you get out of tough situations with brutes and shield-bearing enemies. When the ability is available, just press L1 + X to apply venom stun to enemies around you and lift them into the air where you can continue air combat and make for some great combos.
Bonus: Wall Thrash
While this may be bundled as a late-game skill, we can’t stress enough how useful it is in combat and helps make it so much better. We had to include it in the list as this was the biggest skill that we missed when replaying Spider-Man 2. Aside from making the combat more fluid, the skill ‘feels’ great to use thanks to the DualSense haptics. It is also really helpful against bigger enemies like brutes and Shield Bearers as they can be dealt great damage with this skill. When you have an enemy against a wall, rapidly press â–¢ and Spider-Man will literally destroy the enemy with his legs. Like Combo Resupply, this may seem like a minor combat skill, but it is actually really useful after being used to this skill, having to play the game without it makes the combat feel less fluid and fun to us.
While these were the main skills you should invest in the early game during your playthrough, do not forget to also buy gadgets and suit tech upgrades as they have a big impact on combat. Stay tuned for more Spider-Man 2 guides! Want to know our thoughts on the game? Check out our review of the game in which we gave it a 9.
If you still haven’t picked the game up, what are you waiting for!? Spider-Man 2 is currently available to buy through the following retailers:
Amazon: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Launch Edition – PlayStation 5
BestBuy: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Launch Edition – PlayStation 5
