There are two playable Spider-Men in Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2, each with their own skill tree that players can spend skill points to fully unlock. However, there’s a third skill tree, containing skills that will unlock for both Spider-Men and this tree has the most skills by far.
The other skill trees mostly relate to the abilities of the individual Spider-Men, while the shared skill tree emphasizes traversal, health, damage, and basic combat. Here are the best skills that will make playing, as either Miles or Peter, a breeze.
10 Combo Resupply
Starting out the list at number 10 is Combo Resupply. You’re going to find it’s easy to use up all of your gadgets during a fight, and there aren’t many gadgets to choose from, your selection is refined this time around so each gadget will be missed once you’re out of stock.
But with Combo Resupply, you have the chance to get one gadget shot back after a four-hit melee combo. In theory, a later skill called Gadget Resupply seems better as it guarantees resupply, but that’s only from a Finisher. What makes Combo Resupply the far greater option, and worthy of the list, is that four-hit melee combos will happen frequently, rewarding you for easy-to-repeat gameplay.
9 Perfect Dodge Recharge
Faster Ability Recharge By Dodging
The abilities of both Miles and Peter are incredibly fun, as well as powerful. In a longer fight, or boss fight especially, you may feel the weight of the recharge if all your abilities have been used up.
This is where our number nine entry, Perfect Dodge Recharge, can be essential; all you have to do is land a Perfect Dodge, and you’ll gain a little more Recharge for any spent ability. What makes this skill stand out as one of the best is how it works with the rhythm of the game. Just continue to perfect doge an enemy, until you gain back to chance to Venom or Symbiote attack them.
8 Corner Tether
Sharp Turns In An Instant
Insomniac quite simply outdid themselves with the additions to the feeling of web-swinging, let alone the entire new mechanic of the Web Wings. No matter how much fun you had swinging in the last 2 games, Spider-Man 2 will provide ways to make the experience even better. Both in the sense of the toggle settings, but also in a skill named Corner Tether, which came in at our number eight.
With Corner Tether you press the circle button while holding a direction near a building, and this will make Spider-Man tether to the building to turn a sharp corner. These corners were about the only thing not perfectly handled by default, leading to a skill you will be using more than you think. With Corner Tether you can avoid awkwardly smashing into the building you were trying to swing or glide around, making this a necessary skill that earned it a spot.
7 Aerial Escapades
Adding Recharge To Air Tricks
At number seven, we have another skill that recharges an ability, however, this entry is related to your aerial expertise. When you hold square and a direction, you’ll perform some air tricks that grant you quick experience points, as well as have some plain fun.
With Aerial Escapades, an additional bonus is granted. To unlock this skill, you have to have either unlocked Spider-Jump or Spider-Dash. Aerial Escapades will then make those skills even better, as from now on, doing fun air tricks will recharge the meters that let you Dash or Jump again. It’s just a simple upgrade that works so well exactly the kind of upgrade you want in a game that’s already made the traversal streamlined and near perfect.
6 Web Throw
Toss Around Webbed Enemies
Entry number six is a returning skill from the previous game, Spider-Man will grab ahold of an enemy that’s either webbed up or electrified and sling them around like a pile of trash. Not only that, but enemies that Miles has Venom Stunned will count as electrified, so once you’ve done any of those steps you just have to hold triangle to send them flying.
This skill returned for a reason, several really. At surface value, it’s just pure fun to toss around the enemies on a web, but a skillful player will easily realize when to web-throw an enemy. When used right, it can instantly finish a fight, which ultimately makes it better than any of the disarm or bounce skills involving webs.
5 Heavy Lifting
Web Throw For Heavy Enemies
The only downside to Web Throw was that by default, Brute enemies were not affected by it. With Heavy Lifting, Brutes can now be thrown with Web Throw.
Effectively everything great about regular Web Swing is true for Heavy Lifting, but now the only downside is completely gone. You will be able to pick up any Brute enemy and fling them around, and while webbing them up isn’t always easy, the addition of Venom Stunning doing the trick makes Heavy Lifting far easier to pull off. This places it firmly in number five, as it’s only fair to place it just above the skill is improves, as much as it is an essential upgrade to an already fantastic skill.
4 KO Recharge
Ability Recharge From Knock-Out
Once again we have an entry that focuses on earning back your ability meter at a faster pace. This time around, the Recharge comes from just knocking out enemies.
From that description, KO Recharge will sound less frequent than getting a four-hit combo, but reading the full description shows that even Stealth Takedowns and Finishers count, not just hitting an enemy enough to drop their health down. Both stealthy and brutal players gain from this skill, earning it the number four spot hands-down.
3 Spider-Jump
Entry for number three is Spider-Jump, which, simply put, is the greatest addition to your traversal skills. With Spider-Jump unlocked, press L1 and X when the meter is full, and you’ll send either Miles or Peter high into the air.
Spider-Dash does have promise as its counterpart, but a boost forward while swinging isn’t so unheard of, and there are plenty of other skills that will do the trick. Spider-Jump instead gives the much rarer extra height, which is irreplaceable. Whether you prefer swinging or gliding, you now have a way to boost back into the air if you are going too low, making this skill an instant shot at the top.
2 Web Line Double Takedown
Overpowered Perch Takedowns
The Web Line already simplified your stealth encounters, to the point of being overpowered. Insomniac have countered this by letting you unlock a skill that makes the Web Line even more overpowered.
Our number two entry Web Line Double Takedown will let you take down 2 enemies in the same Perch Takedown while on a Web Line. This skill is transformative for stealth players as it can help you clean out a room far faster than the Web Line already was. As for more brutal players, this skill is still perfect for getting a quick drop on enemies by knocking out two at once. There’s no playstyle it doesn’t benefit.
1 Wall Thrash
Fast Wall-Based Combo
The best Shared skill is the Wall Thrash. This beatdown happens whenever you attack an enemy who is up against a wall, which means it’s a beatdown you will use frequently. You’ll be able to use this skill to chisel down an enemy’s health fast, and the animation is so slick and fluid that you won’t miss a beat while it’s happening.
Brutes and Symbiotes aren’t safe from the Wall Thrash, and both free roam and story missions will have you surrounded by tons of flat surfaces the game will count as walls, even cars count. You will be surprised how many enemies will fall from the Wall Thrash, as it really is the ultimate attack Spider-Man can add to his arsenal. As great as the skill tree can get, there is nothing on par with the quick power of the Wall Thrash. It easily goes at the very top as number one.