As you gain experience, you select a variety of skills to make Kyle’s life easier (and longer). We’re now going to break down all of these now so you can make the best choices.
Survivor Experience and Skills
Survivor Experience
| Level | Experience Required |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 1,000 |
| 3 | 3,250 |
| 4 | 5,000 |
| 5 | 10,000 |
| 6 | 15,000 |
| 7 | 20,750 |
| 8 | 25,000 |
| 9 | 30,000 |
| 10 | 40,000 |
| 11 | 50,000 |
| 12 | 55,000 |
| 13 | 60,000 |
| 14 | 65,000 |
| 15 | 70,000 |
| 16 | 72,500 |
| 17 | 77,500 |
| 18 | 80,000 |
| 19 | 95,000 |
| 20 | 100,000 |
| 21 | 125,000 |
| 22 | 150,000 |
| 23 | 175,000 |
| 24 | 200,000 |
| 25 | 475,000 |
Novice Survivor Perks
Survival Starter Kit
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 2
Learn how to craft the most basic things needed for survival: Lockpicks, Firecrackers, simple Throwing Stars, and Molotov Cocktails.
backpacker
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 3 and Survival Starter Kit
Learn how to use space in your backpack more efficiently. You gain four additional weapon slots. These are badly needed so that you have enough space for multiple backup tools and weapons.
Boosters
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 3 and Survival Starter Kit
Learn how to use plants to create Boosters. These allow you to fight without getting tired, run faster, see better in the darkness, or build more resistance to attacks. You won’t have enough components to make many of these early on, so it’s usually okay to wait a little while before grabbing this skill.
Elemental Throwing Stars
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 4 and Survival Starting Kit
Learn how to create Throwing Stars with three additional effects: Paralyzing, Burning, and Exploding. All of these are immensely more effective than the basic shurikens that you make initially. Exploding Throwing Stars are especially fun!
Barter
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 4and Survival Starter Kit
Shop prices are reduced by 10% after choosing this skill.
Master Backpacker
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 6 and Backpacker
Adds six more slots for carrying weapons. This is in addition to the others you’ve earned, so Crane now has 14 slots of gear!
Booster XL
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 6 and Boosters
Boosters have much longer effects.
Haggle
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 8 and Barter
Shops lower their prices by an additional 10% because of your impressive business acumen. This adds up over time, and also leads to a final economic skill that has a much greater influence on your income.
DIY Grenades
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 8 and Elemental Throwing Stars
Learn how to craft four types of grenades: shrapnel, bleeding, paralyzing, and toxic.
Trap Bombs
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 11 and DIY Grenades
Learn how to create Bombs that draw the Infected in and then detonate with exploding, bleeding, and toxic damage! Trap Bombs are a combination of Firecrackers and explosives. They’re a major jump in your ability to ditch pursuers and kill groups of enemies.
Hard Bargain
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 11 and Haggle
Increases the value of items that you sell, dramatically improving your income.
Adept Survivor Perks
Crafting Expertise
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 5
Gain bonus items when crafting, making your work more efficient. This also leads to many other skills, so it’s an early choice for almost every player.
Electric Fences
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 7 and Crafting Expertise
Learn how to use Electric Fence traps. Although these, by themselves, aren’t the most powerful things in the city, it’s still wonderful to take this skill if you’re into pursuits. Electric Fences leads to Exploding Cars (a godsend)!
Lucky Repair
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 7 and Crafting Expertise
You won’t always use a weapon’s repair slot when fixing these items. When combined with Conserve Weapons (from the Power line), you start to hold onto your best weapons for much longer. Get this skill as soon as you can afford it. The difference is quite noticeable over time.
Shield Mastery
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 8 and Crafting Expertise
You learn how to craft and use shields.
Camouflage
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 9
Learn how to use dead bodies to hide from the Infected. It takes a few moments to get “materials” from a corpse. This leaves you wish a tainted screen to show that the camouflage is active. At first, you can’t attack Infected while hidden (otherwise, they’ll figure out that you’re not one of them).
Exploding Cars
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 10 and Electric Fences
Learn how to use Exploding Car traps. These lure enemies over and then detonate several seconds later. They are a vital source of both Agility and Power XP, and save you time and time again during night pursuits.
Nimble Hands
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 10 and Lucky Repair
Search dead bodies faster, and you get a chance to find somewhat better loot.
Shield Crafting
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 11 and Shield Mastery
Learn how to add elemental effects to your Shields. This causes enemies to get hit with electrical, stunning, or blast effects as long as you block them correctly with the Shield in question.
Camouflage Attack
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 12 and Camouflage
You no longer attract attention when attacking the Infected while Camouflaged. This entire maneuver is somewhat time consuming, so it’s a matter of personal preference whether you’re willing to invest in its two skills.
Expert Survivor Perks
Grappling Hook
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Survival Level 12
Learn how to craft Grappling Hooks to move around the city quickly and nimbly. You can’t use these tools during the endgame scenes or any of the racing challenges. However, it’s still so much fun to get around Harran with a Grappling Hook.
Specialist
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 13 and Grappling Hook
Score more critical hits with crafted items. Extra damage is never a bad thing, especially when we’re talking about your best weapons.
Craftsman
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 14 and Grappling Hook
Crafted weapons with elemental effects deal more damage and have stronger effects. This one is even more important than Elementalist. You already boost your damage output considerably by adding elemental effects to your best weapons. This maximizes the damage output of those items.
Ultimate Survivor
Category: Passive
Requires: Survival Level 25 and Grappling Hook
Get an additional health boost (+25 Maximum Health), and your use of Grappling Hook, Shields, and Camouflage improves.
Agility Experience and Skills
Agility Experience
| Level | Experience Required |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 550 |
| 3 | 1,250 |
| 4 | 2,000 |
| 5 | 3,000 |
| 6 | 3,750 |
| 7 | 4,750 |
| 8 | 5,750 |
| 9 | 6,750 |
| 10 | 7,750 |
| 11 | 8,750 |
| 12 | 9,750 |
| 13 | 10,750 |
| 14 | 12,000 |
| 15 | 13,000 |
| 16 | 14,250 |
| 17 | 15,250 |
| 18 | 16,500 |
| 19 | 17,750 |
| 20 | 18,750 |
| 21 | 20,000 |
| 22 | 21,250 |
| 23 | 22,500 |
| 24 | 23,750 |
Novice Agility Perks
Dodge
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 2
Dodge incoming attacks by jumping sideways or backwards. Move in the desired direction and press the listed button to activate. Use this as often as you can. It’s going to save your life at least 100 times. Jump back from Goon strikes. Leap to the side when people throw things at you. Get away from Volatiles and Virals before they engage you. Dodge is life!
Grapple
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 3 and Dodge
Use the movement of attacking enemies to throw them around. When an enemy charges you, use the indicated button to throw the zombie in the direction you press. Toss Infected into each other to keep Crane from getting overwhelmed.
Slide
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 3 and Dodge
Slide while running. This allows you to go through holes in walls and other passages. Use the crouch command while running to execute this. Slide helps you stay alive during pursuits by letting you avoid any barricade with a hole in the bottom.
Dropkick
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 4 and Dodge
Jump when you’re already sprinting at an enemy and then use a hand-to-hand attack to start a Dropkick. These deal decent damage and knock enemies down quite effectively. Once you learn Dropkick and Stomp, the combination becomes a very powerful part of your arsenal. Dropkick your target, Stomp them before they recover, and enjoy your easy kill.
Vault
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 4 and Dodge
Jump over enemies while running toward them. This makes it easy to get through massive hordes of Biters without taking any damage. Vault also gets you easy Agility XP while hurrying past Infected you don’t want to fight.
Health Regen
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 5 and Dodge
As your body gets more athletic, you regenerate health to a higher level. This works only if your health falls below a certain threshold, so Medkits are still quite useful to your character.
Leg Breaker
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 6 and Slide
Kicking during a Slide breaks enemies’ legs. Make a hand-to-hand attack while already Sliding to activate this.
Dropkick bomb
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 7 and Dropkick
Dropkicks deal three times more damage, making the move worth its high risk and skill requirements!
Vault Stun
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 8 and Vault
Causes a five-second stun against any infected that you Vault over. This combines very well with the Stun Kill skill because you can turn around and get a free execution without investing much time or energy.
Brutal Grapple
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 9 and Grapple
Enemies thrown with Grapple are knocked down, leaving them vulnerable. The Power skill “Stomp” combines perfectly with Improved Grapple to achieve fast kills that don’t even require weaponry.
Adept Agility Perks
Freerunning Adept
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 5
Your freerunning ability improves. You can now run longer and climb faster. You also gain access to several new skills.
Escape
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 6 and Freerunning Adept
Learn how to shake off Biters much faster than before. This reduces some of the damage you take when fighting generic Biters, but it isn’t one of the more important Agility skills.
Light Drop
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 6 and Freerunning Adept
Halves falling damage, though you can still be killed from extremely high falls. This really cuts down on your Medkit usage, especially if you explore high places often or like to take dangerous jumps instead of being slow and careful with your freerunning.
Backlash
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 7 and Freerunning Adept
Use thrown weapons or UV Flashlights while looking behind yourself during sprints. This lets you take out Infected that are chasing you. During dangerous pursuits, you can’t afford to nickel and dime every single item in your arsenal, so use a heavier amount of your resources to ensure that you aren’t being followed by too large a horde of enemies. This skill is also extremely stylish, so it’s even more enjoyable when you’re playing with friends or just showing off!
Instant Escape
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 9 and Escape
Break free from Biters much faster, making it easier to avoid high damage from their grappling attacks. This is a good skill for surviving, but won’t help with killing the enemies or gaining Agility XP.
Forward Roll
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 10 and Light Drop
You can fall from much higher and still survive. Use a timed press of your buttons to roll forward when landing. This reduces damage and prevents Crane from taking a long time to get back up from the ground. Amazingly good for racing, surviving in the city, and for having more mobile fun in Harran.
Tackle
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 10 and Freerunning Adept
Use a hand-to-hand attack while sprinting to initiate a Tackle. These are wonderful for raising your Agility XP while pushing past Infected (it’s an improvement on Vault for a similar purpose and the two work very well together). Tackle requires you to build up more speed than Vault, so use Vault when there isn’t much time to sprint.
Ram
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 11 and Tackle
Tackles deal very high damage to their targets. You can now rake in Agility XP while moving around town. Treat all Biters as targets of opportunity and Ram through them, get kills, and still improve your Agility. This is quite addictive!
Reversal
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 14 and Instant Escape
Biters that you use Instant Escape against are Stunned for several seconds. Combine this with the Power skill Stun Kill for a fairly useful execution against Biters that get the drop on you. It’s still better to take the initiative and kill them on your own time, but turning a defeat into a victory is a nice perk.
Expert Agility Perks
Freerunning Expert
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 12
Crane won’t get tired as quickly when running or climbing.
Tic Tac
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Agility Level 13 and Freerunning Expert
Run up walls or other flat surfaces. It’s a nice trick for getting around town. You can suddenly climb and jump off of surfaces to change directions or play around.
Health Regen II
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 13 and Freerunning Expert
Your capacity for health regeneration improves and Crane has a better minimal health threshold. You now return to 45 health as long as you don’t take damage for a few moments and have time to heal after dropping below this threshold.
Ultimate Runner
Category: Passive
Requires: Agility Level 24 and Freerunning Expert
You no longer get tired from running, jumping, or climbing. Pursuits become very easy to survive now, because you’re unstoppable!
Power Experience and Skills
Power Experience
| Level | Experience Required |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 800 |
| 3 | 2,250 |
| 4 | 4,250 |
| 5 | 6,500 |
| 6 | 9,000 |
| 7 | 11,750 |
| 8 | 14,750 |
| 9 | 18,000 |
| 10 | 21,500 |
| 11 | 25,250 |
| 12 | 29,250 |
| 13 | 33,250 |
| 14 | 37,500 |
| 15 | 42,000 |
| 16 | 46,500 |
| 17 | 51,250 |
| 18 | 56,000 |
| 19 | 61,000 |
| 20 | 66,250 |
| 21 | 71,500 |
| 22 | 77,000 |
| 23 | 82,250 |
| 24 | 88,250 |
Novice Power Perks
Stun
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 2
Learn how to attack with great precision. Each hit to the head with a blunt weapon gains a chance to stun the target.
Kick Stun
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 3 and Stun
Your kick has a 15% chance to stun enemies, which are much easier to kill.
Multi-Throw
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 3 and Stun
Locks onto up to three enemies before a throw. Hold down the Attack button to mark your targets, then release the button when you’re ready to throw! This does not give you free throwing weapons; you still need multiple items to be able to throw at multiple targets.
Sturdiness
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 4 and Stun
As your body becomes more athletic, you can absorb more damage (+25 Maximum Health).
Melee Throw
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 4 and Stun
Throw any melee weapon at enemies, dealing massive damage. It’s possible to retrieve your weapon afterward, so the attack is time intensive, but not particularly costly.
Blast
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 9 and Multi-Throw
Doubles damage from your throwing weapons. This offers a substantial boost to your ranged damage in the mid-game, before firearms become as major a factor in ranged combat.
Stun Kill
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 12 and Kick Stun
Execute enemies from the front as long as they’re stunned! This synergizes with quite a few other skills and weapons.
Adept Power Perks
Combat Adept
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 5
You get better at fighting. Gain more Stamina and receive access to a new set of combat skills.
Conserve Weapons
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 6 and Combat Adept
Your weapons don’t lose Durability as quickly. Get this as early as possible if you like to make higher-end weapons and hold onto them as long as possible.
Power Attack
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 6 and Combat Adept
A powerful blow that deals massive damage, but uses more of your Stamina. Hold and release the Attack button to unleash this. Works with one-handed weapons.
Drop Attack
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 7 and Combat Adept
While wielding one-handed weapons, you can unleash a powerful execution attack if you’re airborne.
Sturdiness II
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 7 and Combat Adept
Absorb even more damage, making it easier to survive the perils of the city (+25 Maximum Health).
Focus
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 8 and Conserve Weapons
Each hit against the same target does more damage, making it much easier to kill Goons, Demolishers, aggressive Survivors, and other high-end targets. This is a must-have skill.
Windmill
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 8 and Power Attack
Hold down your Melee button and unleash a Windmill when you release it after a charge-up. This works only with two-handed weapons, so it isn’t as generically useful as Focus. Get it later or if you specifically treasure two-handed weapons and prefer to use them often. Use this skill to clear large groups of Biters for fast, efficient Power XP.
Stomp
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 9 and Combat Adept
Gives you a new attack that crushes the heads of downed enemies. When combined with a weapon that has decent damage and knockdown potential, you end up with a move that finishes foes quickly and without durability loss.
Ground Pound
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 10 and Drop Attack
Use a two-handed weapon to smash the ground when you’re already airborne, toppling enemies near the point of impact. This is helpful for disrupting groups so that you can flee, stomp enemies before they get back up, or have time to deal with reinforcements without having as many targets around.
Kill Frenzy
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 11 and Focus
Power XP is increased for 10 seconds after you get a kill. For fast leveling, this is another golden skill.
Whirlwind
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 11 and Windmill
Windmill attacks cost only half Stamina. If you’re going to use Windmill for group killing and experience, this is a good pairing. Otherwise, wait for later levels when you have time to pick them up together.
Slam
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 14 and Ground Pound
The range and force of Ground Pound is improved.
Expert Power Perks
Combat Expert
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 12
Your Stamina improves after you take this skill. You can perform more attacks without becoming exhausted and vulnerable.
Sturdiness III
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 13 and Combat Expert
Your character gets even more health (+25 Maximum Health)! Get it as soon as you can if you enjoy living.
Takedown
Category: Active Skill
Requires: Power Level 13 and Combat Expert
Learn how to execute enemies from behind. This works against living and Infected targets, and it’s amazingly powerful when sneaking up on Rais’ men. Use distractions, such as Firecrackers to get creatures moving or looking in one direction, while you come in from another for easy kills.
Ultimate Combatant
Category: Passive
Requires: Power Level 24 and Combat Expert
Fight without getting tired. The entire city will either fear or love you!