Evil West Best Perks Guide: Death Defied, on the Spot, More

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Cody has been in the video game business as part of media and content creation for more than 10 years. During that time, he has contributed and even led some of the largest sites in the world dedicated to gaming and entertainment. He has also dabbled some in PR and was a tester for Activision in the past working on the Call of Duty series. When not playing games or writing about them, he enjoys cooking, sharpening his Japanese skills, and watching the latest anime shows.

Bottom Line Up Front

Perks in Evil West are dictated by the perk tree. You can progress through this using the perk points you gain each time you level up. There are even some hidden perks you can discover throughout the game. Perks do anything from changing various stats to boosting specific abilities.

If I were to pick a single perk in Evil West that is the best one, I would have to go with Death Defied. This perk’s ability to let the player survive a single potential death scenario, which is essential for some of the more challenging difficulty levels, and every single player should have it.

Selection Criteria

There are plenty of perks that exist in Evil West, so coming up with the best ones isn’t easy. As such, I had some strict selection criteria for determining which perks to include on this list:

Perk Benefit: Whether it’s a passive or active perk, its benefit must be solid and worthy of unlocking.
Diversity: I tried to include some perks for a variety of play styles and ability preferences while not sacrificing quality.
Level Range: In addition to diverse perk abilities, I tried to include perks you can unlock throughout the early, mid, and late game parts.

Best Evil West Perks Ranked

Let’s dive in and take a look at all of the best Evil West perks. I ranked the 10 best perks in the online RPG from the least influential (but still worth getting) to the best overall perk that every single player should have. To be clear, just because these perks are unique doesn’t necessarily mean that every player should use them.

I’ll be sure to explain how each perk in the game works and what type of player will best benefit from it, so you’ll immediately know if each perk is right for you.

10. Vital Superpowers

Unlock Level: Level 10

Starting off this list is by far one of the most basic perks you’ll find in all of Evil West. Vital Superpowers has an impressive name, but its actual function is relatively simple. All it does is increase your overall maximum health by 15%, and that’s it.

Admittedly, the function of this particular perk is nothing too noteworthy to write home about. That said, there is no denying that more health is always a welcome thing. It ensures that you are able to stay alive for a bit longer and take a few more hits.

This is an essential upgrade for basically all players. The only negative I will say about this perk, other than its rather primary purpose, is that it only unlocks at level 10. This should be much earlier in the game.

9. Discharge Block

Unlock Level: Level 12

Zapper Block is a decent ability that many players will often use. It is one of the better defensive abilities that let you block opponents using this electrically-charged ability and then leave them vulnerable so you can start mashing away with your own counter combo.

Discharge Block is a solid and necessary upgrade for anyone who likes to use Zapper Block in combat. It makes it so that Zapper Block now affects several enemies at once who are near you. This means that you’ll be able to block multiple attacks at once and counter them, which is a welcome change.

While Zapper Block isn’t my favorite ability, Discharge Block’s function is essentially a requirement for anyone who likes to use this skill in fights.

8. On the Spot

Unlock Level: Early Perk

On the Spot is one of the earliest perks you can get in the various perk trees in Evil West. It is also one that you should undoubtedly grab as soon as you can. When you’re in a fight, what you should always aim to do is to hit the weak point of the enemy.

The weak point will deal much more damage to the opponent than just hitting anywhere, so it is always welcome. On the Spot enhances this aspect of combat, occasionally offering a health pickup for each time you hit a weak point on the enemy.

Admittedly, the chance of this happening is only 15%, which means you could hit an enemy’s weak point 10 times in a row and not see a health pickup. But if you are constantly aiming for the weak point, then you should see health pickups reasonably often, which is a nice bonus to keep you going in the fight without any issues.

7. Short Circuit

Unlock Level: Early Perk

Short Circuit is another early perk that is available to you soon after unlocking the perk skill tree. What it does is grant you an energy pickup every single time that you kill an electrocuted enemy. Electrocution should be quite common for most players, especially those using skills like Zapper Block and Zapper Pull.

If you find yourself often taking out enemies who are electrocuted, this is a must. The extra energy pick up every time you do this will create this brilliant cycle where you will use your energy to electrocute and take someone out, then receive a pickup that gives you more energy to do it all over again.

This creates an excellent electrocution build for your character, which can be one of the better routes to head in, especially in multiplayer. If you can be a true electrocution player who is constantly shocking enemies, your friends will thank you for opening up the path for them to deal lots of damage.

6. Wider Audience

Unlock Level: Level 9

Zapper Pull is one of my favorite abilities to use in Evil West. It is a fantastic combo starter that brings in the opponent, shocks them, and leaves them open for you to then decimate them with a melee hit after hit. Wider Audience takes that same ability and makes it so much better.

One of the most significant weaknesses of Zapper Pull is its focus on a single enemy at a time. Wider Audience enhances the ability intensely, letting Zapper Pull pull in several enemies near you.

This renders a large portion of enemies vulnerable for a moment, ensuring that you can breathe and start unleashing all of your best hits against several enemies all at once.

While it is a bit of a higher-level perk, this is one that should be grabbed as soon as you can if you like to use Zapper Pull. It can make some of the mob situations much more manageable.

5. Cannonball Explosion

Unlock Level: Level 10

The finale for the Cannonball perk tree is extraordinary. On its own, the Cannonball ability is one of the best ones you can use in Evil West and a favorite of mine that I used pretty often in the game. It is one of the best abilities for throwing enemies back and getting them out of the picture for a moment.

Cannonball Explosion is the ultimate form of this ability, now ensuring that each time an enemy is cannonballed in the game, they will also explode. This deals an unbelievable amount of damage, and it is a guaranteed bonus, unlike some of the other ones.

If you find yourself using the Cannonball skill often, be sure to get this upgrade as soon as you can. And even if you don’t find yourself using Cannonball that much, you might want to consider it once you reach level 10, as it makes this skill viable for most, if not all, players.

4. Punch the Bunch

Unlock Level: Level 14

By far, one of the most professional but helpful methods of playing Evil West is juggling. In true, almost 3D fighter-style, it is possible to juggle enemies in the air and deal intense amounts of damage to them repeatedly before they land back on the ground.

You should use Juggling if you wish to be the best Evil West player you can be, and Punch the Bunch is essential to that. While it comes much later in the game, it is a must-have for players who want to get the most out of their gameplay in Evil West.

Punch the Bunch ensures that the Uppercut and Touchdown skills will now affect multiple enemies at once, sending them all into the air for you to juggle them. In addition, using the Gauntlet and Revolver to juggle these enemies while they’re in midair will affect all of these enemies instead of only a single one. You’ll make short work of mobs this way.

3. Enhanced Combo

Unlock Level: Level 16

One of the last perks you can unlock in the game at such a high level of 16, Enhanced Combo is a must-have. It takes your basic e-combo and makes it so much better, making it faster overall and adding more punches to the possible combo.

The e-combo is already impressive since it is the electrocution combo that is one of the best builds in the game. Enhanced Combo is a cap-off for the combo, extending it greatly and speeding it up.

With this, you’ll be able to get into a near-perfect rhythm of stunning enemies, pulling them in or blocking them, and then unleashing attack after attack.

Few regular enemies will be able to withstand the e-combo once it is improved to this point. If you want to have one of the best combos and damage-dealing builds in the entire game, this is one perk that you should consider saving up a perk point for once you get to this relatively high level in the game.

2. Bait and Switch

Unlock Level: Level 7

Bait and Switch is one of my favorite perks in all of Evil West. It is by far the best combat-related perk and the second-best one in the overall perk category. How it works is that it dramatically improves the overall melee capabilities you have in combat.

With Bait and Switch, its primary function is a two-part situation. Firstly, it allows you to hit enemies from slightly further away than you usually can with your melee hits. This alone is welcome since it means that you have a bit more room to breathe when it comes to bashing your opponents.

But the far more valuable part of this perk has to do with the ability to dodge much faster and nearly constantly in combat. This alone is unbelievably impressive since it turns arenas into your own boxing ring in a way.

You are able to mash away at opponents over and over from a further range, dance around them with your quick dodges, and make the entire gameplay into an action-packed performance.

Bait and Switch make melee fighting so much smoother and better, and arguably how it should have been, to begin with. This is a must-have for players.

1. Death Defied

Unlock Level: Level 14

Death Defied is the best perk in all of Evil West. For most of the perks on this list, they are fantastic for most players, but maybe not all of them. That isn’t the case at all when it comes to Death Defied. If this isn’t the first perk you get once you reach level 14, you are missing out on what is almost a requirement.

Death Defied is basically like creating a second life for your character. Only once until your death or the end of the level you will survive a single lethal attack that would usually kill you otherwise. But it doesn’t stop there by keeping you hanging on for dear life.

Death Defied will also heal you back up to 25% of your max health when this lethal attack happens. And if that isn’t enough, it will also make you invincible for three seconds, which is just enough time to find some health pickups and stick around for a little bit longer in the fight.

It also pushes all enemies away, essentially buying a precious amount of time to recover and get back into the thick of it. Death Defied is your saving grace and a must-have for every single Evil West player once you reach level 14.

If you plan on beating Evil West, playing with others, playing solo, or trying any other difficulty levels, Death Defied is the best perk for every scenario, player, and play style. Mistakes can happen at any point and to even the best players around, so this can be your lifeline when that happens.

FAQs

Question: How Do You Supercharge in Evil West?

Answer: To become supercharged in Evil West, you only need to spend three segments of your energy bar. Once you do this, you’ll be able to transform into your ultimate form essentially. It changes up your melee attacks considerably for a short time.

Question: What is Healthy Lifestyle Evil West?

Answer: Healthy Lifestyle is one of the hidden perks of Evil West; it’s a decent one, too, for specific players. It ensures that anytime you see an energy pickup appear in a level, it will be a health pickup instead. This is great for players who struggle with surviving in levels.

Question: How Many Hours Does Evil West Take to Beat?

Answer: In general, it will take roughly around 13-14 hours to beat all 15 levels of Evil West. Now, this number can vary some when it comes to replaying levels and getting all of the collectibles, such as the hidden perks.
In addition, playing with friends or on higher difficulty levels can change up that time considerably.

Other RPGs to Play after Mastering Evil West

Evil West’s perks are some of the best parts of the game. What I find in the RPG is that it generally lacks some of the customizations I prefer from other games and players tend to have similar play styles, even within the cooperative portions of the online game.

This even plays into the best overall perk with Death Defied. This is a perk that every single player needs to have since it ensures that a cheap mistake and instant death can be fixed. Mistakes happen; this is inevitable in nearly every RPG you can find out there, even the best ones.

Speaking of the best RPGs, we previously came up with a list of the best RPGs to look forward to if you want to know the upcoming games that might be able to fill the gap in your heart once you are done with Evil West and all of its bosses and levels, be sure to check out our complete list here.

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