Summary
It can be a bit of a grind for those first ten levels inHeroes Of Hammerwatch 2, but once you open up the ability to swap out your skills, the game really takes off. Each class has three sets of unique abilities and passives to choose between, and each set can be swapped between easily at the town.
But if you’ve just unlocked them for a particular class it can be a little overwhelming as they can completely overhaul a build you’ve already sunk hours into. Some of them are also much better than others. To help you build up your character with these new powers, here’s a helpful rundown of the best skills to use in Hammerwatch 2 in no particular order.
10Magic Missile
The Classic D&D Favourite
A skill that will get you surprisingly far on your first run, Magic Missile is a base skill forthe Wizard classwhen they start the game. When activated, it fires off a handful of energy balls that will travel across half the screen in distance in a wide fan. If any enemy monsters are within that space, then all the projectiles will seek them out.
The projectiles from Magic Missile will also split between targets if there’s a group. Plus, as you go through dungeon levels you’ll find upgrades for it that will alter it in a very beneficial ways. For example, adding extra projectiles, adding a chance for them to cause stun, and ricocheting off other targets in a chain. It’s super helpful for crowd control, and when combined with Combo it can clear out a room in seconds.
If there’s no nearby targets, Magic Missile will just hang around on the spot before blasting off in a wave pattern.
9Hydra
Multi-Headed Mayhem
Available in the Conjuration Set for the Wizard, the Hydra is your classic multi-headed dragon summon. In this game it appears on the ground as three fire breathing heads that will rotate towards the nearest target and let out a torrent of fire.
It’s a very handy and powerful skill that can be altered with upgrades to deal different kinds of elemental damage. Plus, it can draw aggro for a few vital seconds as you backpedal away to heal or recover mana. Its range is also pretty far, so it can clear out a good area. All in all, it’s a solid skill for magic users running a Wizard.
It’s worth experimenting with the different elemental Hydras as some are more useful than others.
8Chains
Tying Down Targets
The Warrior class is a solid all-rounder that can bounce between different weapons and skill sets without too much of a worry about their usefulness. In their skills you’ve got a lot to play with, but by far one skill you should definitely check out is Chains.
This is available through the Tyrant subclass for the Warrior and when activated it will fire out chains in a fanning circular pattern around you. These spiky manacles will deal a massive amount of damage to anything close by and inflict Cripple, so they can’t pursue you. It’s brilliant for crowd control or clearing out minions during a boss fight.
7War Cry
A Brilliant Big Buff
If you’re rolling a Warrior that’s less aggressive and more supportive, then War Cry is something worth investing in. Whilst the Warrior has it permanently, you really should sink some points into it to level it up. Mainly because it can substantially boost a party’s effectiveness as you go on.
When it’s activated, War Cry will buff your party’s movement and weapon speed by a set percentage. This amount increases with upgrades during adungeon run, but overall it’s extremely helpful to either buffing the group during a fight, or helping with an escape from a boss that’s starting to overwhelm everyone.
6Lay On Hands
The Classic Group Heal
A skill that’s hardwired into the Paladin and one you definitely should be upgrading permanently at the end of every run if you can, Lay On Hands is an absolute lifesaver. It’s the same as it’sD&D Paladin equivalent, but for those not familiar, it’s basically a large area heal.
So you can use it for yourself, or your group. It’s best popped off during moments when it feels like you’re about to get overwhelmed by mobs as it refills your health bar to full instantly. Or in moments of peace between zones to top-up anyone in the party that might be low.
Lay On Hands can also be used to damage Undead monsters.
5Divine Pillars
Dealing Deadly Divine Pain
Sticking with the Paladin, another powerful skill you shouldn’t turn your nose up at is Divine Pillars. This powerful ability will spawn a series of glowing pillars around you in a wide fan, these deal a large amount of Radiant Damage and can absolutely melt large groups of mobs.
It’s most effective against Undead types,plus if you have the right set of upgrades and trinkets it will make you absolutely unstoppable. It’s so useful infact that it’s very common to see Divine Pillar being used by other Paladins you’ll run into in Multiplayer. It’s also not too demanding on the mana as you pour temporary upgrades into it on a run, so it scales pretty well too.
You can roll with Divine Pillars and a Heal, so don’t worry about having to pick between the two.
4Summoning
Hucking A Horde Of Minions
The base Warlock in Heroes Of Hammerwatch 2 is not particularly strong or fun for those first few levels. But once you get to level ten things really open up as you can get access to their best skill, summons.
Summons can really turn the tide with the Warlock as it allows them to spawn up to ten minions once a set amount of essence is collected. You receive essence from kills, so used right it can snowball substantially. A nice bonus of choosing this subclass of the Warlock is that it comes with a Gargoyle companion as a passive effect, and they’re pretty powerful as well.
It’s super easy to farm essence in multiplayer, just hang near the back and keep summoning.
3Soul Vortex
Clear Some Room With A Soul-nado
A pretty good poisoning skill from the Warlocks Soul subclass, the Soul Vortex is a summonable area of effect spell that creates a vortex of energy around the caster. This swirls for a few seconds and over time it deals physical and poison damage to anything caught in its forceful winds.
Despite its fairly long cooldown of 30 seconds per use, Soul Vortex is a good way to clear some breathing room for a class that does not deal with melee damage particularly well. Combined with its Soul Shaper passive that creates projectiles from essence obtained from kills, it’s a good one-two combo system that’s good for unleashing on large groups, or for escaping.
2Spirit Wolves
The Ranger is a particularly squishy class to get into for those first ten levels, but it’s worth sticking it out as you can get access to some really fun skills. One of which is Spirit Wolves. Available in the Beast Masters subclass, Spirit Wolves are a ghostly dog projectile.
When it is activated, spectral wolves will run out in a wide fan as they seek for targets. Upon hit, they’ll deal a combined damage of both physical and ice. Or another type of element if you decide to temporarily upgrade them in a dungeon during a run. As an extra selling point for picking them, they’re also part of a class that has a passive canine companion. So you can make an all dog build if you want.
1Rain Of Arrows
Prickly Pain From Above
Another of the Rangers subclass worth checking out is the Marksman, this is because it contains the great skill called Rain Of Arrows. When activated, this super useful skill calls down a torrent of arrows that rain from above and travel in a direct line.
It’s pretty good on its own, but absolutely devastating when combined with a paladin blocking a bottleneck of mobs. If you enjoy dealing an ungodly amount of damage from the back ranks of the party, or sniping mobs on your own before they knew what hit them, then use Rain Of Arrows.
