Two separate trees matter. In Techniques, prioritise Savage Sprinter and Stagger Leap at level 2, then Healing Strike at level 3 — it is the strongest single node in the game because it converts damage into health. In Adaptations, slot Expanded Crit at level 1, Extended Parry the moment level 3 opens, and Tough Skinned at level 4. Adaptation slots come from Nightmare Doors and whisky bottles, so clear those early.
Techniques and Adaptations are not the same thing
This trips up most players in the first hour, so it is worth stating clearly.
Techniques are Logan's moveset — the actual actions you perform. There are 36 Technique nodes, and four Special Techniques can be equipped at once on L2 plus a face button, each on its own independent cooldown.
Adaptations are passive modifiers on a DNA-shaped tree — the in-game name for what other games call perks. There are 25 Adaptations, the tree caps at level 10, and you can eventually equip 10 at once. You start with a single slot and gain one more with each of the first nine Adaptation levels.
They level from different currencies, which is why one can lag badly behind the other if you ignore its source.
Where the points come from
Technique progression follows your player level, which is capped at 36 and rises from combat and story progress. Nothing special is required — it accrues by playing.
Adaptation levels come from AP, and AP has two sources: Nightmare Doors and whisky bottles. Nightmare Doors are the reliable one — they are timed challenge rooms scored bronze, silver or gold, and faster clears pay better. There are 14 of them plus a hidden 15th unlocked after bronzing all 14.
The practical consequence: a player who skips Nightmare Doors will hit the player level cap with a badly underdeveloped Adaptation tree. Clear them as you encounter them rather than saving them for a post-game sweep. The gold trophy "Secondary Mutations" needs Adaptation level 10 anyway.
The Techniques to take first
| Technique | Level | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Healing Strike | 3 | The best node in the tree. Heavy damage on a staggered enemy and an instant chunk of health back. In a game where healing costs Rage, a free heal attached to an attack is enormous. |
| Savage Sprinter | 2 | A sprinting claw charge — a mini Tornado Spin. Best opener in the game: closes distance and builds Rage before the fight properly starts. |
| Stagger Leap | 2 | Upgrades the Triangle leap attack with a chargeable stagger. Stagger is the setup for Healing Strike, so these two are a package. |
| Tornado Spin | — | Crowd clear. Keep one AoE in the rotation for the larger encounters. |
| Spiral Cut | — | Keep it slotted permanently: a trophy wants 75 kills with it, and it is far less painful to earn organically than to grind afterwards. |
The general rule with four independent cooldowns is rotate, do not favourite. Because the cooldowns do not share a pool, cycling all four is a straight damage increase over leaning on your best one.
The Adaptations to slot, in order
| Adaptation | Unlocks at | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Expanded Crit | Level 1 | Critical Strikes trigger on enemies at higher health. More finishers, more Rage, faster fights. The best first slot. |
| Extended Parry | Level 3 | Widens the parry window. Parrying is the core defensive mechanic and a trophy wants 500 of them — this makes the whole game easier. |
| Tough Skinned | Level 4 | Reduces incoming melee damage. Straightforward survivability for the mid-game crowd fights. |
| Crate Finder | — | Marks material crates through walls at long range. Situational, but see below. |
| Whisky Finder | — | Same for whisky bottles — which are also an AP source, so it partly pays for itself. |
If you take only one thing from this page: slot Extended Parry the instant level 3 opens. Every other Adaptation improves a number; this one changes how the defensive game feels, and everything downstream — Rage generation, Critical Strike frequency, staying alive to use Healing Strike — depends on landing parries.
A build order for a first playthrough
- Adaptation level 1 — Expanded Crit. Damage and Rage from the first fight onward.
- Player level 2 — Savage Sprinter and Stagger Leap. Opener plus stagger setup.
- Player level 3 — Healing Strike. Do not delay this one.
- Adaptation level 3 — Extended Parry, into the new slot rather than replacing Expanded Crit.
- Adaptation level 4 — Tough Skinned.
- Every Nightmare Door you pass — clear it. This is your AP faucet; skipping them starves the whole Adaptation tree.
- Mid-game — settle the four-Technique rotation: an opener, an AoE, Spiral Cut for the trophy, and Healing Strike.
- Cleanup — swap in Crate Finder and Whisky Finder once the story is done and you are sweeping collectibles.
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Hoarding points. There is no respec penalty worth fearing and no endgame build to save for. Spend as you go.
- Running Crate Finder and Whisky Finder during the story. They widen the detection radius, which means the scent trail fires more often — the exact thing most of the launch complaints are about. Save them for the sweep.
- Treating Nightmare Doors as optional. They are the AP source. Skipping them is skipping half your progression.
- Avoiding parries because dodging works. Dodging survives fights; parrying wins them, generates Rage, and closes out a 500-count trophy you will otherwise grind.
- Ignoring the difficulty setting. There are no difficulty trophies. If a build is not working, lower it and lose nothing.
What changes in New Game Plus
The tree is not the end of it. New Game Plus ships at launch with exclusive Techniques unobtainable in a first run and raised level caps above player 36 and Adaptation 10.
It also adds NG+ specific Adaptations, some of which deliberately make the game harder rather than stronger — a difficulty-modifier system in all but name. That is where the build variety this game is sometimes criticised for lacking actually shows up.
None of it changes the first-run order above. Everything here carries forward.
Article text draws on the official channels and press reporting listed in the sources below. Where a figure is an estimate or a claim is unconfirmed, the page says so rather than presenting it as fact. Last research pass: September 14, 2026. Illustrations are original AI-assisted concept art created for this wiki, not official screenshots or evidence of unannounced content.
Sources
References and further reading for this article.
