Sniper Elite 5 is a challenging game, and you’ll need to invest an immense amount of patience and strategy to overcome its often lengthy, multi-objective levels. But the game’s skill system can help you along a bit, too, by providing you with some very useful boons to things like health, equipment carrying capacity, and scope stability. In this brief guide, we’ll tell you which skills you should pick up early in the game to set yourself up for victory.
Health Boost I & II
It goes without saying that things don’t always go as planned, so there will be times when you alert enemies and find yourself engaged in close-quarters combat. During these showdowns, you’ll likely take some damage, so you’ll want to come prepared with Health Boost I and II, which are part of the Body skill circle. Both tiers give you an extra bar on your health meter, but keep in mind that Health Boost I only requires a single skill point to purchase, while Health Boost II will require two.
Cardio
You’ll spend a lot of time traversing the map, and you’ll sometimes need to run away from enemies to get in better positions. Because of this, you’ll want to pick up Cardio, which is in the Body skill circle and costs one skill point. This skill will reduce how much your heart rate increases when sprinting so that when you reach your destination, you’ll be able to activate Empty Lung sooner to slow time and nail some great shots.
Deep Breath
Speaking of Empty Lung, it will be your go-to ability for hitting safe and easy long-range shots, so you’ll want any help you can in that area. You can grab Deep Breath for two skill points as the last must-have option in the Body skill circle. This will decrease how quickly your heart rate increases while using Empty Lung, effectively giving you more time to line up shots and continually reactivate the ability when needed.
Extra Item Slot I & II
When you’re putting together your loadout before a mission, you’ll notice you have the option to bring along a wide variety of items for healing and utility. Be sure to head over to the Equipment skill circle to pick up Extra Item Slot I and II for one and two skill points, respectively, to increase your item carrying capacity by one each.
Back in the Fight
If you get downed, you’d probably prefer to get back up instead of die and start over, right? That’s why you’ll want to prioritize spending one point on the first skill in the Combat skill circle called Back in the Fight. This allows you to use a medkit–provided you have one–to revive yourself when you’ve been incapacitated. This can be invaluable in tougher missions when you find that you’re outgunned and out of position, so even if you don’t pick it up immediately, don’t wait too long before investing in this one.
Steady Hand
The last thing you want when you’re aiming down your scope is for your aim to go all wonky, but that’s exactly what happens when you take a bit of damage. To mitigate this a bit, head over to the Combat skill circle and spend one skill point on Steady Hand, which will drastically reduce how much scope shake occurs when you’re shot while aiming. Now you’ll be able to stay on target and dish out more of those bloody x-ray shots.
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