As players punch and kick their way through Sifu, there are several skills that they can unlock by spending XP. What players choose to use largely depends on player preference. Some players are particularly skilled and can beat the entire game in 40 minutes without dying, but most probably haven’t mastered the game’s complex martial arts systems.

Skills can be unlocked for a single run. However, if players spend more XP, they can unlock skills permanently so that they last through all runs of the game. These skills persist so that players never need to purchase them again. While many skills are made to support different styles of fighting, there are some that everyone should get because of how useful they are.

Related: Sifu Mod Replaces Protagonist With John Wick

Sifu is a difficult game, and there are currently no options to change the difficulty. That will change sometime in the future, but right now players must make do. Even the developers have offered tips for struggling players. If someone is dying repeatedly to the game’s enemies, they are not alone. They need every advantage they can get to win, and it all begins with unlocking the right skills.

The Most Useful Skills in Sifu

Since it takes a bit of XP to permanently unlock skills in Sifu, players should try a run where their only goal is to get XP for those skills, rather than the main goal of beating a level. They can always try to beat it later. Here are the most useful skills.

• Strong Sweep Focus – This is one of the most valuable skills in the game for players to get early. For only one focus bar, players can knock an enemy down. This allows them to attack them on the ground or leave them and deal with other enemies attacking the player and hopefully keep the death counter low. Better yet, if an enemy is carrying a weapon, they will drop it, which means the player can pick it up instead.
• Charged Backfist – This is a powerful attack that is relatively easy to pull off, as it only involves holding a button. Additionally, if players hit an enemy using Charged Backfist while wielding a bladed weapon, it instantly kills them. This works on all enemies except for bosses.
• Pushback Cancel – When players get pushed into a wall, it deals a lot of damage. Players want to avoid this, and Pushback Cancel helps. Players use it to stop themselves when they are pushed back before they go into the wall so they can continue fighting.
• Environmental Mastery – A skill that lets players use the environment itself to their advantage. Players can kick objects at enemies which will stun and damage them. Also, it looks cool, like something straight out of the martial arts films that inspired the game.

Next: Sifu: Beginner’s Guide (Tips, Tricks & Strategies)

Sifu is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.