In Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, mastering the right skills can turn you from a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man into an unstoppable web-slinging force. Whether you’re swinging through New York on PC or PlayStation, unlocking abilities like Peter’s lightning-fast Spider Rush or Miles’ electrifying Venom Dash will redefine your combat and traversal experience. Ready to discover which skills will make you the ultimate Spider-Man? Dive into our guide to unlock the best powers and dominate every battle and skyline in the game.
[Spoiler Warning: This guide shows off the completed skill tree, including some skills that are initially locked and therefore minor spoilers.]
Best Shared skills in Spider-Man 2
The best shared skills in Spider-Man 2 significantly enhance both Peter Parker and Miles Morales’ combat and traversal capabilities, making them essential for any player. Key shared skills to unlock early include Slingshot Launch for rapid movement, Loop de Loop to boost swinging speed, Parry Disarm to knock weapons from enemies, and Bounce Up to handle heavy foes more effectively. Among these, Wall Thrash stands out as the ultimate attack, allowing powerful beatdowns when enemies are pinned against walls, which is common in many encounters. Other valuable shared skills like Fired Up increase damage output as combos build, and Combo Resupply helps replenish gadgets during fights, ensuring sustained offensive pressure. These shared abilities provide a versatile foundation that benefits both Spider-Men, making traversal smoother and combat more dynamic across the game.
Spider-Man 2 is a tale of two Spider-Mans, and you’ll be swapping between them pretty frequently. Therefore it makes perfect sense to invest heavily in both of their futures – especially at the start of the campaign. At a glance, here are the best skills to get in the Shared tree:
- Web Whip
- Web Throw
- Directional Yank
- Web Slam
- Heavy Lifting
- Web Line Double Takedown
- Wall Thrash
- KO Takedown
- Ultimate Assist
Here’s why these skills are worth investing in.
Web Whip through Heavy Lifting
The Web Whip portion of the Shared skill tree offers the biggest bang for your buck that you can find. And while I won’t be recommending a skill purchase order in this guide, I feel very comfortable suggesting you start with this block of five skills.
Starting with Web Whip, you’ll get a skill that allows you to easily disarm targets, which is especially useful for enemies that use shields or heavy weapons.
Web Throw is an extremely useful tool for dispatching an enemy instantly, as you can web throw them into a surface to instantly knock them out.
The Directional Yank and Web Slam might not look like much, but both are extremely powerful tools when used to slam enemies into things or throw them off of buildings for an instant KO.
Finally, Heavy Lifting allows you to dispatch Brute enemies with Web Throw, which should significantly simplify combat.
As if these skills couldn’t get better, they lead to one of the best skills in the game .
Web Line Double Takedown
The Web Line Double Takedown is an incredible stealth tool for both Miles and Peter. The Web Line allows you to make your own perch anywhere, and this upgrade allows you to take out two enemies at once as long as you’re on your line.
Not only does this kill KO two birds with one stone, it lets you down enemies that would otherwise be tough to get because they always hang out in pairs.
Rush this upgrade as early as possible and you’ll trivialize some of the game’s more complex stealth encounters.
Wall Thrash
Wall Thrash comes at the end of what is, unfortunately, a pretty underwhelming set of upgrades. However, do not sleep on this upgrade because of what comes before. Wall Thrash does so much damage that it might as well be a finishing move, and it’s extremely easy to execute in most combat encounters as there are always walls nearby.
KO Recharge
Abilities are very powerful in Spider-Man 2, which is why they come with very long cooldowns. Anything that allows you to use your abilities more often is a must-get skill, and KO Recharge is one of the best skills in the Shared tree for that reason.
Ultimate Assist
Ultimate Assist sounds extremely boring on paper, as it just lets you get your Ultimate back faster. However, when paired with some of the skills in the individual trees for Miles and Peter, this skill becomes extremely powerful.
Best Peter skills in Spider-Man 2
Peter Parker’s best skills in Spider-Man 2 focus primarily on his symbiote powers, which become more powerful and versatile as the game progresses. Key abilities to prioritize include Spider Shock, which shoots electrified web lines to shock and temporarily paralyze enemies, giving Peter crucial breathing room in combat. Symbiote Strike and Symbiote Yank are also essential, allowing Peter to pull enemies together and launch them into the air for crowd control. Upgrading these skills enhances their damage and range, making Peter highly effective against groups of foes. Additionally, Spider Rush is recommended for early combat, propelling Peter forward to damage enemies and pull in those nearby. Overall, investing in Peter’s symbiote skill tree maximizes his combat potential and crowd control capabilities in Spider-Man 2.
Peter may start out with his nifty robo-spider arms, but he’ll eventually come into possession of the Black Suit and all the sweet symbiote powers that come with it. Here are the best skills in the Peter skill tree:
- Spider Whiplash
- Spider Rush
- Spider Shock
- Symbiote Strike
- Symbiote Yank
- Symbiote Yank: Empowered
- Surge: Ready to Glow
What follows is an explanation as to why each skill is worth investing in.
Spider Whiplash, Spider Rush, and other ability unlocks
Unlike Miles, you’ll end up buying about half of Peter’s abilities from the skill tree itself. Even if the skills don’t sound too interesting to you, they’re absolutely worth picking up as all of them do great damage. The game will force you to buy the Spider Whiplash upgrade during the tutorial, but make sure you go on to get the Spider Rush and Spider Shock abilities shortly after (otherwise you’ll spend your first few hours in the game with only two abilities). Then, once you have the Black Suit, grab the Symbiote Strike and Symbiote Yank abilities as well.
Symbiote Yank: Empowered
All of the ability upgrade nodes in the skill trees are excellent. However, for Peter, one stands out above all the others: Symbiote Yank. The Empowered version of this skill allows you to grab basically all enemies on screen with a single cast of the ability. This turns Symbiote Yank into one of the best abilities in the game, capable of clearing entire arenas in an instant.
Surge: Ready to Glow
As I’ve said before, anything that allows you to regain energy for your abilities is amazing in Spider-Man 2, and that includes Surge: Ready to Glow. This ability refunds every skill cooldown the moment your Symbiote Surge ends. This is an awesome reset on its own, but when paired with Peter’s other Surge upgrades and Ultimate Assist from the Shared skill tree, it turns Peter into a monster befitting the Symbiote Suit.
Best Miles skills in Spider-Man 2
Miles Morales in Spider-Man 2 boasts a powerful arsenal of Venom-based abilities that make him a formidable combatant. Among his best skills are Chain Lightning, which unleashes a lightning bolt that chains to multiple enemies for effective crowd damage, and Thunder Burst, allowing Miles to teleport to distant targets and knock down groups with an electric burst. Reverse Flux is another standout, pulling enemies inward for a devastating area attack, while Galvanize launches enemies into the air with a shocking uppercut, enabling aerial combos. Venom Dash and Venom Jump enhance his mobility and crowd control, making his combat style both dynamic and electrifying. These abilities together provide a versatile and satisfying gameplay experience for Miles.
Miles doesn’t get a cool alien spacesuit in Spider-Man 2, but he does get his rad venom powers. Here are the best upgrades in the Miles skill tree.
- Venom Dash
- Venom Jump
- Venom Clouds
- Mega Venom Blast: Self Care
And – you know how this goes – here’s why these skills are worth it.
Venom Dash and Venom Jump
Thankfully you won’t need to burn as many skill points getting Miles’ packed with skills as you do Peter. However, you will still need to buy Venom Dash and Venom Jump, both of which are great tools in Miles’ toolkit. Grab them early to drastically increase the younger Spider-Man’s combat potential.
Venom Clouds
Venom Clouds is a really interesting skill, and operates differently from other abilities in the game. By collecting the clouds of venom energy left behind in the wake of your abilities, you can not only refund ability energy (and you know how I feel about that), but you can even heal yourself or stun enemies. It’s an excellent tool and provides a ton of power for your skill point investments. Plus it makes for a fun mini-game during combat and further differentiates Miles from Peter.
Mega Venom Blast: Self-Care
This is, perhaps, the best skill in the game. Once you have three Focus meters, you can essentially have six Focus bars at once (assuming your Mega Venom Blast is charged), as you can do three Finishers in a row, Mega Venom Blast, and then do three more. This makes end-game Miles almost feel broken, and clearly makes him the superior Spider-Man for combat challenges.
Which skills in Spider-Man 2 will give me the biggest edge in tough fights
To gain the biggest edge in tough fights in Spider-Man 2, focus on these key skills:
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Parry Disarm: Perfectly timed parries knock weapons out of enemies’ hands, leaving them defenseless, which is crucial against gun-wielding foes and stronger opponents.
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Combo Resupply: Refills your gadgets after landing combos, allowing continuous use of powerful tools like web bombs and trip mines without cooldown delays.
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Fired Up: Increases your damage output after successful attacks, making punches and kicks hit harder to quickly dispatch enemies.
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Spider Rush with Tornado upgrade (Peter Parker): Propels Peter forward, damaging enemies and pulling in those slightly out of range, excellent for crowd control and handling groups.
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Spider Shock (Peter Parker): Shoots electrical web lines to damage and leave enemies vulnerable, especially effective when upgraded to hit multiple foes.
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Venom Jump (Miles Morales): Lifts enemies into the air and stuns them, creating openings for combo attacks and crowd control.
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Venom Dash with Double Dash upgrade (Miles Morales): A fast dash attack that can be used twice in succession, great for quick strikes and mobility in combat.
These skills enhance your offensive capabilities, crowd control, and gadget usage, making tough fights more manageable and giving you a significant advantage against tougher enemies and bosses.
How does Parry Disarm help me dominate tough enemies in Spider-Man 2
The Parry Disarm skill in Spider-Man 2 helps you dominate tough enemies by allowing you to perfectly time a parry just before a heavy melee attack lands, which not only blocks the attack but also staggers the enemy and disarms them if they are wielding melee weapons. This leaves your opponent vulnerable, opening a crucial window for counterattacks and crowd control. Mastering the parry timing involves waiting until the Spider Sense indicator above Spider-Man’s head turns red, then tapping L1 right before the hit connects. This skill is especially effective against tougher foes and bosses who use heavy, chained attacks, as it prevents damage and turns their offense against them. Additionally, parrying can be performed mid-air and is quicker than previous games, making it versatile in combat situations. Overall, Parry Disarm transforms defensive maneuvers into offensive opportunities, giving you a significant advantage in challenging fights.
