Logan earns Technique Points as he levels up, and spending them well decides how smoothly fights go against Reavers, brutes, and Sentinels. Some techniques stagger a single target, some clear crowds, and a few keep you alive when the odds turn against you. The trick is knowing which ones to unlock first and which can wait.
Quick answer: Grab Stagger Leap and Knee Breaker early to open enemies up, add Healing Strike for survivability and Tornado Spin for crowds, then work toward Brutal Assault as your late-game finisher.
How techniques and Technique Points work
There are two kinds of techniques. Basic techniques sit in the squares at the top of the Techniques menu. Once equipped, they stay active all the time, either working passively or through a specific input during combat. Special techniques sit at the bottom of the menu, have connected upgrade nodes that improve their power, and must be charged before use. After you trigger one, it goes on a recharge before you can use it again.
You can equip up to four special techniques at once, so treat them as a swappable toolkit rather than a fixed loadout. Change them to match the enemies in front of you. Points come from leveling up, so early on you will want to spend them on techniques that pay off in almost every encounter.
Best techniques to prioritize and when they unlock
| Technique | Type | Unlocks at | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stagger Leap | Basic | Level 2 | Gap-closing stagger |
| Savage Sprinter | Basic | Level 2 | Sprint attack, builds Rage |
| Healing Strike | Basic | Level 3 | Damage plus health recovery |
| Sprint Block | Basic | Level 3 | Blocks ranged fire while sprinting |
| Knee Breaker | Special | Level 4 | Single-target stagger and interrupt |
| Relentless | Special | Level 7 | Faster Healing Factor |
| Unblockable Ender | Basic | Level 11 | Unblockable combo finisher |
| Advanced Parry | Basic | Level 17 | Deflect multiple attacks |
| Brutal Assault | Special | Level 25 | Defense-breaking dash |
Prioritize techniques that improve stagger, Rage generation, damage, and survivability. Stagger tools set up big hits, while Rage feeds Wolverine’s stronger combat options and his Healing Factor when he is close to going down.
Best special techniques to equip
Seven special techniques exist in total, and they are far from equal. The ones below earn their four slots most consistently.
Tornado Spin
The first special technique you unlock is also one of the strongest. Wolverine spins with his claws extended, hitting everything around him, and you keep control of his movement so you can drag the spin toward enemies further out. It solves the most common problem in these fights, which is being surrounded, and it builds Rage while it does. Its second upgrade lengthens the spin and lets it break blocks and interrupt attacks, and the third increases reach and damage while breaking all blocks. Keep it in a slot as your default crowd-control answer.
Brutal Assault
The last special technique you unlock, at Level 25, is the best in the game. Wolverine dashes to a target and tears through their defenses, breaking shields, parries, and even the armor of elite enemies. It also builds the Rage meter, and its top upgrade grants Hot Claws during the assault and finishes with an area strike, with kills recharging the move. Since a full Rage bar enables instant kills, a technique that feeds Rage this fast changes how quickly you clear tougher rooms.
Overwhelm
Overwhelm lifts an enemy, charges forward, and slams them into the ground or a wall, staggering them and leaving them open for a follow-up. Anyone caught along the way gets knocked back. It is the tool for escaping a crowd that has boxed Logan in, letting you clear space and pick enemies off one at a time. Leveling it fully lets kills from the follow-up barrage chain into tackling another enemy, and further kills recharge it faster.
Knee Breaker
Unlocking at Level 4, Knee Breaker bashes an enemy in the head to stagger them and interrupt an incoming attack, opening a clean window for damage. It shines against single targets like elites, shielded Reavers, and bosses, and it helps pull one dangerous enemy out of a crowd for a moment. Against large brutes it lets you leap up to their level, and repeated Square inputs afterward land several heavy claw strikes. Its upgrades add stagger damage, extend the interrupt to Power and Reckless attacks, and eventually deal area stagger on impact.
Relentless
Relentless gives a rapid boost to Wolverine’s Healing Factor, letting him recover far faster for a short time. Logan regenerates slowly on his own, so this feels minor at first, but it becomes valuable against bigger, faster enemies, during Nightmare Gauntlets, and on higher difficulty. It is the only special technique that deals no damage, so treat it as an emergency slot you swap in before a tough fight rather than a permanent pick. Its upgrades let you shrug off basic attacks, extend the duration, and trigger a healing burst near death.
Spiral Strike is the weakest special technique. It corkscrews Logan through a group but only helps when enemies are in front of him, and Tornado Spin covers more ground with better control.
Best basic techniques to unlock early
Stagger Leap
One of the earliest picks, available at Level 2, Stagger Leap charges with Triangle to unleash a lunge that deals Stagger damage while closing the gap. It looks simple but stays useful the whole game. It is especially handy for reaching enemies spread across an area, particularly ranged attackers with guns, since leaping straight to them cuts the damage you take on the way in.
Savage Sprinter and Sprint Block
Savage Sprinter lets Logan attack while sprinting, hitting multiple enemies and building Rage with each one, which pairs well with a Rage-focused playstyle. Sprint Block automatically stops basic ranged attacks from the front while you sprint, so you can close distance on gunners without eating chip damage. Both unlock early and reward the aggressive, forward movement the combat rewards.
Healing Strike
Available at Level 3, Healing Strike deals heavy damage to staggered enemies while restoring part of Wolverine’s health. It turns your stagger setups into recovery, which is why it works so well alongside Stagger Leap and Knee Breaker. Stagger a target, land the strike, and you claw back both damage and health in one move.
Power Attack Counter
Tap Square or Triangle after dodging a Power Attack to counter with a strong stagger attack. Enemies lean on Power Attacks more and more as the story goes on, and larger foes favor them, so this turns dodging from a stall into an opening. The counter’s stagger creates a safe chance to deal your own damage.
Rushing Dropkick
Hold Square while sprinting to dropkick an enemy backward, interrupting their attack. It controls crowds and can stagger targets kicked into a wall, but its real value is environmental. You can dropkick enemies off ledges and buildings for instant removal, as long as they are near an edge.
Unblockable Ender and Advanced Parry
Unblockable Ender, at Level 11, adds a high-damage unblockable hit to the end of your combos, useful against enemies that guard. Advanced Parry, at Level 17, lets Logan deflect several incoming melee attacks at once, which makes defending against groups far more reliable. Together they cover both the offensive finish and the defensive backbone of longer fights.
Charged Helix Blast
This basic technique unlocks much later in the story and is worth the points when it arrives. Hold R1 to charge your Helix Claws, then release a ranged blast that strikes targets around you. It is a strong area attack that swings a fight whether you are facing five enemies or fifteen, and it is particularly effective against Sentinels, where the blast and follow-up attacks keep them under control.
The strongest overall plan is to build stagger and Rage first, keep one crowd-control special and one survivability option ready, and swap slots before difficult encounters or Nightmare Gauntlets. Since special techniques can be changed at any time, there is no reason to lock yourself into a single setup, and the best loadout is the one that matches the enemies you are about to fight.
