All Perks and When to Unlock Them in Evil West

Here is a consise listing of all Perks available within Evil West, including the hidden ones and how to obtain them. Keep in mind that unlike Upgrades that are manually unlocked through spending Bucks on them, in-game currency found throughout the game, the Perks are unlocked as you level up. This can be done when fighting enemies and skyrocketed further in progression when downing mini and chapter bosses.

With laying it all out here, players can better prepared for which Perks to prioritise in unlocking sooner rather than later. Please also note that we played the game on PS4, so our notes are button input designed after it. The same still applies for the other systems and platform the game is available on (PC and Xbox).

Fist Perks

First row (maxed out at level 10):

1. The Kick-Off – Press R3 to interrupt the enemy’s Special Attack.
2. Chain of Command – Chaining the next R1 Melee Combo attack right when the previous one connects deals 30% increased damage and makes the next punch faster.
3. Bait & Switch – Dodging sideways or backwards to avoid enemy attacks does not interrupt the Melee Combo and increases the Area of Effect damage of the next punch.
4. Punchline – After finishing the entire R1 Melee Combo, the next one starts with a powerful transition attack which additionally grants a high amount of Energy.

Second row (maxed out at level 14):

1. Uppercut – Hold R1 to perform an Uppercut with your Gauntlet and send most enemies flying into Midair.
2. Icarus – Killing a Midair enemy has a 100% chance of dropping the Energy Pickup.
3. Touchdown – Hold R1 + L3 to attack an enemy lifting them up and smashing them into the ground causing a massive explosion. All common enemies are killed instantly. (Requires charge x2)
4. Punch the Bunch – Uppercut and Touchdown can now send multiple enemies Midair. Additionally, the Gauntlet and Revolver juggle affect all the Midair enemies simultaneously.

Third row (maxed at level 14):

1. Hero Punch – Press R1 + X while moving forward to close the gap to the enemy and attack immediately.
2. Quake Punch – Hold L1 + R1 to jump forward and smash the ground with a damaging blast. Nearby enemies take higher damage and are knocked down. Use your movement to adjust the direction of the attack. (Requires charge)
3. Aftershock – Press L1 + R1 after using Quake Punch to follow up with an even more powerful attack. (Requires charge)
4. Final Touch – Chain L1 + R1 straight from the Aftershock attack to top off the sequence with a massive explosion.

Fourth row (maxed at level 10):

1. Cannonball – Gauntlet’s sheer force can not only damage enemies, but also send most of them flying wild. Hold R1 while moving for a brutal uppercut immediately followed by the strong Cannonball punch. Enemies that are pushed away can smash into environmental obstacles or into other enemies, knocking them over.
2. Blasting Impression – The Kick-Off and Hero Punch deal additional splash damage to all nearby enemies.
3. Cannonball Explosion – All regular explode on impact after being Cannonballed.

Fifth row (maxed at level 14):

1. Pump Jack – Dealing damage with the Gauntlet reduces the cooldown of the Healing Dispenser
2. On The Spot – Hitting an enemy’s Weak Spot has a 15% chance to drop a Health Pickup.
3. Vital Superpowers – Maximum Health is increased by 15%
4. Death Defied – Receiving the lethal damage doesn’t cause death. Instead, it heals the 25% of maximum Health and grants a 3-second invulnerability, shoving the nearby enemies away. The ability does not reset until death.

Sixth row (hidden Perks):

1. Booming Business – All exploding TNT creates deal damage in a 50% larger radius. It also works with the Boom Balls perk. (Unlocked in Level 5 – The Devil’s Pass – upon opening the chest box that contains 88 Bucks)
2. Lethal Heights – All damage to the Midair enemies is increased by 25% (Unlocked in Level 6 – Remote Ri Outpost – upon opening the chest box that contains 120 Bucks)
3. Healthy Lifestyle – Whenever an Energy Pickup is about to be dropped, a Health Pickup is created instead. (Unlocked in Level 10 – Bats in the Belfry – upon opening the chest box that contains 110 Bucks)
4. Life Support – The Gauntlet is now capable of regenerating Health at a slow pace. It takes 90 seconds to charge the entire Health bar. (Unlocked in Level 13 – Old Friends – upon opening the chest box that contains 138 Bucks found once clearing a puzzle)

Supercharger (RT)

First row (maxed at level 16):

1. E-Combo – Keep pressing R1 to deal fast melee attacks to the nearest Electrocuted enemy.
2. Short Circuit – Killing an Electrocuted enemy yields an Energy Pickup. Does not work in Supercharged Mode.
3. Wireless Transmission – Killing an enemy with E-Combo greatly increases the damage of the next three melee punches.
4. E-Punchline – Adds a strong explosion around the end of an E-Combo.
5. Enhanced Combo – E-Combo now contains more punches and speeds up even more.

Second row (maxed at level 12):

1. Zapper Pull – Hold L1 and move to grab enemies marked by the zap charge inside their HP indicator, with an electric arc and pull them closer. Most enemies become Electrocuted upon being pulled. This action can be followed up with a powerful melee E-Combo. Most near-death enemies can be Finished with this action.
2. Zapper Slam – Hold L1 while looking at a Midair enemy to smash them into the ground with an electric arc. Slamming enemies creates a small blast which knocks down other enemies.
3. Wider Audience – The Zapper Pull can grab and Electrocute multiple enemies at once.
4. Slam the Fam – The Zapper Slam can now affect multiple Midair enemies and deals increased blast damage proportional to the number of bodies slammed. (Requires Charge).

Third row (maxed at level 16):

1. Zapper Dash – Hold L1 and move to reach an enemy marked by the zap charge inside their HP indicator, with an electric arc and teleport to him. Most enemies become Electrocuted upon being dashed to. This action can be followed up with a powerful melee R1 E-Combo. All near-death enemies can be Finished with this action.
2. Supercharged Mode – Press L3 and R3 to enter Supercharged Mode for 7 seconds, significantly amplifying damage dealt and reducing damage received. Only the supercharged Gauntlet and Zapper can be used to attack and shoot in Supercharged Mode. (Requires Charge x3)
3. Supercharge Blast – A Shockwave will be released when entering the Supercharged Mode, dealing damage to nearby enemies.
4. Very Very Frightening – Lightning bolts are spawned during Supercharged Mode and can randomly damage enemies. (Requires Charge x4)

Fourth row (maxed at level 12):

1. Zapper Block – Press L1 when an enemy is just about to hit you to Block the attack and apply the Electrocution effect, leaving all regular enemies open to damage. Special attacks cannot be blocked.
2. Projectile Block – Press L1 to destroy the incoming flying projectile attacks. Doesn’t work with bullets and shockwaves.
3. Discharge Block – Zapper block can now affect multiple enemies at the same time.

Fifth row (maxed at level 16):

1. Pick It Up – All Pickups are now collected from a much wider distance.
2. Extra Juice – Maximum Energy is increased by Charge.
3. On a Roll – Get Charge with every fifth Gauntlet Finisher executed.
4. Blood and Thunder – The Zapper slowly drains Health in exchange for Energy. It takes 30 seconds and 50% maximum Health to load one Energy Segment. Careful, the bleeding can be lethal.

Sixth row (Hidden Perks):

1. Boom Balls – Pickups can be shot by Rifle or X-Bow to cause an explosion that damages the nearby enemies. (Unlocked in Level 7 – Smoke and Mirrors – upon opening the chest box that contains 188 Bucks)
2. Adrenaline Junkie – Whenever a Health Pickup is about to be dropped, an Energy Pickup is created instead. (Unlocked in Level 8 – Pharmakon – upon opening the chest box that contains 113 Bucks found once clearing a puzzle)
3. Work-Life Balance – 25% of each Health Pickup does to Energy and vice versa. (Unlocked in Level 11 – A Man of People – upon opening the chest box that contains 212 Bucks)
4. Tooldown – Collecting a Pickup slightly reduces the Crippling Rod cooldown. (Unlocked in Level 14 – A Son’s Duty – upon opening the chest box that contains 162 Bucks)

That’s every single Perk available in Evil West. For more guidance in the game, see our other guides and coverage of it here at Gamer Journalist.

Related: Review: Evil West is a Fresh Throwback to a Bygone Era in Gaming