Wolfenstein: The New Order, which has been added to Xbox Game Pass, proved to be a return to form for the ailing franchise. As B.J. Blazkowicz, wiping the floor with the Third Reich's legions of machines and soldiers never felt so good. Like stepping into the shoes of an action hero, the gameplay itself is satisfyingly visceral.
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One of the features The New Order added is a progression system for perks. By fulfilling certain combat challenges, B.J. is able to unlock more powerful abilities to unleash upon his Nazi foes. Some of the best perks in the game should be grabbed as soon as possible, seeing as how their benefits are just too good to ignore.
10 Deadeye
Deadeye is a very useful perk that also happens to be one of the easiest to acquire. The requirement is to obtain a total of six headshot kills while utilizing iron sights. Of these, three need to be performed with an assault rifle while the other three need to be done with a pistol.
The reward for unlocking the perk increases Blazkowicz's damage when getting headshots on enemies. Since the game likes to swarm the player with a multitude of foes, having a perk to dispatch them quickly can come in handy. Unlocking the perk can be done quite easily in Chapter 1. Just be sure to aim down the sights!
9 Vampire
The Vampire perk can be useful to have, especially when playing on the higher difficulty levels. Vampire allows B.J. to receive health when performing stealth takedowns, which can help save his life in a pinch. However, unlocking the perk requires a little patience.
The first step is to unlock the Silent Shot perk. Silent Shot requires B.J. to perform five stealth kills with a silenced handgun, which can easily be done by the end of Chapter 2 if not sooner. Next, the player needs to do five stealth takedowns while their health is overcharged. A good place to farm these kills is in Chapter 3 since B.J. has plenty of opportunities to stay stealthy and plan his attacks. Pick up a nearby health kit, dispatch an enemy, then reload the checkpoint. Rinse and repeat.
8 Endurance II
Stealth isn't for everybody. For players who favor a more "guns blazing" approach, Endurance II can be quite beneficial. The reward for Endurance II increases the player's movement speed while holding a portable gun turret. These mighty weapons can clear a room full of enemies in no time. Being able to move more swiftly whilst doing so is definitely helpful.
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Like the Vampire perk, Endurance II takes a little bit of time to unlock. The Bullet Feeder perk needs to be unlocked first, which requires B.J. to perform 20 kills while a turret is still mounted on its tripod. Once done, the player then needs to perform five consecutive kills in 10 seconds with a turret gun. Make sure there is a sizeable group of enemies in the vicinity and then unload.
7 Quick Reload
Having to reload at an inopportune moment can often result in death. Quick Reload can help mitigate this problem by speeding up the player's reload speed by quite a bit. Reloading in the midst of an intense firefight becomes much less of an issue with this perk.
Unlocking Quick Reload isn't terribly difficult. Nevertheless, it's rather time-consuming. The requirement is to perform 100 kills with an assault rifle, 50 kills with a handgun, and 25 kills with a sniper rifle. The best advice for unlocking this perk is to start early. Don't favor any single weapon for too long and move on to the next one once a necessary kill quota has been achieved.
6 Vaporize
Vaporizing one's enemies certainly looks cool. The reward for unlocking the Vaporize perk is to increase explosive vaporization damage when using high-powered weaponry and grenades. Groups of enemies unlucky enough to clump too close together are easy-pickings for Vaporize.
Getting the Vaporize perk to unlock is a bit tricky and may take some practice. It requires B.J. to get 5 explosive kills by making enemies drop their own grenades. Players need to keep their eyes peeled for when an enemy raises his arm to lob a grenade. Take a few shots at him to make the enemy drop it, but try not to kill him outright. Let his own grenade finish the job.
5 Assassin
Assassin is the final perk in the Stealth Skill tree. The reward for unlocking it will turn B.J. into the ultimate stealth assassin for players who favor such a style. It reduces the sound made from sprinting and also increases the player's movement speed while crouched. Enemies can thus be dispatched more quickly while minimizing the threat of detection.
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Unlocking the Assassin perk is pretty straightforward. The player needs to perform 50 stealth kills on enemy soldiers and five stealth kills on Kampfhunds. The latter requirement is rather easy since most stealth sections contain at least one sleeping Kampfhund. This perk can be acquired naturally throughout the course of the game without much trouble.
4 Bullseye
For players who enjoy utilizing grenades, this perk is a must-have. Bullseye makes the player's own grenades detonate on impact, thus eliminating any delay. This, of course, makes it nigh impossible for enemies to avoid getting caught in the blast radius.
Two other perks in the Demolition tree need to be unlocked first. Grenade Pouch + is needed, which requires 10 grenade kills. Then, Grenade Pouch ++ must come next, which calls for B.J. to kill a commander with a grenade. Finally, the Bullseye perk itself can be unlocked once the player scores five grenade kills on mechanical enemies.
3 Scavenger
Scavenger falls under the Assault Skill tree and favors players who like to dual-wield their weapons. Firing two weapons at once can make B.J. an absolute killing machine, but doing so is expensive in terms of ammo. Scavenger, however, increases ammunition loot from enemies who are killed with dual-wielded weapons. With ammunition in much bigger supply, the player can afford to dual-wield for a longer period of time.
The player must acquire Endurance I before Scavenger can be achieved. B.J. must perform three kills while sprint-sliding to fulfill Endurance I. Afterwards, the player needs to get three kills in a row with dual-wielded assault rifles, without releasing the trigger. This is best done in locations with narrow hallways and corridors. Chapter 11, which occurs inside a U-Boat, would be a suitable opportunity to grab Scavenger.
2 Quick Regeneration
Firefights can get pretty hairy in Wolfenstein: The New Order. Health regenerates gradually to a certain point to help keep B.J. alive. The Quick Regeneration perk speeds up this process considerably and can often mean the difference between life and death.
Obtaining Quick Regeneration is rather simple. The player must overcharge their health to 200 or above in order to unlock it. Obviously, possessing full health to begin with can make this process a bit easier. Once an area has been cleared of enemies, scope out the map. Find a couple of health items clumped relatively close together and nab them in quick succession.
1 Scout II
Scout II is yet another perk that can be found on the Stealth Skill tree. The reward for Scout II is that it displays enemy commanders on the map, which makes them easier to locate and subsequently eliminate. Players who like to plan their attacks before the shooting starts will be well-served by this perk.
Unlocking Scout II is a very simple process. The player need only stealth kill five commanders, which can be done quite easily in the early stages of the game. Completing this task can be done naturally and really shouldn't require any farming. Knowing where an enemy commander is located is a valuable piece of intelligence, especially if things go sour.