Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a surprising game that we had a lot of fun with thanks to a wonderful cast of characters and an interesting storyline.

In Guardians of the Galaxy, you’ll be taking control of Star-Lord and will be issuing commands to your team of misfits to conquer the many foes you’ll be facing off against. To help you out, you’ll be able to purchase Perks and Abilities that will increase your chances of staying alive in combat.

Perks are general upgrades that affect your team in general and will require certain materials which can be found as you explore the galaxy. Whether it’s to increase your total HP or shields, or even give you an added effect for your blasters, Perks are useful upgrades that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Abilities, on the other hand, are specific to each party member and provide you with a new skill that you can use to even the odds in battle. These abilities can be chained together for maximum effectiveness, leaving enemies in the dust.

Because Guardians of the Galaxy is a linear game, you cannot grind for resources, making every upgrade choice in the early game an important one. You’ll eventually be able to get everything towards the end, but what you choose to upgrade first will greatly help you out as you start off your adventure.

Here is our recommendation of the best Guardians of the Galaxy Perks and Abilities to upgrade first!

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy – Best Perks and Abilities

Extra Shield and Shield Restoration

Things may get a little hectic during battle, especially when you might be fumbling your way through giving out multiple commands in a row to your team, all while dodging enemy fire and approaching threats.

Boosting your shield total as well as your shield regeneration will give you a definite edge in battle, allowing you to take more damage than usual, keeping you alive through most engagements.

Extra Health

No brainer. If you find yourself dying in a lot of battles, an extra 25% health boost will surely help you out.

Perfect Dodge

During battles, you’ll find yourself dodging a lot of attacks while dishing out the pain. By upgrading Perfect Dodge, you’ll slow down time around you, giving you a bit of extra time to relax, gather yourself, and think about your next move.

Charge Consumption

Over the course of Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord will unlock the ability to use his blasters infused with elemental properties, which are great against the enemies you’ll be facing. Each element has its own advantage but you’ll only get to fire a limited amount of shots before you need to recharge. Upgrade this and you’ll get to fire more shots before needing to recharge!

Super Quill Punch

By defeating enemies during battle, you can pick up health to restore your HP. They can only heal you for a small amount, but with the Super Quill Punch upgrade, you get more health pick-ups everytime you beat an enemy with a boost attack!

Fan The Hammer

At first, Fan the Hammer may seem like a rather weak ability compared to high utility abilities, but the focused damage it can deal really comes in handy when trying to bring down a big target with massive HP.

Eye of the Hurricane

One of the best abilities in Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord jumps into the air and throws around multiple grenades that deal damage and staggers enemies. On its own, this ability is good but it really shines when used in combination with other abilities.

Stagger Wave

Stagger Wave is an AOE ability from Gamora that deals stagger damage to enemies behind your initial target. It’s a bit tough to aim especially with all the chaos during the fight, so you’ll need to pair this with certain other abilities that will hold targets down like…

Uproot

Entangle is Groot’s default ability and is easily one of the best crowd control abilities in the game, holding down a group of enemies while you pummel them to the ground. Groot’s next ability though, Uproot, deals more damage and still knocks the enemies down in a wide area, which will be a really good combo with…

Gravistack Grenade

If there’s one ability to upgrade right away, this would be it. The Gravistack Grenade sucks enemies together, allowing for some great combo opportunities right after. From the Gravistack Grenade, you can then follow up with Groot’s Uproot or Entangle, Gamora’s Stagger Wave, Star-Lord’s Eye of the Hurricane, or even…

Katathian Charge

The Katathian Charge is another skill that is tough to use effectively because you’ll need to aim it properly to damage more than one enemy in a straight line. This should ideally be used as a follow-up to Rocket’s Gravistack Grenade, ensuring you’ll be dealing damage to multiple enemies all at once.

There you go! With these Guardians of the Galaxy Perks and Abilities, you’ll be cruising past enemies on your way to saving the galaxy. You’ve got this! Probably.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is now available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC.