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For a first playthrough, unlock Focus Boost or Reflex Boost first, depending on whether you prefer parrying or dodging. Add Double Dodge for extra room against attack strings, then invest in Beta Chain and a Beta attack once you can reliably create openings. This is a practical starting order, not a mandatory build: PlayStation recommends adapting to each enemy rather than relying on one approach.
Best early skill order for boss fights
The skill costs and effects below come from Gamepressure’s guide, updated July 2, 2025. The sequence is a recommendation based on those effects, not a measured or developer-certified ranking.
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- Focus Boost (2 SP): Start here if you want help landing parries. Gamepressure says it lengthens the Perfect Parry timing window. A precisely timed block can negate damage and leave an enemy off balance, according to PlayStation’s combat guide.
- Reflex Boost (2 SP): Choose this early if dodging feels more natural. Gamepressure says it makes Perfect Dodges easier. A successful Perfect Dodge avoids a blow while helping EVE stay close enough to counterattack, as PlayStation explains.
- Double Dodge (2 SP): Consider it when bosses use combinations that are hard to clear with one evade. The guide describes it as allowing two consecutive dodges; it is a safety option, not a requirement for every fight.
- Repulse (1 SP): Add this when you want a response to purple attack cues. PlayStation also identifies Repulse as a way to generate Burst Energy. The cue-specific recommendation and cost are from Gamepressure’s guide.
- Threat Detection (2 SP): Consider this later if blue and purple cues are still difficult to answer. Gamepressure says it lengthens the response window for those attacks.
- Beta Chain (2 SP): Pick this up when you can regularly finish combo strings. Gamepressure says holding the final combo input adds damage and stun, with some energy recovery, making this a useful transition from defensive play to offense.
- Upgrade a Beta attack you like: Gamepressure recommends Triplet damage and Quadruplet, which adds an extra strong stab to the sequence. Beta Skills spend Beta Energy, and PlayStation describes them as varied attacks with different costs and uses. Choose based on the boss’s openings and your preferred move rather than assuming one attack is best for every encounter.
- Consider Burst skills as they become available: Gamepressure recommends Descending Break and Overdrive, describing Overdrive as a temporary damage and attack-speed boost. Burst Energy is charged through successful Perfect Dodges, Blink, or Repulse; PlayStation says Burst Skills are acquired at regional base camps.
Choose the first investment around how you survive
If parries are your main defense
Prioritize Focus Boost. Blocking reduces the impact of front-on attacks, while a precisely timed block can become a Perfect Block/Parry that negates damage and may unbalance the enemy. A wider timing window is most useful when you are still learning a boss’s rhythm.
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If you rely on evasion
Take Reflex Boost, then consider Double Dodge if a boss’s attack strings catch you after a single evade. A Perfect Dodge avoids a hit and can keep EVE near enough to counter between enemy moves.
#1 Best Overall
- Stunning PS5 visuals: Explore vibrant futuristic environments, and engage with a cast of original friends and foes from the creative minds of the SHIFT UP team, led by renowned artist Kim Hyung Tae.
- Ultra high-speed SSD: Explore new locations, overcome powerful enemies, and encounter jaw-dropping revelations as you advance relentlessly through EVE’s mission with lightning-fast load times.
- Adaptive triggers: Unleash devastating yet graceful acrobatic moves, and interact with the technological remnants of an abandoned Earth using the DualSense wireless controller’s adaptive triggers.
- Haptic feedback: Feel the thrill of combat as your blade slashes its way to victory, with sensations enriched by the DualSense wireless controller’s responsive vibrations.
- Users Interact, In-Game Purchases
If you need to answer special cues
Repulse and Threat Detection are situational choices for purple, blue, and purple attack cues, respectively, according to Gamepressure’s descriptions. Blink serves a different purpose: PlayStation says it is a timed, directional response to Fatal Attacks that cannot be blocked, teleporting EVE behind the enemy. Learn the cue and response for the attack rather than treating every defensive skill as interchangeable.
When to shift from defense to damage
Use this rule of thumb: if boss attempts end before you can learn the attack pattern, spend early points on timing support and safer evasion. If you already defend consistently, move sooner into Beta Chain, Beta attack upgrades, or energy utility. Beta Skills draw on a limited resource built during combat, so their cost and the opening in which you use them matter alongside their damage.
Rank #2
- This is Korean Version released by SIEK. Region free title so you can play it on your system.
- Korean Edition supports Multi language Subtitles: Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, German, Russian, Swedish, Spanish, Arabic, Italian, Turkish, Portuguese, Polish, French, Finnish, Tyre
- A thrilling slice of razor-sharp action - Engage in blisteringly fast combat as you slash a path through the remnants of Earth, facing epic boss encounters that will challenge both brain and brawn in equal measure. Unleash graceful yet brutal attacking combos and unlock new moves as you progress, with customisable skills based on your play style. Upgrade Eve’s weapons to boost your chances as each boss battle becomes progressively more demanding
- An incredible visual experience - Become immersed in a highly detailed post-apocalyptic world that blends beauty and horror to spectacular effect. Explore breath-taking science fiction-inspired environments as the characters and creations of renowned Korean artist and Shift Up studio director Kim Hyung Tae are brought to life, via the graphical power.
- A deep, unforgettable adventure - Discover an enthralling narrative filled with mature themes, mystery and revelation. Embrace the relentless pace, with no time to pause between moments where critical, story-changing decisions are made. Eve's belief in her mission is absolute. But as she destroys her enemies with ruthless power while at the same time forming close-knit bonds with the few friends that have got her back, she'll ultimately be asked questions about what it truly means to be human
PlayStation’s advice is to study enemy patterns and weaknesses and adapt your approach; its guide notes that “No set style of attack works with every enemy.” It also says players have 8 primary combos at the outset, though the guide does not establish a publication year for that figure.
How this advice changes in New Game Plus
This order is aimed mainly at a new or early run. PlayStation’s April 26, 2024 New Game Plus announcement lists 4 new Beta skill moves, 8 new Beta/Burst enhancement skills, and 5 new Drone skills as NG+ additions—not as counts of early-game options. The announcement also describes harder difficulties as having stronger enemies and adds progression expansions for weapons, Body Core, Beta Core, and Tumblers, alongside Gear and Exospine Mk2 enhancements. In a return run, consider skills as one part of a broader build rather than assuming the early-run order is sufficient.
Quick Recap
Rank #3
- A thrilling slice of razor-sharp action - Engage in blisteringly fast combat as you slash a path through the remnants of Earth, facing epic boss encounters that will challenge both brain and brawn in equal measure. Unleash graceful yet brutal attacking combos and unlock new moves as you progress, with customisable skills based on your play style. Upgrade Eve’s weapons to boost your chances as each boss battle becomes progressively more demanding
- An incredible visual experience - Become immersed in a highly detailed post-apocalyptic world that blends beauty and horror to spectacular effect. Explore breath-taking science fiction-inspired environments as the characters and creations of renowned Korean artist and Shift Up studio director Kim Hyung Tae are brought to life, via the graphical power of PlayStation5
- A deep, unforgettable adventure - Discover an enthralling narrative filled with mature themes, mystery and revelation. Embrace the relentless pace, with no time to pause between moments where critical, story-changing decisions are made. Eve's belief in her mission is absolute. But as she destroys her enemies with ruthless power while at the same time forming close-knit bonds with the few friends that have got her back, she'll ultimately be asked questions about what it truly means to be human
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