There are a total of 27 skills that can be unlocked in Sniper Elite 5. Some are quite decent and very much integral as you progress through the game, while others don’t need to be prioritized. Here’s our Sniper Elite 5 guide to help you with the best skills and perks for the campaign and Survival Mode.
Note: For more information, check out our Sniper Elite 5 guides and features hub.
Sniper Elite 5 – The best skills for campaign and Survival Mode
XP and skill points in Sniper Elite 5 are accumulated in both campaign and Survival Mode, though you’re free to allocate them as you see fit. For instance, let’s say you played a few campaign missions and you were able to assign 15 skill points in total. If you decide to play Survival Mode, those 15 skill points will be there for you to allocate. In any case, we’ll outline the categories below.
Combat Skills
| Back In The Fight | Use a Medkit to revive yourself when incapacitated | 1 |
| No Time to Bleed Combat Medic | Secondary weapons can be used while incapacitated | 1 |
| While reviving, use all Bandages instead of a Medkit | 2 | |
| Triangulation Advanced Triangulation | Enemies are scope tagged when they damage you | 1 |
| Enemies are scope tagged when they shoot you | 2 | |
| Steady Hand Swift Hands | Scope shaking from taking damage is drastically reduced | 1 |
| Enemies are automatically looted after a takedown | 2 | |
| Grenade Throwback Quick Trap | Tap “E” to quickly throw a live grenade | 1 |
| Tap “F” to quickly throw a trap down; the trap is not visible to enemies in combat | 2 |
Combat Medic and Advanced Triangulation are very useful, especially during hectic moments. The former lets you save your sole Medkit when you need it most, only using up Bandages which tend to be plentiful. The latter, meanwhile, should warn you where enemies are so you can plan ahead.
Moreover, Grenade Throwback, though it’s situational, can be a lifesaver at times. For example, if you’re surrounded by numerous hostiles and you’re happily camping in a spot, you can just toss every grenade that lands near you as opposed to running out in the open to avoid the explosion.
However, I consider Swift Hands to be one of the best skills in Sniper Elite 5 (at least in the campaign). If you want to rush through enemies and do quick takedowns, the last thing on your mind is spending several seconds when trying to loot them all. As such, an auto-loot perk considerably speeds up your run while also negating a fairly tedious mechanic.
Equipment
| Skill Name | Effect | Skill Point Cost |
| Scavenge Weapon Ammo | Ammo can be removed from Found Weapons | 1 |
| Carry More Decoys Pistol Special Ammo | Increased carry limit for Bottles and Decoys | 1 |
| Adds a second special ammo slot for your Pistol | 2 | |
| Carry More Explosives Secondary Special Ammo | Increased carry limit for Grenades and TNT | 1 |
| Adds another special ammo slot for your Secondary Weapon | 2 | |
| Carry More Traps Rifle Special Ammo | Increased carry limit for Teller Mines and Schu-Mines | 1 |
| Adds a second special ammo slot for your Rifle | 2 | |
| Extra Item Slot 1 Extra Item Slot 2 | Adds another item slot | 1 |
| Adds yet another item slot | 2 |
The perks here are more straightforward, as each segment will increase a particular type of weapon or item. For the most part, you’ll probably want to get Extra Item Slot 1 and 2, as well as Rifle Special Ammo.
Body
| Skill Name | Effect | Skill Point Cost |
| Maintain Focus | The longer you are in Focus, the longer it takes for effects to wear off | 1 |
| Focus Range Focus Movement | Increases the radius of Focus | 1 |
| Increases your movement while Focus is active | 2 | |
| Health Boost 1 Health Boost 2 | Adds an extra health segment | 1 |
| Adds another extra health segment | 2 | |
| Speedy Recovery Stabilized | Health regeneration begins sooner | 1 |
| Heart rate is reduced when using a Bandage or Medkit | 2 | |
| Cardio Deep Breath | Reduces the heart rate increase caused by sprinting | 1 |
| Reduces the heart rate increase caused by Empty Lung | 2 |
The additional health pips are definitely useful if you’re playing Survival Mode or the higher difficulties of the campaign. Still, you can’t go wrong with Deep Breath. In situations when you’re faced with numerous enemy waves, you’re likely to have Empty Lung (i.e., slow-mo aiming) active. The perk should slightly aid you when managing your character’s heart rate, so you can aim and snipe for prolonged periods.
Sniper Elite 5 is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.
