Alan Wake 2: Best Words Of Power Upgrades For Alan

Highlights

In Alan Wake 2, players can switch between two characters, FBI Agent Saga Anderson and Alan Wake, and their stories intertwine.
Alan gains upgrades by finding graffiti called Words of Power, while Saga collects Manuscript Fragments to upgrade her guns.
Players should focus on unlocking upgrades like Wellness Retreat for increased health, Roulette for ammo conservation, and Paint The Town for increased shotgun damage.

Alan Wake 2 gives players two characters to progress through the game with. They begin as FBI Agent Saga Anderson, but they will eventually unlock Alan Wake as well. Players can flip between them at certain save points and their stories do entangle one another. The two characters play in different worlds with different puzzle mechanics. The combat is all the same though and involves guns and flashlights like in the first game.

Alan Wake 2: How Long to Beat

For those wondering, this is about how long it takes to beat Remedy Entertainment's survival-horror game Alan Wake 2.

Another difference comes in how the two characters get upgrades. Alan can find graffiti in his world called Words of Power. Finding these sketches will give players a point in one of seven distinct categories. Compared to Saga’s upgrades, players will have more variety with Alan. Of the many, these eight are the best that players should unlock on the double in Alan Wake 2.

8 Wellness Retreat

Words Of Fix

Wellness Retreat word of power upgrade in Alan Wake 2

Wellness Retreat will increase Alan’s health by 15% initially. The more players put in, the more health Alan will gain. It’s a simple procedure found in a lot of action games like this. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense and since there are no defensive Words of Power in the game, this will have to do.

Wellness Retreat is the best Words of Fix upgrade in the game with the other two about healing Alan instead. Players should get a lot of healing items in their run, making the idea of extra healing through things like sanctuaries unnecessary.

7 Roulette

Words Of Gun

Roulette word of power upgrade in Alan Wake 2

Saga has a different pathway to upgrading herself in the game. Players can do this by collecting Manuscript Fragments and getting upgrades to their guns like Saga’s Pistol or Sawed-off Shotgun in Alan Wake 2. Alan will not get specific gun upgrades like this, so the more ways players can save ammo, the better.

That’s why Roulette is a good Words of Power upgrade because it will give players a 5% chance to not consume Revolver ammo. It’s a small window that will increase the more players put into it. Of the three Words of Gun upgrades, Roulette is the one players should focus on completely.

6 Paint The Town

Words Of War

Paint The Town word of power upgrade in Alan Wake 2

Paint The Town Red would have been a more fun name for this Words of Power upgrade as that’s the name of one of Doja Cat’s new songs. Doja Cat would have fit right into the music that plays at the end of character chapters, or she would have even been fun to see in Alan’s We Sing chapter in Alan Wake 2.

Alan Wake 2: Tips on How to Beat Nightingale

Take down the first boss in Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake 2, FBI Agent Robert Nightingale.

Doja Cat aside, Paint The Town increases the damage of the Double-barreled Shotgun by 25% if it hits multiple enemies. The point of a shotgun in most action games is to gain crowd control, so this direction for the Words of War branch of Alan’s upgrades makes sense. Players should keep in mind to save shotgun ammo for either bosses or when an overwhelming crowd of shadows descends upon Alan.

5 ER

Words Of Aid

As mentioned previously, players should be able to find a lot of healing items in the game. One of those healing items is called a Trauma Pad and it should heal a decent amount of damage. ER will increase the success rate of Trauma Pads by 10% and it will heal more with each successful upgrade.

Compared to the other two major healing items, players will probably find more Trauma Pads than anything else. That’s why it is essential to upgrade their effectiveness. As a final note, ER Words of Aid pathway for Alan.

4 Lucky Strike

Words Of Lamp

Lucky Strike word of power upgrade in Alan Wake 2

Like the first game, players cannot simply shoot at enemies and kill them like in a typical survival horror game. They must first break through their dark shield, exposing them with some sort of light. The most effective item for doing that is the flashlight. Doing so will drain the battery and it can sometimes be hard to find batteries in the game.

That’s why Lucky Strike is a good upgrade down the Words of Lamp path. It will give players a 25% chance to regain a flashlight charge after a kill and this will obviously increase the more points players put into it.

3 Never There

Words Of Action

Never There word of power upgrade in Alan Wake 2

How enemies appear for Alan will be slightly different compared to Saga. In Saga’s campaign, cultists will pop out of nowhere either trying to shoot or stab Saga. In Alan’s Dark Place, enemies will be represented by shadows. Players can sometimes stealthily sneak past shadows and not get into a fight, but that cleverness won’t last forever.

alan wake remastered alan wake 2 cover art

Alan Wake 2: 10 Differences From Alan Wake Remastered You Need To Know

Alan Wake 2 features several differences from Alan Wake Remastered that fans should know.

Never There is an upgrade down the Words of Action pathway and it will increase Alan’s stealthiness by 20%, making it hard for enemies to detect him. It would have been nice if the game gave Alan a way to crouch to literally sneak around, but this upgrade is good enough.

2 Tourist Map

Words Of Stuff

Tourist Map word of power upgrade in Alan Wake 2

Tourist Map Words of Stuff track on Alan’s upgrade tree. It’s one of the rarest commodities in the game because there are only three. The ballroom in the Oceanview Hotel is one of the easiest places players can find a skill point for this.

Tourist Map will mark the player’s map with nearby information, making it easier to track things down if players need an extra hand. It’s not going to be as direct a link as say getting the homing light in Dead Space, another fine horror game, but Tourist Map will certainly help players in Alan Wake 2.

1 Magic Pocket

Words Of Stuff

Magic Pocket word of power upgrade in Alan Wake 2

Magic Pocket is another upgrade down the Words of Stuff column. It will expand Alan’s inventory by one full row, which will max things out. This is important because his final gun, the Double-barreled Shotgun, is going to take up a lot of space. His inventory and Saga’s inventory work differently.

Players can find multiple pouches to upgrade Saga’s inventory whereas Alan, again, just gets this one. As a bonus note, the inventory for both characters resembles the newer Resident Evil games like Resident Evil 7.