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Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem is the latest game in the popular series of first-person shooter gamesSerious Sam. In it, players take control of “Serious” Sam Stone, a mercenary who has taken arms up against alien overlords attempting to destroy humanity.
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem sports a system called “Sirian Artefacts of Might” – or S.A.M. for short – which will let players spend skill points found in the game to unlock new perks and upgrades. Knowing the best skills to buy is essential for new players, so here are some of the most useful ones that the game has to offer.
10 Looter Shooter
Looter Shooter is a solid first skill to purchase. If a player has this skill, whenever they kill an enemy, there is a chance that enemy will drop a handy item.
When a player is first starting out, any item that an enemy drops will be useful. Usually, these items include Health or more Armor, or even ammo. As such, with Looter Shooter, a newer player can start to get a leg up on enemies.
9 Unflinching
Similar to Looter Shooter, Unflinching is more of an early-game skill than anything else, but can be quite useful to a player just starting out. However, its use can also carry over to late-game, especially for those who like to use explosives a lot.
Unflinching will make a player take half the amount of splash damage that is caused by detonating an explosive too close. A more experienced player likely wouldn’t need this skill, but for someone newer (or someone with worse aim) it can be helpful in decreasing unnecessary damage.
8 Healing Punch
Healing Punch is one of those skills where it’s not considered useful unless a player is playing on one of the harder difficulty modes. Once activated, players will recover Health whenever they use melee attacks.
This skill isn't exactly useful in all scenarios. However, those playing on a harder mode would appreciate this skill, as enemies deal more damage and health management becomes more difficult. Of course, the downside is that this only applies to melee attacks; dealing gunshots won’t heal a player.
7 Long Distance Relationship
The perfect skill for players who use melee attacks more than anything else, Long Distance Relationship will increase the distance that a player can start using a melee attack against an enemy. It acts as a bit of a safety net for players who like melee attacks.
Instead of needing to be right up-close-and-personal on an enemy, a player with this skill could be a bit farther away before using a melee attack, lessening their chances of getting hit. This skill pairs up well with Healing Punch.
6 Dual Wield
Dual Wield can become one of the most important skills of early game, and can also help a player to go on to earn even better skills. Dual Wield allows a player to dual-wield smaller, single-handed weapons (such as pistols), using one in each hand.
This effectively doubles the amount of damage a player can do. Once better weapons are unlocked in this shooter, though, this skill will start to fall to the wayside. However, it does allow for similar, better skills to be unlocked.
5 Dual Wield Harder
Essentially the upgraded version of Dual Wield, Dual Wield Harder does the exact same thing as the previous skill, except it will allow a player to dual wield two-handed weapons. This means some of the best weapons in the game, such as the 12 Gauge Pump Action Shotgun or Double Barrel Coach Gun, can be held in one hand.
Once a player gets more than just single-handed pistols, Dual Wield Harder will become one of the most essential skills in their game-play, and it’s not hard to see why. Players can deal massive damage with this skill.
4 Footsure
Footsure pairs well with Born to Run (which is also essential to buy), but it offers a nice perk on its own. With Footsure, even while aiming a gun, the player will still be able to walk at a normal speed.
This is an important skill, due to the fact that enemies can sneak up and attack a player while aiming. With Footsure, a player will be able to get out of the way in time, minimizing or even avoiding what could have been fatal damage.
3 The Quick and the Dead
The Quick and the Dead is a simple skill, but it’s an excellent one, not to mention important for gameplay. This skill, once unlocked, will cause a player to reload their weapons faster.
It may not sound like much on paper, but reloading weapons will be one of the few times when a player is not actively attacking any enemies, in any shooter. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and killed off by enemies if a player is unlucky; The Quick and the Dead thus lowers that downtime.
2 Born to Run
Born to Run is definitely a necessary skill to buy. This skill, once bought, will allow a player to open fire on enemies or reload while sprinting. As mentioned above, this skill pairs extremely well with The Quick and the Dead.
It becomes especially useful on harder difficulties, where sometimes it’s necessary to shoot while running. On top of that, being able to reload while putting distance between the player and enemy will always be useful regardless of difficulty.
1 Dual Wield with a Vengeance
One of the most important skills in the game, Dual Wield with a Vengeance is a must-buy for any player who wants to maximize their damage and destroy enemies as quickly as possible.
This skill will allow a player to be able to dual wield heavy weapons, which can cause infinitely more damage. Being able to wield a XM214-A Minigun in one hand and an XPMR “Burner” Raygun in the other will make a player cut through enemies like butter.
Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem is available on Windows PC.
