Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is DON’T NOD’s latest foray into the world of dark fantasy and occult magic in the vein of 2018's Vampyr. You play as two lovers, Red and Antea, who also happen to be ghost hunters and exorcists. When Antea’s tragic death early in the campaign causes her to manifest into a ghost herself, Red must search for a way to bring her back to life.

We've put together a guide to Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden's best skills and the ideal options for each Evolution tree. These unlocks should help you make the most out of Red’s and Antea’s respective abilities as you face down countless apparitions and possessed monstrosities.
 

How to unlock and reset Evolution skills in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

When it comes to picking the best skills in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, you’ll want to consider the following factors:

• As you progress through the campaign, you’ll unlock new Manifestation powers for Antea in the Evolution screen. These abilities not only aid you in exploration and traversal—for instance, by revealing new pathways—but allow for more synergy between Red and Antea’s combat styles.
• Each Manifestation has several perks for you to choose from. However, you need to make sure that these are connected and not mutually exclusive with one another.
• Perks in red require skill points, which are obtained whenever you gain experience points and level up.
• Perks in green require Essence. You gain this by completing Haunting Cases, short investigations that serve as Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden's side quests.
• You may reset or reallocate spent points via the Evolution screen while resting at a campfire or exploring. You won’t be able to make adjustments at certain times, such as during combat.

We’ve organized our Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden best skills guide into several sections, based on the Manifestation powers unlocked over the course of the campaign. Take note that I switched often between Red and Antea, using Red’s expertise with melee attacks and rifle shots to complement Antea’s spectral damage-dealing punches and Manifestations.

 

Best skills in the Unveil tree

• Tag Team (Skill Point): The fourth light attack triggers an Antea punch that ignores resistance.
• Powder Keg (Skill Point): Charged heavy attacks cause an area-of-effect (AOE) burst that deals physical damage.
• Unrelenting (Skill Point): Each enemy hit by a light attack increases the damage of the next light attack. This effect stacks, but resets once you’re hit.
• Assault (Skill Point): Switch to Antea after a front dodge to trigger a melee attack that ignores resistance.

The Unveil panel only has a select few perks, but some of these are among the best skills in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. For instance, Tag Team and Unrelenting offer great synergy, especially since you'll continuously hit foes with Red’s light attacks on a regular basis.

 

Best skills in the Leap tree

• Heavy Artillery (Skill Point): Charged heavy attack damage is increased by 20%.
• Barrier (Skill Point): Defeating an enemy with a heavy attack reduces the next damage taken by 90%.
• Initiator (Skill Point): Damage dealt by Red is increased by 30% against full-health enemies.
• Spectral Ignition (Essence): Defeating an enemy with Antea’s punch attacks triggers an AoE that deals spectral damage.
• Relentless Spirit (Essence): Each enemy hit by Antea’s punch attacks increases the damage of punch attacks by 7%. This effect stacks, but resets once you switch back to Red.

The Leap tree has some core perks for both Red and Antea. In Red’s case, skills like Heavy Artillery and Barrier that improve his heavy attacks should help you deal with tougher opponents or those that tend to block often. Running toward a hostile and starting things off with a heavy attack is also a good strategy.

Antea’s combat prowess, meanwhile, improves considerably thanks to Spectral Ignition and Relentless Spirit. With these, her punches can easily bring down enemies.

Best skills in the Outburst tree

• Kiss of Death (Skill Point): Defeating an enemy with Red restores 10 health points, while defeating an enemy with Antea restores 10 spirit points.
• Tandem (Skill Point): While your spirit gauge is full, Red’s attacks decrease Manifestation cooldowns by 15%.
• Tormented Spirit (Essence): Damage dealt and taken by Antea are both increased by 25%.
• Protected Shooter (Skill Point): Defeating an enemy with the rifle reduces the next damage taken by 90%.
• Helping Hand (Essence): Hitting weak spots with the rifle reduces Manifestation cooldowns by 25%.

The Outburst Manifestation is quite powerful, especially since it hits multiple foes in a wide area. As such, it’s imperative to lower its cooldown via the Tandem and Helping Hand passive effects. We also suggest taking Tormented Spirit. Antea can deal a lot of damage, but you need to be extra careful since she also takes more damage in return.

 

Best skills in the Ensnare tree

• Ceaseless (Essence): Each enemy hit by a Manifestation increases the damage of all Manifestations by 15%. This effect stacks, but is reset once you get hit.
• Bull’s Eye (Skill Point): Hitting weak spots with the rifle restores 15 spirit points.
• Crushing Leap (Essence): Leap triggers an AoE that deals spectral damage.
• Sharpshooter (Skill Point): Defeating an enemy with the rifle increases the damage of your next shot by 50%.
• Retaliation (Skill Point): When Red is hit, the damage of your next heavy attack is increased by 100%.
• Dynamic Duo (Essence): Switching to Antea increases the damage of the next Manifestation by 20%.
• On the Edge (Essence): Damage dealt by Antea is increased by 30%, but damage taken by Red is also increased by 15%.
• Hard As Stone (Skill Point): Parrying reduces the next damage taken by 90%.

The Ensnare tree also has a few of the best skills in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. For example, Dynamic Duo and Ceaseless both increase the damage you deal with Manifestations. The idea is to cast abilities like Ensnare and Leap, followed by a devastating explosion from Outburst.

 

Best skills in the Fusion tree

• Bane (Skill Point): Hitting an enemy with the rifle increases the damage of the next heavy attack by 30%.
• Death Knell (Skill Point): Switch to Antea after a back dodge to trigger a punch attack that pushes enemies and ignores resistance.
• Bottoms Up (Essence): Defeating an enemy with Antea restores 5% HP.
• Unstoppable (Essence): When Fusion ends, all spirit points are fully restored.
• Unity (Skill Point): Hitting weak spots with the rifle triggers a punch attack that ignores resistance and knocks down the enemy.
• Devil’s Deal (Skill Point): Increase health points, spirit points, and Banish gains by 15%, but increase damage taken by 25%.
• Web Weaving (Essence): Defeating an enemy affected by Ensnare applies Ensnare to surrounding opponents.
• Haste (Essence): Hitting an enemy with Antea reduces Manifestation cooldowns by one second.
• Eradication (Essence): The fourth punch attack increases the damage of your next Manifestation by 40%.

The Fusion panel has some really neat options as you get closer to the campaign’s conclusion. Chief among these is Web Weaving, which can stun and immobilize multiple foes with the Ensnare vines. Combine this with Unstoppable, Bottoms Up, Haste, and Eradication, and Antea’s punches and powers can swiftly clear the battlefield of malevolent spirits.

These are what we consider the best skills in Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden. Naturally, you can adapt or mix-and-match depending on your preferred playstyle. Remember, you can reset or reallocate your points, so feel free to experiment!

Looking to explore a dark fantasy setting filled with ghosts and occult rituals? Pick up Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, available now on the Epic Games Store.