There are skill trees in a lot of games these days, but the way these are made is something to be proud of.
Variety is a pretty important part of almost any medium. We get tired of doing the same thing over and over again. There are many ways to deal with this, such as fight scenes that get the blood moving, twists and turns that you didn’t see coming, and so on. For games, this generally means adding more ways to play.
You can be given new tools or a level can get a brand-new look that is different from anything else. Skill trees, on the other hand, are something that games use a lot. They give you the chance to build your character however you want and give you the chance to plan ahead. Most of the time, they don’t look very interesting, so these games give the experience a little more style.
Xenoblade Chronicles
If you like existentialist ideas and interfaces that are impossible to figure out, Xenoblade Chronicles is the right series for you. When you’re not looking at the huge views, you’ll be trying to figure out the UI, which is a big part of what makes the game what it is.
Consider the skill trees. They have a unique look, even if it is a bit simple. But each of those simple little shapes is used in the game, since each skill has a form that goes with it. Characters can share skills, so if you can play the weirdest game of Tetris, you can throw a really great party.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Final Fantasy 7 Remake did something that seemed impossible: it kept its original themes of corporate control even though the game was stuck in development hell. It was a good version, and it was also a reboot or a continuation in some way. And on top of all that, the style is perfect.
Even though each character in Final Fantasy 7 Remake doesn’t have a Skill Tree, each weapon does. When you dive into their centers, you see colorful balls that look like Materia circling the center like planets. The more you improve it, the bigger it gets. It’s a unique way to do things that also looks great.
Yakuza 0
Oh, Yakuza (or “Like a Dragon,” if you prefer). It is a series that can use the same main character and places over and over again and still show something new about them each time. In this way, Yakuza 0 was a real winner. It gave Kiryu and Majima a lot of depth and had one of the best-written and best-acted stories in games.
Brawling has always been the main part of the series, but Yakuza 0 adds a new element: the economy is getting worse. Getting a better version of yourself is a pretty easy process that involves investing in yourself. You just throw money at the upgrade nodes until you get better. It does a great job of capturing the dreams of the time.
Sekiro
Sekiro is a bit different from the games that FromSoftware usually makes. After a decade of just Souls games, Sekiro showed that they could go in a different direction. It was a much more exact experience because you could only use one weapon, but you had a great set of tools to use.
Skill trees were a big change from the Souls games. It almost seems to go against the natural way they fight, but Sekiro does a great job with it. You can learn martial arts moves from the books on the different trees, but you have to find them first. Even better, many of the methods in these scrolls can be seen being used by enemies, like the way Senpou monks fight with their bare hands.
Salt And Sanctuary
Salt and Sanctuary is an important game because it was one of the first to use the Souls-like style, but in a very different way. It was a side-scrolling game with very dark and moody art, but it had the same hard fighting and freedom of character builds that Dark Souls was known for.
Salt and Sanctuary is different in a big way, though. It has a skill tree, and it’s a big one. At first, it’s hard to understand how big it is because it spreads out like a tree. It comes with a lot of skills and classes, so you probably won’t be able to fill it up quickly.
Nioh 2
Nioh 2 is an exciting game because it is one of the few series that has managed to combine the action of Souls with the fast-paced combos of Devil May Cry. With 11 weapons to choose from, a lot of guardian spirits, and Onmyo magic and ninjutsu on top of that, there are a lot of ways to create your build.
Then there are the skill trees, which are the best part of any RPG.Every weapon has its own skill tree with both active and passive skills to unlock. It’s a beautiful menu, with each node extending from the center to show a different weapon stance. Even when you’re not zoomed in all the way, you can see that the nodes you’ve opened look like tiny star patterns.
Path Of Exile
Path of Exile is one of those rare games that seems like it shouldn’t have taken off as well as it did or been as well-supported as it is. But here it is, still going strong and getting lots of changes to keep it going. It’s one of the few free-to-play ARPGs and has an obvious quality.
Path of Exile is also sometimes hard to understand. People often think that big strategy games are impossible to understand. Just look at the Path of Exile skill tree, though. It’s so big that it’s hard to understand. It may not be the most beautiful in terms of design, but the grand size makes it beautiful in its own way. One that seems so crazy that it was even made.
Final Fantasy 13
The Final Fantasy series has never been afraid to try new things, from the way it fights and designs levels to how it moves the story along. The way Materia determined a character’s part changed a lot in FF7, and every game since then has tried to do something different with the idea.
The way Tunnel Rush is done is interesting. It’s somewhere between FF10 and FF12, and you have to follow the path of each character’s gems to unlock new skills and stat boosts. Everything can be unlocked in the end, but the Crystarium itself is a sight to see. It is a completely 3D plane made up of diamonds that grow with each character.
Civilization 6
“Skill tree” isn’t really the right term for this game or for strategy games in general. In Civilization 6, the answer is science and civic trees. They are not a strange part of Civilization games at all. In fact, they are pretty important to the game.
They probably show best what skill trees are supposed to do. You can build things up piece by piece, or you can plan ahead. Techs and civics depend on what came before them, just like real lif. And are joined by threads to show this. It’s easy to understand and read, but it feels like you’re following the story of a tapestry that shows the past of the world.
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
The modern Tomb Raider series tried a lot of new things to make it different from the first. But Square Enix didn’t seem to be happy with it, even though it sold very well. Even though they are very different from what came before. They are still beautiful games that try to mix action and survival.
There are skill trees in all three games in the trilogy, and they all work pretty much the same. Shadow of the Tomb Raider takes it a step further to make it look better. Different colors, red, green, and blue, show where the tree’s three main points are. Instead of going down, they look more like tiles in a collage that can be placed next to each other and unlocked as you move forward. It’s a small change that makes it a bit more interesting.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
As another one of Square Enix’s unlucky studios, the Deus Ex series has had a rough few years. Human Revolution was a huge hit, but Mankind Divided didn’t reach the same heights. Both games are great, though, and Human Revolution gave a dying genre new life.
The way UI features were mixed in with the world was a big part of Human Revolution. Jensen was the only one who could see it, and the skill trees were no different. Instead of just squares to claim in a row, each augment was highlighted on his body and had a clear explanation of how it worked. His eyes got better so he could see through walls. His hands got better so he could punch through walls. It didn’t feel like random changes, but more like a natural progression. With the RPG parts of the game, the skill tree made sense.
Total War Three Kingdoms
The Total War series may have started out with strategy games that were highly based on human history and had both turn-based and real-time tactics, but it has changed a lot since then. Even though they are about the tales of Troy and other grand fantasies, they still give strategy fans a lot of fun. They also don’t worry about putting their main systems into other games.
One great example is Three Kingdoms. In many games, technology trees are important, and the Reforms Tree is the game’s version of this. But, unlike the others, it really is a tree. Every time the season changes to Spring, you can move your reforms along the real branches of the tree, making your own unique history and form of government. It’s funny that the idea has been taken so literally. But it also shows how a skill tree is meant to work.
Skyrim
Skyrim was kind of a trend-setter. It was one of those games that comes along once in a while and changes everyone’s ideas about how games should be made. They often have great ideas that most people don’t seem to understand right away. Skyrim’s world is full of creative ideas. But so few games are able to capture that same feeling.
Almost every AAA game, RPG or not, has skill trees these days, and most of them are pretty basic. Skyrim, on the other hand, looks like nothing else. To get to the skill tree, the camera pulls your attention up toward the sky. And you plan your growth along the stars of the constellations. Its purpose is pretty simple. But the way it feels is such an important part of it that it is very hard to make it again.
