Summary
- Brutal Attack: Execution rewards players with damage and spirit charges, useful for both enemies and bosses.
- Counterattack: Offense nullifies damage and incapacitates enemies, a satisfying and effective defensive skill.
- Berserk Spirit boosts spirit accumulation, essential for long boss battles and ability usage.
One of the biggest aspects of any game is deciding on a build that suits the player, whether that be picking up the strongest and most powerful skills and weapons, or opting for a more fun-focused approach. Khazan gives players the option to play how they choose, with the skill tree letting players respec their points and providing more than enough gameplay variety to keep things fresh and exciting.
However, some skills are stronger than others, and certain ones should be unlocked as soon as possible to make fighting through the challenging boss fights and hordes of enemies a bit easier. The skill tree is split into Common skills, and then three other sections for each corresponding weapon. Players can adapt and alter their skillset to fit the situation, or keep a more general set of strong buffs and abilities that work no matter the scenario.
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8 Brutal Attack: Execution
No Time To Retaliate
- Skill tree: Common
- Effect: Press Interact near an enemy. Activate Brutal Attack: Execution if an enemy can be eliminated with a brutal attack. Gain 1 spirit charge when defeating an enemy with Brutal Attack: Execution.
Brutal Attacks are an important part of the combat in Khazan. They give the player an incentive to keep up the aggression by rewarding them with a huge burst of damage that takes chunks away from boss health pools, and can one-shot most normal enemies.
That reward is good enough, but being gifted with an extra spirit charge with each execution means that players can farm more basic enemies for extra charges. They can then use these to take down harder opponents at range, or save points for elite enemies, utilizing the wide set of abilities that require spirit to activate. It is a nice, simple skill that works with every playstyle, but the utility does drop off with bosses, as it requires a kill rather than just pulling off the attack.
7 Counterattack: Offense
Incredibly Satisfying
- Skill tree: Common
- Effect: Nullifies damage from a burst attack and breaks the enemy's stance. If timed perfectly with a burst attack, it recovers all stamina and incapacitates the enemy.
The difficulty levels of the bosses and combos in Khazan are high, and there are plenty of different attacks and combos that players need to learn and understand in order to succeed. Burst attacks are an example of an attack that comes in quickly and can't be blocked or parried by normal means, requiring players to use a dodge or counterattack to avoid taking heavy damage.
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Counterattacks are incredibly satisfying to pull off, requiring rapid reaction time and careful input to execute. If the player can nail it, it deals significant stance damage and can open a window for some heavy blows afterward. By upping the damage a fair amount, the player has a greater incentive to keep attempting counters, which are common in boss fights and an important part of the game's combat. Though it serves little function with other attacks, it is still worth having as a bonus to damage output.
6 Berserk Spirit
Keep The Abilities Coming
- Skill tree: Common
- Effect: Increases spirit accumulation upon attack.
Ability use and management are an important part of Khazan, as well as using the high-damage javelins that can be tossed from afar and even used to break soulstones. Players will need to build up their spirit charges by hitting enemies, deflecting attacks, and using a few other smaller sources, to then dish out some serious punishment.
Berserk Spirit makes that process easier with a significant boost to the number of spirit charges the player can acquire during a fight. This is a game-changer in long boss battles, where abilities are incredibly valuable and effective. It's not the flashiest skill in the game, but it is a great one to add to a playthrough to let the other abilities shine more.
5 Reflection
Another Tool In The Belt
- Skill tree: Common
- Effect: Parry the enemy's attack. It deals significant stamina damage and briefly disables defensive actions. When taking damage while this skill is active, take decreased health damage and increased stamina damage. Burst attacks, grab attacks, and certain normal attacks cannot be parried.
Parrying makes up a large part of the combat and fighting in Khazan, letting players go toe-to-toe with fierce foes and stand their ground thanks to the power of deflection. Adding an extra layer to this with Reflection provides a lot more skill expression and the ability to deal far more stamina damage than standard deflects.
It even comes with the extra benefit of reducing health damage taken in exchange for more stamina damage. This does mean that players need to spend a bit more time recovering, but they'll have a larger health pool to keep the fight going for longer. It is a skill that needs to be used carefully, as certain attacks will simply ignore it. But when it lands, it hits like a truck.
4 Brutal Attack: Reap
Become The Vampire
- Skill tree: Common
- Effect: Recover health when using a brutal attack from head on.
The player's health bar is an essential stat to manage. It can only take a few swings from most bosses for it to be depleted. There are plenty of healing items in the game, as well as Netherworld energy to keep it topped up. But having an extra passive heal with Reap adds even more survivability with zero drawbacks.
Having a way to recoup lost health is always a great skill to have in a Soulslike game. While this skill isn't as effective as straight-up lifesteal, it gives a nice boost that can pop several times in a boss fight, and give the player some extra health when traversing a new area full of tricky enemies.
3 Javelin: Charge
Powerful Ranged Assault
- Skill tree: Common
- Effect: Charge the javelin to deliver a more powerful attack. Consume 1 additional spirit charge when charging.
The javelin is a versatile and effective damage-dealer that lets players take on foes from a distance, dealing significant damage before getting up close to seal the deal. While it does take some time to build up a few charges, they can deal incredible damage to regular enemies and are a great asset to use in any boss fight.
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The ability to charge up the shots to deal significantly more damage gives a massive boost to the burst potential. The rest of the Javelin tree works perfectly with the charge, later giving even more damage and even refunding a spirit point. It's a great skill to grab early on and makes certain areas full of lots of enemies an absolute breeze.
2 Armor Breaker
Weaving In The Combos
- Skill tree: Greatsword
- Effect: Swift Attack immediately after a normal guard or brink guard. Swiftly deliver two slashes after guarding against an attack.
The biggest difference between other Soulslikes and Khazan is the ability to combo moves between blocks and attacks, to deliver ludicrous combos and give the player agency over how they want to approach a fight. The weapon the player chooses will determine what skills they have access to, each giving a unique playstyle and combat approach with their own strengths and weaknesses.
Greatswords are slow, powerful weapons that dish out massive blows at once, requiring specific windows in order to get a hit in. Armor Breaker removes that downside, letting the player combo in some high-damaging strikes between blows, increasing the total output without sacrificing anything. The rest of the tree adds to the ability and makes the attacks between blocks even stronger, making it valuable for any greatsword user.
1 Blowback/Avenger
Offense On The Defense
- Skill tree: Greatsword/Dual Wield
- Effect: Deal damage to enemies when performing a brink guard.
Guarding against attacks is a core gameplay mechanic players will need to learn and use throughout the entire game. Each block deals a decent amount of stamina damage that builds up over time before letting the player go in for a brutal attack.
These two skills turn the weapons into thorn-covered parry machines, letting the player keep up a defensive approach by blocking oncoming attacks whilst not compromising their damage output. It is super effective against any and all enemies, and is a must-have for each respective weapon class. It's a game-changer when it comes to the player's ability to take down bosses quickly and effectively.
The First Berserker: Khazan
- Released
- March 27, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Neople
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
