Exiled Survivors Best Skills: Tier List by Family

Exiled Survivors has over 150 named skills, and the game gives you no numbers to compare them with. This tier list ranks skill families by what they mechanically do — every entry is grounded in what the game’s own skill text says the skill does. Families in the same tier can swap places depending on your build; what does not change is that a strong core automatic skill plus matching Focus passives beats a pile of unfocused picks.

The full roster with every skill description is in the Exiled Survivors skill database.

S tier: skills that carry a run alone

Crossbow Bolt line. The basic bolt upgrades into Big, Double, Split, Chaining, Mega and Bleeding variants. What makes the line S tier is the chaining and splitting behavior: bolts that seek new enemies after hitting, and bolts that split into smaller projectiles on impact. Pierce and multi-hit are what clear hordes, and this line has both. The Bleeding variants add a damage-over-time layer on top.

Arrow Volley / Salvo line. Volleys fire groups of arrows in one direction; the Salvo throws more arrows and groups them tighter. Arrow Burst changes the delivery to one arrow after another, which the game itself notes makes it easier to target a big enemy or a dense group. Arrow Nova fires in all directions instead of just forward. Direction changes like that are worth more than raw damage against hordes.

Kunai line. Fast, piercing, and the upgrade chain adds splitting and chaining: kunai that spawn smaller kunai before hitting (more damage, more pierce) or after hitting (spread to enemies behind). The Bleeding Kunai variants stack bleed on everything they touch.

Ballista line. Autonomous turrets that fire at the nearest enemy and count as minions — so Minion Focus boosts them. Gatling, Multi-Shot, Piercing, Repeating, Siege, Poison, Plague and Virulent variants cover single-target, horde, and status needs. The one weakness is real: ballistas can be destroyed by enemy hits, so they are a pick for builds that keep distance anyway.

A tier: strong with the right support

Shuriken line. Acid, Caustic, Contagion, Corrosive, Necrotic, Plague, Poisoning, Rotten and Virulent variants. The armor-dissolving acid burst on hit is the standout — armor break makes everything else do more damage, which multiplies with a party of one.

Elemental line. Elemental Arrow, Bolt, Javelin, Mine, Missile, Slash, Strike, Artillery, Flurry, Crescendo, Overflow and Overload. The Flurry strikes the closest enemies repeatedly and deals more damage when enemies are grouped. The Overflow upgrade turns burning enemies into burning novas and slowed enemies into slowing novas — a combo engine if your build applies statuses.

Totem line. Fire, Frost, Hail, Blizzard, Bonfire, Pyre, Searing, Smoldering, Smoke, Infernal, Nova, Dragon and Icycle totems. Persistent area damage that works while you reposition. Duration and health are the stats that matter; totems are minions for Minion Focus purposes.

Trap and Mine lines. Bear, Breaker, Crusher, Gravity, Leg, Lightning, Net, Saw, Shrapnel, Web and Barbed traps; Arc, Arctic, Capacitor, Chaos, Electro, Explosive, Heat Seeking, Hunting, Permafrost, Random, Snow and Static mines. The Bear Trap jumps to the biggest nearby enemy when triggered, which solves targeting for you. Traps and mines are placement-free damage that scales with Mine Focus.

Meteor and Rain line. Meteor, Meteor Artillery, Meteor Shower, Meteor Storm, Infernal Rain, Scorching Rain, Shattering Rain, Binary Rain, Twinning Rain. Meteors fall from the sky onto target areas instead of being thrown, which the game notes lets them hit more enemies when packs are dense. Binary Rain drops arrows on two smaller areas instead of one big one.

B tier: situational, but not weak

Cyclone line. Cyclone, Tornado, Hurricane, Typhoon, Fire Vortex, Fire Whirlwind, Fatal Vortex, Glacial Hurricane. Moving areas of damage — excellent into dense packs, awkward against fast single targets.

Nova line. Frost Nova, Spark Nova, Shock Nova, Piercing Nova, and the energy-fueled Energy Nova / Burst / Quake / Shockwave. Novas are player-centered areas, so they only work when the horde is on top of you. Great as a panic button, poor as a primary.

Boomerang line. Boomerang, Boomerang Volley, Boomerang Vortex. Orbit damage that hits each enemy repeatedly — but the game explicitly warns boomerangs do not count as melee and do not benefit from Melee Focus. Know that before building around them.

Vine and Nature line. Vine Arrow, Vine Impact, Vine Roots, Snaring Vine, Snaring Wall, Snaring Network, Shredding Vine, Shredding Ivy, Shredding Bramble, Shredding Hedge, Shredding Razor, Root Burst, Spreading Roots, Thorns Crash, Fungal Growth, Mycelium Network. Control-heavy: snares and roots that lock enemies in place while other skills work.

Mark line. Arctic, Winter, Bloodletting, Bloodthirsty, Crimson, Eternal, Lingering, Multiplying, Permafrost, Persistent, Pulsating and Binary marks. Marks attach to a target and keep damaging it and everything nearby — the Pulsating Mark hits the target and nearby enemies periodically until the main target dies. Binary Mark spawns a secondary mark every time a cursed target dies, which chains through packs.

Curse and Wicked line. Burning Curse, Wicked Curse, Witch’s Curse, Hag’s Hex, Siphoning Jinx, Molten Curse, Searing Curse, Poisonous Curse, Necrotic Plague, Virulent Plague, Dormant Plague. Attrition damage that rewards long fights.

C tier: pick only for a specific plan

Pure single-target skills. Heavy hammers, big tridents, Poseidon’s Trident-style heavies. Great into Lucifer-style armored bosses, near-useless into hordes. Keep exactly one.

Gaze skills. Basilisk’s Gaze, Medusa’s Gaze, Gorgon’s Gaze — armor shattering on hit is strong, but the targeting is unreliable against packs.

The rule that outranks any tier

The best skill in the game is the one your Focus passives boost. A B-tier skill with three matching Focus tiers out-damages an S-tier skill with none. Take the family your passives support, not the family this list likes most.