After my first full run to Tier 6 in Everwind, I realized I’d basically soft-locked myself into a mediocre build. I’d “grabbed what looked cool” instead of planning around Backstab, Shadowcloak, Pure Power, and the masteries that gate endgame gear. The result was a character that could do a bit of everything and excel at nothing.
The breakthrough came on my second playthrough when I treated Tier 5 and Tier 6 as my final build decisions, not just more toys. Once I started planning around stealth openers and magic/weapon masteries, the game flipped: elites melted, bosses felt fair, and I stopped getting one-shot by elemental nonsense in late-game biomes.
This guide walks through the Tier 5 and Tier 6 skills I now prioritize in Everwind, why they’re strong, and how to combine them depending on your playstyle. Everything here is based on actually respeccing, testing, and comparing builds in late-game islands.
Right now in early access, Tier-based skills exist for the Warrior and Arcanist classes only. The Engineer tree is still undercooked past the early tiers, so don’t bank on Engineer Tier 6 yet.
The key gotcha I learned the hard way: to reach Tier 5 and Tier 6 on Warrior/Arcanist, you’re forced to spend a minimum number of points in earlier tiers. That means every point you waste on a fancy-but-bad skill is a point you don’t have for late-game staples like Pure Power, Fast Casting, or Master Weapon/Bow/Armor/Rods/Books.
Before you start spending on Tier 5-6, open Character → Skills and look at:
From there, treat Tier 5 and Tier 6 as the crown of that build: you’re not experimenting here, you’re finishing the idea.
By the time you hit Tier 5, you should already have your core tools from T1–T4. Tier 5 is where you turn that into a specialization. These are the skills that consistently pull their weight.
On my first “assassin” attempt, I foolishly picked Backstab without Shadowcloak, thinking crouch-walking with the basic stealth skill would be enough. It wasn’t. Enemies still spotted me the moment I got within kill range, and Backstab barely saw any use.
The combo that actually turns you into a predator is:
How it plays in practice:
This pair is mandatory if you want a stealth identity. Taking Backstab without Shadowcloak is a trap; taking Shadowcloak without Backstab wastes damage potential.
For Arcanist-heavy builds, nothing changed my late game more than maxing Pure Power and Fast Casting. Before that, I was throwing flashy spells that didn’t quite delete enemies and took just long enough to get me clobbered mid-cast.
Why they’re so good together:
Priority-wise, I now do this:
If you’re casting from a spellbook even semi-regularly, both of these are top-tier investments.
The point where I stopped underestimating Elemental Resistance was in a late-game lightning island where random trash mobs started chunking a third of my health per hit. I’d poured everything into damage and assumed dodging would be enough. It wasn’t.
Elemental Resistance (Tier 5) reduces incoming fire, ice, and lightning damage. That covers the majority of scary ranged and AOE attacks in endgame zones.
This is one of the few defensive skills I’d call “almost universal.” Whether you’re Warrior, Arcanist, stealth, or ranged, elemental chip damage adds up fast in Everwind’s later islands.
This is where a lot of people accidentally brick their build. Master Bow and Master Weapon don’t give you flashy actives; they simply let you equip master-tier gear for bows and melee weapons respectively.
My rule of thumb now:
Don’t make my early mistake of unlocking both “just in case.” Those are two points you might desperately want later for Fast Casting ranks or Tier 6 skills.
Tier 6 is the current ceiling in early access. These are the skills that will define how your character feels in the true endgame. This is where you commit.
If you’ve gone down the Backstab + Shadowcloak route, Ambush is the natural Tier 6 capstone.
If you’ve gone down the Backstab + Shadowcloak route, Ambush is the natural Tier 6 capstone.
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Ambush (Tier 6) lets you stun an enemy when you backstab them, but only if they’re at full health. That means:
When used correctly, your opener looks like this:
On non-boss enemies, this often means they’re either dead or near-dead before they’ve performed a single action. Against elites and bosses, it’s still an incredible tempo advantage.
Throatslice (Tier 6) is the flashy cousin: it has a chance to instantly kill an enemy depending on how much damage you’ve done, but:
My honest take: if you’re tight on points, Ambush is the priority. Throatslice is fun, but Ambush is what makes stealth a reliable loop instead of a gimmick.
On my bow-focused run, Tier 6 didn’t really “click” until I picked up Multi Arrow. Before that, bow felt great for single-target, but weak at controlling groups.
Multi Arrow (Tier 6) lets you fire multiple arrows at once, and scales with ranks up to four extra arrows. That turns every shot into a mini-cone of damage.
If bow is anything more than a backup weapon, Multi Arrow is worth the points. Just remember it only shines once you’ve already invested in Master Bow and have a strong weapon equipped.
Just like Master Weapon/Bow at Tier 5, Tier 6 has the gear gates that control your defensive and magic item slots:
How I handle these now:
Don’t unlock these blindly on spec. Wait until you actually find a good master item in that category or know from experience that’s where you’re heading.
Even with Fast Casting maxed, there were still fights where charging a big spellbook attack felt like asking to be interrupted-or killed outright. That changed when I picked Natural Cover.
Natural Cover (Tier 6) makes you impossible to harm while casting spells from a book. In other words, you’re invulnerable during that charge-up.
If you lean on spellbooks for your heaviest abilities, Natural Cover is one of the most impactful Tier 6 picks in the game. It turns “glass cannon” into “invulnerable while nuking.”
Magic Mirror (Tier 6) is a more niche pick, but very satisfying when it fits your setup. It lets you deflect enemy projectiles back at the caster.
The catch-and this is important-is that it only works if you’re using a staff. If you’re swinging a sword, bow, or anything else, Magic Mirror does nothing.
I treat Magic Mirror as an optional luxury once my core damage and gear masteries are covered.
To make all this more concrete, here’s how I’ve been structuring my Tier 5–6 picks for different archetypes.
Playstyle: Crouch in with Shadowcloak, Ambush-stun with Backstab, delete priority targets, then clean up the rest with superior weapons and armor.
Playstyle: Sit behind the front line (or a summoned distraction), chain fast, high-damage spells while Natural Cover keeps you safe mid-cast.
Playstyle: Use range and positioning to funnel enemies, then let Multi Arrow and good master bows shred groups before they reach you.
Playstyle: More forgiving than the extremes; you have tools for most situations and strong defenses, at the cost of not min-maxing a single damage type.
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