Alan Wake 2: Best Words of Power Upgrades to Get First

Words of Power are perks that give upgrades to Alan in various forms like more damage or making it easier to find points of interest. Here are the best Words of Power upgrades to get first in Alan Wake 2.

Which Words of Power Upgrades Should You Get First in Alan Wake 2?

The Words you get to upgrade depending on what you found, but you do have multiple options for each type.

Here, I’ll separate the best upgrades by the Words of Power category. This way, I can put the best upgrade for each category since they all have three different options. As you aren’t able to decide which category when you find the Words, you can only select the best upgrade of the category you found. The links below jump to each section:

• Best Words of Action
• Best Words of Aid
• Best Words of Fix
• Best Words of Gun
• Best Words of Lamp
• Best Words of Stuff
• Best Words of War

Best Words of Action

The best upgrade for Words of Action is It’s Personal. This is the only option of the three that increases Alan’s damage, making him deal more damage to enemies in close range. The other options are better for taking a stealthy approach and increasing defense. Never There makes it harder for enemies to detect Alan. While Turning Tables reduces the damage done by Darkness Projectiles.

Best Words of Aid

For Words of Aid, you want the Prescription upgrade first. Prescription increases the healing over time effect of Painkillers. The reason this is better than the others is because Painkillers are the most common health item you’ll find. Otherwise, the options are ER and Torchbearer. ER increases the effect of Trauma Pads. And Torchbearer increases the area of Hand Flare and its duration.

Best Words of Fix

Wellness Retreat is the best upgrade for Words of Fix as it increases Alan’s maximum health. And it’s hard to argue with a flat, permanent increase. The other options are God Rays and Wheels Within Wheels. God Rays increases the health restored in Safe Havens. Meanwhile, Wheels Within Wheels gives Alan health back when he finds a new Word of Power.

Best Words of Gun

We have Roulette as the best upgrade for Words of Gun. It gives you a small chance of not using a bullet when you fire the Revolver. Your other options are Sunny Skies and Personal Space. Personal Space is also nice since it increases the knock-back ability of the shotgun. Although, Sunny Skies gives you an increase to the area of Flare Gun projectiles, which helps against groups of Taken.

Best Words of Lamp

Here, Lucky Strike is the best Words of Lamp upgrade. Especially if you’re on a high difficulty where resources are limited because it gives you the chance to get a Flashlight Charge back when you kill an enemy. The other options are Main Attraction and In the Headlights. Main Attraction gives you health when you use Flashlight Boost on Taken. And In the Headlights gives Flashlight Boost the chance to stun enemies.

Best Words of Stuff

Magic Pocket is the hands-down winner as the best Words of Stuff upgrade. It gives you a flat increase to Alan’s inventory space. Then, we have Battery and Tourist Map. Battery gives you an extra Flashlight Charge. And Tourist Map marks points of interest and resources on your map. All of them are nice, but having extra space for carrying stuff makes Magic Pocket the best.

Best Words of War

The Revolver being Alan’s main weapon combined with its small capacity makes Full Stop the best Word of War upgrade. Full Stop increases the damage done by the last bullet in the Revolver’s chamber, so you get the most out of its limited capacity. Then, we have Paint the Town and Goes Around. Paint the Town increases the double-barrel shotgun’s damage when hitting multiple enemies. And Goes Around gives Alan some health every time he gets a direct hit with a Flare Gun.

That wraps up our list of the best Words of Power upgrades to get first in Alan Wake 2. The best part of these upgrades is that they stack and can’t be removed. So you can keep accumulating them and getting more buffs. But from here, check out our AW2 guide hub for topics like the top 10 best Weapon Upgrades or how to solve the Wellness Center Computer Password.