Perks across three games
The New Order uses four trees; The Old Blood drops to health and armour; The New Colossus uses three trees tied to contraptions. Start stealth, Eagle Eye, then tactical.
The New Colossus reworks perks into three trees, ties them to contraptions, and adds a hub section between missions where you can pick up permanent upgrades. It is the most systems-heavy game in the MachineGames run.
The three trees
| Tree | Theme | What it rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Stealth | Silent movement and takedowns | Not being seen, killing quietly |
| Mayhem | Sustained aggression | Kills without dying, heavy weapon use |
| Tactical | Contraptions and tools | Grenades, the laserkraftwerk, environmental kills |
Each tree feeds into the contraption system. Contraptions are the game's upgrade items, and the tactical tree specifically complements them.
What changed from The New Order
If you played the 2014 game, three things are different and all three matter.
Old Blood and New Colossus do not use the same tree layout. The Old Blood drops the four-tree structure almost entirely, keeping only health and armour upgrade categories.
The hub is where upgrades happen. Between missions on the U-Boat, you spend what you have earned. Miss the hub and you miss the upgrades.
Perks are tied to contraptions. The tactical tree is not a list of isolated bonuses; it unlocks and improves the tools you carry.
The Old Blood, for comparison
The 2015 prequel is much simpler. No four trees, just health and armour categories, and its perks are all counters you fill by playing.
| Old Blood perk | Requirement | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle Eye | 20 stealth commander kills | Marks collectibles in the world |
| Reload mash | Kill with the last bullet of a magazine 20 times | Faster reload by mashing |
| Quick turn | 50 kills from behind cover | 180 turn with auto-aim at nearest enemy |
| Schockhammer clip | 50 Schockhammer kills | Clip size up by 6 |
| Bombenschuss clip | 50 Bombenschuss kills | Clip size up by 5 |
| Ammunition upgrade | 100 dual-wield kills | 20% more ammo per pickup |
| Grenade belt | Kill 3 enemies with one grenade | Carries 2 more grenades |
Eagle Eye is the standout. It puts collectible markers in the world, which makes the Old Blood's collectible hunt trivial compared to The New Order's.
Where to start in each game
| Game | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The New Order | Stealth tree | Vampire and Scout II change the whole game |
| The Old Blood | Eagle Eye | Collectibles become visible, everything else follows |
| The New Colossus | Tactical tree | Feeds contraptions, which feed everything else |
The rule that holds across all three
Perk counters live on your profile, not your save, so reloading an earlier chapter never costs you progress. The one exception is extra modes: enigma code modes and combat challenges disable perk progression entirely.
That means the fastest way to finish a perk board is to find a spot with a reliable enemy cluster, farm the counter, and reload. Nothing is lost.
The perk guide has the full New Order tree with requirements, and the enigma code page covers the modes that block perk progress.