Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Should You Invest In Suit Tech Or Gadgets First?

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 lets players pour their crafting materials into either Suit Tech or Gadgets. Both are important elements of the gameplay and, alongside leveling up, are the primary methods of character progression. Any choice in either category may unlock a new skill, stat bonus, or combat option, the likes of which will be vital on Spider-Man 2‘s higher difficulty settings.

But it can be difficult to decide where to invest first. Each upgrade might require a variety of different crafting materials: Tech Parts, City Tokens, Hero Tokens, et cetera. Some of these are exceedingly rare. While there are ways to get Hero Tokens fast in Spider-Man 2, City Tokens are only rewarded for neighborhood completion, so it can take a long time to save up. While there’s really no such thing as a useless upgrade to either Suit Tech or Gadgets, some are definitely better than others. Here are all the pros and cons of upgrading either Suit Tech or Gadgets first in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

Pros And Cons Of Investing In Spider-Man 2’s Suit Tech First

The first thing players will notice about the Suit Tech menu is that it’s far more complicated than the Gadget menu. Upgrading a Gadget is pretty straightforward; their upgrade trees are more like singular branches, with each level granting a simple stat boost to the selected gadget. Suit Tech upgrade trees, while not exactly intricate, do have multiple branching paths. At multiple points, players will be forced to choose between one potential upgrade and another. For example, on the Health tree, Confidence Boost restores HP when Spidey does a perfect dodge, while Rejuvenating Parry restores HP on a parry.

It should be pretty easy for most to determine which perk they’d rather have, but the necessity and finality of these choices means that it can be more daunting to decide which Suit Tech to upgrade first. It’s not an easy choice to make in the early game, when playstyles are less developed.

But at the same time, the larger and more complicated trees make Suit Tech a more versatile category of upgrade. There are four trees to choose from, each relevant to a particular mechanic of gameplay, where Gadgets focus entirely on combat skills. Suit Tech upgrades can have a wider variety of effects, like upgrading Spidey’s max HP, raising his damage output, improving his Focus bar, simplifying his traversal, and much, much more.

Suit Tech also happens to be more expensive than Gadget upgrades. It varies from skill to skill and level to level, but on average, Suit Tech is far pricier. As a result, players will have to save up more crafting materials to upgrade their Suit Tech, which means getting the desired boost could take longer. The good news is, though, that it’s possible to overshoot the mark while saving, and have enough left over after a big Suit Tech upgrade to buy a level or two in a preferred gadget.

Finally, completing all Suit Tech trees grants the “Fully Loaded” Trophy on PS5. This is a Bronze Trophy, placing it among the lowest tier of achievements, but it’s still no easy task.

Pros And Cons Of Investing In Spider-Man 2’s Gadgets First

By contrast, Spider-Man 2‘s Gadget menu is much simpler. Every single option contained within it applies to a combat ability with a specific application, and its upgrade trees are as straightforward as can be. Some Gadgets don’t even have trees, and are simply upgraded level by level, receiving a stat boost at each one. As a result, it’s easy to pick and choose which Gadget upgrades to get first. While an individual player will certainly use their preferred Gadgets more frequently than others, they’re all useful in certain applications, and the best choices vary less by playstyle preferences.

However, there are far fewer Gadgets in Spider-Man 2 than in the previous game. There are only five options to the eight included in Marvel’s Spider-Man. This is both a blessing and a curse. Naturally, having fewer Gadget options means fewer options in combat. For those who enjoy experimentation in battle, stringing together the longest combos they possibly can, this is a disappointment. However, having just five Gadget options could also be said to streamline the combat experience, with just a few, more refined options instead of many, less balanced ones.

And of course, Gadget upgrades are cheaper, so they can be purchased earlier and more often than Suit Tech upgrades. Fully upgrading all Gadgets earns players the “To The Max” Trophy, a Silver tier achievement.

You Should Invest In Gadgets First, But Don’t Forget Suit Tech

Ultimately, it’s best to upgrade Gadgets before Suit Tech in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Since players don’t even unlock Suit Tech upgrades until level 10, it’s worth spending a few of the crafting materials they pick up in the early game to upgrade their most-used Gadgets, like the Web Shooter. They also use fewer of those materials, so players are more likely to be able to afford them in the early game.

Plus, it’s better to wait to invest points in Suit Tech until players have decided on their favorite aspects of and abilities in the game. Even though Suit Tech upgrades are a more versatile category overall, Gadgets are used more frequently, and Gadget upgrades are more consistently useful for all players. For those on a repeat playthrough, however, it might not be the worst idea to take some Suit Tech upgrades as soon as possible. By then, they’re probably familiar with their preferred style, and which perks are most useful for them.

However, it’s important to aim for a balance between Gadget and Suit Tech upgrades. Pouring all available resources into one while ignoring the other will only result in an unbalanced character, for whom some situations are too easy and others are punishingly difficult. Plus, it’s worth pointing out that the achievement for upgrading Gadgets is of a higher tier than the one for upgrading Suit Tech – Gadgets’ Silver versus Suit Tech’s Bronze.

In the end, though, which kind of upgrade to focus on first is up to the individual. Some, like those most interested in traversal, may determine that Suit Tech better fits what they like about the game, and choose to save up for that first before investing anything into Gadgets. Others may prefer experimentation in combat, and fully upgrade all the Gadget nodes before even looking at the Suit Tech menu. Even if it’s not a choice to be made lightly, it all comes down to player preference in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.