One of the fundamental aspects of RPGs is that they allow us to customize our characters to our liking.

This doesn’t just mean letting us play a particular role within their worlds (deciding what to say, what to do, or who to align with), but also urging us to adapt the mechanics to our play style.

Therefore, video games use multiple tools to achieve this, but one of the most prominent is Skill Trees: branching abilities that are unlocked as we progress through the game.

Although they are common outside the RPG genre, this is where the deepest and most interesting uses are seen, as reflected in this ranked list of the ten best RPGs with incredible Skill Trees.

10 CrossCode

A Retro-inspired Marvel

CrossCode is one of those wonderful games that reminds me why I’m such a big fan of indie titles, perhaps even more so when they’re underrated like this one.

Thanks to its Circuit and Combat Arts systems, equivalent to the traditional Skill Tree mechanic, the game offers several impressive possibilities like any major RPG.

Given its dozens of passive and active skills, belonging to branches that can be dynamically alternated between each other, CrossCode‘s complexity is as great as it’s unexpected.

Its bright retro aesthetic fooled me at first, but it didn’t take me long to recognize that this indie is dense and demanding. You can’t imagine the many hours of content hidden behind its great and engaging gameplay depth, believe me.

9 Grim Dawn

Masteries and Dual-classes

As a Diablo fan, it’s hard to address the topic of Skill Trees without mentioning the many games that have been inspired by it, such as Grim Dawn.

Like CrossCode, this is an unfairly overlooked adventure that valiantly strives to overcome its inspirations to create something distinctive.

To do so, it features a system of Masteries that quickly become dual classes, allowing you to upgrade two Skill Trees simultaneously.

Initially, there are nine classes with their respective branches, but as you progress, you can combine them to create new specializations that best suit your playing style.

I’d be lying if I said that Grim Dawn doesn’t feel a bit generic, given its similarity to the game it’s based on. Nonetheless, its systems make me overlook it in favor of focusing on the merits of its replayability.

8 Path of Exile

A Passive System

Path of Exile has become one of the most important and beloved ARPGs of recent years thanks to Grinding Gear Games’ tireless work.

The depth of the game is astonishing, guaranteeing huge amounts of customization that can overwhelm even the most experienced players.

Part of the reason for that intricacy is its Passive Skill Tree, a complex system of more than 1,300 skills that grant passive bonuses to the characters.

The only reason it is so high on the list is because, as the name implies, they are passive skills. However, the density and variety it adds to Path of Exile’s gameplay is such that I would not have forgiven myself for not including it.

7 Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

The Classic Three-way

I’ve played numerous underrated video games in my life, and to such hidden gems, I would add Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, a magnificent and classic fantasy RPG.

From its mythology to its playable classes and their powers, the title is an ode to RPG standards. So, its Skill Tree is halfway between Diablo and World of Warcraft, making it a satisfying adventure from the start.

In addition, it has a Destiny system, which allows you to choose from many branches within each class. Through the selection of special cards, you can vary your skills and passives to keep the gameplay fresh.

As you can also change Destinies at will and redistribute your points invested in the tree without effort, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning stimulates and rewards experimentation, which is so necessary to get the most out of an RPG.

6 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Between Alchemy and Signs

Far from traditional RPGs where you choose one of three classes, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt concentrates everything on a single, powerful protagonist who has multiple specializations.

Given the game’s mythology, we are not faced with the typical division between Mage, Rogue, and Warrior, but rather with the Witchers’ natural signs and alchemy.

Therefore, the focus of the title’s Skill Tree is tactical. All abilities actively allow you to change or improve Geralt’s capacities and limit those of enemies, but always within a strategic sense.

For reference, it’s less accessible than Dragon Age: Inquisition but more than Path of Exile, demonstrating the uniqueness of The Witcher 3‘s fantasy and its effectiveness.

5 Diablo 3

Accessible Experimentation

While I don’t consider myself a casual RPG player, it’s also true I can often feel overwhelmed if the number of options is excessive.

From there, it’s easier to understand my special fixation with Diablo 3, a work that sacrificed part of the complexity of the franchise’s RPG component to allow a greater number of players to enjoy it.

This brought various retaliations, but I think I’m not wrong when I say it’s one of the greatest and most addictive RPGs of the last decades due to its accessible depth.

With numerous classes and branches, the product of a cautious but accessible Skill Tree, Diablo 3 is a highly replayable and entertaining work.

Perhaps it doesn’t reach the level of density where you have to have an Excel spreadsheet to be able to unravel its operation, but I think it found an ideal balance to reconcile both veterans and novices of the genre.

4 World of Warcraft

A Talented Pioneer

In one way or another, everything that has to do with RPGs ends up leading to World of Warcraft, a pioneering title in many ways, but especially in gameplay.

After Diablo 2 set the standard for Skill Trees, Blizzard’s creation brought it to the masses, having a particularly sensitive impact on the MMORPG variant.

Today, the talent system has gone through various transformations and processes. Yet, it has never stopped being complex and fascinating enough to have a devoted community to debate the best combinations and create online calculators.

That said, I admit it hurts me a little that World of Warcraft has become an eternal practice of min-maxing, thinking of the game more as a series of numbers than as a series of experiences.

However, it depends on how you live your time in Azeroth, and I live it prioritizing the entertainment of its systems above all else.

3 Cyberpunk 2077

Creativity at its Finest

Despite taking a while to get to the best shape, Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the best RPGs out there, especially thanks to CD Projekt RED’s ability to make dense, stylized, and easily distinguishable gameplay.

Unlike at launch, the updates to the game have led to it becoming a title packed with unique builds that go beyond just dealing more damage or having more health points.

Now, from being a stealthy hacker to a destructive juggernaut, each path is supported by ingenious abilities that create a genuine sense of creative autonomy.

Alongside the arrival of Phantom Liberty, Cyberpunk 2077‘s current Skill Tree is so specific and full of opportunities that CD Projekt has even set up a build planner page. Now that’s some real progress.

2 Salt and Sanctuary

Massive Scale and Combinations

It’s no coincidence Salt and Sanctuary is the only indie on this list, as it features an atypically giant Skill Tree that far exceeds the dimensions of what we’ve seen in even AAA games.

I’ve finished the campaign multiple times with different characters, and I haven’t been able to fully unravel all the possibilities its systems offer.

Still, the simple process of experimenting with the hundreds of variations has been more than rewarding. While it takes on an extra value for the unexpected size, it certainly backs it up with quality.

In the end, Salt and Sanctuary is more than the dimensions of its possibilities—it’s not for nothing the best 2D Souls-Like out there, if you ask me, though it’s clear its complex Skill Tree has a lot to do with it.

Out-of-this-world Ramifications

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a gaming icon. Bethesda’s finest product is one of the gaming industry’s highest points, and its immersion is the key asset of such a titan.

This not only refers to the game’s environmental ability to make you feel within its universe, but also to subject you to a natural gameplay progression few titles have replicated.

With a dozen and a half Skill Trees, Skyrim allows you to have the kind of experience you want as long as you commit to doing it mechanically.

Instead of just leveling up and placing points arbitrarily, you have to master the area in question, creating a sense of connection between the player and the trees.

If you want to be a destroyer mage, you have to defeat enemies with your magic. If you want to have a silver tongue, you have to engage in a lot of dialogue. If you want to be a blacksmith, you have to forge a lot of daggers. And so on.

It’s a logical system, but it works incomparably, and it reminds us why Skyrim is one of the most influential modern gaming classics.