You will need to invest in your abilities if you are going to survive Mad Max, but which ones are the best?

Surviving the harsh Wasteland in Mad Max is hard enough when you wake up after having your car stolen, only to discover that your new sidekick, Chumbucket, is not only super creepy, but he has a deep affection for cars. Like a really deep affection for cars. He lets you in on this fact quite frequently during his odd, often incoherent, ramblings about his undying love for the Magnum Opus.

It gets even worse once you realize that your new car has no defense, you’re low on health, and your fighting skills are less than ideal.

Luckily for you, there’s a strange man in the desert named Griffa who is willing to help you out, but it won’t come cheap. He requires payment in the form of Griffa Tokens, which you can acquire by completing missions, acing challenges, and by increasing your character rank through the Legend tab in the pause menu. In exchange, he enlightens you by enhancing your abilities so that you have a fighting chance to defeat Lord Scrotus and his ragtag gang of lowlifes.

But which abilities should you spend your precious Griffa Tokens on?

Read on for the top 5 Mad Max best abilities.

5. Volition

When you're not fighting, you should be looting.

Volition is arguably an essential ability in Mad Max, as it allows you to acquire more scrap when you are looting.

Scrap is vital to upgrade the Magnum Opus, which you will need as you are going to be doing a lot of driving in this game. This isn't leisurely "Sunday driving," either. You will encounter a ton of enemies, all of which are gunning for you almost constantly.

If you’re going to stand a chance at defeating those enemies, you will need to do some serious upgrades to your ride. This comes in the form of massive ramming grills, side burners that shoot flames from the sides of your car, and spiked wheels that shred other cars as if they were tin cans.

My personal favorite, the Thunderpoon, is a weapon that not only spears your enemies but lights them up with jolts of electricity.

To get these powerful vehicle upgrades, you will need to collect scrap, and lots of it. There are many ways to do this, but the most common method (especially early in the game) is looting enemy camps.

You will also need scrap to upgrade Max’s gear and weapons, which will definitely come in handy the next time you invade a Top Dog camp.

Every Griffa Token spent on the Volition ability allows you to collect 5% more scrap every time you loot. This means you can upgrade Max and the Magnum Opus even faster, and conquer every enemy in the Wasteland.

Why the Volition ability is so great:

• Collect more scrap from every camp you loot
• More scrap = More upgrades for the Magnum Opus and Max
• Strengthen your defenses with better armor and weapons

Volition full details:

Bonus Scrap from "Volition Abilitiy" Mad Max Gameplay

4. Longevity

There's plenty of hand-to-hand combat in Mad Max.

Longevity is another important ability you'll want to invest in if you're going to survive in the Wasteland.

There are quite a few instances in the game where you will have to leave the Magnum Opus' comfort and safety and punch your enemies right in the face.

For you to take down enemy camps, you will have to engage in some hand-to-hand combat. Quite often, enemies will come at you in large groups from all directions. There are very few health items in the camps, so you will need to have high Longevity stats if you’re going to outlast the hordes.

There will also be times during vehicle combat where your car catches fire, and you will need to jump out and fight to keep from going up in flames, so it’s always best to be prepared.

Why the Longevity ability is so great:

• You can stay in the fight even longer
• Small explosions won’t insta-kill you
• You will use less of the scarce health items

Longevity full details:

Mad Max - Increase Max's Abilities w Griffa Tokens Tutorial: Volition, Longevity, Munition Unlocked

3. Munition

You should always stock up on bullets wherever you can find them.

There are a few times in Mad Max where you are going to have to use your guns. However, much like every other valuable resource within the game, ammo is scarce.

The Munition ability allows you to acquire more ammo when you are looting, and this ability comes in quite handy.

Even with this ability fully upgraded, I suggest that you save your ammo to take down Leadslingers and destroy Scrotus emblems.

Leadslingers dot the Wasteland, and sometimes the only thing that gives them away is the tell-tale muzzle flash from their sniper rifles. Using the sniper rifle on the Magnum Opus is the best way to take these enemies out before they can even see you coming.

Trying to rush into a stronghold before taking out the Leadslingers first is a bad idea, as their relentless gunfire will either leave you dead or having to make a very hasty retreat.

Certain Scrotus emblems can only be destroyed by using your shotgun, as they are unreachable any other way.There’s nothing worse than clearing out a stronghold only to find that you cannot reach 100% completion due to not being able to destroy a stray Scrotus emblem because you ran out of shotgun shells. Trust me. I’ve been there.

Once you complete the proper objectives within a territorial stronghold, such as Jeet’s or Pink Eye’s, your ammo will be filled every time you enter that particular stronghold.

However, you don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere with snipers bearing down on you, only to run out of ammo and have to scramble back to a stronghold to get a refill.

Save yourself the hassle and upgrade the Munition ability whenever you can. You will be glad that you did, especially later on in the game.

Why the Munition ability is so great:

• Less backtracking to a stronghold for more ammo
• Take out more Leadslingers
• Destroy those pesky, out-of-reach Scrotus emblems

Munition full details:

Mad Max - Griffa Tokens: Longevity, Judgement, Munition, Adaptation, Intuition, Attunement 

2. Essence

Giving water to thirsty travelers in the Wasteland has its benefits.

The Essence ability is often overlooked, but it is actually vital to your survival in this game. This ability allows you to acquire more water from sources scattered throughout the land, filling your canteen faster without completely draining the source.

You can drink from your canteen to refill your health, which comes in handy when you are almost dead, and there aren’t any maggots or dog food around to scavenge.

You also never know when you will come across a thirsty traveler wandering in the desert. By offering them a drink from your canteen, they will become loyal to you, and may even offer their help in combat or give you critical information.

There is usually at least one water source at every fortress, and once they run out of water, they do not replenish themselves until the next day.

Spending Griffa tokens on the Essence ability not only ensures that your canteen is full whenever you need a health boost, but it also keeps you from draining the water source whenever you need a refill.

Why the Essence ability is so great:

• Fills your canteen without using all of the water
• Allows you to carry a health boost around at all times
• A full canteen comes in handy when you come across thirsty travelers

Essence full details:

Mad Max: Griffa Upgrades and Tokens Explained (guide) | What are they and how to get them

1. Channeling

Fury Mode is your best defense against hordes of enemies.

One of my favorite things about this game’s combat system has to be Max’s ability to go into Fury Mode. When you’re on a roll fighting enemies, the Fury Meter fills, causing Max to go into a blind rage where every punch does even more damage.

The Channeling ability allows you to stay in Fury mode for a more extended amount of time, allowing you to unleash awesome Fury Kills that will strike fear in the remaining enemies around you.

Fury Mode is a must for defeating large swarms of enemies, and it makes you practically unstoppable.

Combined with the Attunement ability, which gives more power to melee weapons, and the maximum health boost from the Longevity ability, you will easily destroy Scrotus and his minions.

Why the Channeling ability is so great:

• Allows you to stay in Fury mode for a longer period of time
• Cause massive destruction during melee combat
• A must-have for completing the Unstoppable challenge

Channeling full details:

Mad Max: Griffa Upgrades and Tokens Explained (guide) | What are they and how to get them

For more great Mad Max articles, check these out:

• Mad Max Best Tires: Which Is Best?
• [Top 5] Mad Max Best Car Builds
• [Top 5] Mad Max Best Abilities
• [Top 5] Mad Max Best Ways to Get Scrap
• [Top 3] Mad Max Best Armor and How To Get Them
• Mad Max Gameplay: Top 5 Awesome Mechanics
• Mad Max Gameplay: 10 Interesting Facts About This Awesome Game
• Mad Max Game: Everything You Need To Know