How do you permanently unlock a skill?

Buy the same skill once in each of the five age brackets (20s through 60s). The fifth purchase makes it permanent across all runs.

Do permanent skills work on new runs?

Yes. Once permanent, a skill is available from the start of every future run at age 20.

What is the cheapest XP farming method?

Replay early levels with a young fighter and clear rooms cleanly. Bonus XP for no-death stretches adds up fast.

Sifu Mobile Permanent Skill Unlocks: How They Work

By David Lin, Action Game Specialist

Temporary skills die with your run. Permanent skills are forever. Here is the system that separates them.

The five-purchase rule

Each skill can be bought once per age decade. Buy charged backfist at 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60, and it becomes permanent. The purchases do not need to happen in one run; progress accumulates across attempts. This is why the aging system is also an XP economy: older runs unlock what young runs will use.

What to make permanent first

Follow the best skills order: charged backfist, snap kick, parry impact. Three permanent core techniques change every future run more than ten temporary ones.

XP farming without the grind

Replay the Squats with a young fighter and clear rooms without dying. Clean-room bonuses stack quickly, and the prologue refresher keeps your fundamentals sharp between farms.

Efficiency rule: never buy a fourth skill before your top three are permanent. Depth beats breadth in this economy.