The Surge 2 Guide - The Best Starter Weapons And Armor, And Where To Get Them

The Surge 2, in the same vein as other Souls-likes, is a very challenging title. While the game spares no expense in making you look and feel as badass as possible, pulling off all those sweet action-packed moments comes at the price of high difficulty. With volatile enemies at almost every corner and an unforgiving landscape where there is an ambush that awaits you, The Surge 2 can be a very tough nut to crack, especially if you’re going about its mechanics the wrong way.

This rings true for the first few areas of the game, where you find yourself getting swarmed by enemies and with very little to protect you. Fortunately, there are a few weapons and armor sets that you can easily obtain early in the game that will provide you with ample damage and protection, enough to last you up until the mid-game in Gideon’s Rock and AID Command, where some of the best gear can be found. While this is some of the best gear you can have, keep in mind that every set is viable and will fit a lot of different play styles.

The Best Early Game Weapons For The Surge 2

Bootleg Firestarter (Single-rigged) – A great starting weapon due to its high elemental damage and decent impact build-up. Single-rigged weapons are a bit harder to use due to their weird cross combo move sets, but when it comes to delivering fast swipes coupled with high-impact blows from above, there’s no better weapon category. The Bootleg Firestarter deals an ungodly amount of fire damage, which can easily whittle down enemies’ health. As a general rule of thumb, all human enemies are weak to fire, and as such it’s a good all-around element.

• Location – from the very first Med-bay outside the JCPD, head towards Riverside Street. Make a right, heading towards the stretch of road packed with cars. On your right is a shortcut back to the JCPD. On the left is a truck, and near the guardrail for the river is an enemy wielding the Bootleg Firestarter. Cut off the arm to take the weapon.

That said, there are some downsides to using fire as an element. If you managed to successfully apply the Burning status to an enemy, it will start to whittle his health, and as such, this can kill him before you pull off a successful dismemberment. Keep this in mind if you’re on the hunt for equipment schematics or weapons that require you to cut off enemies’ limbs.

Bootleg Splitcleaver (Double-Duty) – Fast and hard-hitting, the Bootleg Splitcleaver is perfect for those who want a powerful weapon that alternates between heavy and light attacks in a wild flurry of slashes. Double-Duty weapons are incredibly good in The Surge 2, although they require a bit of proper timing and skill when used. Since it delivers extremely fast swipes when in cross combos, the Bootleg Splitcleaver is probably the most reliable early game weapon for cutting off limbs with extreme precision.

• Location – across the bridge from Riverside Street is a lone VULTR-wearing enemy. Lure him in and cut off his arm to receive the Bootleg Splitcleaver. A word of caution though, as this enemy is a bit harder than others you face. He also doesn’t respawn, so you can’t farm him for parts once he’s killed.

The Bootleg Splitcleaver’s only downsides come from the fact that it requires a bit more stamina to use properly. The cross-combo swings cost a ton of Stamina, and sometimes two full rotations can easily drain you. Keep an eye out for your Stamina when using any Double-Duty weapon.

Metamorphing Talons (Twin-rigged) – A reliably powerful starting weapon that can easily be taken up till the later stages of the game, if upgraded frequently. This is the first weapon granted to you by Athena through her various visions scattered around Jericho City. All of these gift weapons deal Nano damage, which explodes once fully applied. Nano damage is great against man and machine alike, provided that the enemy isn’t attuned to Nano themselves. As such, the Talons’ fast strikes and cross combos coupled with the high Nano damage make it overpowered earlier in the game.

• Location – assuming you have already opened the shortcut going left of the Riverside Street, just continue onwards, passing the guy warming himself by the burning barrel and heading right towards the broken bridge. There you will see a swarm of nanites, as well as Athena’s first vision for you. Watch the vision in its entirety, and once it ends, it will spawn a nanite chest. Open the chest to find the Metamorphing Talons.

In contrast to other good starting weapons, there’s not much downsides to using the Metamorphing Talons. You do have to deal with a shorter range and lower impact, but these can be neglected due to the Twin-rigged weapon’s high attack speed.

Brother Truman’s Faith (Spear) – This one requires some really careful planning to pull off, especially as Brother Truman is a high-level NPC. If you pull it off, however, you’re basically set for the rest of the game, as this Spear is easily one of the strongest weapons in the entire game. What makes this Spear so strong is its Electricity Damage, which is arguably the best element to have and use against many enemies, save for higher level members of the Children of the Spark. Electricity Damage will stun an enemy for a short while once the bar has been filled, and the effect is so much stronger when used against robotic enemies. Couple that with the high-speed cross combos of the Spear’s move set and you have what is easily an overpowered weapon capable of carrying you for the rest of the game, sans a couple of electricity-resistant bosses and enemies.

• Location – the reason why this Spear is listed as a strong early game weapon is its placement. It’s a unique weapon dropped only by Brother Truman, a member of the Children of the Spark that you first encounter on the rooftop of the JCPD. There’s a fair bit of risk in fighting him early, as he is incredibly powerful, and is several levels above you. That said, his attacks are also very slow, and you can use that to your advantage. If he kills you, there are no do-overs, as he disappears from his position at the top of the JCPD. It’s a risk worth taking, as he’s not exactly a priority NPC later in the game.

Getting Brother Truman’s Faith requires a fair bit of skill and precision, but if you can grab it then you can consider yourself set for the entire game. This Spear is amazing, and a good crutch for beginners to power through some of the harder bosses and enemies.

The Best Early Game Armor Sets For The Surge 2

Scavenger Set (Operator Class) – The earliest armor set you can complete also happens to be one of the best, thanks to its great six-piece bonus as well as the decent stats that come with it. The Scavenger set is characterized by its lightweight frame, low core power consumption, high attack speeds and lower stamina costs for running and evasion. This comes at the cost of lower weapon impact, less stability, and lower overall defense.

• Three-piece bonus – after performing a backstab attack, damage is increased for a very short time. This bonus is entirely negligible, as there aren’t exactly a lot of situations where you’ll end up using the backstab mechanic. It might be good for surprise attacks on some enemies, though.
• Six-piece bonus – performing a finishing sequence restores health. This bonus is pretty good, as you can forego injectables in lieu of just doing finishers instead.

This set is good for its full set bonus, which restores health upon performing a finishing sequence. Since you’re bound to be doing that anyway over the course of the early game, the Scavenger set is a decent, cheap, and relatively simple option for kitting your character with better attack speeds and more implants thanks to its low core power requirements. That said, you can’t withstand as much damage, but this should be of no problem if you’re dodging and blocking properly.

• Location – all of the enemies around the JCPD and by Riverside Street are kitted with Scavenger sets. Just dismember the limbs you need and craft the pieces.

VULTR Set (Sentinel Class) – The other armor set you obtain early on is pretty good as well, mostly thanks to its two set bonuses that are absolutely amazing early in the game. The VULTR set is a bit middling when it comes to stats, as it provides a decent bonus for stamina in evasions, but at the cost of attack speed. That said, wearing all six pieces will give you the best early game bonuses you can get.

• Three-piece bonus – increases the amount of tech scrap gained from killing enemies. Great for farming at all stages of the game.
• Six-piece bonus – removes the battery cost of performing finishing sequences. This makes the VULTR set a real powerhouse when it comes to farming, as you can last longer with all the battery going towards your health injectables instead of finishers.

While it carries significantly worse stats than the Scavenger set, the VULTR more than makes up for it with its set bonuses. It basically comes down to preference, as the Scavenger set is geared towards more of an aggressive approach, while the VULTR shines when it comes to farming. Better yet, since there’s room for loadouts, you can assign each set to a different loadout for fast swapping to pair with any kind of situation.

Both armor sets are good until you start picking up pieces for the Jaguar, Scarab or Lynx sets. One you start finding these pieces later in the game, you can start replacing the Scavenger Set or VULTR set, whichever you ended up picking. The Scarab set is good for protecting yourself against all status ailments like Burning, Nanite explosions, Electricity damage and Poisoning. The Lynx set increases your attack speeds further, as well as reduces the stamina cost for your evasive moves. The Jaguar set gives you additional omni cell capacity for your drone, making it much more powerful in combat.

Stay tuned for more guides on The Surge 2. The game is now available for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Check out my review for The Surge 2 here.