The Surge 2 is a Soulslike with a deep and rewarding combat system, and there is a lot of nuance to it. It features a severing system that can take a little getting used too. Here is when to use vertical vs horizontal attacks in The Surge 2.
A note for all the Dark Souls fans: a key difference in the Surge series is that there are no light or heavy attacks. Horizontal and vertical strikes do the same damage and have similar speeds, its more about what you are trying to hit, and where.
When to Use Horizontal vs Vertical Attacks in The Surge 2
Timing is everything in Soulsike games and the Surge 2 is no different. Knowing when to strike, and where, can mean the difference between life, death, or a shiny new piece of loot.
First things first, take a look at your opponent. Enemies will have their armor visually represented, baulky pauldrons if they are wearing arm protection and helmets if they have headgear equipped.
Next, you want to decide if you are going to sever the appendage in an attempt to obtain that gear for yourself, or if you want to strike an unprotected area for extra damage.
Obviously, there are advantages to each method. Trying to obtain the gear is ideally what you want to do, as you can then craft and equip it for yourself. Even if you have the particular gear your opponent is wearing, you still earn valuable generic crafting material that is required in all crafting.
When you are fighting a dangerous opponent, or you are low on health or outnumbered, sometimes it is safer to go for a quick kill. Target an unarmoured body part and you will deal additional damage.
Remember, vertical attacks are great for targeting heads and arms, and horizontal is for the legs and chest. You can also just target the enemy as a whole and deal baseline damage, handy if the armor an enemy is wearing is resistant to the damage you are dealing (blunt, piercing, etc).
And that’s it, everything you need to know about when to use horizontal vs vertical attacks in The Surge 2. Be sure to check out our other guides on Twinfinite. Now get out there and start dismembering!
