The Surge 2 is now available, allowing players to hack, slash and hammer their way through 20 hours of sci-fi, Souls-inspired action RPG. Of course, hard-as-nails bosses are an essential ingredient of any Souls-esque game, and The Surge 2 is no exception. In this guide, we'll explain how to defeat the very first major boss that players will encounter, Warden Garcia.

The Man Himself

Warden Garcia can be found very early in the story, before the main character has left the prison in which they begin the game. Unlike with Nitro, the tutorial boss, players will have acquired an exosuit by this stage, and will hopefully have also gained a feel for The Surge 2's combat. The encounter itself begins not far past the prison's Medbay, where players are able to upgrade their suit and save the game for the first time.

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Doing so is a good idea, because despite being the first official boss, Warden Garcia is no pushover. Combining aggressive, lunging attacks with devastating close-range AoEs and an annoying drone, the Warden will punish players who've grown too familiar with the early-game attack patterns.

Block and Dodge

Fortunately, he is only human, and is therefore somewhat easier to read and predict than many of The Surge 2's robotic enemies. Successfully blocking his lunging attacks is a great way to open him up for a powerful counter-attack combo, and can be made easier by installing the Directional Block Analyzer implant, which displays the angle at which you need to parry an incoming attack.

If players prefer dodging to blocking, however, then using the pillars in the room to bait him into lunging forward into a place where they can get a few free hits is an excellent strategy; just remember not to get greedy, as he has a powerful jump-and-smash AoE to use in close-combat.

The Drone

The pillars can also be useful for blocking his drone's line-of-sight, limiting the amount of times players will be distracted by having to dodge or parry when its targeting laser appears. Even so, it's worth keeping one eye on the drone, as when it lands on the Warden's back it means he's liable to drop grenades at his feet. These can very nasty if players get too close, stacking fire damage which can quickly strip their HP.

Weaknesses

Apart from over-extending his lunges, the Warden's only real weakness is his left arm, which is unarmored. This can be targeted and attacked for increased damage, but at the risk of missing the Hardcore Kill which will cause the Warden's MG Jacknife Pro Single-Rigged weapon to drop as loot.

Even if players don't get the Hardcore Kill, they still won't be leaving the battlefield empty-handed after defeating Warden Garcia. Guaranteed rewards include his combat drone, which makes a return from The Surge and is the first of the special deployables that can be found, as well as 500 Tech Scrap.

The Surge 2 launches on September 24 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

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