The Surge: How to Beat the First Boss, PAX

Compared to some of those Nioh and Dark Souls bosses, The Surge‘s first giant robot boss, PAX, is practically a defenseless kitty cat — but for those not expecting the sudden ramp up in difficulty, it can be a frustrating experience resulting in a whole lot of returns to the med bay.

After battling tiny drones and whacko humans in combat rigs for the first portion of the game, PAX is a totally different kind of boss battle that will force you to rethink your normal tactics. Below we cover the simplest attack pattern for beating PAX and earning a nifty new weapon and achievement.

BeatingThe Surge’s First Boss

Before entering the junkyard arena where you fight PAX, you may want to equip a fast weapon — or spend some upgrades on speed with your primary weapon — as you can’t get too many hits in before having to dodge away. It’s still perfectly possible to take down PAX using a slower, more damaging weapon — it can just be more challenging on the first few tries.

Once the battle has commenced, it’s a much better idea to stay behind the giant mech than to fight from the front, as its easier to dodge most attacks from that vantage point.

He normally won’t be able to hit you with those swords at all if you are positioned directly underneath or slightly behind him. If you have trouble getting behind this boss, run up to his front and dodge forward through his legs, rather than trying to run in a circle around him (which just gives him time to re-position or hit you with a sword strike or front kick).

Avoiding Stomping Legs

Dodging Attacks

While underneath or behind this nasty boss, the primary attack you have to watch out for has an obvious precursor. PAX raises either foot for a half second before dropping it down for a high powered stomp that sends you flying backward.

As long as you’re paying attention to your stamina meter, it’s easy to dodge backward out of the way of this basic attack. Later on in the battle, he’ll do three stomps in a row that alternate between legs.

The front-facing kick, on the other hand, comes much quicker and is harder to avoid, requiring fast reflexes on a left- or right-side dodge. Be on the lookout for combination attacks that can take you out quickly, like getting knocked back by the leg stomp and then hit twice with sword strikes.

Damaging P.A.X

Now that you know what to avoid, it’s time to start wailing on this boss’ legs. Get two or three strikes in, then dodge out of the way of whatever attack is coming. You’ll notice his health doesn’t go down, but his energy meter does go up.

After a set amount of damage is inflicted (watch the orange bar on the bottom) PAX will mention “maximum subjugation” or “reboot initialized,” launching into the air to fire a missile at you.

Here you want to run underneath him as fast as possible so he hits himself with the explosion, dropping to the ground on fire. This is your real chance to strike.

Dealing Direct Damage

While in this state, you can get in some free swings on his unarmored front head portion, which is normally out of reach while PAX is standing up.

The missile is a surefire way to get this state. But if you get enough damage in on the legs through your normal weapon, you’ll get an “overload mending in process” message and can run in to damage the head of this boss without having to use the missile process.

Repeat the process of striking quickly, dodging attacks, and using the missile to drop him until he finally goes down, netting you the PAX Imperator weapon and unlocking the PAX achievement.

First Boss Down — Congratulations!

And that’s all there is to beating the first boss in The Surge! Rejoice while you can because there are plenty of nastier bosses out there — and you’ll encounter them soon enough. 

Let us know if you have any other strategies for taking down PAX in The Surge. If you’re looking for more tips and strategies on The Surge, make sure to check out our guides here!