The second boss of The Surge ramps up the difficulty, adding even more arms to the equation.

Firebug, an intimidating, flying multi-legged robotic loader first appears very early in The Surge. You’ll get a look just outside the opening Ops center, but you won’t encounter the creature itself until you’ve navigated the production facility.

This boss looks tougher than it actually is, so don’t despair if you barely land a hit in the early phases of the fight. See what it takes with all the tips below.

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• The Surge: How to Beat P.A.X. | Boss Strategy Guide
• The Surge: How to Beat Big Sister 1/3 | Boss Strategy Guide
• The Surge: How to Beat Black Cerberus | Boss Strategy Guide
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How to Beat Firebug | Boss Strategy Guide

From the second Ops center, Warren will navigate the facility until encountering one of the giant, red, multi-armed hovering machines in the Waste Disposal area. Just like P.A.X., you won’t be able to directly damage the Firebug until you’ve temporarily stunned it.

This is a more active fight, and there’s no real trick to winning here. If you’re using a heavy weapon, slip in between the Firebugs’ attacks, and land a single attack of your own on the legs. Any leg will work — after a few attacks (on the same leg) you’ll stun the Firebug. When stunned, you can attack the main body and damage it, though it will immediately “wake up” from its stunned state.

Don’t be discouraged by your low damage output. It takes time, but eventually you’ll be able to rip through the boss health bar very quickly.

That’s what makes this fight trickier than the P.A.X. You can only get one (or two) hits after stunning the Firebug. Stay relatively close. Watch out when the Firebug lifts all its arms and floats up slightly — that signals a spin attack.

If you stand near an arm too long, it will strike you. It also likes to fly up into the air, then come crashing down. It doesn’t track very well, so a simple jog and dodge can get Warren out of its path.

At long range, the Firebug will attempt to launch a plasma projectile. Like the jump-attack, it doesn’t track very wall, and the projectile is slow enough to dodge.

Phase 2: Flight Module

After destroying enough of its legs, the Firebug will drop onto the ground, then activate its thrusters. It now primarily flies instead of walking, and uses new moves.

The first noticeable attack — the Firebug will tilt forward and track you while spinning its arms like a buzzsaw. Back away and watch out for the arena walls and corners. It can only damage you if it corners you.

If you stand directly in front of the Firebug, it will attempt to use its burners to melt you. At medium / long range, it will dive forward. Dodge forward-left / right to phase through the dive attack.

While the Firebug does fly at this stage, you can still hit it with normal attacks. The main body is vulnerable, especially after the buzzsaw spin attack.

The “core” that’s hanging beneath the main body of the Firebug is its weak point, and hitting that core does massive damage. You might only take off 15% of its health bar in the first phase, but the last 85% will drop off fast when you focus on that “core” — a single hit between Firebug attacks is all you need.

Check out even more The Surge boss guides. Follow the links listed above.