The Surge

General

The choice of starting "profession" in the beginning does not lock you in or out of anything, everything will be available in the first area of the game proper.

Keep an eye out for small guide signs scattered around the level as they help navigate the large interconnected areas. In particular, signs labeled "OPS" usually lead to shortcuts back to the hub.

Your scrap (currency) multiplier increases for every enemy you defeat with a Finishing Move without dying or using the Medbay in a hub. Note that you can still use the crafting station and "bank" your scrap there without resetting the multiplier.

You will sometime notice getting a free Injectable recharge or your Energy bar filling up seemingly at random. This happens when you collect enough scrap to reach your next Core Power increase (level up).

Breakable environmental objects like barrels and crates regularly have items in them, and glass cases are also worth smashing. There are no breakable walls however, other than very obvious wire gates outside of maintenance tunnels.

Early on an NPC asks you for a staff for self-defense. You can opt to give them a piece of pipe instead, but this will lock you out of the remainder of their questline.

The two major content DLCs (A Walk in the Park & The Good The Bad and The Augmented) both open in pieces as you progress through the main game, so you can start with them as soon as they open if you like. The former is a traditional new zone type of DLC, while the latter is a series of Wild West -themed combat challenges with some strong rewards and cosmetic stuff. Its hub also works as a fast travel system, but only after you reach the final area of the main game.

Defensive stats other than health are not all that significant, most of your survivability and gameplay bonuses come from the various Implants.

Weapon damage types aren't properly explained but do make a difference, so try a different weapon if it feels like you're not making a scratch on something.

You can equip multiple copies/versions of the same Implant and most of their effects will stack. Injectables (consumables) with limited charges add more charges for each copy.

Almost all human-shaped gear worn by enemies can be acquired for yourself by severing the corresponding body parts with a Finishing Move, either immediately in the case of weapons (by severing the arm) or in the form of schematics in the case of armor. It still remains worth aiming for various armored body parts afterwards as it rewards you with the materials needed for crafting/upgrading the gear for that slot.

You don't need to craft or upgrade weapons and armor linearly, as long as you have enough materials for a given upgrade tier you can go directly to that tier, albeit for a slightly higher scrap cost. In other words, don't worry about farming low-level drops.

Every armor set in the game grants a set bonus for wearing all six pieces, but the only way to see what each one does in-game is putting them on and checking the stats screen.

You can favorite weapons and drone abilities and then hotswap between them using the D-pad (or equivalent) like you do with injectables.

Horizontal and vertical strikes are not weak and heavy attacks, but instead help to land hits for specific body parts and make up different combos (including some unique moves from switching the direction mid-combo).

It's worth experimenting with different weapons and in various situations. Attacking while running/jumping/after blocking are a thing, as are charged-up attacks. Weapons even in the same category can have slightly different moves, speeds and quirks.

Hitting block right before an attack lands can stagger the enemy. You can also hit up or down while blocking to jump or duck attacks and follow up a successful dodge with a counterattack, but making use of this beyond avoiding some very specific attacks is difficult.

The drone abilities other than the basic shot for pulling enemies are very optional, but if you find yourself with spare Energy that'd otherwise just go to waste, you can use it to "pre-charge" a drone ability by pressing the activation button without a target.

Every boss has a special condition that nets you a better version of their weapon drop if you defeat them in a specific way, but there's no in-game indication of these conditions so either don't worry about them or be prepared to look them up.