THE SURGE 2 - How to Beat Matriarch Celeste & Get Her V2.0 Boss Weapon (Icon of the Spark V2.0)

PHASE 1
I lock onto her right arm. I don't think that's necessary as getting the V2.0 "Icon of the Spark" comes down to how you kill her in phase 2.
- Stay at long range. This causes her to do only two attacks - an electrified weapon rush, and a non-electrified weapon rush fake out that turns into a downward smash
- If you see the electrified weapon, stand your ground and block it. If she gets stunned (needs to be blocked twice), you can comfortably get in 3 hits before backing right off.
- If you see the non-electrified weapon, when she flies forward take a few steps back, then block upwards (to block her downward strike). She recovers faster here, so only try for two hits before backing off fast to a safe distance.
PHASE 2
You must break both of her mechanical arms before killing her to get the V2.0 "Icon of the Spark". Lock onto the left or right mechanical arm immediately.
- Arena is divided into sections separated by electric floor. Boss also has ranged weapons. Avoid it all by staying in the bosses face for the whole fight.
- Block everything she does. Heal if you take damage. Expect to take some damage and heal a bit.
- Aim to directionally block her downward smashes, and her upward one if you can spot it. To have success at that, as soon as you see the upward or downward blocking arrow, try to back off a couple of steps (just like you did in phase one). Getting a slight distance in front of her ensures your blocks have a higher chance of working perfectly.
- Use a drone to attack her mechanical arms if you want to
- Hold block when she does her grab move and drags you in. Then hack at her arms.
- KEY to this is to have the Physical Aggression Redirector implant equipped, guaranteeing most of your damage goes into her mechanical arms and not the rest of her.
BUILD:
No specific build is really required, however plenty of stamina is definitely a must as is the Physical Aggression Redirector implant and some implants for more damage after directionally blocking. But here's my build in this video if you're interested:
WEAPON - Jag-22 "Aeterna' Katana Mk. VIII.
ARMOR is all Mk. VIII
- A.I.D. Tactical Balaclava
- Nano Ward Arm Gear
- LYNX Leg Gear
- Scavenger's Body Gear
This setup gives me a lot of stamina and decent impact, as well as the 3 piece perks of both the LYNX and Nano gear.
IMPLANTS:
- Leg Pneumatic's Adapter (-15% stamina cost on evasive moves)
- Dynamic Redirector (30 energy when struck by enemies)
- Deflection Damage Enhancer (10% damage after directional blocking)
- Energy Dunamo (15% energy gain from attacks)
- Ancillary Core (+12 core power)
- Directional Block Analyzer (block directional display)
- Physical Aggression Redirector (most damage to targeted body part)
- Medi-Voltaic Injection (health)
- Manslayer (+10% damage to organic humanoids)
- Deflection Supercharger (+30% damage and 25 energy from directional blocks)
MY STATS:
Health - 619
Stamina - 274
Defense - 322
Damage - 348
Note that my build is lightweight focused on stamina, which means my defense is lower than most builds here. The Balaclava gives me the 3 piece bonuses from the sets I have 2 pieces equipped (LYNX and Nano).
GET THE SURGE 2 SEASON PASS:
www.humblebund...

[@thelonegamer7482]

Guys make sure u lock onto the "mechanical arm" during second phase and not her regular arms like I was ffs hahaha.

[@legnd300]

Fidzzys Casuals Seriously, I was just like “yes I’m about to finish her second hand!” And then she dies on me before that happened. Should also remember to equip the Physical Aggression Redirector implant to guarantee the version 2 weapon. It’s a Double-Duty btw.

[@nimascolari1508]

Actually I discovered I was killing her far too easily because of the deflection supercharge so had to use a weaker weapon and get rid of some implants.

[@jamessherman6598]

I was wearing the full Cerberus set with the Generals A.C.U.V2.0. beat her on my first try. My problem is I did too much damage so I didn't get her V2.0 weapon.

[@8BitAssassinTV]

You’re video is spot on as usual. This boss I have been stuck on for 3 days now and every death feels very cheap. Is it normal for her to do literally a U-Turn when charging you and come back around to nail you from behind? That, and I have had it where the throws her spear and it stops mid air them makes a 90 degree turn and hits me. Very upsetting to be honest, I feel like I am playing a broken version of the game.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Yeah, her attacks can seem really cheap and difficult to deal with if you don't do what I do in this video. Keeping range in phase 1 and keeping in in her face in phase 2 help prevent the worst of her attacks from happening. It might take a couple of attempts to do what I'm doing here, but I feel this strat is by far the easiest way to take her down.

[@flowepower3000]

Stay close and parry

[@peterfox6159]

I do absolutely miniscule damage to her armor. What is up with that? How do I get to cut off both arms?

[@Nursesaids]

I noticed that helms have a bonus or penalty to armored and unarmored part damage. Try using the Polaris helm and see if that helps.

[@roro-fx6oy]

thank u bro u helpmed me soo much

[@heymotivator2231]

Probably open with the implant tip rather than put it at the end of the video.

[@madmanpatty8724]

Too bad the v2 weapon kinda sucks

[@sadonion4378]

I have no trouble actually killing her but she always dies before I can destroy even one of her arms.

[@stutteringchaos]

Awesome job man! Beat her first try after watching this. I was only able to chop off one arm though. Target unlocked and before I realized it she was almost dead.

[@SvenicusGermainus]

Awesome video. Only info I was finding online was to cut her arms but it would never say which arms needed to be cut lol. Thank you for clarifying it for me so well.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

No probs at all, cheers.

[@wojciechczesak8351]

have you ever been angry because you beat a boss too fast? well I was...

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Yep. O'Rin of the Water in Sekiro is that boss for me. I beat her straight away with no damage and thought, well, she was easy. I posted the boss fight and then moved on, deciding not to make a 'how to beat O'rin' guide because I thought she was so easy nobody would need or want the guide. Later on I started getting a ton of comments from people who simply could not beat her. I thought they were joking. Then I sat and watched a friend fight her on PS4 and get beaten by her over and over and over. I learned she's actually really hard and can be a difficult challenge to overcome.

[@wojciechczesak8351]

@@fuzzybearbarian in my case it was trying to get this bosses v2 weapon and killing her before cutting off her second arm. I could have beaten her on a first try and I've let her kill me cause I knew I wouldn't get the arm. I killed her on a second try but just a bit too soon. To be honest getting these v2 weapons is more anoying than challenging

[@fuzzybearbarian]

@@wojciechczesak8351 I find most "challenging" things like this in games are more annoying than challenging. Reminds me of when I played Red Dead Redemption 2 and from the start decided I'd do the "Gold Medal" version of each mission from start to finish. Ended up making the game super annoying rather than fun, which sucked the joy out of it. I still loved the single player campaign, but I would have loved it a whole lot more had I not gone for the "challenge".

[@kevinsnyder4658]

Fuzzy Bearbarian ugh, O’Rin is what made me quit Sekiro. I’ve never been so disappointed in myself for quitting a game before. I really need to get back to that.

[@akmal94ibrahim]

@@fuzzybearbarian My first attempt at Orin, I thought she is impossible to beat. So hard to get a good parry flowing. Then I realised all I need to do is wait for her slice attack, and jump counter. Immediately became way too easy.

[@qldoblp]

Man, I cannot thank you enough, it took me so many tries to beat her. So many in fact that I got my banner reward during the fight, and everytime that I died, it gave me the reward again. In the end of the fight I had 160k scrap... but hey, thanks to your guide, I got the V2.0! Thanks again!

[@MadnessBomber]

I wasn't even targeting the right arms! No wonder!!

[@andris7541]

Had to retry this boss a few times because when I was on her second mechanical arm I kept locking off it but otherwise I would have got her first try

[@gibbs-13]

Thanks again! This time, it was difficult in a different way because I killed the enemy before I cut her mechanical arms so I repeated this after saving the save file in the online storage XD

[@DavidSmith-fx6ic]

Thanks for the help on defeating this boss 👍🏻

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Cheers!

[@Glitch0Angel]

You really need to explain this with different weapons.... since each weapon has massively different attacks... you kinda just didnt even mention that

[@legnd300]

Nikolai Brown That’s really on you. He told you what to hit and how not to be hit. How you do it is based on how well you know your weapons’ moves, which you should be very familiar if you’ve come this far. If you’re looking for suggested weapons, I’d recommend quick attack weapons such as spear, boxing gloves, etc., but also have the Physical Aggression Redirector ( if you want Version 2 of dropped weapon) since all upclose attacks will kill her way before you can take down both mech arms in stage 2.

[@matthias3175]

Oh Fuzzy Bearbarian, your are the blocking champing of all time. Never get green like you. Great work

[@matthias3175]

After getting th block green, you hit with the light attack "rb"?

[@fuzzybearbarian]

@@matthias3175 I play a lot of melee games and always try to parry, but mostly it's just practice. RB for me is parry. I always re-bind block/parry to RB (I can't stand it on RT as I find it to be imprecise). Light attack for me is usually bound to SQUARE/X, but yep, I usually do a light attack after.

[@matthias3175]

@@fuzzybearbarian i have both great consols but i play on the X, i parry with LB and conter with rb i think. Its so much easyer. Sorry for my bad englisch, German bro.

[@matthias3175]

@@fuzzybearbarian i too, it work better. The snake attack on the Xbox X dont work so good, it is better on ps4pro. I will play the game on both consoles.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

@@matthias3175 You speak way better English than I do German, so no need to apologize :D

[@ampersand11]

Hrm, I managed to cut off both mechanical arms and didn't get the v2.0 at the end.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Are you able to notice anything different in my video to what you did?

[@ampersand11]

@@fuzzybearbarian Not mechanically, no. I did have a set bonus giving nano damage, so possibly the final cut triggered some nano damage that did the kill instead? The entire amputation animation played though. Oh well. Thanks for the video.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

@@ampersand11 Oh that's interesting. I decided early on not to use any nano or fire weapons and that was one of my reasons. If you're doing NG+ you can at least use a different weapon next time I guess.

[@Yohasbing]

Why is your v2 worse than the regular weapon you get?

[@adamlevi87]

its a joke how weak she is.. i had to redo the fight because she died too fast

[@ianian348]

Thanks for the vid doesn't work for me though cause I can't figure out blocking

[@fuzzybearbarian]

On PlayStation just press L1 as an enemy tries to hit you (LB on Xbox One; or Ctrl on PC). Given that, I assume it's just a timing issue for you. Block attacks from the direction it's coming (by holding block, and moving the right stick in the direction of the attack) and if timed properly you get a parry - this is helped by using the Direction Block implant as it tells you the direction to move the stick basically.

[@mr.bowser4358]

I did this! I literally killed her with the second arm cut off and I still didn’t get the v2.0 weapon, he did the same here, the second cut killed her like mine ugh

[@Rayzor714]

You are a Master!! another great video.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Cheers mate!

[@slicksilver9441]

I agree, the fuzzy bearbarian is force to be reckoned with

[@muffinman1]

was way too easy for me. Beat her in 2 attemps. Other boses took me dozens of try.

[@jonbodhi]

Thanks. Your tips did the job!👍

[@dustineckert9415]

Is there any way to get more than 1 weapon and a implant

[@Boy-Toy804]

I got her on the first try thanks!

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Brilliant!

[@SuperDarkdiver]

dont know why, but I dealt so much damage that I killed her before i could cut of those arms. did I do something wrong earlier in the fight?

[@fuzzybearbarian]

That's why I like using the Physical Aggression Redirector implant as it helps to minimize the chance of this happening. I also let bosses kill me if I see their health has gone down too fast compared to the armor pieces I'm targeting, then I come back with a lower level weapon or armor set with less damaging perks and try again.

[@vexxa7562]

Nice, thanks

[@fuzzybearbarian]

No problem 👍

[@19shunjay]

She was the fastest boss I beat on this game without watching this video

[@DesbravandoGames]

I Beat her in the first atempt, it feels so easy.

[@mariuszkowalski4901]

can you explain why every good player uses only katana? Its that strong or what?

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Katana is good but there are other good weapons too. I only use it as I like Katana's.

[@dantedigiovanni457]

I beat her just by dodging and spaming attacks to her mechanical arms with a strong spear every time she finishes a combo. I'm beating almost every enemy like this since I hate the parry mechanic in this game, blocking just in time like in the surge 1 or sekiro it's ok but using the directional stick at the same time depending on the direction the enemy strikes that fast its a total messed up mechanic I don't know what where they thinking xD. Besides the spears are the only decent weapon for bosses to me because of their speed and range.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Yeah. I like parrying in games, but the parry mechanic in this definitely isn't the greatest.

[@NhatNguyen-le3kz]

how come, I am actually find the blocking directional attacks is quite good, it made the game unique. Love to have more game like that, but all other soul games have normal parry, which is quite boring :(

[@mreboric8406]

Ok now do the non block/parry strategy seeing as not everyone has the same playstyle. I happen to think the parry mechanic is buggy inconsistent shit and the worst part of the game. I make a point never to use it so all of these how to uploads are incredibly unhelpful.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

I actually beat this boss first time without any parrying at all. It's just easier with parry, despite that it's inconsistent like you say. Next break between games I might do a full parry-less play through ... if I get that break. Next few weeks are packed to the hilt with new game stuff!

[@mreboric8406]

@@fuzzybearbarian awesome

[@Daniel_Scott1]

Bruh i feel you. I can parry if absolutely necessary but it's just not fun. I prefer when a boss has actual mechanics to learn instead of just the timing of a parry

[@redzxx88]

For real, I never parry, dodging is so much more consistent and effective, uses less stam and take no damage Anddd you can do a dodge attack to get an attack in while dodging

[@danbreton8360]

I cant get the timing right on the block. Idk why. Can anyone elaborate exactly when to block? Early, last second?

[@fuzzybearbarian]

I also found getting the timing right difficult (often not getting granted a parry when I thought I timed it well) UNTIL I found out where you are standing relative to the attack makes a huge difference. I said it in the video but it's worth repeating, try to position yourself a meter or so ahead of the enemy you're trying to parry. If you're more at arms length then when you time your block just before the weapon is going to hit you, the game is more forgiving on handing you the parry. Matriach Celeste is a little harder because of her speed and how she closes distance on you in phase 1, so that's just a timing practice thing. But I can't stress enough, always try to back away slightly to gain room to make a successful parry.

[@legnd300]

Very late, but to those wondering at this time, the direction meter shrinks( if directional reading module is equipped) so you block right as it stops shrinking. The most reliable way to block is reading the animation, but reading the direction meter is always helpful.

[@l0rtypsy541]

how do you do the standing leap attack?

[@l0rtypsy541]

nvm i found out its afther you get all two blocks you just attack and you get it

[@cmoneytheman]

why did u ask me a question of the last boss of gedion like u didnt beat it when u made the vid on how to beat it that was weird to me

[@fuzzybearbarian]

I asked because you said you were having trouble with the "last boss of the level', but you posted that question on the Delver video after you said you beat Delver, yet Delver is the last boss of that level...

[@cmoneytheman]

@@fuzzybearbarian ohh I didnt pay attention I dropped the game I didn't wana upgrade more for Celeste might come back to it tho

[@peterfox6159]

I. HATE. THIS. CHALLENGE. There is no way for me, even after 15 tries, to cut off both arms without killing her first. I dont know nor understand what reason lies behind this madness. Was there a patch which got it all wrong? Or what? She is so damn weak and fragile and her armor takes forever to break!

[@fuzzybearbarian]

Are you using the Physical Aggression Redirector implant?

[@peterfox6159]

@@fuzzybearbarian Yes. Of Course. I even tried weaker weapons ... nothing. I desperately need a recipe! Can I put on my strongest weapon that has no elemental damage and still get this done just by using directional blocking and the Redirector implant? (I SUCK AT BLOCKING. H.A.R.D. I really don't know why. I really need a break from this fight :( ... ) Thank you for taking the time! :)

[@peterfox6159]

@@fuzzybearbarian Never mind!!! I just got the weapon :)))) I cannot believe it XD If this wasn't a bug, call me Casper. LOL! (I did it by the way just how I fight normally. The implant I have on me regardless.) Cheerio :)

[@fuzzybearbarian]

@@peterfox6159 Oh that's great! I was just sitting here trying to think of how to help when I saw your comment pop up that you'd done it. Phew!

[@peterfox6159]

@@fuzzybearbarian You say the word: "Phew" XD I was on my last nerves to say the least :( Greetings from Vienna, Sebastian

[@_ElisDTrailz]

I've done this fight probably a dozen times.. every single time I kill her well before cutting both arms off. Using lower leveled non-elemental, that special implant and a helmet that does bonus to armor. I give up, this fight is lame as hell. Update: all credit goes to Reddit user Manikuba... I was targeting her actual arms, NOT her "Mechanical Arms". Got the v2 weapon 1st try.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

You target her actual arms in phase 1, you target her mechanical arms in phase 2.

[@_ElisDTrailz]

@@fuzzybearbarian Finally figured it out, thanks for responding though.

[@fuzzybearbarian]

No probs, cheers!

[@King_Myth]

Your guide was very helpful, but i accidentally targeted her arm instead of her last mechanical arm and only got the mk1 weapon