Surge

At first, Surge needs to make charging his Super his top priority, since his slow base movement speed can put him at a disadvantage for the rest of the match if he doesn’t.

After his first upgrade, Surge can almost always beat every other close-range brawler in a 1v1 by keeping his distance and charging his Super again.

After his second upgrade, Surge can almost always beat every other brawler in the game in a 1v1 by dodging shots and hitting them from long range.

After his third upgrade, Surge can now take on entire teams, as the split projectiles from his attack can easily hit enemies grouped together, charging his Super much more quickly and greatly increasing his damage output.

Speed Gear (Situational/Effective): Surge starts with a slow base movement speed. The Speed Gear can give him the extra speed he needs to approach enemies and charge his Super. After his first upgrade, the Speed Gear can help him dodge shots and escape from situations more easily.

Health Gear (Situational): The Health Gear has use in Showdown, where Surge needs to maximize his survivability.

Damage Gear (Effective): The Damage Gear can greatly increase Surge’s damage output, giving him more aggressive power when enemies try to fight back against him and supporting his general playstyle.

Vision Gear (Ineffective): Surge’s projectile is not very wide and doesn’t have much range until after his second upgrade, potentially making Vision Gear useless for a majority of the match.

Shield Gear (Ineffective): The Shield Gear can be used in non-bush maps where the Speed Gear can’t provide much value. Instead of extra speed to approach enemies, Surge can use some extra survivability instead.

Gadget Charge Gear (Situational/Effective): Surge doesn’t rely on his gadgets very much to be powerful. They’re just a way to give him a little boost when necessary, so the value of the Gadget Gear is overshadowed by the Damage Gear and Speed Gears. However, in the case that he has a favorable matchup in a map with few bushes, the Gadget Charge Gear can replace the Speed Gear.

Use Surge’s super to jump over brawlers that have a jump or dash ability. He can also aim his super to knock them back in a certain direction, like knocking the enemy gem carrier into his team.

When using Surge’s Power Shield gadget, try to use it when he has one full ammo or less, since this will maximize the value it gives.

Avoid using the gadget against brawlers who deal damage multiple times each attack (Darryl, Griff, Colt, Pam, Rico, 8-Bit, Stu, Meg, Cordelius, Leon, Bo, Byron, Willow, Crow, Spike’s super, Amber’s super, Chester’s Pop Rocks and Salmiakki, and other similar gadgets and SPs). This can waste the gadget since the rest of the damage will be taken without the shield. This also applies to Barley, although it is very easy to avoid taking damage twice. It is also inefficient against Carl at his max range, since his projectile is guaranteed to hit twice.

Shooting a projectile immediately before using his super can help Surge recharge it faster if the projectile hits an enemy mid-super. This can be especially effective after Surge’s third upgrade, allowing him to charge his super extremely quickly with his split attack.

The remainder of this section pertains to countering (counterplay) against Surge:

Due to Surge’s below-average stats at Stage 1, try to keep him from getting his super, especially when he is still at Stage 1. Keeping your distance and attacking him from long range can keep him from becoming more powerful. As a close-range brawler, avoid him completely unless you can properly ambush him and you are sure you can finish him off.

If Surge does get his super, try to make sure that he can’t land on you. For brawlers with jump abilities (Primo, Piper, Crow, Edgar, or Surge), time your jump so that you will land after he does, making sure you will avoid damage and damage him instead. You can also use abilities like Lou’s Ice Block gadget, Max’s Phase Shifter gadget, or even Sprout’s wall, if timed correctly.

If Surge has reached Stage 3, he can attack enemies from long range. However, his projectile speed is not very fast. Try to predict where he will try to hit you and walk in zig-zag patterns to avoid his projectiles. If he has reached Stage 4, keep your distance from your teammates to avoid his split projectile damage.

Surge’s Hypercharge makes him incredibly dangerous to long-range enemies, since he can hit them from long-range and his attacks cannot be avoided from the side. However, his Super can take some valuable time out of his Hypercharge’s duration. Try not to use your Super during your Hypercharge unless you absolutely need the extra range.

Surge can knock back brawlers during their Super if it takes some time to unload or has a windup. Examples include: Carl, Stu, Maisie, Buzz, Frank, Colt, Brock, Pearl, Nani, Rico, Barley, Mandy, and Buster (without his Kevlar Vest SP).

If Surge uses the Power Shield gadget efficiently, he can deal 11,800 damage to a single enemy, along with any extra damage from the split projectiles. This can increase up to 13,570 damage with the Damage Gear active.

Surge can die mid-Super from Squeak’s attacks or from fire or poison damage.

Surge works very well with Gene. Gene can pull enemies close to Surge, who can charge his Super from them and defeat them easily.

Tara’s Super works very well with Surge’s Super, allowing him to reliably hit multiple enemies with his Super.

Before his first upgrade, Surge struggles to deal with brawlers that outrange him. Long-range brawlers like Crow, Brock, or Belle can cover his weaknesses until he uses his Super to get to Stage 2.