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Overview

Ground Surge(also written asGroundsurge) is anAbyss CoreinCrimson Desertthat produces fire spikes on the ground around the player when triggered during combat. These spikes erupt from the earth and deal fire damage to anyenemiescaught in the area, making it one of the more visually dramatic and practically useful offensiveAbyss Gearabilities in the game.

Ground Surge is originally found onMelted Ambition, the one-handed weapon thatOongkareceives after defeatingMyurdinduring the Decisive Battle in Chapter 7. It can be extracted from the weapon at aWitchand transferred to any other weapon with an availableAbyss Gearslot.

How to Obtain

Ground Surge comes pre-installed on theMelted Ambitionweapon, which is automatically given to the player after defeating the boss Myurdin during the Decisive Battle main quest inChapter 7. After the cutscene concludes and the player takes control of Oongka, the weapon is in the inventory along with its three pre-slottedAbyss Cores: Ground Surge,Destruction I, andGale I.

Extracting Ground Surge

To use Ground Surge on a different weapon, visit any Witch NPC and select the "ExtractAbyss Gear" option. This removes Ground Surge from Melted Ambition and places it into your Abyss Gear inventory. From there, you can embed it into any weapon that has an availableAbyss Gear slot. Extracting an Abyss Core does not destroy it, so there is no risk involved in moving it betweenweapons.

Combat Effect

When Ground Surge triggers, fire spikes erupt from the ground around the player's position. The spikes deal fire damage to any enemies standing within the affected area. The trigger condition is connected to R1 + R2 attacks, specificallyspinning slashtype moves. Every time the player executes a spinning slash, there is a chance for Ground Surge to activate and produce the fire spike effect.

The fire spikes are particularly effective against groups of enemies, since the area of effect hits multiple targets simultaneously. In one-on-one encounters againstbosses, the spikes still provide extra damage on top of the base weapon attack, making Ground Surge a solid choice for both crowd control and single-target damage.

Melted Ambition WeaponStats

TheMelted Ambitionweapon that Ground Surge comes attached to has the following stats:

Build Recommendations

Ground Surge fits naturally into aggressive meleebuildsthat rely on spinning slashcombos.Oongkais the most obvious candidate given that Melted Ambition is his starting weapon in Chapter 7, but Ground Surge can be extracted and placed on any character's weapon.

• Oongka Melee Build:Keep Ground Surge on Melted Ambition and pair it with Destruction I and Gale I for a straightforward damage-focused setup. The Attack Speed Lv. 2 on Melted Ambition lets Oongka chain spinning slashes quickly, triggering Ground Surge frequently.

• Kliff Spear Build:Extract Ground Surge and slot it into a spear. The fire spike damage adds an extra layer of area damage toKliff's spinning attacks, complementing the spear's natural reach.

Comparison to Other OffensiveAbyss Cores

Damage Comparison

Ground Surge is definitively the#1 offensive abyss corefor turning slash builds. In controlled side-by-side testing againstWound of Darkness, which many players initially considered the top offensive core, Ground Surge dealt approximatelytwice the damage. Wound of Darkness has been described as "completely overrated" by testers who compared the two cores directly.

The damage advantage comes from Ground Surge's double-hit mechanic. When a turning slash triggers Ground Surge, the fire spikes erupt first, and then the stones from the spikes also explode in a secondary blast. This creates two separate instances of damage from a single trigger. In contrast, Wound of Darkness produces a shadow wave that simply passes through the target, dealing damage only once.

The double hit also providestwo sources of staggeragainst bosses. The initial fire spike impact staggers, and the stone explosion staggers again. This makes Ground Surge superior to Wound of Darkness for boss fights in particular, where stagger is critical for creating attack openings.

Weapon refinement amplifies Ground Surge's advantage further. The more the player's weapon is refined, the more damage each of the two hits deals. At maximum refinement, the gap between Ground Surge and other offensive cores widens significantly.

Recommended Build

Ground Surge forms the backbone of the strongest known melee build in Crimson Desert. The following setup maximizes turning slash damage:

With both Ground Surge andGreysoul Howlingequipped, a single fire-imbued turning slash triggers the afterimage strike, the fire spike eruption, and the stone explosion. This produces four or more damage instances from one turning slash input, making it the highest-damage melee combo currently known in the game.

Comparative Testing

Community testing has confirmed that Ground Surge is thebest turning slash abyss gearcurrently available. When the proc effect triggers, it delivers approximately2.5x the damageof a standard turning slash with no proc effect. Even more notably, Ground Surge applies roughly4.6x as much stagger valueas a clean turning slash hit, though the exact multiplier varies by enemy type and size.

By comparison, alternatives likeGraceandSoul Howlingonly provide damage roughly equal to the base turning slash hit with no meaningful bonus to stagger. Ground Surge's stagger output makes it especially effective against enemies that stay relatively still, since the full proc effect has time to connect.

Proc Cost Considerations

Keep in mind that each abyss gear proc effect increases the spirit cost of turning slash attacks. These costs stack if multiple proc gears are equipped in weapon slots. Most damage modifiers (aside from weapon refinement andbane gears) do not affect proc damage, meaning proc effects scale poorly compared to general weapon attacks in the late game. The recommended approach is to runone proc effect gear at mostfor your primary attack style and use remaining weapon slots for stat-boosting abyss gears likeRelentlessor critical rate improvements.

Confirmed Acquisition Route

Ground Surgeis a guaranteed main-story reward and cannot be missed if the player completes Chapter 7. The route is:

• Step 1:Progress the main story toChapter 7, reaching theDecisive Battlequest in the Counterattack arc.

• Step 2:Defeat the bossMyodin(also written in some menus as Myurdin) at the end of the Decisive Battle encounter.

• Step 3:After the post-fight cutscene, control returns toOongkawithMelted Ambitionalready in the weapon inventory. Ground Surge is pre-socketed into one of the weapon's Abyss Gear slots.

• Step 4:Optional: visit anyWitchto extract Ground Surge from Melted Ambition and re-embed it into a different weapon with an open Abyss Gear slot. SeeImbue Elementfor the broader element-swap workflow.

Because Ground Surge ships pre-equipped with the weapon, no separate purchase, treasure-chest hunt, or faction quest chain is required. The Decisive Battle is a fixed story beat, so every player ends Chapter 7 with this Abyss Gear in their inventory.

Pairing With Turning Slash

Ground Surge has a strong synergy with theTurning Slashcombo because both abilities apply staggered area damage in a wide arc around the player. The ground spikes burst out during heavy weapon strikes, layering a second staggered area-of-effect pulse on top of the Turning Slash sweep itself. Against dense enemy packs, this turns a single heavy-attack input into a multi-hit clear that knocks down most non-elite foes in the same swing.

Recommended pairings for the Turning Slash plus Ground Surge core loop:

• Momentum(armor socket): adds a flat 35% damage boost to Turning Slash, scaling Ground Surge's per-spike damage by the same factor. SeeMomentum.

• Greysoul Howling(armor socket): summons a phantom strike on Turning Slash that effectively doubles the heavy attack's damage, with Ground Surge's spikes layering on top. SeeGreysoul Howling.

• Relentless(gloves Abyss Gear): scales damage with consecutive hits landed; the staggered Ground Surge spikes count toward the consecutive-hit ramp. SeeRelentless.

Slotting Ground Surge into a one-handed sword with high attack speed lets the player chain Turning Slash inputs quickly, which gives Ground Surge multiple chances to proc during the same engagement window.

Element-Swap Loadouts

Players who want to switch between Ground Surge and a different elemental Abyss Gear in the middle of a fight can build dedicated weapon or armor loadouts and swap them through the quick menu. The general process is the same one used for the fire and frost element pairs:

• Visit anyWitchand select the option to extract Abyss Gears from the source weapon or armor piece.

• Re-embed the extracted gear onto an alternate carrier (a second weapon, or a dedicated pair of gloves or boots with open Abyss Gear sockets).

• Carry both carriers in the inventory and swap between them through the quick equipment menu to cycle Ground Surge in or out without leaving combat.

This is the same workflow described underImbue Elementfor the canonical fire and frost two-Abyss-Gear pairs, and it works equally well for slotting Ground Surge into the Turning Slash loadout used in theReclamationandCounterattackfollow-up beats of Chapter 7.

Tips

• Ground Surge triggers on R1 + R2 (spinning slash) attacks. Incorporate spinning slashes into your combo chains to proc the effect as often as possible.

• The fire spikes hit enemies in a radius around the player, so position yourself in the center of enemy groups for maximum effectiveness.

• You can extract Ground Surge at any Witch and re-slot it freely. There is no penalty for moving it between weapons.

• Pair Ground Surge with attack speed-boosting Abyss Cores like Gale I to increase the rate at which you perform spinning slashes and trigger the effect.

Community Tier List Rating: Ground Surge

The following community rating comes from theAbyss Gears Tier Listvideo walkthroughs ranking guide, which scores everyAbyss Gearout of 30 across three pillars: damage, usability, and utility. The breakdown below reflects that creator's opinion onGround Surge, not an objective measurement from the game's data files. Treat the scores as a useful reference for build decisions, then test the gear in your own loadout.

Tier breakpoints used by the guide:Scovers 25 to 30 points,Acovers 20 to 24,Bcovers 15 to 19,Ccovers 10 to 14,Dcovers anything under 10, andFis reserved for the lowest scorers under 8.

Score Breakdown

• Damage:9 out of 10. The fire wave from the ground hits for around 60 percent of a typical target. That is noticeably belowGreysoul HowlingorFrost Spike, but the score on this pillar still rates high because the hit lands reliably.

• Usability:8 out of 10. Triggers off a normalTurning Slashwith no special timing, which keeps it easy to use in a fight.

• Utility:7 out of 10. TheAoEfootprint is decent but does not stand out the way Frost Spike's wider wave does, and there is no extra control effect attached.

• Total:22 out of 30. A tier (lower end).

Use Cases and Notes

Ground Surge sits in the middle of the turning slash pack: clearly aboveWound of Darkness, clearly below the S-tierGreysoul Howling, and a small step underFrost Spike. The rating guide flags it as solid but not exceptional in any single category, so it earns a place in builds that already have other strongAbyss Gearpieces and want a reliable turning-slash filler rather than a centrepiece.