Here’s my number one Surge 2 tip: turn in your audio logs!

Go help the helpful vending machine

Experience isn’t hard to come by in The Surge 2: if you know where to look.

Although you can grind out XP (which helps you upgrade your rig/stats and gear) endlessly if you really want, it’s smarter to earn it by way of sidequests. One of the easiest methods to accomplish (and forget about) this goal is the vending machine side story.

It’s so simple! Around an hour into the game you’ll make your way to Brother Eli’s bar: the first target area after you enter the Jericho City hub (read: right after the tutorial jail).

On the third floor of the structure (up some escalators) is a simple vending machine that wants to eat up audio logs. You know, those story-based collectibles that are pretty useless mechanically in most games? Well in Surge 2, for every 10 logs you turn into the vending machine, you’ll earn a ton of XP and some rewards. You don’t need to individually count each log every time you pick one up or even keep a running tally. Instead, just try to head back to the machine after you finish each zone. It’s a simple trick that lets you earn gobs of XP after acquiring a ton of data logs without even thinking about it.

Just know that once you hit the max (50), even though there’s so many more logs out there, you’re done with this particular machine: he’ll even say so! So there is a limit, but you probably won’t reach that point until roughly 10 hours in.