Surge Attacks (also known as just Surges), or Intense Waves (烈波 Reppa) in the Japanese Version, are a special ability/effect in The Battle Cats. They can be created by certain Cat Units and Enemy Units at a set chance. This ability was added in Version 9.2.
Mystic Uril creating a Surge Attack
Explanation[]
Surge Attacks share many qualities with Wave Attacks: they hit all enemies/cats in their range, but don't affect bases (excluding animated ones), and they deal the same damage as a normal attack from their creator; they will also retain any special ability/effect that the original attack had, except for Target Only. Unlike Wave Attacks, however, Surge Attacks stay in one spot, dealing the original damage of the Cat or Enemy unit to opposing units within a range of 170px every 1 second.
Surge Attacks have a level, which, unlike a Wave Attack's level, determines how long they will linger on the field for. A level 1 Surge lasts for 20f, and each additional level increases the duration by 20f and allows the Surge to hit the same target one more time. Unlike Wave Attacks, Surge Attacks have a designated area where they can spawn, which varies depending on the unit. This value is independent from the attack range and will determine the minimum and maximum range in which the attack can appear.
Despite looking similar, Surges are entirely separate from waves; Immune to Waves, Wave Shield and Resist Wave will not protect against Surges, and Evade Surge and Resist Surge will not protect against waves. Notably, there is a 15-frame delay before the Surge spawns, and a 20 frame delay between each individual Surge hitbox. The frame delay correlates with each gained Surge level.
To recap:
- A Surge has a single spawn point, which is a single point within the Area of Effect.
- A Surge has 375 range width. Starting from spawn point, it has 125 outward piercing range and 250 inner range.
- Surges cannot harm bases, excluding animated bases found within the Catclaw Dojo and elsewhere.
- Surge damage is the same as the damage of the hit that caused it. If a hit deals 100 damage and causes a Surge, the Surge will deal 100 damage with every hit.
- The Surge carries all effects from the attack that caused it, so if an attack landed a freeze despite a low probability, all hits of the Surge will freeze too as a result.
- There is a 15f (0.5s) gap time between main attack and Surge spawning.
Calculating Effective DPS of Surge Attackers[]
DPS of a Surge unit can be calculated using the formula: Surge DPS = Base DPS x Surge Level. Following this, a Level 30 Master Uril has a base DPS of 803 and a Surge Level of 3. So his Surge carries a DPS of 2409 if all hits connect. This also reflects onto the damage per hit a unit has.
For units who may hit foes with both the main attack and the Surge, simply add one to the Surge level to get the full DPS of the attack: Maximum DPS = Base DPS + Surge DPS = Base DPS x (Surge Level + 1).
For example, a level 30 Kasli the Bane has a base DPS of 2,931 and a Surge Level of 3. So her Surge carries a DPS of 8,793 if all hits connect and, if her initial attack also hits the target, she has an effective DPS of 11,724.
Mini-Surge[]
King of Extinction Phono creating a Mini-Surge
Mini-Surge is an ability introduced in Version 12.3. Mini-Surges are almost identical to regular Surges, but are visually smaller and deal only 20% of their creator's attack power. Like how Mini-Waves are considered the same effect as waves, Mini-Surges are still counted as Surges, meaning they are resisted by all the same abilities.
Since the added attack power from Attack Up Talent Orbs is a flat increase that ignores damage multipliers, it will be added on top of the Mini-Surge's damage without being decreased to 20%. Technically, this means units with multi-level Mini-Surges (e.g., Ultra Talented Divine Coppermine) can reap more benefit from Attack Up Talent Orbs than any other unit.
Death Surge[]
Death Surge is an ability exclusive to certain Aku Enemies. It is a post-mortem attack, which happens automatically with a short animation once an Aku with this ability dies. Visually, this is represented by a unique Aku soul instead of a regular white soul emerging. This unique-looking Aku soul activates the Surge Attack before disappearing. The Surge, unlike a regular Surge Attack, spawns directly every time, without the need of a regular attack connecting, plus, since it happens after death, it is not affected by any debuff that may have been applied to the dying enemy before their demise. In other words, there is no way to prevent the Surge from happening, nor can the Surge be made less problematic by ensuring that the enemy causing it dies with weaken or curse applied.
Aftermath of Condemned Peng's demise
Counter-Surge[]
Counter-Surge is an ability introduced in Version 12.4. It activates when a Surge hits the user, and consists of an animation in which a one-eyed soul with a colored aura (blue for cats, pink for enemies) appears above the user, jitters for a moment, and fires off a Surge from its eye before returning to the user's body, taking 1.7 seconds to execute. The Surge's level, type (normal or Mini) and spawn area are inherited from the attack that struck it, while any damage and secondary effects are scaled to that of the user itself. Unlike with Death Surge, this Surge is considered to be generated by the user itself, and as such, Weaken/Curse effects that have afflicted the unit will affect the spawned Surge. If said effects wear off before the Surge expires, their effects on the Surge are likewise removed.
When used by multi-hit attackers like Kappy Kawano, this ability inherits damage from the first hit. For example, Kappy Kawano's 114k damage is divided into three closely-spaced multi-hits dealing 38k damage each. As such, if a Surge hits him, the resultant Counter-Surge will only deal 38K damage.
Note that units with Counter-Surge still receive full damage from Surge Attacks. Also, Counter-Surges are not generated unless the enemy takes direct damage from a Surge Attack. This means that if an enemy is protected by a Shield which takes the full damage of the Surge and breaks (no Shield Piercing), the enemy will not counter.
To prevent a continuous loop, Counter-Surges cannot trigger the Counter-Surge ability itself. I.e., if Phantasmal Nobunaga hits Kappy Kawano with a copied Surge, it won't trigger Kawano's Counter-Surge.
Iguanidae Ibilujon creating its own Surge Attack after being hit by Awakened Doron's Surge
Units[]
Cat Units[]
| Cat Unit | Ability | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Phantasmal Nobunaga | Counter-Surge | |
| GOLDEN JUPITER CC | Lv.1 Surge at 400~700 | 100% |
| Headmaster Cat Jobs | Lv.1 Surge at 150~1,050 | 100% |
| Redhead Muscled Yuki Cat | Lv.1 Surge at 150~600 | 100% |
| Determined Unit-01 & Cat | Lv.1 Mini-Surge at 400~700 | 30% |
| Backhoe Cat | Lv.1 Surge at 200~900 | 50% |
| Kasli the Scourge | Lv.1 Surge at 325~525 (Evolved: Lv.2 at 400~700) |
100% |
| Kasli the Bane | Lv.2 Surge at 400~700 (Lv.3 in Evolved Form) |
100% |
| One-Eyed Asuka | Lv.3 Surge at 400~800 | 100% |
| Night Oracle Rei | Lv.1 Surge at 250~850 | 30% |
| The 6th Angel | Lv.3 Surge at 450~1,250 | 100% |
| The 10th Angel | Lv.2 Surge at 250~950 | 100% |
| The 9th Angel | Lv.1 Surge at 400~700 | 100% |
| Mystic Uril | Lv.3 Surge at 400~600 | 100% |
| Bikinilan Pasalan | Lv.5 Surge at 150~1,050 (Lv.8 in True Form) |
100% |
| Adventurer Kanna | Lv.2 Surge at 400~700 (Lv.3 in True Form) |
100% |
| Elder Mask Doron | Lv.1 Surge at 400~1,000 (Lv.3 in Evolved Form) |
100% |
| Divine Lilin | Lv.1 Surge at 150~950 | |
| Jagando Jr. | Lv.1 Surge at 150~550 on 3rd hit | 100% |
| Lucifer the Fallen | Lv.1 Surge at 250~650 | 50% (100% in True Form) |
| Brainwashed Gross Cat | Lv.3 Surge at 150~600 (Lv.4 in True Form) | 100% |
| Ragelan Pasalan | Lv.2 Mini-Surge at 800~1,000 | 100% |
| Eva Unit-13 | Lv.1 Mini-Surge at 400~700 | 50% |
| King of Doom Phono | Lv.1 Mini-Surge at 400~1100 | 100% |
| Kaoluga Pasalan | Lv.6 Mini-Surge at 150~1,050 | 100% |
| Coastal Explorer Kanna | Lv.1 Surge at 400~700 | 100% |
| Hatsune Miku XVI | Lv.2 Surge at 150~750 | 100% |
| Wargod Mitsuhide | Lv.1 Surge at 350~650 | 50% |
| Dancer Cat (Talent) | Lv.1 Surge at 480~750 | 2~20% |
| Acrobat Cats (Talent) | Lv.1 Surge at 400~700 | 3~30% |
| Almighty Anubis (Talent) | Lv.1 Surge at 200~250 | 3~30% |
| Artist Orthos CC (Talent) | Lv.1 Mini-Surge at 600~1,200 | 10~100% |
| Joyful Nurse Cat (Ultra Talent) | Lv.1 Mini-Surge at 300~900 | 10~100% |
| Divine Coppermine (Ultra Talent) | Lv.3 Mini-Surge at 150~850 | 10~100% |
Enemy Units[]
| Enemy | Ability | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Kappy Jr. | Lv.1 Surge at 150~750 | 100% |
| St. Dober | Lv.3 Surge at 150~350 | 33% |
| Master Uril | Lv.3 Surge at 200~450 | 100% |
| Surge Base | Lv.3 Surge at 150~2,000 | 100% |
| Evil Emperor Cat | Lv.2 Surge at 600~900 | 100% |
| Raynard | Lv.2 Surge at 150~1,900 | 100% |
| Elder Flame Doron | Lv.8 Surge at 500~1,000 | 100% |
| Sinner Snache | Lv.1 Death Surge at 350~750 | 50% |
| Condemned Peng | Lv.3 Death Surge at 450~950 | 100% |
| Fallen Bear | Lv.1 Death Surge at 450~1,050 | 100% |
| Wicked Tank Cat | Lv.1 Surge at 150~550 | 100% |
| Lord of Ruin Jagando | Lv.1 Surge at 150~750 on 3rd hit | 30% |
| Medu-san | Lv.1 Surge at 150~750 | 100% |
| Red EnerG | Lv.2 Surge at 150~350 | 100% |
| Pterowl Hazuku | Lv.1 Surge at 400~1200 | 20% |
| Ancient Magamojoe | Lv.2 Surge at 150~750 | 50% |
| Devil Wife | Lv.1 Death Surge at 200~800 | 100% |
| Omens | Lv.1 Surge at 250~950 | 30% |
| Redhead Muscled Yuki Cat | Lv.1 Surge at 150~600 | 100% |
| Eva Unit-13 | Lv.1 Mini-Surge at 400~700 | 100% |
| Lutrinae Gokurakko | Counter-Surge | |
| Iguanidae Ibilujon | Counter-Surge | |
| Lophiiformes Angaburu | Lv.1 Mini-Surge at 280~980 | 75% |
| Kappy Kawano | Lv.1 Surge at 150~1000 | 100% |
| Counter-Surge | ||
| Mega Baa Baa | Counter-Surge | |
| Hatsune Miku XVI | Lv.2 Surge at 150~950 | 100% |
| Mini Angel Cyclone | Lv.1 Mini-Surge at 150~750 | 25% |
| Malevolent Mohawk Cat | Counter-Surge | |
| Malevolent Eraser Cat | Lv.2 Surge at 150~550 | 100% |
| Counter-Surge | ||
| Malevolent Dark Cat | Counter-Surge | |
| Malevolent Macho Leg Cat | Lv.4 Surge at 150~600 | 100% |
| Counter-Surge | ||
| Malevolent Lion Cat | Counter-Surge | |
| Malevolent Flying Cat | Counter-Surge | |
| Malevolent Island Cat | Lv.2 Death Surge at 250-750 | 100% |
| Counter-Surge | ||
| Malevolent King Dragon Cat | Counter-Surge | |
| Malevolent Jamiera Cat | Counter-Surge | |
| Esoteric Uril | Lv.4 Surge at 200-450 | 100% |
| Techn-Old Hyena | Counter-Surge | |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Kappy Jr. and Kasli the Scourge were the first enemy and cat respectively to have Surge Attacks.
- Just like with Wave Attacks, Enemy Units will create blue Surges while Cat Units will create pink Surges.
- Most animated enemy bases are immune to waves, yet lack immunity to Surges.
- If a unit creates a Surge while cursed, its ability will be activated on the Surge after the curse wears off.
- If a unit with the Attacks Only ability creates a Surge, its Surge will be able to damage units outside of its target trait/s. This is currently only applicable to Neo Backhoe Cat.
- The Death Surge ability was added in Version 10.8, but was unimplemented until Version 10.9.
- For enemies such as Sinner Snache who have a non-100% chance of Death Surge, a normal soul will appear when Death Surge does not trigger while an Aku soul appears when it does trigger. This makes Sinner Snache the only enemy with two different death animations.
- Death Surge is similar to the Self-Destruct ability from Yuru-i GeGeGe no Kitarou: Youkai Dotabata Daisensou.
- As of the Version 13.0 Update, Phantasmal Nobunaga is the first and only Cat Unit to have the Counter-Surge ability.
- The soul that appears when the Counter-Surge ability activates resembles the top of the Surge Base (which itself is modeled after the Monument to the Revolution of the people of Moslavina in Croatia), as well as the boss 0² from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.