2020-03-24T08:00:09 01:00

Bleeding Edge - The best tips & tricks for beginners

In this tips guide for Bleeding Edge you will learn

how to play effectively in a team
which fighters are best to start with
how to use the environment to your advantage

With the single-player adventures Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, DmC: Devil May Cry () and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (), Ninja Theory has made a name for itself in recent years. With Bleeding Edge (), the traditional British developer now wants to gain a foothold in the multiplayer game market. How you can make a lasting impression in Bleeding Edge right from the start is outlined in our tips & tricks special.

Work through the tutorial and visit the dojo

To internalize the basics of Bleeding Edge, be sure to work through the tutorial in detail. Whether it's skillful dodging, effective parrying of enemy attacks, or the proper use of special and super abilities, there's no way around this well-structured, nearly 20-minute warm-up exercise.

Before you compete online with other flesh-and-blood players, you should also pay a visit to the dojo. This is a training arena where you can try out each fighter and his abilities at your leisure. The cooldowns of the talent and stamina display can be deactivated if desired.

Also worth knowing: In the default setting, the three AI opponents in the center of the dojo behave passively, i.e. they don't attack you. However, if you set their behavior to aggressive in the settings menu, the AI opponents will immediately attack. If you like, you can also set how much damage enemies take when you attack them and assign the AI characters to different teams.

Speaking of configuring: In the options menu, you have the option to completely customize the button layout to your needs. The same applies to things like the behavior of the automatic aiming function, the lock-on function and the camera.

Bleeding Edge: Which characters are suitable for beginners?

At launch, Bleeding Edge offers a total of twelve heroes, each with individual strengths and weaknesses. However, some characters require more training time than others - this is especially true for Kulev, Maeve and Cass. They are clearly aimed at advanced players. On the other hand, the following three characters are much more accessible:

Buttercup: This corpulent fighter can take a lot of punishment, but also deal out a lot of damage with her two circular saws. Since her lower body consists of a huge motorcycle tire, she is also very mobile. Tip: If you hold down the RT button while moving around, Buttercup not only moves faster, but also regenerates some health.

Daemon: The creator of the Bleeding Edge tournament is a very good all-rounder whose weapons and special abilities drain a lot of energy from enemies. Also, a quick escape from the mix is no problem thanks to his wall jumping talent as well as his ability to make himself invisible for a short time.
Miko: If you are interested in supporting your team, the South African Miko is the right choice. Successfully executed staff attacks, for example, heal the next ally with the lowest life energy. On the other hand, if you get into trouble, you can simply freeze the enemy with stasis for a few seconds and escape.

If you don't like the suggested starting heroes, we recommend another trip to the dojo. There you just have to press the upper D-pad button to switch between the different characters in a flash. Experiment with each hero and always take a look at his skill tree. This way you'll usually get a feel for who suits you pretty quickly.

Bleeding Edge: How do I put together the best team?

Just like Blizzard's Overwatch (), Bleeding Edge is all about team play. This makes it all the more important to make sure you have a balanced team composition. Ideally, each of the three basic classes - healer, tank and damage dealer - should be represented at least once in your team. Beginners should also pay attention to the yellow "suggested" marker in the hero overview when selecting a character.

It's best to discuss which fighter player number four will choose with the group. Keep the current game mode in mind when choosing. In Power Collection, for example, there should be at least one fast character on the team to collect Energy Cells. In Control, on the other hand, a second tank makes sense to support the defense of already captured control points.

However, close coordination is not only important in character selection, but also in the match itself. For example, you should get into the habit of informing team members about the upcoming use of a super ability. This way, teammates can use their super to attack another opponent. Are you on your way to the delivery point with energy cells? Then ask for escort or a diversion to make the delivery work.

If targeted voice chat arrangements are not possible, make use of the chat wheel. By default, this is assigned to the bottom button on the digital directional pad. Once open, you can then give your team the following instructions:

X-key: Group!
Y-key: Help!
B key: Retreat!
LB key: Use super ability

The context-sensitive A button is a special case. For example, if you have an enemy in view and then press the A button while the chat wheel is activated, your hero will mark the enemy. This way, teammates know to attack him.

How do I use the mini-map and what are the game objectives?

In Bleeding Edge, a lot revolves around being in the right place at the right time. To make sure that you are in the right place at the right time, you should always take a look at the mini-map in the upper right corner of the screen. This way, you'll quickly see where you can pick up energy cells or damage power-ups and where your teammates are at the moment.

As long as enemies are involved in duels with your comrades, their positions will also appear on the map. What isn't shown are the locations of the green health containers. However, you can usually find them near damage power-up containers.

At least as important as having a good overview is focusing on completing the game's objectives. Of course, a successful kill of any enemy in the Control game mode feels good and earns you ten points. However, as long as no one cares about capturing objectives, your team won't win a pot of gold.

The same goes for the Power Collection game mode. Don't get distracted by pointless skirmishes at the front. Instead, focus directly on collecting power cells to deliver to the objective point during the delivery phase.

How do you use the environment and the hooverboard?

Each arena in Bleeding Edge has interactive elements that you can use to your advantage. This overview shows which hotspots you should keep an eye on in which scenario:

Boneyard: In this aircraft graveyard, missiles pelt capture points A and B at regular intervals. If you pay close attention to the explosion radius marked on the ground, you can cleverly escape the air attacks. If you play a nimble hero, it can even make sense to lure enemies into the bombed sector of the map.

Skygarden: The developers have placed a gong above each of Skygarden's three capture points. If you activate it, flames will blaze from the opening in the floor below. Pay attention to the timing and use this option in the best case only when several enemies are in the catchment area of the flames.
Jersey Sink: In the middle of this map runs a railroad line. If several enemies are on your tail, try to shift the fight to the tracks. Wait until the trains start rolling and then get out of the way. Careless opponents often do not even notice the trains and get under the wheels.
Aqueduct: This underground water treatment plant is characterized by energy barriers and steaming manhole covers. If you stand in the steam for a few seconds, your character becomes invisible. A great trick to ambush unsuspecting enemies.

All game modes require regular position changes. To get from A to B as quickly as possible, you swing onto your hooverboard by pressing the right D-pad button. Maeve, Buttercup and Mekko the dolphin are exceptions - they use individual means of transportation. Maeve, for example, rides her companion drone, while Buttercup simply accelerates her rear tire.

Bleeding Edge: How do I use the currency and mods most efficiently?

Bleeding Edge has two different in-game currencies. The first one is the credits, which are in orange letters and marked with a "C". Credits are earned when you play a game to the end and perform match-relevant actions. Credits are then used to buy emotes, character skins, hooverboards, hooverboard paints, stickers and trails. The prices vary drastically in some cases, so think carefully about what you really need.

Currency number two are the mod points, which are displayed in blue letters and with a cogwheel symbol. You earn mod points whenever you successfully level up a hero or complete games. Another way to earn mod points is to recycle mods you've already purchased. Simply select the mod you want and hold down the X key. However, the yield is usually not very high.

If you have enough mod points, you can use them to customize your hero's abilities in a variety of ways. Again, make sure that the modification you choose fits your play style.

For example, if you use a certain special ability over and over again, you can shorten its cool-down time, efficiency, range, or duration with a mod. On the other hand, if your hero has little health, you can use a mod that increases it, and so on.