How to beat a Plyusch in Atomic Heart

Plyusch monsters, otherwise known as Ivies, are fast and agile creatures that can seriously ruin P-3’s day in Atomic Heart. They use their long tendrils and limber legs to lash out at targets and pin them onto the ground for some nasty execution moves. As intimidating as they might seem at first, they do become relatively easy to take down once you understand their moves. Here’s a short guide on how to beat these monsters.

Atomic Heart – How to fight and beat a Plyusch

Right before starting the very first Plyusch fight, the game will you know that it is highly resistant to gunfire. This includes energy damage from weapons like Electro and Dominator. You can still do a bit of damage by shooting it, but this method is completely unreliable.

Instead of using guns, players should rely on powers and melee weapons instead. The Fox and Peshtat are great when fighting these guys (especially when upgraded) since the other melee weapons are too slow to keep up with the Plyusch. Additionally, use the Frostbite and Polymeric Jet powers to slow the monster’s attacks and movement down to a crawl. Keep in mind that you can swing your weapon while using abilities.

Screenshot by PC Invasion

To deal even more damage, install a Cartridge Gun mod on your preferred melee weapon and slap a Fire Cartridge onto it. This will make every hit deal Fire damage, which is one of the Plyusch’s main weaknesses in Atomic Heart.

Fighting a Plyusch face to face might be scary at first, but their attacks are telegraphed and can be dodged with proper timing. Its normal flurry of swipes can be evaded by dashing backward. Meanwhile, its lunge attack (the one where it slingshots itself forward) can be dodged by dashing to the side. We highly advise getting unlocking the second dash from the vendor’s character upgrade screen to make all fights go easier.