You’ve made it through your first few heists. Now you want to know more. This is for those who have graduated from the basic guide.
Contents
More Than Basics
Introduction
Hello fellow Heist-meisters! This is my second guide, and is meant as a landing spot once you’ve graduated from my first guide. This guide will contain more tips, tricks, knowledge, and everything you need to take your game to the next level.
General Tips
Get in the habit of using the keyboard shortcuts to switch between flashlight, phone, and tablet. It’s much quicker than the mouse wheel. Default key mappings are 1 for flashlight, 2 for phone, and 3 for tablet.
Use the lights to know when the ghost is coming and when it’s gone. If the lights are off, use your flashlight. It blinks when the ghost is near too. If the ghost turned off your lights, once it’s gone turn them back on. Note that the lights tend to blink at predictable rates as of the writing of this guide. If something breaks that cycle, it’s a good indication the hunt has ended and the ghost is gone. For instance, If the light blinks off, but then turns back on much quicker than normal and the blinking stops. The hunt is probably over.
Sound. Is. Huge. The ghost makes noise just like you do. You can hear its footsteps as it moves around. Occasionally it makes other noises. LISTEN and LIVE. This is one of the things that separates good players from great players in many games. Do not neglect the importance of sound! Using headphones can help with telling the direction the sounds are coming from.
Your vision is partially obstructed when playing the mini-games. Pay attention to whatever vision you do have so the ghost cannot sneak up on you. Also, and I cannot stress this enough, use sound to let you know where the ghost is and when it is coming! Headphones are way better than speakers for this!
Hit TAB (or whatever key if you’ve remapped) to check your completion progress often. If you hit 100%, at this stage is probably good for you to get the heck out of Dodge(Exit the map!). If you’re feeling saucy, by all means, stay. Just remember, bravery and wisdom is rewarded in this game. Foolish choices are often punished harshly. Know your limits. If you don’t know them yet, you might err on the side of caution and leave. Having said that, the one thing that is more important is having fun. If you WANT to stay, do it. Just do it wisely. Or die. Whichever.
Running is loud. Walking is less noisy. Crouching is slow but very quiet.
Beginner mode you are slightly faster than the ghost. Normal mode you are the same speed as the ghost. On harder modes you are slower than the ghost. This means on Beginner and Normal mode the ghost can be kited and looped around tables and the office easily. Harder modes this is more difficult as it has a greater chance of catching up to you.
Sanity Mechanics
The devs have confirmed the sanity mechanic in the game. You start with full sanity. The following can lower sanity:
- There is a constant passive sanity drain based on difficulty level.
- Seeing paranormal stuff (Ghost events).
Being in the light or the dark does not affect sanity in any way. Exiting the map halts sanity drain entirely.
Sanity affects the grace period before a hunt occurs. See the Ghost Behavior section for more.
Map Strategies
Here you will find some strategies that will help you be more successful in regards to how you move through a level.
Learn the maps. Have a full understanding of the full layout of each map. Know where the hiding spots are, where the dead-ends are, and where the ghost can be kited and looped. Focus on each map and play it ALOT on consecutive games. Learn each “section” of the map. First learn the rooms closest to the entrance. You will hit these rooms every time right away, so knowing them first makes sense. Push yourself to go to rooms that are further out, and to different levels of the map. Play on Normal while exploring so that the ghost cannot outrun you when it chases you.
While the ghost is inactive, RUN. If there’s no ghost hunting you then loud footsteps don’t matter and the faster you can get things done, the less you expose yourself to danger. This includes the grace period at the beginning of the level as well as the period between hunts. If you think the ghost is inactive, RUN! Running is okay most of the time. Just pay attention to where the ghost is(use sound and light blinking!) and move toward your hiding spot when it gets close. I mean, so it hears you. So what? Unless I’m in a bad position, I don’t really care if it knows where I’m at. Just run and get stuff done.
Pay attention to your current challenges. Stop hacking when you hit 100% for the round, unless you need to hack for current challenges and want to keep going. Other than that, focus on documents, electronics, money, the safe, etc.)
When I come to a new room, I first turn on the light, find my hiding spot and make sure it’s ready. If there is no hiding spot, I make sure I’m mentally ready to run to the nearest one. If I need to hack, I will usually start my first computer hack at this point. I then run around and check the surface of desks for loot items and the safe code. I’ll also make a quick look to see if the safe or any evidence is in the room. I then begin to loot the room in earnest, trying to keep a hack running on the phone as needed. Do not stand idle while you are hacking a computer. You can move around and loot nearby drawers. If you move away from the computer, your hack will slow down. At some point it may abort entirely but you can walk at least a few desks away.
Once your hack completes, but before you play the mini-game, step over to another computer and start the hack. You can then go back to the first computer and complete the mini-game while the second hack completes. Also, it is okay to have several computers waiting for you to complete the mini-game, but you don’t get credit for the hack until the mini-game is complete so don’t lose track of which computers still need to have the mini-game completed!
Keeping the light on nearby can be very helpful. The lights blinking is your early warning system that the ghost is coming. Should the lights be turned off, turn it back on. Your flashlight also blinks, but the ghost may be closer than you like when your flashlight starts blinking. Currently the lights blinking is just a sphere around the ghost, so it could be on the floor above or below you. This will likely change with update 0.1.5.
Start looting desks and drawers and hacking computers closest to the doors to your current room first. These are the most hazardous hack and loot locations as you will have the least amount of warning before needing to run when the ghost approaches from these directions. Getting these done first, especially on your first room of the heist makes the remainder of the room safer.
Ghosts cannot “see” through unhacked security cameras.
You can crouch/hide behind things to hide with varying levels of success. If you are trapped try crouching behind something. With a little luck you may live. Pay attention to what seems to work so you can use it again next time if needed (Note: The lockers and bathroom stalls should be your preferred hiding spots. Only use other spots if these are not available!).
The map exit door is locked while the ghost is hunting. You cannot leave until the hunt is over. This means running to the exit if you are being chased will not work. You’ll just end up at a locked door and die. If you wish to exit, wait until the hunt is finished. Standing by the exit door waiting for a hunt to finish is a great way to die if that’s what you’re after.
Ghost Behavior
The ghost is inactive for a while when the map starts. It does not become active once you start hacking. This is a myth. It’s all based on player sanity. (Confirmed by devs)See below.
Unconfirmed grace period times before the entity will hunt:
- Beginner: 8-11 mins
- Normal: 5-6 mins
- Hard: 3-4 mins
- Nightmare: 2-3 mins
Note: Parona has said that the time before hunt depends on the sanity of the players in the building.
You also get a few seconds grace period to run away when the ghost appears.
Current grace seconds according to Parona:
- Beginner: 5 seconds
- Normal: 3 seconds
- Nightmare: 2 seconds
Note: Sometimes the ghost can spawn right on top of you. The devs said this is not supposed to happen and they are working on fixing.
Flashlights do not affect if the ghost detects you in a hiding spot. Further, currently the ghost cannot open bathroom stall doors, so you are 100% safe in them. There is a very small chance the ghost will open locker doors, but it has nothing to do with seeing or detecting you. It’s just a small percentage chance. This is likely to change as development continues though in my opinion. Also, the ghost cannot “see” the flashlight in any way so it will not increase the chance of you being spotted.
The ghost cannot exit the building, so you can wait safely outside and not only will you not die, but your sanity will not drain.
Multiplayer Tips
This section is a little light on information right now.
- Split up! Hit different levels! The ghost can only be in one place at a time.
- Let your team know where the ghost is. If they’re on different levels, and you see it on yours, they know they have time to loot with impunity.
- Call out rare loots, safe locations, and safe codes so everybody knows these and knows what to look for.
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