Most important things i have found out about game, mechanics etc.
General Guide
Keybinds
For now you can only rebind skill 1 and skill 2. I highly suggest to do so to a button on mouse, because your left hand will be using WASD. This is needed on penguin slide skill, because slightest delay can mess up your slide. Works great for Vampire aswell.
Mechanics and Other Observations
I would suggest using Slide skill on penguine, because prop skill becomes useless as soon as people start leveling hunters and you will be easily detectable by some some skills of hunters.
Slide isn’t for escape only, while it gives decent distance from hunter, it can also be used to move through rooms. There are boarded up doorways, fireplaces and other places that is intended for sliding. So i suggest getting to know maps.
Another thing is hidden doorways, that you can rotate from book-side.1 example would be right under Labyrinth at SouthWest side of map. You just pull on the book and door will open (Ghosts can do this too).
Speaking of ghosts, when you die, you can do so much as ghost, don’t leave the game.
Annoy the living **** out of hunter. You can become a barrel or a chair and throw yourself at hunter to stun(movement with WASD and throw with SPACE on default binds).
Sometimes you can pick up pink items with ghost, they either slow down hunter or give speed boosts to penguins (I’m uncertain about speed boost).
You can also pull levers to block paths for hunter.
Pulling levers is helpfull especially to help penguines completing big tasks.
Example would be Kitchen, holding a lever a ghost so a penguin can drop items in cauldron.
Observatory pulling carts so penguin can rotate the telescope.
Alchemy room is a bit more harder because you can help with only half of the task by pulling lever, but it’s still something.
There is no way to help at Labyrinth AFAIK , except opening bookshelf door for penguins escape.
Items
Broomstick – Always great, great speed and distance to runaway from hunter. Can easily fly through bombs, leaves no footprints (leaves a bit of green trail tho).
Staff – This is situational and IMO the real counter to portal camping and especially Scarecrow.
It has 3 charges and will trade you places with hunter (or penguin). I’m fairly certain after a while charges reset. I suggest learning this early, because you can mess around with hunter, waste his time and possibly escape. Right click to aim and Left click to activate on default binds.
Banana peel and bear traps- these are great only while running from hunter. Don’t drop them around the map with no purpose, most of the time penguins are going to run into them, not hunter.
I only pick them up just to use them in case i see broomstick or shovel or to escape.
Shovel – Most important item in the game. Used to revive teammates, you can only hold one OR should hold one. Most i have seen spawn in map is 3, but can be purchased in Shop on the map for 30 gold if the RNG is good.
Shop – There are usually 1 shop on map , usually NorthEast-ish part of map or South East.
30 gold coins to use and you get 1 random item. most of the time it is worth it.
Skills – This is up to you, but i HIGHLY suggest leveling up Supporter skill on penguin.
When maxed, it has 50% chance to spawn Shovel on your grave and as we learned Shovels are scarce resource.
Hunters
Scarecrow
I have to mention, when Scarecrow is in game, assume that every grave has a bomb and escape portals will have at least 2 bombs near them. Treat every doorway as possible bomb threat and every shovel as bombthreat.
Also try to avoid their Crow scanner ring at late game, if you do not, excape will be difficult.
Vampire
- Personal favorite.
- Offers tons of Mobility with Batman skill.
- Bloodlust is also decent.
- Gives penguines a fair fighting chance.
Reaper
- Can Blink through walls for mobility.
- Death Run gives movement speed and stun reduction.
- Also gives Penguines a fair fighting chance.
How to level Hunters during the game is honestly up to you.
Misc.
- SPACEBAR to signal teammates for Help. Creates Blue flag as map marker.
- Typically used to call for help at big tasks or as follow order.
- Holding SPACEBAR will allow you to choose(with mouse) from 2 markers. Blue Flag and Red “!”
- Red “!” usually is used to signal location of nearby Hunter, Bom or other threat.
- Both of markers are ONLY seen by penguins and “probably” ghosts.
Good observations and a good guide that is very much needed
The game is lacking an easy way to read what all abilities/items do in the game, but it is possible to hover the mouse over the abilities/items on the bottom of the screen for a short description, and the upgrades menu explains them a little bit.
I think new players should immediately upgrade active abilities for a hunter (and buy sliding for penguins, as you mentioned). For example, the Reaper can only blink through walls if the player has the active ability upgrade
Do you know if there is any base speed difference between the 3 hunters?
I have seen a vampire reach the same base speed as ghosts while the tasks were 23/50 (which the passive Panic ability affects), but i have not seen other hunters reach the same speed
And do you know at what lvl the hunter gains the secondary skill?
AFAIK Hunters are same speed with scarecrow being exception(he feels faster at start)
Vampire has a skill that gets him speed increase of 6.66% for every 10 tasks completed.
I have no experience with Reaper, since i am mainly leveling vampire and penguins.
Hunter 2nd skill is unlocked at around 3kills (do not know exact level)