I’ve been playing for a couple of hours, and enjoying it thus far with few issues. Figured I’d post a few tips and tricks I’ve picked up along the way to help my fellow Receivers on our ongoing journey to Awakening.
1) When shooting a gun, learn to focus not on your target but on your sights. The shooting of this game is paced very, very slowly, and you can’t expect to run-and-gun into a room and take down a dozen kill-drone at once. It takes a moment for your gun to steady after every move you make, and even when your mouse is perfectly still, your gun will sway naturally from side to side. By focusing on your sights, particularly the needle in the middle, you get a better picture of where your bullet is actually going to end up. Or, in simpler terms: Your forward sight should obscure your target.
2) Pace your shots. Rapid shots in succession will cause your hands to shake, making it harder to aim. Leaving gaps between pulls of the trigger allows your hands to steady so you can better acquire a target. It also seems to be the case that if you stop aiming your gun, your hands will steady quicker, though I’m not 100% sure if that’s the case.
3) Learn where to shoot. Kill-drones only have a few vital pieces of their machinery that are vulnerable to attack. Hitting them anywhere else will cause the bullet to penetrate harmlessly through its frame. If you can, always aim for the battery, as it will immediately disable the entire kill-drone. If you can’t hit the battery, I’d suggest aiming for the drone’s camera instead, as it is more visible in the dark and even though the drone remains functional it cannot target you. This also causes turrets to drop ammo on the floor the same way disabling it any other way would. If you cannot do either of those, it’s possible to limit a turret’s effectiveness by shooting out its motor, and even its leg. Causing it to fall over will only allow it to rotate vertically, severely limiting its cone of fire (Though it becomes much harder to hack, and in some cases has pushed itself over to aim at me from behind!).
4) Floaty bois are dangerous. If one catches you in its sights, run. Preferably through territory you’ve already cleared. They are very smart, and can path around terrain relatively easily. However, their cone of vision is almost entirely vertical (if not at a slight downwards tilt), so you should be safe to stand directly above or below them to line up a shot.
5) On the subject of shooting, do not engage at medium-to-long ranges. It’s best to shoot only when you can guarantee your shot will land – best to sneak right up behind your target to guarantee it won’t see you. As previously stated, your aim will shift slightly even if your mouse is completely still, and the game simulates a tiny shift in your aim each time you squeeze the trigger, making long-distance shots unreliable. It’s a good idea to shoot at balloons to help acquaint yourself with the finer details of shooting at medium range, as you’re guaranteed to get at least one bullet back if you hit a balloon.
6) Control your flashlight. The game tells you outright that shining your flashlight on an enemy will allow them to see you outside of its normal range. Grab-able objects are much more visible in your flashlight, too, making them easier to see if you’re scavenging for tapes or ammo between encounters. It’s important to know that even if a kill-drone is not looking directly at you, shining your flashlight at it from the side can alert it to your presence and cause it to turn. I would only recommend shining your flashlight at a drone if the room is very dark, and there is only a single drone for you to fight. Whenever possible, look for the light switches in a room and turn them on.
7) Recognize Threat Echo tapes. Most tapes you will find in your journey are that of an informative nature – the narrator will speak in a non-emotional fashion, and will often talk about subjects relating to guns or your mission as a Receiver. In case you’ve not been acquainted with one yet, a Threat Echo is a tape left as the final words of a Receiver before suicide. The Threat will target you through them, taking control of your body in an attempt to turn your weapon on yourself. You will know you are listening to a Threat Echo tape because the narrator will take on a sincere anger in the way he speaks, and will talk of hatred, regret, and sorrow. A sinister music cue will play shortly before the Threat begins taking control, followed by a text cue on your screen.
7.1) If you haven’t already unloaded your weapon by this point, there’s still time to save yourself. If you are using a semi-automatic weapon, quickly eject the magazine and drop it (Default keybind E, E), and then eject the loaded round by pressing R. Drop all magazines you carry as an added precaution, and MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE your chamber is empty (Defauly T+R, or repeatedly press and hold R). If you forget to do this, you can fire all of your rounds into the floor or wall before your gun is pointed at your head.
7.2) If you are using a revolver, simply open the cylinder and empty all rounds onto the floor (Default E, V – You may need to press V multiple times to ensure all chambers are empty as an extra precaution) and wait.
7.3) You will be safe to reload your gun after The Threat pulls your trigger and you regain control of your weapon. The music will fade, and you will receive a Threat Recovery tape, where you can listen to the story of the Receiver who nearly killed theirself, and how they moved on and healed.
Yeah, things got a bit heavy there, didn’t they. Came for the gun simulator, stayed for the mental illness and suicide notes. Stay vigilant, Receivers. The Dream is a horrible place, and the Threat will stop at nothing to destroy us all.
And, those of you who are suffering, remember that there are those out there who care about you, even if you don’t believe it yourself.
By DARGON
Related Posts:
- Receiver 2 Compound Challenge Dome Floppy Disk Locations
- Receiver 2: Tips & Tricks for Surviving
- Receiver 2: All Firearms
- Receiver 2: Rebinding Controls/Tweaks
- Receiver 2: All Decrypted Notes
