Played against a highly skilled Artist for the first time
Oof.
It was a painful experience and the only good thing is I got tunneled out of the game quickly so I didn't have to continue on against this killer.
I have the utmost respect for the person playing the artist in that match, they were clearly very skilled at playing her and it takes time to get that good. My bother comes from feeling like I had little to no options against her, but I think a large part of that is because I rarely ever face off against an artist player, let alone a VERY good one.
Anybody have any tips on how to counter her properly??
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Hold W
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Yup, definitely tried that. She would crow one way and cut me off the other so I couldn't do much. Next.
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Against artist you need to act as if your going to loop something but just hold forward. You will go down, survivors are not designed to be able to live forever but holding forward will severely affect her. Placing crows takes a long time and slows her significantly. Don't focus on living as long as you can, focus on wasting as much time as you can. Go down in corners, run across the map. Just waste her time and you should do fine. If she adjusts and holds w instead of placing crows, start looping. If she's placing crows leave. There's no other thing you can do.
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learn how and when to chain loops instead of sticking to them. The artist needs to slow down to place her crows, and there are a few tells like the noise and the speed that her red glow moves that you can use to tell without seeing her directly (like at loops with high walls, for instance.) As soon as you see her setting up, break off to the next loop in the opposite direction as her. As long as you make the read right, you will gain distance on her every single time, at least enough to reset the situation at the next loop without needing to waste any resources.
Her crows themselves also have a lot of quirks to them that are very helpful to know: The big crow has both limited range and direct collision: meaning it needs a clear shot with no obstructions, and it generally only reaches on the same tile its placed (or equivalent length.) She will always try to place them at places like window vaults and pallet drops, bottlenecks, along long walls, etc. If anything is in the way and breaks the big crow, the flock doesn't actually do direct damage. yet.
The flock is its own unique thing, as it has to be removed to prevent the next flock dealing damage. The time to remove a flock is only very slightly longer than the time it takes for her to recharge her power and line up another shot, let alone release it. If you are dispelling the flock as soon as you can, there are very few situations she should be able to land a second hit, even with the addon that helps with that specifically. For the most part, simply don't ignore the crows and you shouldn't be able to be harmed through double taps. There are some niche situations where it can be forced, but they usually require staggering two shots from the same volley at multiple distances: She's generally only ever going to land them if firing at you on a gen from further away. If you get hit by crows while on a gen, simply run to the side and get rid of them before going back to the gen to finish. There's a trick to getting rid of them as well:
Lockers. Lockers instantly get rid of any flock swarm, while vaulting resets any progress made dispelling them. Basically if not in the TR and there is a locker nearby, it can be the fastest and easiest way to clear em. Particularly useful on gens with lockers right near them, but keep in mind a "near-miss" will give her killer instinct to know where you are, and KI can see through lockers. Not sure how this applies regarding the crows flying by a locker you're already in, but something to keep in mind.
Another thing worth noting: Its not uncommon for artist players to use aura perks to help with hitting shots through walls to force a flock (or even set up in advance for the bottleneck they expect you to go toward) if there is a clear shot. Pay attention for perks like I'm All Ears if you think they might be trying to railroad you a specific direction, especially after vaulting. Sometimes it can become somewhat obvious if theyre using said perks, which can help you prevent running into a relatively guaranteed shot, especially if she hit you with a flock before the vault (remember, it can reset their duration as well.)
The last thing is elevation: flocks will climb slopes 100% of the time, and will not descend after. If she has to shoot them up a hill or up stairs to fire in your direction, they should harmlessly go over your head. The slope is the important part, it is the only thing that will cause them to ascend (not 100% on descending down slopes, never really thought to test them that way) so if fired through a hill from one of its non-sloped sides for example, it will stay at ground level (most likely done this way to have the power work properly on multi-floor maps.)
She follows a similar strategy as most trap-based killers regarding loops: You can stick with a loop until they start trapping it, then use that setup time to gain distance and reset the situation to force them to commit. The rest of the nuances are good to know on how to handle particular aspects of the power, but thats probably the most important rule.
Edit: One thing I forgot to mention: If she has a trap down and you run though it, you don't take the hit from the big crow but get swarmed instead. Can be used to "break up" traps at loops by other survivors, if you see someone being chased nearby and feel particularly gutsy but don't have anything like a flashlight.
Post edited by Ryuhi on1 -
Honestly not much. Best bet is to keep distance and force her into prediction shots. You could also try leaving any loop she sets up at to gain distance.
Also flash bangs/ flashlights can destroy crows set down by her
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Thank you so much for the massively detailed post ☺️ I already feel more confident if I have to face her now. I have played a few matches against good artists since making the original post and reading your comment and I actually did marginally better! I appreciate you taking the time to write all of that out and sharing your knowledge with me!
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No problem, a lot of killers benefit from playing as them in order to learn how to counter their abilities, and the artist is certainly a knowledge check in a lot of ways. Glad its been working out better :)
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