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Survivor Mains, who can loop very well, how do you do it?

I tend to hover between ranks 4-6 and I feel what holds me back is my inability to run a killer for any more than 30 seconds at most. I have watched one friend who is really good at, and have only gone from not being able to loop, to be able to loop once or twice for those 30ish seconds. Also, were you just immediately a godly looper, or did it take you time, and if so how long? My best loops are usually the Demogorgons! Note: I refuse to use dead hard after listening to everyone complain about how broken the perk is. All feedback is appreciated.

Comments

  • ZaroktheImmortal
    ZaroktheImmortal Member Posts: 326

    I may not be the best looper but I can do it in fact had a huntress give up on chasing me in a match earlier today.

  • Duke_Ragereaver
    Duke_Ragereaver Member Posts: 215

    i wouldnt call myself a god looper, but i can last a fair bit, it took me about a year to learn. tbh, the biggest tip i can give is learn to improvise, over time you will learn how to scan for pallets and windows at a glance and thats really how ive always done it, just by improvising.

  • apathyinc
    apathyinc Member Posts: 464

    You don't have to always loop, just be unpredictable. As killer, I have seen the same loops over and over and expect good survivors to run them a certain way. Some I don't even bother with. But the survivors who really get me are the ones that I have no idea what they are going to do in a chase. Watch Cope's survivor videos/streams if you want to get a better idea, he is the best example I know of this.

  • TripleSteal
    TripleSteal Member Posts: 1,298
    edited August 2021

    I'm not gonna go into mechanical basics, ex. in which direction you are meant to run each tile (for that you can see the youtube guide linked above, I usually refer to that one in such threads, too); but rather give a couple of strategic tips that (subjectively) boosted my performance by a significant margin back in the days.

    1) track your environment, keep in mind which tiles are in your proximity, and always have a general idea of where you are going to go if the killer comes.

    You need to have at least a few "steps" in your plan, and not just "if bubba's around the corner, I'll run back to shack and hopefully not die". What happens afterwards? Will you find yourself in a dead spot if you drop shack pallet from the inside? Where are you goibg to go afterwards? Have a plan for 3+ upcoming steps.

    2) Learn to combo tiles.

    Ideally you are not just running TL, but switch between that TL, a nearby parallel walls with a window on the proper side, and a junk pallet in between. Stacking shack window with something else does wonders, particularly if you "feel" the consecutive-vaulting block timing and manage to avoid it.

    3) Play at least 20-30 matches on chase-oriented killers with unique mechanics related to vaults/pallets to get an intuitive understanding of their pov and timings.

    Huntress, doc, nurse, oni, hillbilly, PH all fall into this category.

  • Ludicris
    Ludicris Member Posts: 244

    Mostly left

  • JanelliBee17
    JanelliBee17 Member Posts: 36

    This is honestly, a lot of help to me. See when watching people you learn a little bit. But hearing someone explain it, makes this easier to understand. Now to follow through and learn with trial and error. I think knowing what the killer is going to do is where I might struggle as that is often my biggest mistake. Guessing wrong lol. Never thought to search YouTube for a video about it, so thank you!

  • Huge_Bush
    Huge_Bush Member Posts: 5,415

    You’re welcome!

    Also, one thing I have learned to do from several of their complaints on the forum, is to hold “shift +W” and drop a few pallets. Basically, pay attention to your surroundings, the moment you see the killer heading towards you, start running in the opposite direction. Don’t wait for them to get close. Just start running to a loop and keep on running.

    In terms of DbD gameplay, this wastes a lot of time for the killer. I’ve been able to buy enough time for my team to rescue, heal and do a gen, just by doing this. Most maps have really strong loops. The corn maps have the Cow Tree (big ugly tree with cows hanging from its branches), which is a very strong loop, that usually leads into another loop.

    The killer doesn’t know I’m bad, so I make a bluff by running to it and they usually abandon the chase because they don’t want to waste the time. Even if they don’t, and even if you’re not good at looping, strong loops can keep you alive long enough to help your teammates reset (rescue and heal), which can make all the difference in a match.

  • unluckycombo
    unluckycombo Member Posts: 582

    It's a lot of practice! I'm not a God-Tier looper, but in my friend group I have the reputation of being the runner when we play.

    A lot of it is a mixture of map awareness and understanding the Killer you're facing. If you can read the Killer like an open book while you chain together tiles and capitalize on their mistakes, you can make loops last longer then before and make chases last a long time. Making good predictions on mindgames and understanding how to bait out attacks from certain Killers (For example, I'm decent at baiting out multiple PoD from Pyramid Heads, but I struggle against Huntresses who know what they're doing.) Along with this is understanding angles for other abilities- things like Oni's demon dash, can be played around at certain loops if you understand the angles.

    And, obviously, deadzones- you don't want to be caught out of position in a place where you have no resources, or you're just giving the Killer a kill. Understand when and when not to be in Deadzones, and if you're really worried about them, run a perk like Sprint Burst to make Deadzones safe.

    Another big thing is that you have to be okay with some Killers just being better then you or have little to no counterplay in chase. (Things like good Nurses, Spirits who understand how to phase, Hag's when chased in their Web, Trappers when chased in their area, or just being put against someone with more experience.) It's gonna happen, along with bad days, and that's okay.

    For improvement, I always recommend checking out Otz for his amazing gameplay and informative style on both sides (Killer and Survivor) and I recommend Ayrun for his Survivor gameplay. Both are amazing players and there's a lot of little things you can learn from them.

    As far as perks go, I always like recommending Spine Chill + Resilience (Vault Speed Build), since it makes Windows feel so, so good. (Tired of feeling like you get hit through more windows then it feels like you should? This combo helps. It also can help extend your chases by a long shot.) For exhaustion perks, DH is always a great option (Run what you want, just don't BM is my golden rule.). I would recommend Sprint Burst though to minimize getting caught in Deadzones, or Balanced Landing which can also minimize certain deadzones and make certain places better to loop. Dead Hard is inconsistent, but amazing if you pull it off. Lithe sort of encourages you to leave safe structures, so I don't personally like running it. Smash Hit is fun, and great at unsafe pallets, but can be hard to get off against certain Killers, and like Lithe can encourage you to leave a safe structure before you really have to for something worse.

    Final perk is your choice, but I do like running things like Alert to see where the Killer is and what they're breaking, Bond to make sure you're not running into teammates, Kindred for hook plays, or Iron Will/Bite the Bullet with a medkit for those saucey 'Losing the Killer midchase' plays.

    Just experiment though and have fun with it and I'm sure you'll learn with time.

  • landromat
    landromat Member Posts: 2,193

    Thousadns of hours of practice

  • SirGando
    SirGando Member Posts: 374

    Looping is not hard. All you need to know are where pallets and windows are and knowing how to run tiles/loops. There are a few guides on YT for that.

  • danielmaster87
    danielmaster87 Member Posts: 9,452

    Most of being a good looper is just about knowledge. Know the tile, know how to run it, know when to go around another time or drop the pallet early, know to link loops together to make them stronger. I wish I could refer you to a video that talks about all of this, but I don't know any. If you ever get killed early on and you think your teammates are high level, spectate them and see how they run loops. Or better yet, go to YouTube and find videos of people simply playing survivor, and hopefully they'll be high level and show you the optimal way to go around shack, TLs, jungle gyms, etc.

  • VikingWilson
    VikingWilson Member Posts: 789

    So, you've "only" gone from not being able to loop, to being able to loop once or twice? That's progress, my friend.

    First tip is to know where you're going and to not run around like a chicken with its head cut off. Keep in mind where the vaults are and which pallets have or have not been used. Unsafe pallets, just drop and run, don't loop unsafe loops, they're unsafe.

  • Marigoria
    Marigoria Member Posts: 6,090

    Practice in game. Once you learn how to run the tiles, it becomes way easier.

  • justbecause
    justbecause Member Posts: 1,521

    There's no really strict rule to how to loop just go for it try grinding pallets at first at least one time than next time try it twice etc always look behind you but don't forget there's objects in front you can get stuck on so keep that in mind, run loops as tight as you can to gain more distance around loop if u go wide around it you'll likely to get hit or lose distance also don't just keep running in circle full speed because if killer decides to double back you need to be ready... As I said just try one thing by one and there should be no problems

  • meatisadelicacy
    meatisadelicacy Member Posts: 1,920

    Dear Hard fails constantly. It works maybe half the time, the other half of the time you're exhausted on the ground. But if you want to refuse to use perks that are in the game and can help you do what you want, that's far more noble than any killer you would be.

  • thefallenloser
    thefallenloser Member Posts: 1,277

    Simply put, play killer.

    Players who play both sides have a much better understanding of what you can and cannot do in chase.

  • PalletsAndHooks
    PalletsAndHooks Member Posts: 989

    Don't use dead hard, it's not the top tier exhaust perk. Sprint Burst will always be of service and Lithe is the 2nd best option if you wish to better control when you want to sprint.

    Always use the long walls except against blight, billy, huntress or possibly trickster (depending on wall height). These killers can counter the long wall loop.

    Attempt to use the window up to 3 times before moving over to the pallet. Plenty of players will bemoan an early pallet. Yes it does impact late game, but it really doesn't matter if your goal is to run the killer for five gens. All pallets are your pallets.

    Stay on the opposite side of the loop at all times. Prepare to change directions with the killers, and learn to have your survivor face AWAY from the killer for those successive moments of redirection.

    Once you drop a pallet, try to move beyond the next loop, not the immediately available pallet loop next to where you just dropped one. You want to capitalize on time and space, so simply moving to the nearest pallet is inefficient (depending on a situation with Cannibal or whatnot). Move to the NEXT loop over; this way, you can retreat BACK as needed to that skipped loop, and you can MAINTAIN THE FREEDOM TO MANEUVER.

    Remember this golden rule: Always move away, not around the loop, if you can help it. Don't spend so much time on a jungle gym, because the killer is taking the time to learn about your defense mechanism. Also bloodlust is a means of brute forcing a hit when you're there for too long.

    Break the chase = break bloodlust. You don't want the killer to capitalize on time and space, so try to break line of sight often enough that a new chase starts. That's a pallet's strength.

    If the killer does not immediately break the pallet, use the long wall to FORCE that pallet break. Once you know the killer committed to breaking the pallet, take advantage of the time and skip a loop. Hopefully you're in a position where you can break bloodlust too.

    Your safety is a number one priority when running loop after loop. Learn when things are becoming unsafe. Tombstone Mikey is an easy example to prepare for. Why hasn't he hit tier three yet? NOED is another threat to your escape. Have you run 3 gens? 4? Beware.

    Running the killer for five gens is possible. It's going to require that you drop pallets, so try to use the unsafe pallets in between the safer loops if the killer is starting to close distance. Not always ripe, but the conditions can present themselves and you'll be glad that pallet is there (I'm looking at you, pallet behind the Dead Dawg Saloon).

    If your team is skillful, they are watching you. They are possibly following the killer with a flash light and prepared to help you. Four generators were completed and the good team knows. They want to help you and they are going to help you when the opportunity presents itself so have faith that your team isn't sitting on their asses only holding M1. If you do go down, you might see their aura and realize they are in close proximity. Crawl to the pallet. Recover if it's too far.

    When you do start running for 3+ gens, you are going to fall down hard and a good team will be there to pick you up. This isn't a 1v1, it's always a 1v4, so don't despair. Unless your team is potato. Then you should despair a little and hope you aren't about to get tunneled.

  • DetailedDetriment
    DetailedDetriment Member Posts: 2,632

    I'll be 100% honest: I learned to loop by watching Tru3ta1ent. Of course, I do my own mindgames and plays to confuse the killer/survivors, but I most certainly would not be a good looper without Tru3.

  • MegMain98
    MegMain98 Member Posts: 2,919

    I’m not gonna say I’m a great looper but things to look for…

    1. What killer are you going against? Some killer you can greed pallets with more than others.
    2. CONNECT TILES TOGETHER. Don’t just loop one tile and then drop the pallet. If you have a long wall jungle gym connected to shack then use that to your advantage.
    3. Watch how others play survivor.
    4. Play killer. You can get an idea of how good survivors are looping you and see what pathing they take and then take their looping formula and use it when you play survivor.
  • LeFennecFox
    LeFennecFox Member Posts: 1,292

    First I'd watch a video on how to run the tiles effectively and know when 50/50 situations come in play. Some killers are weak at certain tiles so take that into account.

    Huntress is strong at long walls/windows/short(height) loops. Shack won't last long so if possible try leaving early and gaining distance during a mindgame situation.

    Blight gets a free hit on LT walls, but can suffer on smaller loops and slides off cars very easy.

    Wraith is very strong at small loops since he can swing all the way around them, but suffers some at windows.

    Chainsaw killers also suffer at windows so if they vault a window very early they may have bamboozle to deny the window so avoid it.

    If you're against nurse there is no looping just try getting out of view and run in a direction. Trying to double back against a nurse that's decent is not a smart idea.

    Loop tightly as you can because killers collision hitbox results in them not catching up as fast. If they loop tightly and you don't pallets won't be lasting as long.

    Learn your distances. Once you play long enough you'll understand the lunge distances of 99% of killers or how much their abilities will let them catch up/interact at tiles.

    Use your speed boost after getting hit effectively! Using it to loop the same tile is a huge waste and they will catch up quick from bloodlust. Before being hit plan your next direction/tile and be prepared to go in that direction as soon as you're hit. If possible skip the first tile you come across after getting hit to avoid creating deadzones that will make endgame harder.

    Never drop a pallet when you know you're going to be hit or after you get hit.

    Special section for ranged killers here. They will plan on you dropping the pallet for a free hit while you're animation locked like huntress so if you see them ready a hatchet don't drop the pallet. If they're not you might be able to bait them into readying a hatchet and gain some distance by turning around at a pallet.

    A killer's skill should be gauged while looping them as well. If they keep swinging too early, missing, or looping the ineffectively they may not be as good. This opens up the possibility of them falling for mindgames/tricks such as trying to spin them or faking window vaults. If they step back when they get close and you're on a pallet during a loop you should remember that and next time purposely stop behind a pallet to try gaining another loop out of them.

    Learning how to play killer can help drastically as well since you can read into what they're thinking in most situations.

  • Pepsidot
    Pepsidot Member Posts: 1,662

    Others have already answered. But if I may suggest a perk build that will help you feel a lot more confident at looping:

    Dead Hard, Iron Will, Resilience, Spine Chill. AKA the vault speed build. It's not like the build will magically make you a better looper but will give you an advantage in chases and should make you more confident.

    Also don't not use Dead Hard because others complain about it. People also complain about Borrowed Time, Decisive Strike or any other good perk. Use what you want. I point out that NOED could be reworked/nerfed slightly - that doesn't stop me using it.

  • TacitusKilgore
    TacitusKilgore Member Posts: 1,380
    edited August 2021

    Not a dedicated survivor main, but i've picked up a lot of experience on how to loop. One thing people will almost never tell you is be unpredictable. Take unique paths, mindgame often, do things that are unusual. The less a killer can anticipate your next action, the stronger your loop game will be. Chain loops through your unpredictability and maximize your resources, use pallets only when necessary and learn to do things like window fakes and guaranteed fast vaults to maximize the amount of times you can vault at one tile. In general though it comes down to game experience, the more you play, the better you loop. Don't worry too much about looping super well, you'll notice you're doing it better and better as you get into more chases and last longer and longer. It just comes down to plain old practice.

  • FFirebrandd
    FFirebrandd Member Posts: 2,445

    I learned how to loop by getting looped as Killer.

  • Brokenbones
    Brokenbones Member Posts: 5,176
    edited August 2021

    It's not all about looping, it's about wasting as much time as possible and being as effective at possible at occupying the killers time.

    There's a few rules of thumb I have:

    1. Find out which killer it is as soon as possible and adapt accordingly. Some killers you need to pre-drop pallets in order to effectively counter them. Oni is the main one to think of here, if you go against an Oni - do not ever greed pallets. Delay his power as much as possible. Most killers have their own things to look out for.
    2. Understand each killer's power and its limitations. This one takes practice and game sense, so it'll come naturally as you play. The more you play, the more you'll mentally be able to read how the chase is going and what the killer could do. Playing killer also helps this as by playing killer you learn what each killer is physically incapable of doing
    3. Split up from your teammates. You might be thinking "what does this have to do with looping?", allow me to explain: The killer benefits from being able to pressure multiple survivors at once and so if you're getting chased and you run the killer over to where your teammates are, that is a net positive for the killer even if they don't get a hit right away. If everyone's split up, the killer will struggle to pressure the whole team even if someone's hooked. Contrary wise, make a mental note of the closest structure to the gen you're on or run windows of oppertunity.
    4. If you're all out of options, don't give up - just try to stall as long as you can. Sometimes all the pallets are gone, or you're in a deadzone while injured. These things happen, you need to try and waste as much time as possible. Run to a corner, jump in a locker to waste just that little bit extra of the killers time.
    5. And finally - take the aggro from teammates who have been hooked already whenever you can. Killers win by killing one person as soon as possible, as fast as possible. Some will tunnel, others will prioritise hooked survivors first. Either way, if you haven't been hooked a single time yet and you have teammates who have; try to take the aggro, get in the killer's face or take hits for your teammates that are being chased. Just be careful not to get slugged in the process, sometimes if the killer is hardcore tunnelling or camping the right move is to pressure gens non-stop.
  • Moonman157
    Moonman157 Member Posts: 102

    Watching YouTube videos, reflecting on your mistakes and actively getting into chases is the best way to improve. Maybe even do Custom games with your friend to practice.


    My own personal advice that I try to keep in my head while playing is “look behind and plan ahead”

    Look behind is obvious, turn your camera to keep an eye on the killer. But plan ahead is trickier, I find I loop worse when I am only reactive. Keep in my mind what tile you are at, what is nearby and also what you think the killer is going to do in regards to mindgames and power. Will he fall for the window bait, does he respect pallets, is he going to shred or take out a hatchet etc. I still suck a lot of the time though.

  • Inspire
    Inspire Member Posts: 123
    edited August 2021

    Always use the long walls except against blight, billy, huntress or possibly trickster (depending on wall height). These killers can counter the long wall loop.

    To be fair, this is only the case when that Billy, Blight, or Huntress is extremely good at using their power. Other than that you can run long walls normally, just be cautious of the killer and when they decide to use their power.


    (Btw I excluded Trickster because hes flat out easy to play.)

  • SpineChillUnderlord
    SpineChillUnderlord Applicant, Member Posts: 14


    Getting good at looping takes experience, a lot of experience and time.

    Here are my suggestions. Firstly? Learn the maps and pay attention to every pallet every game, it'll greatly help you to know what to expect once you subconsciously memorize Pallet locations. Trust me, it might seem like a lot of work to pull off but it's not that hard in the end. It might take more than a couple of days though, a week at best. For me, though it took three days. Your mind will commit the Pallet locations to muscle memory and pull it out from deep within your subconscious once you recognize the map your playing on. Some Maps have deadzones. You do NOT want to be on the end of those zones considering it's a death trap if you're already injured and you'll likely be too far to make it to the other loop.

    Second: Memorize your Killers and learn to counter them. Unlike the last task, this one is a little easier to do since you have access to all killers and their powers. Read up on the killers power and visualize yourself in how YOU would counter them. Universally known is the Hag, Most people know that to counter the hag all you need to do is crouch or use a flashlight to get of her traps; though Crouching is more convenient if you want to go for flashlight saves.

    Most notably though is game sense: When you get into the game, the first 3 things should ALWAYS be on your mind. Which killer you're facing off against, Where Generator locations are and for Hex totems. At this point, Pallet locations and tiles should be second nature to you so that your body will move on sheer muscle memory hence why it shouldn't be a priority unless you spawn near the killer.

    2a: Listen for the terror radius music, it's a dead-giveaway on WHICH killer you're facing. Many Killers use the same terror radius music certain ones don't such as Huntress, Nemesis, Trickster, Myers, Billy, Doctor, Pyramid Head, Demogorgon, Blight, Twins, Oni and Slinger. Keep in mind on killers that have more power over loops such as Huntress, Nemesis, Trickster and Pyramid head. Do NOT let them get too close to you and don't greed pallets if you feel like you wont be able to hold said position; better to take a hit then to waste a pallet because you made attempt that was bound to fail.

    • Billy, Slinger, and Bubba are Killers you DO NOT want to greed pallets that have long hallways or extend long enough that you can't spin them. Trust me, it's a mistake. You don't want that. Dont get cut down by a bubba near the basement, it's death.
    • Trapper and Hag. Watch out for their traps. Trappers tend to place their traps at Vaults and pallets to negate loops. PAY ATTENTION TO THE FLOOR AND NEVER RUN STRAIGHT AT A VAULT; stay weary of where they place their traps and commit it to memory, it could save you or your teammates life. The Hag on the other hand isn't AS lethal as the trapper but in the right circumstance, she's devastating. Her traps consist more of placing down little triangles that auto-trigger if you get too close. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if your camera's FOV/POV switched to the fake hag, not to mention she has the ability to teleport to the fake hag and make it real; easily landing hit's on survivors if they're complacent. The easiest way to counter this is to crouch.
    • Nurse: Pray to god you're not facing off against a sweat nurse.......

    These are merely examples of what you could do to counter said killers, the rest i think it's better if you learn on your own. As i said, it takes experience. You wont learn much by us telling you but it will help to know.

    • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Perk suggestions - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


    • Premonition: If you don't have access to spine chill, it's best if you run this as it tells you if the killer is nearby in a certain area and 9 times of 10, the killer is coming in your direction. This will SAVE. YOUR. LIFE. Especially against stealth killers who would love to give a heart attack.
    • Spine Chill: if you have access to this, run it. With your subconscious memory about where you are and in the rest of the map, it'll very simple to locate the killer if not predict where they'll come from. + the buffs it gives is insane.
    • Kindred: This is worrth your time if you run solo queue. The main gist is, when you're hooked, everyone can see everyone's aura and the killers within a 16 Meter Radius. When you're NOT hooked but your teammate is, YOU can see everyone's aura and the killers within a 16 Meter radius. Easily locating injured survivors and going for hook saves when necessary. It's a buffed Empathy if you ask me.
    • Dead Hard/Lithe/Sprint Burst: Exhaustion perks can and will save your life. Sprint burst is the easiest to use if you need to gain distance FAST but if you like to loop around killers, Lithe is for you. When you vault a window or a pallet, you'll move VERY fast and create distance for the next tile or safe loop. Dead Hard, however, is more for Veteran who know just about everything, this can be used to dodge a hit or get to the next tile just in case you get mind-gamed by the killer and need to save yourself from taking a hit.

    This is all i got for now but i hope it helped. Sorry for the wall of text.

  • bibibib8
    bibibib8 Member Posts: 843

    Its easy you need 3 thing

    1 dead hard

    2 know your tiles

    3 know the killer your facing is movement speed, the power of the killer

    When you know that you will be able to abuse every killer exept nurse. If you cqnt loop after that equip sprint burst and the sec the killer see you sprint away he will leave you and if he decide to chase you anyway you will wast 60 to 80 sec minimum

  • CashelP14
    CashelP14 Member Posts: 5,564

    You need to bring Windows Of Opportunity to learn pallets spawns, and distance between spawns.

    • Run a tight circle around an area with a pallet. After enough time you'll learn how much you can loop this before needing to drop the pallet.
    • If you get hit run to a pallet as far away as possible. This wastes nearly as much time as an individual loop.
    • Learn the way the killer is playing. Are they a mind gamer or not? If they are then expect them to double back and don't drop short loop pallets since they usually where killers mind game most.
    • Learn the killer powers and how they effect looping.

    This is just the few points I can come up with in 5 minutes.

  • C3Tooth
    C3Tooth Member Posts: 8,266
    edited August 2021

    The best way to learn something is to doing it more. So instead of running for 4 mins. Slam in multiple second perks so you can run for 8 mins.

  • lordfart
    lordfart Member Posts: 538

    Use Windows of opportunity and play killer, it helps you learns the maps and tiles real well