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I need urgent help with playing Sadako...

loreaccuratenemesis
loreaccuratenemesis Unconfirmed, Member Posts: 25

I need some advice from the Sadako mains, what are good playstyles and Perks for her? I don't need to 4k Mori every game or anything, but I've found that in my 2000 hours playtime Sadako is the only Killer I consistently get looped and genrushed to oblivion with. She is the only Killer I often get angry and dc when playing as her because of how helpless and frustrated I feel playing as her. Even when I lose as other Killers, those are the minority of my matches. But with Sadako I lose far more often than I win. And she was one of the very first Killers I started playing back in the beginning, so I have plenty of experience with her. I found I did the best as Sadako 1.0, and of course Sadako 2.0 I stomped (who didn't?), but now with Sadako 3.0 I am just useless. Any tips?

Comments

  • ChaosWam
    ChaosWam Member Posts: 1,842
    edited June 26

    Sadako main here.

    Some main points I'd like to say is Sadako currently is quite weak, with how they changed tapes and TVs and how easy it is to keep her TV's deactivated if the players respect her power. Also keeping in mind she has a lullaby when demanifested that is visible with the heartbeat sensor so stealth plays are a LOT trickier to pull off. That said, she's not without her strong points. What I enjoy doing is whenever there is a gap between me and the survivor, go into demanifest. When at loops, utilize the post-manifest mindgames to try and throw them off. Good survivors can usually play around it, but there are times you can manage a hit by confusing them. Also, I suggest timing your demanifest right before getting hit by a pallet. If they throw it and you commit correctly, you don't get stunned and can break the pallet. If they greed, you can react and stop demanifesting and get a hit, so long as you win the pallet mindgame.

    Also remember you're just an M1 killer at heart, and general loop knowledge is going to help you a TON since you're forced to abide by every tile. Your mindgames and unpredictable teleporting is your strong point, as long as you don't confuse yourself and lose survivor's movements. Also remember, Sadako is short, so you have the advantage at taller walls.

    And remember to utilize your TVs for more than movements. Stacking condemned on survivors is your best kit slowdown, and if they have a tape they can't use their items. Even if it's to teleport to cut off a survivor in chase, any other TV's active will apply condemned stacks. Even sweeter when you manage to hook someone with 3 stacks perk hook so they can never cleanse those again.

    My personal build I find a lot of success with is the following perks+addons:

    • Deadman's Switch for post hook teleport, so if they respect the TV or a TV is on near them they want to turn off, they may let go and suffer the near-full duration of the perk blocking a gen.
    • Surge (Or Jolt if you prefer to call it that) because you're an M1 killer and it's still decent on M1's, I don't often get blocked gens from using it, and when I do it's usually over for them anyway.
    • Bamboozle to cut down on loops with windows, which is usually an M1 killer's weak spot. Plus, if you're good at faking out your looping you can catch them off guard at windows as you vault.
    • Anything for a 4th. I always swap my 4th perk around depending on how I feel. Currently my favorite is Dark Devotion for doing hit-and-run off the obsession, or Dissolution for some pallet pressure. Other perks I've had success with is Gearhead for aura reads and easier times targeting for giving out stacks, Deadlock or Grim Embrace to compliment more gen blocking, Save The Best For Last to snowball, and Hex: Face The Darkness for the same reason as Gearhead plus more information on movements. There's always Lethal Persuer as well for early pressure, and for me personally, my aura-related addons. Really, your 4th perk should compliment at least one of the other 3 perks or your personal playstyle.

    Addons I run exclusively these days are:

    • Remote Control (Iridescent) Aura reading after a teleport is always good, especially because it will show anyone near an active TV, so you can plan your teleport patters better to get as many stacks possible and possibly catch your next target off guard.
    • Distorted Photo. I see a lot of Sadakos sleep on this addon, and I swear by it's utility if you're not running aura perks. When a survivor is looking at you when you manifest, they scream and reveal their aura for 4 seconds. This addon in loops is VERY underrated, because for the most part survivors are keeping their eyes on you and you can get 4 seconds of information on their looping. I tend to swap between manifest states mid chase, so manifesting before they turn a corner or vaulting a window means you can plan ahead. I also find it's uses when a survivor is hiding and watching you as you manifest sometimes, as well as the fact the scream interrupts actions, meaning if you time yourself correctly you can deny unhooks and force a hook trade. Another fun fact, while Calm Spirit stops the scream, it does not stop the aura reading so Calm Spirit users may not even know you have it unless they witness other survivors scream and make the connection.
    • Other addons to consider are Bloody Fingernails for post-TV movement, Ring Drawing for more condemned when hooking survivors with tapes, Old Newspaper and Mother's Mirror are fine for loop mindgames, and Well Water if you want 2 seconds of more post-manifest undetectable. I don't typically run the other addons anymore so I can't say I'm fully knowledgeable of their strengths compared to what I'm used to now.

    Hopefully more Sadako mains drop their knowledge of the killer as well, but this is my personal thoughts and playstyle around her. I've gotten a ton of wins, got her to P100 and still enjoy playing her over most of the roster. If I forgot to mention anything else, I will edit this again.

  • Blueberry
    Blueberry Member Posts: 13,666
    edited June 26

    P100 Onryo main. A lot to type from my phone but on my profile there’s a link to my twitch with recorded streams on my way to P100 you can watch and see my play style to get the idea. I only lost like 9 matches out of some 521 games on the way to P100 so it’s pretty effective. I give commentary on quite a few things during the matches as well.

    I’ll be able to type a lot more once I’m at a computer.

  • loreaccuratenemesis
    loreaccuratenemesis Unconfirmed, Member Posts: 25

    Thanks, this was very insightful. Could you elaborate on the differences between Reiko's Watch, Old Newspaper and Mother's Mirror? I'm not sure which of them are useful or are good in combination with each other in regards to mindgames. Demanifest mindgames are something I've never really understood or gotten the hang of as it seems so hard to time correctly to get value out of it and I often just end up losing distance due to the slowdown. Also is the Videotape Copy add-on that increases Condemned range by 2 meters any good?

  • ChaosWam
    ChaosWam Member Posts: 1,842
    edited June 26

    Absolutely

    • Reiko's Watch makes the full invisibility while demanifested last 25% longer, so whenever you turn invisible while demanifested you become invisible a little longer. It can be useful during approach or having survivors guess if you take a loop or not, but only while you're demanifested.
    • Old Newspaper works kinda like Reiko's Watch, except during the post-manifest stages of your full invisibility by 33%, so when you manifest the few times you turn invisible lasts a little longer. Pretty decent addition if you want a slight edge for your post-manifest mindgames.
    • Mother's Mirror makes the intermittent invisibility last 2 seconds longer instead of a % after manifest. With all three of the above addons, it may be good to find a reference video showcasing the slight changes.

    As far as learning manifest mindgames, if you play enough Sadako you'll notice your invisibility may throw off some survivors, double backing thinking you went around a rock or assuming you did and greeding a pallet in case you're still behind them. For a few moments post manifest, you keep that state of going invisible and visible without a red stain, so in taller walls or if your timing is right in short loops, you can catch them off guard if they hesitate by doubling back and forth while the invisibility is up. It's a short window, but once you get the hang of it you'll notice it work more or less depending on the survivor you face. I do tend to face survivors who notice even the slightest change of direction as I'm going invisible, but in the end it's all about timing and the survivor's experience. And as Sadako, you don't need to commit to chases too much anyway, if a chase goes too long just teleport to your next target/generator defense. Sometimes I'll break pallets survivors toss near gens and go teleport somewhere else, so when I return that survivor has less safe places to be if they're good at loop mindgames. And sometimes, survivors are just cracked and know their loops, so general looping knowledge just helps Sadako completely.

    As for Videotape Copy, it can have it's uses. It's mainly map dependent, since some maps have weird TV placements (coughswampscough) but the extra range can stop survivors from leaving the condemned range too quickly if they're running away from a TV. I suppose it's down to if you find you get more value from it or not.

  • loreaccuratenemesis
    loreaccuratenemesis Unconfirmed, Member Posts: 25

    Just had another extremely aggravating match as Sadako, I really can't stand playing as her. I play as every other M1 Killer and I don't seem to get bullied anywhere near as much as I do when I play just her. I cannot get a single down before the Survivors pop three gens and swarm me with perfectly coordinated body blocks and loop me perfectly and win every mindgame. I'm starting to think playing Sadako 2.0 boosted my MMR so high that I'm trapped in high MMR hell as her, because my matches are nothing like this as any other Killer. She is so miserable to play compared to playing as a Killer like Chucky or Hillbilly. It makes me want to quit the game entirely.

  • Blueberry
    Blueberry Member Posts: 13,666
    edited June 27

    Watch my matches I was telling you about and it will boost your confidence about her. I definitely feel like the power role and I regularly get comp players in my lobbies. It will help you see what you may be doing differently than my matches. Alternatively you can also post a recording of your matches for us to critique. I’m working my last 12 hour shift for the week tomorrow but after that I’m more than happy to hop in the discord and go over everything Onryo for you.

  • loreaccuratenemesis
    loreaccuratenemesis Unconfirmed, Member Posts: 25

    I'm not really noticing any significant differences in anything besides your Perk builds being different from mine. But the Survivors I get seem to be excessively coordinated, like they are full SWFs every time. My position is constantly known, Condemned is constantly cleansed, I am looped perfectly, body blocked, flashlight saved, pallet saved, sabo'd, everything. And I don't get this with any other Killer I play, just her. I really think Sadako 2.0 boosted me because of how overpowered she was. Honestly I prefer that version of her over this one, all they needed to do was tone her down a little bit so she wasn't so overpowered. I even found her funner to play against as Survivor too in that version, because she actually felt like a threat. Her new version feels like such a joke that it doesn't even feel exciting to play against anymore.

    It's true some players can still get value out of her and win but it requires waaaaay too much effort to do so compared to almost any other Killer. Too much investment with not enough reward to justify it. I hate when I end up stomping casual newer players with her because it doesn't feel like I earned a win at all, they just died because they don't get how the tapes work, but then my MMR gets boosted thanks to those wins and it's back to sweatville. It's a nightmare.

  • danielmaster87
    danielmaster87 Member Posts: 9,433

    There's nothing you can do for her. Her design is intentionally garbage and made for survivors to loop endlessly.

  • loreaccuratenemesis
    loreaccuratenemesis Unconfirmed, Member Posts: 25

    That's how it feels honestly. She's the designated Survivor bully victim. I don't get what else is special about her. She has worse slowdown, stealth and mobility than any other Killer that has those things.

  • Blueberry
    Blueberry Member Posts: 13,666

    So you’re just saying she’s too difficult to play at the level required to beat the better players for you?