Time to make a little post about what is arguably my favourite mode in ACR: Manhunt. I am a huge fan of the new modes like Steal the Artifact and Deathmatch/Simple Deathmatch, but good old Manhunt will always be one of my favourites. As of late I’ve also taken to playing with a few friends, something I’d never really done before, but by God I still think it’s one of the greatest modes out there. I should add that my favourite part is the defense part because there is no greater satisfaction than feeding your enemies some fist and a headbutt or two to go along with it.
I’ve always played as an agressive defense player, which basically comes down to sometimes even running after other people’s pursuers, which is remarkably effective if they are already in a chase. With the new stun range as it is in Revelations, not to mention that being able to use abilities while in a stun animation is incredibly convenient, I think agressive defense has become more viable than ever. I’ve heard some people claim in videos that it might be better if you play more cautiously, but I’ll have to disagree: there’s no way you’re going to get 10-15 stuns by being careful: people will roof and offensive smokebomb you left and right. Now 10-15 stuns might be a little much but the reality is that you might only get like 3-4-5 if you don’t take the initiative, because a mere blend group will certainly not be helping you in staying alive.
A good strategy to play with is to have at least one person with morph (or the Blender perk if you’re not working together with anyone) while the rest has at least smoke bomb and whatever else they like (which is pretty much a given considering the complete destruction a few well-placed smoke bombs can do.) Always keep in mind to run when you can though: there is no stunlocking anymore (except through smoke bombs) and even then you need to place them very well. Always try to keep an eye on your surroundings. If you’re being chased from far away, or see them coming, you can always try a cornerstun. There is nothing more frustratingly effective than to hide around a corner and go straight for the stun where they don’t expect you to be at all. And last but most certainly not least, you’ll always want to try and find your team mates. Hiding alone will only end up getting you killed more often and with less stuns, because you simply do not have anyone around to distract your hunters from you, nor anyone to help you.
As far as attacking goes, some of the above applies as well. Especially at the start of a round, you don’t want to wait around for an ingognito bonus because your team mates most likely will not, and even if you do, you’re going to be a little more than obvious whether you’re stalking around the same area for a half a minute or whether you’re sitting on a rooftop, waiting for that meter to fill up. Personally I would advise you to just take one player with templar vision (and preferably a mic) and have them call out one or two. (Alternatively: take Templar Vision and smoke. Usually you can find a group with two targets in it. Mark one, drop the smoke and kill them both before it runs out.) – You’ll want your smoke to have an extended duration for this to work though.
I should remark upon a few things that bug the living bejeezus out of me: animus hack and the hidden gun. I think I most certainly do not stand alone when I say that they are both dreadful skills and their use should be minimized. First of all, they do not earn your team any great amount of points, so you’re really not helping anyone. Second of all, if you’re going to use them, use them on targets that are actually running away. Too often have I seen someone line up five feet away and aiming a gun at a blend group because they “weren’t sure”. Well be sure, or work together with your team mates to eliminate all the targets at the same time. This isn’t a first person shooter, and shooting people is just about the least imaginative and least helpful way of killing anyone. -Rant over-
Anywho that’s just about it on Manhunt right now, a few pointers that have been winning me quite a few Manhunt matches these past days. If you have any tips or tricks you’d like to add yourself, do leave a comment or send me an email at kedenb@gmail.com. Next time I think I’m going to do a piece on my favourite abilities, and be sure to keep a look out; I’ve already gathered up a few awesome videos that I’ll be posting over the next week. Thanks for reading and till next time!
