- Guide
Between emergency meetings[]
- Verify the innocence of others. If you see another player at a visual task, such as Submit Scan or Empty Garbage (The Skeld only), you should stop and watch them complete it. If an animation plays, they are most likely not An Impostor, and you could stick with them and vouch for them. If they leave and no animation has played, they may be An Impostor, or visual tasks' effects are disabled in the game's options.
- Stay near verified Crewmates. You should stay with people you trust or have seen completing a visual task.
- Be confirmed as a Crewmate. You should allow other players to see you performing a visual task. Having yourself verified, you may gain more trust with the other Crewmates and travel in a group. The more Crewmates that view another perform a visual task, the better. However, The Impostor is more likely to come after you if you are verified since they'll try to eliminate more trustworthy players.
- If both you and a verified Crewmate have visual tasks, you should try to complete your visual task in front of that verified Crewmate so you both can verify each other and can safely follow other players without being suspicious.
- Complete tasks early. You should aim to finish your tasks as soon as possible. This especially applies to long tasks or tasks with multiple steps. When there are three or four people left in a game, a good strategy is for all the Crewmates to travel in a group, completing their tasks as one unit. Also, make sure to utilize post-meeting kill cooldowns to your advantage by getting tasks done.
- Avoid going to a location away from everyone else. When the game begins, you should not go to a low-traffic location (places where players rarely come) like Communications or MedBay. As Impostors have their kill cooldown of just 10 seconds, you could have a high chance of being killed there. If you have tasks in such locations, wait until the next meeting is called. The Impostor's kill cooldown will then change to what the host set in the settings.
- Do not act suspiciously. If you are unverified, you should not run around chasing other players. This only increases suspicion and may result in you having an ejection.
- Remember pets. On the first role reveal screen, take note of any pets and who they belong to. This can help identify An Impostor running away from a dead body if all you can see is a pet running away. Conversely, this would rule out everyone who does not have the pet you saw. This strategy best works if everyone in the game has unique pets or if there's only a few of them that own pets. Don't rely on this tip if there are no pets in a game or if more than half the crew has the same pet species.
- Enforce a buddy system. When fewer players remain in the game, you should group up into one large group or smaller groups of two. This makes it easier to detect who The Impostor is — if a Crewmate dies, their "buddy" is The Impostor.
- When a buddy system is in effect, The Impostor might try to split up the group. You should be especially suspicious of people who break off from the buddy system — their suspicious behavior might reveal that they are The Impostor.
- If you are one of the final four remaining players and The Impostor just killed someone, you have two choices: call an emergency meeting or report the dead body. The Impostor would most likely guard the dead body, so calling an emergency meeting is a good choice. However, this can work as bait if reversed: if you think that The Impostor is guarding the emergency button instead, you should look for the dead body and report it.
- Hands off the button. There are plenty of reasons why calling an emergency meeting at the beginning could be a good idea. You can make strategies with your teammates; you can reset the shortened Impostor kill cooldown; you could tell people to follow you to a visual task. However, calling an emergency meeting at the start of the game almost guarantees you an unfortunate fate. Others may become angry at the inconvenience and may eject you for it out of spite regardless if you're The Impostor or not.
- Use security abilities. Security, Admin, Doorlog, and Vitals are known as monitoring abilities and give you knowledge of others' activity. You could pick out who is innocent or An Impostor if you use these abilities carefully and wisely.
- Vent fishing. Relating to one of the above strategies, this strategy exploits the fact that Crewmates with the Clean Vent task can reveal who Impostors are by forcing them out of hiding should they enter the same vent used for the task. Generally, this strategy works best if the task is stationed in a room where you can use the Admin ability. For example, Maroon is in Admin and notices that there is another player with them, but upon looking around, they notice that they are alone. If Maroon has the Clean Vent task, they can go to the vent and try to start the task, only for Brown to pop out of the vent instead. If Brown immediately goes back into the vent, then they are definitely An Impostor; Engineers have a cooldown that prevents them from repeatedly entering vents within a short period of time while Impostors do not. Be warned that this strategy is not without risk. If Brown were to have a fully replenished kill cooldown when Maroon fished them out, it's highly likely that Brown would immediately try to kill Maroon the moment they're forced out, not wanting to be ejected by Maroon's hands. In either case, immediately try to memorize their name or color and run.
- Pay attention to the task bar. When someone is completing a task, you should look at the task bar up in the top-left corner. If the bar fills, then they might be a Crewmate. If it does not fill, they are An Impostor, taskbar updates are limited, and/or the task completed was a multi-stage task.
- Know the order of the tasks. Many multi-staged tasks, such as Upload Data, have their stages in specific locations. For example, if you see someone who appears to have Upload Data as a task, be aware of the last location the player should be in for the task—on The Skeld, this location is Admin, on Polus, this location is Communications, and on The Airship, this location is Outside.
- Use following against those suspected of being An Impostor. This means to tell everyone else that you are following someone that seems suspicious but does not have enough evidence against them to be ejected. If they are An Impostor, they are forced to keep you alive, as if they kill you, The Impostor will most likely be ejected. As long as you concentrate on following them, this can give the other Crewmates time to finish tasks. This strategy works best if you have already finished your tasks.
- Remember pairs. If you see two people constantly staying together, take note of it and see if one of them kills the other or both seem to use a vent to get away after killing two people simultaneously. This can be used to clear a pair or group of Crewmates that are nowhere near a kill. Another way to use this is to watch two players enter a room with a vent. Wait a few seconds, then walk in. For example, if Lime enters Electrical with Orange and Orange is dead, let the Crew know Lime killed Orange.
- Go in the opposite direction of a Sabotage. If something is Sabotaged, such as the Reactor (on The Skeld), go to the "opposite" side. The Sabotage might have been called when An Impostor wanted to divert attention away from a dead body. Beware: some Impostors are aware of this trick and try to ambush Crewmates looking for a dead body. Remember, if you do this, it will make you look very suspicious if anyone sees you.
- Be suspicious of accusers who die. Let's say that Green (a verified Crewmate) accuses Yellow of being The Impostor, but there is no proof. Then Green's dead body is later found - the conversation will naturally shift to Yellow, the last player Green accused. If you see someone accuse someone else at a meeting and then that player is later found dead, it could sign that the accused player (Yellow) is An Impostor.
- This strategy will not always work as the accused player could be a Crewmate.
- Sometimes getting killed is the best plan. Let's say that there are 4 Crewmates left with 1 Impostor, and Cyan and Red are the only possibilities. If Cyan is a Crewmate, they could ask everyone to skip on four and then stick with Red to get killed. As Red is the only possibility left at the next meeting, they will likely be ejected. This strategy is risky, especially with a low kill cooldown, as The Impostor could then kill another Crewmate before the next meeting, causing a win for The Impostors.
- Don't report dead bodies immediately after encountering one. If you come across a dead body during your task, you should report it after you completed your task and be prepared to explain where you were. If you reported a dead body immediately, people will be very suspicious of you. See Guide:Report strategy for more information about this.
- This applies especially to Shapeshifter kills, because leaving the dead body may deflect suspicion. For more information, read Guide:Finding The Impostor.
- Calling a meeting immediately after seeing a kill isn't always a good idea. Let's say that you are watching the cameras and you see The Impostor kill someone. While calling an emergency meeting isn't a bad idea, The Impostor could Sabotage something, preventing the meeting from occurring. Instead, you should group up with someone and wait until the dead body is reported to voice your concerns.
- Never go AFK (Away From the Keyboard) next to a task. You could be accused of faking it. If for whatever reason, you need to go AFK, be it because you completed all your tasks, get hungry mid-game, or have to go to the bathroom, make the crew aware of this in a meeting before you do so. Even so, don't call the meeting yourself just to explain this unless you want to be accused of stalling the game by impatient players.
- Watch the MedBay Exit. You can tell if An Impostor has used a vent into MedBay because 2 of the 3 tasks are on the right side, meaning that they were probably doing tasks if they exit facing the opposite direction. However, if they exit facing right, which is the opposite side the vent is on, they are likely to either be An Impostor or have completed Clean Vent. This is harder to spot in mobile players, so it isn't always accurate.
- Similarly, the vent in Security are at the bottom of the room, while the security ability is used at the top. Players exiting Security facing up might have used a vent or completed Clean Vent, whereas players exiting Security facing down likely were using the Security ability.
- Pay attention to the other players. Remembering where players were will help get an idea of the routes everyone took during the round. This is also helpful to catch any liars (ex. Green said they were in Communications, but they went into Upper Engine).
- Stack up with other Crewmates. This is where two or more people hide behind each other (this works best with friends who are confirmed Crewmates), which can help catch The Impostor venting or killing. Sometimes, An Impostor can attempt to kill what they think is one player, only to have another player or more hiding behind, ready to catch them in the act.
- Pay attention to players ignoring common tasks. If a player enters a room and ignores a common task early in the game, they are good target suspects.
- Task bar verification. If Task Bar Updates are real-time, head to the task nearest to the spawn area at the beginning of the round. Complete it as soon as possible in turns so that a skilled player can verify which players are Crewmates, but halt if Comms get Sabotaged. This essentially guarantees a quick Crewmate win if Communications are not Sabotaged.
- Early task read. Head to the closest and fastest task that you can complete, but instead of completing it first, watch other Crewmates do it. The Crewmates who leave the panel a specific time after the taskbar updates are safe. Such evidence can be as valuable as a visual task (this synergizes with the above strategy but requires a great deal of skill, and Comms Sabotage can counter it completely).
- Remember their colors (if you are colorblind, remember their names) after executing the strategy, stick tight with innocent Crewmates until the first dead body is reported, and aggressively vouch for them during future discussions.
- You must verify yourself and survive until the end of the game. Otherwise, other Crewmates may not remember who is verified. If you die, other players may forget your words.
- If there are a few remaining suspects as the remaining Impostors in a discussion, eject them all.
- Hide. There are several locations where you may hide, such as the satellite dish in Balcony on MIRA HQ. If you hide in these locations, you may catch Impostors in the act of killing a Crewmate or using a vent. However, this will make you look suspicious (example: What were you doing when the body got reported?), and it's best to use a defensive strategy or even one for An Impostor because what happens here is completely reliant on whether the other Crewmates buy what you are saying. If your suspect was not An Impostor, accept ejection. If it's in a 2v1 (or 3v1, 3v2, 4v2, 4v3, 5v3, or 6v3) situation after the suspect was ejected, ignore the sentence above and aggressively defend against both the remaining Impostor (s) and the Crewmates accusing you. At this point, your alibis are your life-be sure to use them. If you fail to use them, The Impostors can win. (or if they don't, they could pull off a Sabotage Final Kill to get rid of everyone else.) However, if you still have not done your visual tasks, ask for a player who's verified (or close) to follow and watch. If someone still accuses you, they are The Impostor or are unaware of the visual task you completed.
- Note that hiding can also make you look like you are waiting for a Crewmate to approach to kill them.
- Use visual tasks. When you have a visual task, allow someone to clear you. Then, if other people have visual tasks, clear them. After you and all the Crewmates clear each other, vote out the remaining players who are not confirmed. At least one of the remaining players will be An Impostor.
- Ghosts, however, should avoid doing visual tasks (except Submit Scan) in the vicinity of living players because the animations will show to them, and the ghost could accidentally verify An Impostor that is faking the task. Situations most prone to this were when multiple Impostors or the ghost in question had died by being ejected. You can instantly exit the task to avoid this situation happening.
- Dead while following. If you suspect somebody of being The Impostor, you can tell the rest of the players in an emergency meeting that you'll follow them. If you die, the player who's suspected of being The Impostor should get voted out. For example, if Purple is suspicious, then you can say, "I'll follow Purple. If I die, Purple's The Impostor."
- Bait The Impostor. On MIRA HQ, if you have finished your tasks, you can stand over the bottom right Doorlog sensor to bait An Impostor into killing you. Since the doorlog sensor is not motion-activated, other living Crewmates can look at whoever passed the sensor last with you. This only works because dead bodies don't trigger the doorlogs. [needs testing]
- Leave Submit Scan at 9 seconds. If you do Submit Scan on any map, you can leave the task before it ends and repeat it later in the round to verify yourself as a Crewmate when more people are watching you.
- Don't do what The Impostor wants. If An Impostor calls a Sabotage when they only need a single kill to win, they will likely wait near where the Sabotage is fixed. If the Crewmate's tasks are nearly done, especially if the Sabotage is non-critical or has a long time until The Impostors win, avoid fixing the Sabotage and instead try to finish your tasks to get a task win. This is unlikely to work, but gives a better chance than trying to fix the Sabotage and giving The Impostor what they want.
- Keep safe. If you have finished all tasks and there is someone watching Security (ability), you can stand in front of one of the cameras so you don't get killed.
- Remember Bugs. They might help you. For example, a normal Crewmate leaves MedBay facing the left. However, a player who vented leaves MedBay facing the right. They might not be the Impostor, but they would be suspicious.
During emergency meetings[]
- Use the button wisely. You shouldn't call an emergency meeting until you are 100% sure of An Impostor's identity. If you suspect someone and there are still many Crewmates left, you should stay away from the suspicious player until a dead body is reported. Then, you should bring the information up at the discussion. Otherwise, the other players will be annoyed and may eject or kick you.
- Announce visual tasks. If a meeting is called or a dead body is reported, and you have a visual task that you have not yet performed, you can tell other players to come with you and watch you doing the visual task. They will most likely agree to follow you and verify you, as this will decrease the list of suspects.
- Prove your innocence if you are suspected. For example, if you have a visual task and are suspected of being An Impostor, they should mention that you have a visual task and that they should follow you to verify that you are indeed not An Impostor.
- Always have an alibi set. The more detailed an alibi is, the more likely people will believe it. You should make sure to remember the places you have been to get rid of any suspicion.
- Do not defend suspicious players. If you defend suspicious players, it will cause you to be suspicious of other Crewmates. However, if the suspicious player is about to be voted out wrongfully, you should probably speak up, especially if few Crewmates are left.
- Be attentive. Remember whom you saw go where in preparation for the potential discovery of a dead body or an emergency meeting. Nothing hurts more than being in a group of three, leaving to do tasks, one of them being killed with you being blamed for it by someone else who briefly saw you in a group, and you being voted off for it because you cannot counter their points by saying "X was also there, it was them!"
- Don't accuse others without reason. Accusing or yelling at random Crewmates because of tiny details is not a good idea. You could easily accuse an innocent Crewmate, and you could be voted out in the next meeting. Even if you do, by chance, accuse An Impostor, Crewmates could take this as you turning on a fellow Impostor to gain their trust. However, some details, such as a task being done out of order, can be crucial in revealing An Impostor.