Learning how to play Monster is a difficult task in VHS because the Teens can kill you if you are not careful. So in order to avoid dying, you must kill the Teens before they can craft deadly weapons. Here are my top tips to help you get into the Monster role in VHS.
Pay attention to sound
The most important thing the Monster needs to do is listen to sounds. It goes without saying that you should always wear headphones when playing Monster. The first sounds you will be listening for are the sounds of crafting stations. Each station has a different sound based on the Stigma it makes weapons for.
You can hear crafting stations that are being worked on from a good distance away, allowing you to just run by them instead of going inside their rooms to find Teens. Here is a big tip: by the time a Teen at a crafting station hears your Tension Track, you will have heard them crafting. Even if they get off as soon as they hear you coming, you will have the jump on them.
When Teens are running their footsteps are loud, so you have to learn how to track footsteps throughout a match. Along with loud footsteps, the sound of the footstep depends on the floor they are running on. Some areas have a metal or wood floor, and others have carpets. You can tell which area the Teen is running by the sound their footsteps make.
Another reason tracking footsteps is important is that after you hit a Teen, your camera is forced up so you cannot see anything. So you must rely on sound to know which direction they ran off to. You should also make sure to look at the ground after hitting a Teen. Injured Teens will occasionally have a rainbow puddle drop at their feet. This puddle is to help you track injured Teens. However, it disappears quickly so you must follow the trail fast.
Sometimes Teens will also try to be tricky after being hit. They will stop running and crouch walk around line-of-sight blockers. Teens will also try to hide behind open doors, in between props, or around corners. You will know a Teen is attempting to hide because their footsteps will suddenly stop. Walking and crouch-walking make practically no sound, but you will still be able to hear them breathing. Injured Teens breathe slightly louder than healthy ones. Just don’t confuse their breathing with yours.
More important sounds include Teens that are searching vending machines, searching trash cans, healing, or unlocking the box with the Book of the Dead. When Teens search a vending machine, they make several banging noises. As for trash cans, it sounds like crumpled paper being moved around. When Teens are healing it sounds like they are wrapping themselves, or others with bandages. Teens can heal themselves at set healing stations at the map, or by grouping up with each other. The box holding the Book of the Dead makes several unlocking sounds the entire time the Teen is unlocking the box.
Then of course there are the weapon sounds. Each weapon makes a distinct sound when it is being armed, and used. This can alert you that danger is nearby, and you need to be careful. If you have an ability up that can protect you from weapons you may want to use it.
Weapon sounds can also allow you to trick the Teens. For example, the RC Flyer makes a loud sound when being controlled by the Teen. You can make the Teen think you ran away through a room, but instead, stand right next to the doorway. When you see the RC Flyer enter the room, attack it to get rid of it.
Learn the maps
Knowing the layout of the map is the next important thing Monsters need to work on. The maps in VHS have set layouts that are the same every time – even the locations of the workstations are the same. As a Monster, it is important to know the most optimal paths to each Stigma workstation.
What is even more important is knowing how all the hallways and rooms connect to each other. By knowing the layouts you can cut off Teens that you chase. For example the Teen could be running in a straight line and take a hallway. But you know that you can access that same hallway by going through a nearby room. Then the Teen will run right into you, giving you a free hit.
This could also help you when the Teens are chasing you with weapons such as the Shock Sphere or Infernal Eye. Both of these weapons deafen the Teen so they cannot hear where you are and have to guess based on where they last saw you. With your map knowledge you can use shortcuts to gain distance, or trick the Teen into thinking you went somewhere else. Sometimes you can even try using a hiding spot to evade the Teen.
If you plan on also playing Teen, then pay attention to your profile picture in the bottom left corner. As you move around the map, your location is labeled. This information is more helpful for Teens since they can use the names of locations to setup ambushes, or explain where the Monster is to their teammates.
Look out for ambushes
You must constantly be looking out for ambushes from the Teens. You must remember that the Teens want to kill you as much as you want to kill them. So whenever you are chasing a defenseless Teen, remember that they could be leading you into an ambush. Some spots on the maps are better for ambushes than others. You need to be wary of every corner, and remember to listen for extra Teen footsteps. Always be thinking of what you can use for cover if any ambushing Teen comes out to attack.
Windows next to open spaces make perfect ambush spots. This is because the Monster is locked into a short animation while vaulting windows, which makes avoiding weapons impossible. So always think twice before chasing a Teen through a window. If you have an ability that can protect you – such as W.A.R.T’s armor or Werewolf’s howl – use it before vaulting.
Learn your abilities inside and out
Learning exactly how your abilities work can greatly help you as a Monster. While it is easy to learn what an ability is supposed to do, you should always be thinking of alternative ways to use it.
Let’s take a look at the Dollmaster as an example. He has an ability to teleport to a doll he is looking at, and the teleport has a long cooldown. Your first instinct is to use the teleport to escape any bad situations. However, this teleport can also be used offensively. You can easily get a free hit on a Teen by surprising them with a teleport, and it does not have to be that far either. Say someone is near you with a weapon: you can place a doll then pretend to run away until the doll is behind the Teen. Then you can teleport to the doll, and hit the Teen in the back. All you have to do is avoid being damaged so you can activate the teleport. This strategy is especially useful if you are using the Aggressive Teleport mutation, which instantly refreshes the cooldown of your teleport if you hit a Teen within 10 seconds of teleporting.
Another example is W.A.R.T’s Leap, which most players use in two ways: to chase down a Teen or to run away from a weapon. But what you can also do with Leap is bait a Teen with a weapon into thinking you are running away. Then flip around and Leap at them to get a hit. Of course, this is incredibly dangerous, but if you do it successfully it puts the game in your favor.
In summation, you should always be thinking of other ways to use a Monster’s abilities to catch Teens off guard.
Use the training room
A powerful tool that VHS gives players is the training room, which gives you a safe space to test out all the game mechanics. In the training room you can test Monster abilities, and get used to how long it takes their abilities to activate. You can also practice attacking Teens to test the range of your attacks, and get used to how hit boxes work.
In the training room is a TV unit that allows you to freely switch between Monsters, so you can test our all Monster abilities with ease.
That wraps up my tips on how to play Monster in VHS. Keep in mind that this game does take a lot of practice to learn, especially for Monster players who have little room for error in a match. But with patience and perseverance, you can become an unstoppable force and strike fear into the Teens.
If you want to learn how to play Teen effectively then check out my VHS Teen guide. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more VHS guides!
