Among Us exploded from obscurity in 2020 to become one of the world‘s most popular mobile and PC games. The indie game surpassed over half a billion monthly players by late 2020. And thanks to streamers like AOC, it‘s recognizable even to those yet to play. At its core lies the impostor role enabled by a network of transit ventilation ducts on each map. Mastering ventilation takes you from novice impostor to uncatchable silent assassin. This comprehensive guide explores pro-level venting strategy, map dynamics, common mistakes, and psychological tactics to leave your crewmate friends screaming in frustrated suspicion.
The Meteoric Rise of Among Us
Among Us first launched in 2018 to little fanfare. The humble game from three-person studio Innersloth went under the radar for over 2 years. Then COVID lockdowns in 2020 created a perfect viral storm. Bored groups and streamers discovered it and viewership skyrocketed. Its clean aesthetic, approachable gameplay, and gritty psychological betrayal hooked friends and strangers alike across generations.
Downloads passed 264 million by late 2021. It dethroned gaming juggernauts like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile to become the most downloaded game ever in November 2021. And monthly active users still exceed half a billion as of writing.
[insert data table on Among Us player base statistics and growth]Central to its addictive fun is the dueling game of cat and mouse. Crewmates frantically complete tasks racing to avoid the sly impostor killing from the shadows. Vent networks scattered across each map enable impostors to vanish and reappear elsewhere with murders in between. Mastering this transit system is every impostor‘s dream.
When to Vent, Where to Vent: Core Venting Strategy and Principles
Venting 101 starts with understanding visibility. Ducking into corners away from intersections and cameras is crucial before any duct entry. Timing ventilation with other player movements or ambient noise masks subtle sounds of grate entries. And upon exit, have an airtight backstory for where you “walked over” from, supported by door logs.
Once inside vents, inner safety comes with downsides. Your kill cooldown pauses completely while traversing or camping inside. So while essential for escaping hot zones undetected, never spend entire games hiding inside. Balance visible location mixing with periodic slipaways to strike then reposition quickly.
Beware overusing the same enter/exit points. Skilled opponents may log these, watch for pattern repeats, and eventually intercept. Instead get creative with unpredictable routes to sow doubt and ultimately distrust amongst remaining crew. Similarly, floating between distant rooms exclusively via vents generates suspicion. Mix in walking between connected zones at times to mimic ordinary movement.
When caught mid-vent by a nosy crewmate, handle the confrontation decisively. Either immediately eliminate them before they can raise alarms, or confidently deflect suspicion. Having a loud, shocked reaction ready followed by ardent vent ignorance helps undermine their certainty. Or leaning fully into the sighting with humor as if all players vent for fun plants those critical early seeds of doubt in others. Never let a witness live though without one of these prepared manipulation responses.
[insert diagram of Skeld map showing camera locations and ideal masked vent entries/exits]To Camp or to Creep: Comparing Hiding and Traversal Vent Styles
Two schools of thought exist on optimal vent usage:
Vent Camping: Some impostors setup camp inside vents as mobile safe houses. Coasting within the void lets your murder timer reset safely out of sight after messy kills. Vent camping also provides rest stops to plan your next hidden machinations. However, this static hiding draws crewmate focus whenever you finally emerge on the move again.
Routing: In contrast, vent routing uses ducts dynamically to rapidly shift attack locations. For example, Mira HQ lets impostors bounce between Security, Medbay, Upper Engine via interconnected vents in seconds without crossing major halls. This magic trick disorients crews, allowing lethal ambiguity on where you teleported from. But constantly popping unpredictably from vents still risks eventually getting called out.
In reality, balance both approaches. Use camp rests between active periods of aggressive movement and isolated player vent snipes. Just beware cameras and high traffic when feeling overly cocky about brazen cross-ship darting violation physics.
Map-Specific Vent Dynamics, Layouts and Strategies
Now that we’ve covered fundamental venting doctrine, let’s explore how layouts and cameras dictate approaches on Skeld, Mira HQ, Polus and Airship. Interior design matters immensely!
Skeld: Hallway Hopper’s Dream
Skeld offers straightforward but powerful vent potential across parallel main halls. Its four vent circuits provide clean sight lines for surgical crew excisions. Consider the following high value opening plays:
- Electrical (2 vents): Immediately sneak to Upper Engine on north grouping for isolation pick then shortcut south down the hall to Medbay before they discover a body.
- Medbay (2 vents): Crawl west to Security through blindspot cams for clean reverse ventilation backstab kill.
- Cafeteria (3 vents): Riskier but with big chaos potential – hop into Hall and O2, sabotage Reactor and pick off fixers and intersecting intersection victims.
Skilled Skeld impostors become hallway horrors, exploiting predictable crew movement for misdirection kills through vent repositioning. Just watch that North hallway camera and the intersection outside Security lest you get sloppy.
Mira HQ: A Vent Connoisseur‘s Playground
For veteran ventilators, the wide open interconnectivity of Mira HQ presents a giddy playground. No need to ever walk again when literally any room connects directly! This permits effortless full map manipulation as you chase that coveted 30 second cross-map murder achievement from Balcony to Launchpad.
However, unlimited access presents risks. Without carefully checking room populations first, one wrong ambush can mean instantly getting called out mid-kill by a crowd. Still, options abound for miracle reappearances – double back to where you “just were” or instead continue forwards emerging “from Storage.” Neither lie withstands extended scrutiny, but in the heat of chaos can enable another risky getaway.
When activating Mira’s interconnected warping, attempt visually jarring mispositions. For example, group Balcony, Kitchen and Comms kills before suddenly manifesting in Lab as if merely wandering up normally from Decontam. Only cameras in Hallway and Storage hinder this whimsical slaughter pipe dancing.
Polus: Broad Vent Potential and Pitfalls
Polus’ vast snowy frontier features four segmented vent networks allowing mid-range teleportation across its sprawling surface footprint. Each zone sports intersections enabling misdirection alibis. For instance, hop Admin to Lab then vent south to Vitals to snipe. Crews will first search north when discovering that body.
In particular, master Polus’ southern locker and office circle to breathe down survivors’ necks while dodging accusations. And when needing to reset cooloffs, kick back inside the O2/Electrical/Security triangle before plotting your next frosty betrayal.
Polus does suffer from strange atmospheric conditions however – its ventilation shafts apparently cannot transmit the sounds of bloodcurdling screams. Leverage this by killing in secluded rooms before briefly hiding bodies in longer transit tube runs. For example, drag Decontamination victims into Lab’s vent for cold storage when risky. This buys time to setup the next “unrelated” Steam death across the campus.
But avoid long distance repetitive venting between the same rooms each kill. Crews can and will take note, eventually voting your winter wonderland warping wizardry off the planet.
The Airship: Smuggling Schemes Galore
The Airship’s elegantly interconnected compartments feature ideal blind spots for discreet body drops down ventilation tubes. Leverage them to design elaborate smuggling routes baffling crews and cameras alike. For instance:
Engine Room kill > vent to Kitchen > transit to Vault > down the hall to Records > through vent to Showers > into Gap Room
This journey lets you ritualistically hide the Engine Room victim in far flung Vaults and Showers connected only via hidden ductwork. Accusations will first fly against those nearer last known locations before sniffing out your underlying patterns.
The Airship also allows sinister vent isolation exploitation. Hop into Cockpit, close both doors and vent to Viewing Deck to trap and snipe stragglers. Or try Storage kill > vent crawl to Kitchen > vent below to Engine Room > attack upstream fixers at worst possible moment. Diabolical!
Avoiding Common Vent Errors That Get You Ejected
Even seasoned impostors eventually slip up and get spotted mid-vent by some lucky crewmate wandering past at just the wrong time. Review what behaviours and habits to avoid so your ventilated violence perseveres.
Pattern Predictability: Never overly repeat the same exact vent routes and reposition tricks. Observant crews start tracking unexplained geometry anomalies – “Wait didn’t Purple say they were in Electrical 10 seconds ago?” Mix up entries and exits and add visible location visits between vent hops.
Rushing: Allow sufficient time for crews to rotate positions before trying overly bold long-distance vent connections. Hopping Admin to Lab can be clean with patience, but risks instant accusation if you miscalculate crew movements. Wait for opportunities instead of forcing constant all-in plays. Your cooldowns recharge faster than you can tab back into the game after screwing up anyway.
Complacency: Just because you got away clean with a risky security cam vent 5 times this game doesn’t make you immune! Similarly that one crewmate who caught you before getting ejected for having “no proof” doesn’t mean crews won’t believe the next witness’s ironclad account of your vent perfidy. Stay vigilant and betray judiciously.
Cockiness: Few situations feel worse than popping gleefully from a vent just to realize you grossly miscounted players left and dropped into a full room. Resist the urge to play carelessly just because crews seem clueless or you’re nearing your victory kill quota. Stick to fundamentals – open venting should excite terror not joy.
200 IQ Plays: Next Level Venting Psychology Manipulation
Think venting mastery is only about memorizing map mobility? Nay – seasoned vent assassins manipulate perceptions, emotions and trust to maximize assassination freedom. Deceive, misdirect and betray not just locations, but friendships. Here are some expert meta-deceptions for psychological domination:
Overcome Objections: What separates decent from great impostors is overcoming that first vent sighting accusation. Convincingly playing shocked and appalled can make the witness question themselves. Bring humor to make light of the “misunderstanding” in front of others. Or behave completely indignant that someone would make such a slanderous observation – putting accusers on their heels builds room for doute.
Innoculate Through Sacrifice: AfterClean kills, intentionally vent ambitiously into dicey situations to get “caught.” Express amusement at your own lack of awareness before vowing to stop. This builds trust that you don’t actually leverage vents for kills. Later real venting hence appears less suspicious, chalked up to your established innocent recklessness. Diabolical!
Enjoy Their Pain: Few situations feel sweeter than faking tasks before isolating and sniping someone midway through your own cooldown self-report. Relish their raging confusion in the afterlife chat at your overwhelming positioning guile. Bonus – stall fixing O2 they died trying to repair for added salt. This pure psychological torment flavors your victory.
Eat Accusations: When discussion confidence remains high, bait suspicion by openly venting in front of others. Soak up accusations as non-credible then double bluff by faking tasks visibly. This buy credibility for late game venting sprees when teams second guess sound judgment.
Turn Friends Foes: Above all else, leveraging bonds of trust maximizes infiltration freedom. Playfully accuse suspicious friends to plant seeds of third impostor doubt. They may catch wise eventually, but brief windows questioning past comradery open broad backstab potential. Convert even confirmed innocent friends into psychological shields for your own lurking deceptions..
Silent But Deadly: Putting Venting Excellence Into Practice
Vent early, vent often, and soon crews will EQ your movements to random technical glitches. Just try not cackling into comms and giving the game away when that last Chaos Dunk decimates the final clump of survivors. Review these core lessons as you practice sophisticating your venting potency:
- Prioritize camera knowledge for visible entry/exit points
- Memorize map mobility but vary sequence lethality
- Balance camping, resets and rapid unseen traversal
- When caught, either deflect hard or kill faster
- Manipulate psychology through strategic suspicion baiting
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to laugh off mistakes as you build mastery – they still eject you either way. Now stop reading guides and go practice vent execution excellence! Just try not to permanently destroy trust amongst your real life friends circles. Happy betrayals!
