For Reciever 2 players, this guide provides general tips and tactics for Reciever 2 I’ve stumbled across through my playtime to make your life easier!
Mentality
A good mindset will carry you through the game. If your dont feel like pushing through at the moment, I’d recommend putting the game down to avoid frustration and constant ranking-down. Especially because now you can quit with zero consequences and you’ll pick right back up to where you were.
If you skip everything else at least read this.
- Neglect is the #1 Killer, your mind can enter a state of carelessness far easier than you’d think. Be on your guard from the threat and yourself. ALWAYS verify, never assume.
- if you are not comfortable with operating a certain firearm, find a safe area to familiarize yourself using the help menu as a guide. If you are at baseline I recommend accessing the firing range, this is done by opening the menu and hitting SHIFT+CTRL+F12 to bring up the developer menu, Select “File” and the shooting range should be the second option, the developers are currently working on a Shooting range update so this likely will change.
- Speed is good, Accuracy is better especially at higher tiers where ammunition is scarce. If you do need speed, let it be decisive not panicked. Practice helps here, but be aware it can be a trap when dealing with ND’s
- Be cautious, but have no fear, Fear leads to panic, which can force neglect and poor judgement.
- At the same time Pride is a killer too, If you are overconfident you overlook neglect, which will come back to bite you.
- Try for some of the fun achievements if you need a short break! They can be a nice change of pace.
Because this is a game that tests your discipline I highly recommend setting some boundaries for yourself. While what works and what wont will differ from person to person some general rules apply, I find that If I consistently follow these rules below it greatly improves my survivability. Modify as you see fit.
- I NEVER have an item in the 1 slot, this prevents me from fatfingering the holster/unholster key and accidentally causing a negligent discharge. If I spawn with an item in that slot, I carefully remove it from the 1 slot to a more appropriate slot (I like having magazines in the 2-4 slots and the flashlight in the 5 slot)
- I never enter a room until I can verify there are no lights pointing at the doorway, I stay at a safe angle at all times before entering.
- I will at least count to five while observing the room.
- If I can, before holstering and unholstering my firearm, I ensure it is in a safe state and only bring it to fire when I expect to fire on a Killdrone.
- If I have a Glock 17, I ensure that I count to two before letting go of the holster/Unholster key.
- I keep my flashlight off If I see blue lights and only take it out to explore a cleared area or to briefly see into a potentially safe area.
General Strategy and operations
- Search “Depth first” when you can. That is instead of forging ahead to another segment, try moving up and down your segment first (or at least try and get there somehow). Don’t be afraid to backtrack if it means exploring a bit more and potentially grabbing more tapes and ammunition.
- The reason why I recommend this approach because you will face less opposition than blindly charging forward in the direction you are facing. The farther from spawn you go tile-set wise, the more resistance you will meet. Yes its a bit more tedious but it will make your life easier in the long run and it also opens up tactical options in case you have say…two turrets and a drone covering your entryway.
- Parkour is a powerful tool to maneuver around the game world, but it can bite you. Beware falling down into a well covered area.
- Two or more balloons in a row are worth shooting as one just refunds you if you fire at it. If its one at ground level, walk through it, don’t shoot to maximize ammo gains.
- On that subject if you can shoot them, have the farthest balloon in mind and aim there, firing only when you are confident that all three are crossing the bore of your firearm and you can visualize the balloon in your sight picture.
- Don’t shoot if you don’t have to! Better to save the shots for when you actually need it.
- If you hear the “One Woman Wail” that means a tape is nearby, prioritize them as they are your primary objective.
- The wail can be heard through walls, so you may have to get around a wall to get to it.
- If you hear depression from a tape, unload your firearm, stow your magazines duck in a corner and wait out the tape.
Reccomended Settings
- As cool as mashing W is to run, it can mess you up in tight situations or if you are getting up from a ledge, toggle the run key on and this feature off
- I recommend turning off threat echoes after you survive one just to keep the pace going, They are neat at first but once you’ve experienced them, it just becomes tedious.
- You may have to set it away from fullscreen exclusive if you have a program running notifications, it can mess the game up a little.
Fundamental Firearm Tips
- Check your gun whenever you are uncertain about it’s state, you can never be sure unless you see for yourself. Never Assume the state of your firearm
- Rule of thumb, if the gun is in a state it can easily be fired with it can ND if you are too fast with your draw. EVERY GUN has at least one state where you can ND, Learn it.
- Dropping the hammer on hammer fired weapons (Hold F+LMB, release F) is generally the safest thing you can do aside from a push button safety, however bushes can pull it back, be mindful of this, there is an audio cue (a “click”). The sole exception is the Colt Single Action Army, but that will be covered later.
- Take EXTRA care when drawing anything striker-fired, in fact I only really recommend drawing/holstering when you are in a comfortable tactical position (but don’t get too comfortable where neglect can bite you!)
- Getting a proper sight picture on your target is the most important aspect of landing your shot.
Revolver tips
- Colts (SAA/Detective) spin Clockwise, S&W’s (Model 10) Spin Counter Clockwise
- If you have a blocked chamber, do try and note where it is at all times. Don’t be afraid to open the cylinder to make sure.
- In fact when reloading try to have the blocked cylinder in 12 ‘o clock position when you close the cylinder or loading gate, this will ensure that when you fire you will have a live round, and if you are keeping count of the shots the blocked cylinder will not catch you off guard (if you have two while rare has happened to me, of course put the one later in the clockwise (Colt) or Counterclockwise (S&W) sequence at the 12 ‘o clock position) See the attached Image if you need a visual guide (Apologies for the quick and dirty MS-Paint Job, but hopefully it makes sense)
- All revolvers can ND have the hammer fully rearward* and you draw too fast, make sure your hammer is in a safe position when drawing or holstering
*Due to steam censoring the actual correct technical term, I’ll be working around it
- Both of these guns are more or less the same with two major differences. The direction of spin (Clockwise for the Detective, Counterclockwise for the Model 10) and the Detective special has a bit of a worse sight picture vs the Model 10 due to the fact that the Model 10 is a standard frame and the Model 10 is a snub-nose.
- You can at all times check where the blocked chamber is by opening the cylinder
- Try not to fire these weapons too fast, you can drop the hammer on a spent cartridge if your trigger finger is too fast.
- Easily the most complicated weapon to operate in the game, but it performs well once you get the hang of it, Spend some time familiarizing yourself with operating this firearm in the shooting range, It will pay off more than any other weapon.
- Reloading is complicated but can be mastered with a little practice. To do so you need to ensure the hammer is in the halfway position by tapping F, then open the loading gate, and eject each cylinder individually by using the scrollwheel to cycle through fired cartridges (by seeing if there is a dent on the back of the case) and hitting V to eject (you may have to do it multiple times or close and reopen the loading gate), then replacing the spent cartridge with a fresh one using Z. Rinse and repeat for all six cylinders (assuming you don’t have a blocked one which in that case skip that cylinder)
- To fire it, you need to send the hammer all the way back by holding F, and then click LMB to fire.
- The SAA has a unique ND scenario that to my knowledge, no other firearm in this game has: If the SAA is holstered, while the hammer is forward and resting on a live round. If these conditions are met and you fall from something even as short as a table, the weapon will fire in your holster, putting a bullet in your leg. To prevent this, set the hammer in the halfway position by tapping F. This is how I died on my first run through Awake (where you unlock it).
- In fact this is how I generally recommend you carry it, it’s effectively the weapon’s safe state, you wont ND by quick drawing it, you wont ND by falling, and its very easy to get it in a fire state and you can easily reload it.
- You can fan this weapon by holding down the trigger and using the “F” key as your trigger, releasing it when you are ready to fire. I generally don’t recommend this unless you are showing off or having fun at the range as it can be wildly inaccurate.
- Reportedly it can pierce through an Armored turret’s plating. I have been unable to verify this but its worth testing!
Semi-Automatic Tips
- Semi Autos are generally more complicated than their Revolver bretheren but often have higher ammo capacities and faster reloads when practiced.
- You can check all Semi autos chambers by holding T+R keys, if you see brass in the chamber, then it’s loaded.
- All semi autos are ready to fire when the hammer or striker is rearward and there is a round in the chamber.
- Generally if the slide is back after firing you are out of ammo, but dont rely on this visual cue.
- You can send hammers rearward with the F key which is useful if you have a round in the chamber but the hammer is forward, Strikers must have the slide racked (R).
- Racking removes the round in the chamber.
- Semi autos can malfunction, these are random and not only differ from gun to gun, but also the state of the gun and magazine, I’m unsure how to check on this without cheats however.
- You can induce a double feed by ejecting and getting rid of the magazine in your hand (by either dropping with E or putting it in your inventory), locking the slide back (T+R and release R), inserting a bullet (Z), and then inserting a magazine with at least one round in and releasing the slide
- To clear a double feed Lock the slide back (T+R release R), remove the magazine (E), Rack the slide to clear the chamber (R) (you may have to do this a few times), and then insert a magazine with ammo and rack the slide again (R).
- All other Malfunctions (Failure to feed, stovepipes (AKA Failure to extract), Out of Battery and Improperly seated magazines) are easy, “Tap Rack bang!” (Z to tap the magazine in place, R to rack the slide and you are good to go!)
- You can also solve an out of battery by releasing the slide or in the case of the hi-point smacking the back of the pistol when prompted
- The most infamous gun in the game due to its lack of an external safety, BE VERY CAREFUL HOLSTERING AND UNHOLSTERING.
- Full auto is a gimmick, dont bother.
- Despite the drawbacks and gimmicks, the Glock 17 is still a very capable sidearm and has the highest ammo capacity in the game.
- One slight advantage the Glock has over other Semi-autos is that it’s easier to see how many rounds in the magazine you have over the competition.
- Both of these Handguns are SA/DA Double Stack 9mm’s with the primary difference being the safety, The P226 has a manual decocker safety which prevents ND’s when drawing and still allows you to fire. While the Beretta’s safety also acts as a decocker but it also acts as a trigger safety, meaning you have to disengage the safety in order to fire the weapon.
- Sights are personal Preference, but I prefer the Beretta’s.
- The Beretta does have a higher chance of an unseated mag (but a lower chance of stovepiping), give em an extra tap when reloading
- The 1911 is the classic Reciever Gun. It performs well, packs a punch (but not enough to defeat Armor plating), and teaches you everything you can do with a firearm.
- The best way to carry it safely in my opinion is to put the hammer forward, but it has a push button safety too if you prefer that. use whichever method you are more comfortable with.
- The most powerful weapon in the game, it has exceptional accuracy and it can pierce armored plates, making it something of a high-powered sniper pistol. Its amazing against unaware drones as it will send them flying a city block in pieces.
- It is heavy so your hands will be shaking after one or two shots
- It is also the only weapon in the game that is a guaranteed suicide if you ND, luckily its a very easy push button safety. (V)
- Aside from firing, while it is safe you can perform any operation on this firearm while the safety is active.
- Despite being a striker fired weapon, it is MUCH safer than the Glock, but has low ammo capacity, poor sights, and is heavy making your character’s hands shake earlier.
- There is no slide release, you have to rack a new bullet in the chamber if it’s empty.
- It has a simple push button safety and a magazine disconnect safety, meaning if there is no magazine inserted, it will not fire.
- This gun loves to go out of battery, keep an eye out for it every time the slide goes back.
Fundamentals of dealing with Killdrones
- All Killdrones have a camera that allows them to detect you represented by a light projecting from it, shooting it removes their ability to see you and thus detect you.
- Note shadows when the light passes, those are safe areas. (The sole exception seems to be hospital beds for some reason)
- Sprinting can be useful to close the gap if you decide you need to hack a killdrone, just remember to be in cover or behind it when it looks your way and you stop sprinting.
- Blue = Nothing detected, Yellow = Alerted, Red = Active (Usually firing, but in the case of security cameras, Alerting all the other killdrones in the area).
- Stealth is as much of an option and often a superior one than shooting thanks to the hacking mechanic, but it is not always possible. There is no shame in shooting a killdrone if it’s in your way and you cant get to it.
- All Enemy weapons are one shot kills, but there may be a delay between bullet impact and death so you might not realize it.
- Retreating and finding a better angle is often a smart play if you are not confident in taking on a well fortified position.
- Most drones are incredibly vulnerable from an elevated angle, though if it is shallow enough turrets still may catch you despite being above them.
- Practice good flashlight discipline, killdrones can spot you with a flashlights MUCH further than without
Turrets Tips and Strategies
Turrets are the main killdrone you will encounter in Reciever 2, they use a searchlight to find you and if you step in it they point to you and attempt to kill you with rifle-caliber bullets of an unknown type (Presumably 5.56 NATO but this has not been confirmed)
All turrets share the following components that can be destroyed with a well placed shot
- Motor: How the turret rotates itself, located at the center of the base of the turret
- Battery: Gives power to the turrets destroying this kills the turret.
- Camera: The primary sensor of the turret, destroying this prevents the turret from detecting you. Shines a light.
- CPU/Motion Sensor: Invisible secondary sensor that helps the turret aim and calculate distance. Destroying this on most turrets can buy you some time, destroying this on a sleeper turret neutralizes it.
- Ammo box: At the rear, Destroying this box prevents the turret from getting more ammo but beware, there still may be a round in the chamber.
- Gun Barrel: Where bullets come out of, shooting this is difficult but if you can pull it off it bends the shots in a different direction.
Turrets have the most variety in the game, the following properties can be mixed and matched (with the obvious exceptions being it’s location, the floor or Ceiling)
- Sweeping: Turns the body in a preset angle with a delay
- Rotating: Constantly searches in a
- Prototype: “Cut out” you can see the internals at the base
- Standard: Like prototype but the internals are covered by a thin metal plate.
- Sleeper: Not active until you cross their motion sensor (which the range is invisible!)
- Armored: Has armor plating covering the front and sides of the turret.
When dealing with turrets the objective generally is to incapacitate them, though sneaking around is an option
- I personally like to aim for Cameras, they are big targets and don’t have the danger of potentially being dangerous once destroyed, Remember all enemies one shot kill!.
- Armored turrets can be tricky to deal with but the SAA or Desert Eagle can penetrate their armor, Otherwise you may have to stealth it to get a better angle. Their armor doesn’t cover the top, rear or bottom
- Ceiling Turrets are vulnerable from below as they have a pretty massive blindspot there
- On the flipside turrets on the ground are vulnerable from above, but up close you can hide at a sharp angle below them
- Sweeping turrets are often ideal hacking targets, they drop ammo and are relatively easy to sneak around with some good use of cover, sprint, and patience.
- When turrets die they drop ammo.
- Floor turrets fire faster than their ceiling counterparts
- Another somewhat risky option is to let them run out of ammo by having them spot you and quickly ducking behind cover, Rinse and repeat until they stop firing. It can be handy if you cant get an angle to hack them or are out of ammo.
- You can neutralize sleeping sleeper turrets by putting a round in the Motion Sensor
Drone Tips And Strategies
Drones are the most infamous enemies in the game for good reason. They don’t sit still, they don’t drop ammo and they can be a pain to hit.
They are not unbeatable however and I found some techniques and tips that made life MUCH easier for me.
- If you are having framerate issues This may severely hamper your ability to fight them (I don’t now but I had it back in the R1 days and it made them a royal pain to hit)
- One skill you must master is predicting where drones will be. Doing this will allow you to place shots with more confidence while drones are moving, Drones generally have very linear movements. putting your sight picture to where they will be will make it FAR easier to shoot them on the move. This is called “Trapping”
- On higher difficulties drones can patrol, Treat them like guards in a stealth game and hit em when the opportunity rises.
- The ideal place to shoot a drone is center mass, if it falls to the ground in a clump of parts you did it! be aware and taser will probably still be active so approach it from a safe angle to hack it.
- If you are not spotted take your time and be patient, do what you can to increase the odds of a successful shot.
- Cameras look down and away, so engaging from above is wise
- Drones sometimes like to hang outside of the structure this can make e
- If you ARE spotted DONT PANIC! You have a few options! If they are some distance away drones like to beeline towards you so it makes it easy to trap them.
- If that is not an option, The best strategy is to run away until you shake them. Twisty Corridors are awesome for this, and remember to run away in a SAFE direction (I.E not in front of a turret unless it’s already dead)
- Once they lose sight of you they’ll sit in ambush near the last doorway they saw you from, this can be used to your advantage as you can sneak behind them with some patience and hack them, saving a bullet!
- If you hit the top and bottom rotor guards they will take damage from running into walls and will have a harder time steering.
Security Camera Tips and strategies
- Security cameras are deceptively tough, they have a bit of an awkward hack and to my knowledge have two areas you can destroy, the body, and the camera on the front, You must hit the front camera to neutralize it.
- Hacking often works but cameras can be in an awkward position, be mindful of other killdrone lights when dealing with them
- Security cameras will alert all killdrones in the vicinity to your prescence once the light turns red, however it is the longest in the game relative to other killdrones.
Stalker Tips and Strategies
The Stalker is the only boss enemy in the game thus far. It appears when one of the following conditions are met
- When you hear a new tape describing a disturbing new enemy the threat has dreamed up
- If you shoot the gong in the top floor of one of the apartments
- If you have the Halloween event active somehow and shoot three pumpkins
- It will teleport around the room you are in, the cue is a loud metal scratching noise
- The strategy is to stay alert and try and keep an eye on it at all times and make sure your gun is ready to fire
- Shooting it while it is teleporting around is pointless, it will simply teleport away.
- Dont be afraid to backtrack (RUN!) to an open area to make this easier as it will have to chase you to get there.
- Eventually it’s “eyes” will turn from yellow to red, once it does it will teleport in your face and attempt to impale you.
- When it gets in your face, you have about a split second to put a bullet in into it, one shot will do.