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Manhunt Tips

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Jack-Reacher's picture
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We have seen a few of these topics lately, I thought I should share mine. I pretty much play Manhunt exclusively and I know what im talking about. I will go into depth each useful ability and strategy, so if you don't have time for a big read stop reading now.

-OFFENSE

People tend to think that being on offense makes it ok to be seen by the defensive team. You have to slip into a different mindset that it is best that the defensive team don't know who you are. Don't underestimate the defensive team, they have many options for attack such as charge, mute and smoke bomb and if you reveal yourself to early they will wipe you out before you can get too close. As soon as you get close to your target start walking. Only fast walk for a few steps or you will give yourself away. The reason for this is because if you want to use an ability like charge, you have to get really close to your target to maintain that incognito kill. A tip against people who use Decoy, if someone sprints out of the crowd and doesn't have L1 on top of their head, its not a real player

-Ability Setup

The best ability setup is one main ability used for finding your target, and one support ability should they run away. For instance your main ability should be something like Charge, Firecrackers or Templar Vision. I wouldn't use morph to smoke them out as you have to get really close and they can stun you. Your backup could be Mute (best with firecrackers, stops them using smoke bomb or stunning you) Throwing knives and Hidden Gun. I prefer throwing knives over the gun as you can still set up some good points if you use obstacles to get close to your target.

-Charge

In my opinion this is the best way to find your target. The key is getting close enough to use it so you can get incognito. If you use charge on a group, your character automatically attacks the right target, you don't even need to press square. One thing to note is before you use it, check the haystacks nearby first so you dont waste it. Make sure you dont fast walk too much or they will notice you. If there are more than one target in the group wait for a team mate to come and then strike, that way if you are stunned he can clean up the rest. If the other team is too good to let you get in close, swap your support ability for Disguise. It will let you stroll right up to them for that easy charge, but most randoms wont require you to do this

-Templar Vision

As crazy as this sounds, this requires a little more skill than charge if you want to earn more points. Charge simply earns you 400 points max, however with templar vision if used correctly you could get more. Say you have poison as well, make sure you pick a target where your team isnt nearby and then use templar vision from out of sight. Now mark your target and try to get as close as possible. Dont walk in directly towards them, change your path a bit. A team strategy is to get a team mate to mark them with templar vision, and then use disguise yourself so you can get right up to the group and poison them without them realizing it. If there are 2 of them the second one wont stun you either. This is shown in my vid The Mercenary a few times. If you dont want to use poison for fear someone will steal the kill, there are other ways to rack up more points using templar vision. The first is to observe their surroundings, are they close to a haystack? If so, get in the haystack and then use templar vision. Lock on to the right one and pull him in, you will get work towards the challenge and a hidden bonus, giving you 600 points

Another way is this. Use templar vision from a rooftop or from around a corner so that they cant see you. Now get on a rooftop right above them, lock on to them and then press circle to hand down on the ledge in an acrobatic position and wait for the focus to fill up around the attack prompt on their head. If they start running attack them instantly, but most of the time they wont move as they dont think you know who they are. This way you can get a focus and acrobatic bonus of 250 extra, so thats 650 points for that one kill.

-Firecrackers

Like templar vision, you can get some good acrobatic bonuses from above, but focus doesnt work as well. Firecrackers work from above, and I find it easier to target them from above. If you use from ground level, make sure you are well out of the smoke bomb range. Since they cant see, chances are they will pop the smoke bomb and try and stun you. They usually walk straight to you, giving you an easy kill. If they run, its good to position yourself to cover their exit, or use throwing knives to stop them. Mute also works well as you can stroll right into the group while their abilities are disabled, use both firecracker and mute at the same time and quickly pick out the right target.

-Hidden Gun

I dont have much love for this ability simply because I find it boring and it doesnt give out points. However it does come in handy if the whole team of defenders are in one group. If your team goes in to kill one, the rest will usually stun you, making it kinda dangerous. You can play the support role and stand back from a distance to kill anyone who flees, or anyone who tries to stun your team from a safe distance. One trick I started using is simply aiming it at a crowd while my charge was refilling. It freak one of them out and they bolted it, so I then switched targets to them and shot them instead. You should keep this in a different profile set and swap to that profile set once you realise the other team are restless and run around on the rooftops a lot.

-Morph/Smoke Bomb

I havent tried this much but in theory this should work really well against a group of multiple defenders. Normally when you kill one target, the other one will stun you, then a team mate kills him and so forth. However this little tactic allows you to get both kills if you are fast enough without them getting a single stun. Basically sneak into the group and use smoke and morph at the same time, using long lasting smoke. They targets will reveal themselves once you morph the group, and you should be able to kill both before they can stun you. You could also try morph and poison, where you morph the crowd and poison one, then quickly kill the other as the poison animation is so short.

-DEFENSIVE

Overall tip here is stick together! If a team mate starts getting stuns dont run away, instead help him out. If a team mate stuns someone, stand next to the guy who he stunned, you will always get the stun if you are locked on and are mashing circle. Also note that if all 4 of you are blend together, you get 60 points every few seconds, that means the whole team gets 240 points every few seconds. Also most map have key spots that are good for defending where NPCs dont go much, making it easier to identify your pursuer. This includes Rome by the pantheon, San Donato by the church, and each map has a blend spot isolated so you can see them coming. Never stay in a stationary group that isnt isolated, they will get an aerial kill on you easy and can plan their attack. Try to use moving crowds as much as possible, its simply harder for them to plan their attack

-Ability Setup

Personally I never use morph. Someone on your team almost always has it so no point both of you having it. Also if you use blender perk there will always be another NPC like you in the crowd. That means there is a 50/50 chance of the pursuer getting the wrong one, meaning they wont attack at all until they are certain.
Always have smoke bomb (preferably long lasting) and dont bother with rapid reload abilities as after 3 deaths your reset cooldowns will mean you always have abilities. What you want to do is have one ability for the first stun, and use smoke bomb just as they get up to get another stun on them, giving you a knock out bonus, totaling 500 points. For instance use charge/firecrackers/mute and then stun them, then use smokes to stun them again

-Mute

The problem with mute isn't the short period it works for, but the delay in which it takes into effect. Once you learn this you will love this ability. The key is to use it very early. Also note its range, it is far greater than the smoke bomb, so once you identify your pursuer as soon as he gets in range use it and run up to him for an easy stun, he wont know what hit him. Also if someone is above you using templar vision you know you are dead, but if you use mute you can give yourself some time to run out of there.

-Charge

Another really good defensive ability, but I still prefer mute over this. This is because charge needs momentum to get the stun, you cant use it in a tight space very well. Also if you miss them you just run off like an idiot, making it easy for them to kill you. Make sure you master the perfect distance to use it, use it early before they can charge your group or use templar vision.

-Decoy

Thanks to templar vision this is kinda worthless, but still useful. The key point here is to use it early before they use templar vision. This way they will think may as well save templar vision for later and get this easy kill. Once they kill the decoy you can then stun them. I personally like to use it will sitting on a bench, the NPC often barge through your group making a disturbance. You could also try using it in a haystack.

-Firecrackers

These are alright, not as good as mute or charge though on defence. What you want to do is use it early as it has a long range, and then run behind them. They will often just mash square as they know if you run towards them to stun them they will kill you anyway, but if you run around from the sides or behind you can get the stun on them. If you see about 2 or 3 pursuers coming you may want to pop firecracks and then use sprint boost to get out of there. You will usually get a chase triggered and if you planned your escape to a chase breaker you can get an escape bonus, and possibly a stun if they are nearby

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Great guide! You definitely know what you're doing based on your videos alone. I wish I could play with you but I'm on the 360 side.

You're absolutely right about offense. Don't rush in or you'll spook the defenders or set yourself up for a stun. The best way is to coordinate with your team (which is rarely an option, sadly). If the offensive team splits up and goes for a surround, it's really tough for the defender(s) to escape. Whenever I see my teammates going for a specific defender or group, I try to go a different path and approach from the side or behind. Unfortunately, they always tend to rush in and by the time I get there the defenders have run away.

It's a massive difference when you're playing with people who know what they're doing. The game is much more enjoyable when people use strategies.

What is that bit about Decoy and L1 above their head? I don't think I've ever seen a button above a character's head other than the Assassinate and Stun buttons. Or do you mean the lock icon? In which case, you'd have to be pretty quick to aim at them to see if a lock icon comes up. Kudos to you if you can do that without taking your eyes off/turning your back to the blend group. My old man reflexes are definitely not quick enough for that. Smile (<= need an 'old man' smiley)

Maybe you could switch your button references with the icons so that it won't confuse Xbox 360 players? This guide should definitely be stickied IMO, so making it more accessible would be handy.

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Ok, whats the button for lock on on 360? L1 is lock on.

Basically when your target runs around in high profile or stuns a team mate, the lock on button will appear on their head. All you gotta do is tap L1 and you automatically lock them on. However if they use decoy and the NPC sprints towards you, dont attack them unless you see the L1 (lock on prompt) on their head. As soon as you see it just tap it and attack them, but they rarely bolt it from the crowd anyway

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Jack-Reacher wrote:
Ok, whats the button for lock on on 360? L1 is lock on.

Basically when your target runs around in high profile or stuns a team mate, the lock on button will appear on their head. All you gotta do is tap L1 and you automatically lock them on. However if they use decoy and the NPC sprints towards you, dont attack them unless you see the L1 (lock on prompt) on their head. As soon as you see it just tap it and attack them, but they rarely bolt it from the crowd anyway

Maybe I'm just remembering it wrong (haven't played in a few weeks) but I don't think I've ever seen a lock icon appear automatically. And the quick-locking in general sucks as it's so inaccurate. If I quickly point in the direction of a runner (or anyone, really) and just click the button, it will target the wrong person most of the time, especially in a crowded area. It always favors closer targets to more distant ones (which blows my mind). Doing the precision aim lock is the only way I can consistently lock-on to the right target, and there's rarely ever any time to do that. The only time I seem to need to use lock is when things are getting frantic, in which case it's much more difficult to use anyhow. I'm really disappointed with the lock system in general. But that's just a rant and I'm getting off topic.

On 360, it's LT (left trigger) for lock. Basically, the front and back shoulder buttons (on both sides) are swapped between the two systems. I guess if you get used to the PS3 first, that might seem better, but I couldn't stand it. I much prefer the 360's layout. But that's me. Smile

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7c8WC10_5M

Around 2:16, look at the guy who stuns me team mate. An L1 appears on his head, when this happens you can quick lock and no matter what they are targeted. It also happens when they sprint around, maybe it doesnt happen on 360?

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Jack-Reacher wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7c8WC10_5M

Around 2:16, look at the guy who stuns me team mate. An L1 appears on his head, when this happens you can quick lock and no matter what they are targeted. It also happens when they sprint around, maybe it doesnt happen on 360?

That's really weird. I've never seen that before. It's up for such a short period that I've probably just always missed it. Is it always that short? You'd need good reflexes to capitalize on that.

I'm sure it works on 360, I probably just didn't ever happen to hit it quickly enough. Does it have a proximity? People I see running off are usually running from one of my noob teammates, so I'm usually quite a distance back when I observe somebody sprint away.

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I have a request to make.
Can someone make or help make a Multiplayer FAQ/Guide?
And get it Stickied, it would be really nice, because it's an integral part of the game, and we don't really have a single page full of information on it. We have SEVERAL pages, but I mean for new users and stuff, maybe it would be more comfortable to have it all collected in one place.

I'd do it, but I don't have wifi on my PS3, and I haven't had it for a while Sad

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Well this could be a start, I could write up something for wanted and alliance but I dont really play them much, everything would be just theory that looks good on paper but may not work in the game. This stuff does work though, except the morph smoke strat that I havent really tried yet.

Anyway im trying out a new setup for offense. I use Charge on a moving crowd group as its hard to plan my templar vision attack on them, and templar vision on a stationary group so I can get into position for a nice acrobatic focus kill

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I've used the "quick lock-on" several times. It definitely works on 360. Maybe something's up with the connection, Asaic? It's made things a LOT easier in multiplayer for me when I'm playing team modes. If I see 2 targets in 1 group, I lock one of them for my teammate, have him kill them, let the other stun my teammate, then tap LT and use the gun. Because of the Multi-kill bonus, these kills rack up plenty of points.

That's why I use Templar Vision and the Hidden Gun for Manhunt - Offense. If I'm in defense, I usually use Morph and Smoke Bomb. I'd morph into a group, then as I rack up Lure points every few minutes, use a smoke bomb on 1 or 2 of my hunters. Even if I die, I still get a few hundred points.

Jack, I wish we could play together. Sad

PSN: JoeyFogey

Steam: JoeyFogey

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No, it's not lag. I guess I've just never noticed the icon because it's only there for a split second. When the shit hits the fan, I'm not standing around checking for icons. Laughing out loud

I've probably just never tried tapping LT when somebody runs away from up close. In any normal non-chase situation when I try to target someone, I have to do precision targeting if there is more than one player/NPC nearby since the auto-targeting by tapping the button is horrendous. Based on that, I wouldn't have assumed it to be any better when things get frantic. Nice to see the designers did something right with the targeting system. Tongue But the entire thing still needs a major overhaul IMO.

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Agreed, many perfect kills I have set up have been ruined because of this shit targeting system.

They did do the L1 thing right though, if your target sprints from a group just tap L1 and you get an easy kill. So next time you see someone using templar vision, its actually better not to bolt it because it makes it easy for them kill you instantly, most of the time they get flustered and attack the wrong one

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Jack-Reacher wrote:
So next time you see someone using templar vision, its actually better not to bolt it because it makes it easy for them kill you instantly, most of the time they get flustered and attack the wrong one

I've seen that happen a bunch of times and I can just imagine how pissed off they were. It's happened to me too, though not with TV (since I don't have it yet). It sucks when you know who the right target is and you move in and try to attack and end up getting the wrong NPC. Angry That wouldn't be a problem if we had a better targeting system! (Hint, hint, Ubisoft!)

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Here is what I want in the targeting system. Say you target a random guy, you should be able to press left or right on the D pad to toggle the target along each persona until you hit the one you want targeted. I would find this so helpful, just quickly target someone as close as possible and toggle it to them

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Jack-Reacher wrote:
Here is what I want in the targeting system. Say you target a random guy, you should be able to press left or right on the D pad to toggle the target along each persona until you hit the one you want targeted. I would find this so helpful, just quickly target someone as close as possible and toggle it to them

That would be perfect.

Currently, left and right on the D-pad changes your compass target (while on offense). Up and down on the D-pad does nothing, right? So that could be used. Actually, I would swap it to be like you suggested – left and right switch lock targets and up and down change compass targets. Or...left and right on the D-pad changes lock targets and holding Triangle/Y and using left and right on the D-pad changes compass targets, since the Head button button does nothing in multiplayer as far as I recall.

Either way, changing lock targets should be faster and easier than changing compass targets as it's much more time-sensitive. Although, I think the targeting priority (the way the game engine decides who to target when it's unsure of your intention) still needs an overhaul. I'd still keep your idea in there as well though, if it were up to me.