Flashbangs and You
Flashbang
You've adapted to a world in chaos and making what you can from the debris
After completing 50% progress on any generator, Flashbang activates.
Enter a locker while empty handed and press the ability button to craft a flash grenade.
- 1 Charge
- Detonates with a loud bang and flashing light
- Creates a noise notification
- Can be used to distract or blind
I think most players, like me, used this perk during the PTB and for a while after Nemesis' release but didn't have a lot of success with it and wrote it off. Well I've started experimenting with it and it easily has the highest skill ceiling of any survivor perk with a potential reward to match. But how do you use it?
Flashbang functionality
A flashbang functions much like firecrackers, detonating around 2 seconds after being dropped and blinding and deafening anyone who is within a 2-3 meter radius and looking at it, but with the noticeable difference that a flashbang is much quieter. Making a short metallic noise once dropped compared to a firecrackers constant sizzling.
This is really important.
Without the obvious sign that the killer can use to avoid it, flashbangs can be used to Slight/Moderate/Tremendous effect around loops and when another survivor is being carried to a hook. Assuming you have the knowhow to use them.
Flashbangs in chases
The most important thing to remember when using flashbangs; Do not let the killer see you drop it. Their timer is fairly long and a killer who sees you drop a flashbang can just look upwards to completely negate the blind. They are best used around loops with full LoS breakers such as L and T walls as you go around them. Take some time to get used to the timer and drop the flashbang when the killer is likely to reach it just as it explodes.
Loops that are only waist high are trickier to land blinds in. But not impossible. There's 2 ways you can go about it.
- Drop the flashbang when you're perpendicular to the pallet so the killer is less likely to see you drop it. (Generally safer)
- Quickly crouch behind the loop and drop the flashbang while you're out of sight. Then bait a hit just before it explodes. (Risky) (Sidenote: You can use this same technique to safely disarm Hag traps!)
Flashbangs saving team mates
Although not as simple as using a flashlight, you can pull off some saves that would be impossible if not done with a flashbang. The biggest factor in doing this is knowing which hook the killer is going towards. Using the perk Saboteur can help you if you don't already know where the hooks are.
Once someone is picked up position yourself behind something that the killer has to pass by in order to get to the hook. As in the paragraph above; make sure they don't see you drop the flashbang! If the area has lots of obstacles blocking LoS drop the flashbang in the killer's eventual path as they round a corner. If the area is open then you have 2 options.
- Drop the flashbang behind something that the killer has to pass by and bait them to look towards it by running near them. (This is fairly safe to do but won't work if they go straight for the hook)
- Bodyblock the hook while healthy and with Saboteur or a toolbox equipped. The moment the killer hits you drop the flashbang and rotate to the furthest part of the hook and being sabotaging. (This won't work if the killer has Franklin's!)
Flashbang friendly killers
There's 3 different types of killers when it comes to reacting to flashbangs. Those were are flashbang friendly, (Vulnerable to being blinded), those who are neutral and those that are unfriendly (Difficult to blind).
Friendly
Wraith - Easily one the best killers to use flashbang on. If the flashbang explodes near Wraith while he is cloaked he gets hit with a 5 second stun! He doesn't even have to be looking at it. If you're looking for some Wraith Repellent this is stuff to use.
Hag - As mentioned before, you can crouch and drop flashbangs to safely disarm Hag traps. And if you want to get her attention drop the flashbang and set off a nearby trap before it explodes. Greeting the Hag as she teleports in with permanent retina damage.
Pyramid Head, Nemesis, Demogorgon - The reason why these 3 are together is because of how their powers work. They all require a small charge up that briefly slows them down and to look at the survivor they're targeting. This can be abused if you anticipate when they're going for an attack. There are nuisances for each killer of course, like how you can blind Nemesis' zombies, but for the most part you can exploit the same weakness in all 3 for easy blinds.
Nurse - Nurse is fairly straightforward. Pay attention to her telegraphing her blinks and drop the flashbang just before she arrives. But you don't have to worry about her seeing you drop the flashbang before she blinks. It will force her to waste time avoiding it instead of charging another blink to gain ground.
Blight - Blight is a pretty tricky character to blind at first. But keep in mind that he, like Nurse, can't avoid a flashbang without wasting his power if it's dropped near someone he's rushing towards. It'll take some time but you can basically guarantee a free blind each chase once you learn the timing.
Hillbilly - What applies to Blight largely applies here. Big areas that make it easy to tell when Billy is going to reach you are especially safe with a flashbang in your hands. As are sharp corners that you can turn to avoid a chainsaw, dropping a flashbang in your wake.
Oni - As is the case with Nurse, Blight and Billy, watching Oni for him telegraphing his power makes blinding him very easy once you learn the timing. Especially around linear loops that make it easy to tell which way Oni is going to charge from.
Neutral
Huntress - The biggest issue with attempting to blind Huntress is that often she's not always going to be within flashbang range when readying a hatch. As you should do against Huntress normally, stick to tight loops with as many LoS breakers as possible to maximise your chance of getting a blind.
Leatherface - The only thing of note when it comes to LF is if he begins revving his chainsaw from a decent distance away that makes it easy to tell when a flashbang should be dropped in his path. In a typical chase it's more common to blind him by dropping a flashbang near a pre-dropped pallet as he goes to destroy it.
Doctor, Freddy, Pig, Clown, Legion, Plague, Ghostface, Michael Myers, Twins, Trickster - All of these killers having nothing that particularly stands out when it comes to interacting with flashbangs. They same tactics can reliable be used on all of them.
unfriendly
Spirit - It goes without saying, but not knowing where the killer is makes it very hard to blind them. Even harder if you have to correctly predict where they're moving so you can drop a flashbang in their path. Best advice I can give is to drop a flashbang just before you think the Spirit is going to appear so she might be blinded after hitting you.
Deathslinger - Sadly, blinding Deathslinger doesn't break his chain or stop him from reeling you in after a hit. It's best to try and blind him before he goes for a shot.
To finish off this post; Keep in mind that even if you have the flashbang's timer down to the millisecond, and you have predication skills that are correct 99.9% of the time, none of what I have said matters if you run into a killer that uses Lightborn. If you do, good luck.
Thanks for reading!
Comments
You forgot to include Flashbang locker saves. These are extremely easy to do and work a lot more consistently than Flashlights. Even the killers who are impossible to save against at lockers (PH, Blight and Demo) you can get these saves with.
Although I haven't had much of a chance to do these, they're just another use of many of the glorious flashbang! Thanks for reminding me.
It seems fun and even rewarding but I dunno. It is the same to me as going for flashlight saves. I would rather not waste time and do gens instead.
I know stuns can cause a massive blow to killers momentum but unless you are a pro with it you can also fail and you could have done a gen instead.
I understand having fun. People should play how they want. I just don't see it very optimal when it comes to average users.
But with flashbangs you have to do gens before you can go for saves. Seems more productive than hovering around your team mates with a flashlight doesn't it?
It is better yeah but you are still going to lockers and for the saves which can be a time waste especially if you fail to stun the killer.