New Player: What's with the hitscan enemies?

[Dexcat]

(TL;DR version: I don't know how the game expects me to deal with hitscan enemies. Is there something I'm missing?)

Look, I know. Fast-paced classic shooter. But it feels like, even on a moderate difficulty, hitscan enemies take half your health within the first few frames of them spotting you. Which, in cases like enemies being behind a door, can be before they're even visible to you.

Originally posted by My Inner Retro Enthusiast:

Always be moving and strafing!

I still seem to get shot anyway, no matter how I move about. Even if there's some trick to it, I don't always have room to move.

Originally posted by My Inner Adrenaline Junkie:

Just shoot them first!

That only really works if they can all be hit by the same hitscan shot, which doesn't really work if they're spread out even slightly. And your AoEs like dynamite and the flaregun alt have noninstant travel speeds, which means trading damage. And that can only work for so long.

Originally posted by My Inner Wannabe-Tactician:

Bounce dynamite around corners!

Doing that helps, to an extent. But, disregarding the fact I would need foreknowledge of enemy positions, I still end up with situations like:

• Bounce dynamite around corner
  
• KABOOM
  
• Satisfying gore spray
  
• Wait a few moments, hear nothing
  
• Corner peek real quick
  
• Get killed immediately

Originally posted by My Inner Pessimist:

Just stop playing if it's that much of a problem!

But the rest of the game is so good, though!


So what's the deal? Is there something I'm fundamentally missing? Or do I just have to "deal with it" and "get good"?

[AfroApe]

Shoot and scoot: peek with the shotty, use alt-fire,hide.Second firing mode in 90% of cases kills
cultists in 1 hit(on well done).Same with TNT,peek, hold mouse 1,toss,hide.You can stunlock cultists with tommy gun.If you are exposed you can use crouch despite other build engine games, here it helps to avoid dmg

[Dexcat]

So good advice all around, even if I had varying success at times. #1 most helpful tip was using/rebinding 3rd Person Camera. THAT finally got me through Episode 1. Thanks, everyone!

[Panc]

I don't think you (and many people here) understand cultist's mechanics. They aren't your ordinary cheap hitscanners like Doom 2's chaingunners. It has a lite-AI system that allows player to counter their high-damage, high-response attack.

They have a special "fear" mechanic, which turns them into a dodge mode state for several seconds when player's bullets goes near cultists' vicinity.

In-order to trigger this state before they shoot you first (and we all know that their reaction time is insanely fast), you have to use tommy gun's alt-fire. If you see a cultist (or you know there are a group of cultists behind a corner), just alt-fire tommy gun in their general vicinity, if you do it right, 99% of time you'll trigger them into "fear" state before they shoot you. No skill required, just mouse 2 and watch them flee.

"Fear" state is really generous too, they'll stop shooting for 3-4 seconds, giving player enough time for a strategy. If you are unskilled or in a difficult situation, you'll hold that alt-fire tommy gun, which will continue to stagger the cultist, making you invincible while punishing you by wasting a lot of tommy gun ammo (which you'll need). If you are skilled or confident enough, you can put away your tommy gun, run towards cultist, pull up shotgun and finish it off. Don't worry, cultists will give enough time for you to pull this trick, enabling you to kill cultists without taking a hit, wasting time or wasting ammo.

This tactic also works with group of cultists, although it gets difficult to pull of as the enemy count increases. I can kill 2-3 group of cultists with a little tommy alt-fire and a shotgun without taking a hit, but for 4-5 cultists, I have to either use tommy alt-fire & napalm, or just waste 50% of my tommy gun ammo by spamming at them. Although I'm sure more skilled players can kill 4-5 cultists just by using a little tommy and shotgun ammo without taking a hit.


You don't need 3rd person camera, this tactic combined with running, strafing, crouching and jumping, literally makes you invincible. Only issue is your timing and how you'll use your ammo.

[Sigvuld]

As panc said, a third person camera's.. kind of unnecessary for taking out cultists, as you already have the tools to school them into next century, but you do whatever's comfortable for you.

Have you been playing on Well Done or Extra Crispy, or something? I tested cultists and their reaction times and damage on various difficulties, and those were the only difficulties where I'd get immediately melted if I lingered in one spot.

[Nihil]

Welcome to classic FPS game. But really. This is where all begun before we went full "Press F to pay respect" nonsense.

But 1 important tip:
- Hitscan enemies (the cultists with Tommy gun and dynamite) are always placed in areas and rooms behind a wall or elevation the way, that when you enter the room, they have direct line if sight, but you can't see them until you enter. So yeah, the game is f***g with you. :D

You have 3options.
- Always throw dynamite in the room or to bounce behind the corner, or the remote detonated dynematie (Tipp: If you throw a remote dynamite, and you switch to an other weapon and back to the remote dynamite, you can throw an extra bundle again, and later detonate all at once)
- Save (F2) every time before you enter a room and strafe into the room to see the corners first.
-Shoot them with Shotgun right click or Tommy gun. Shotgun right click is instakilling them, and Tommy gun is stunning them,.

[AfroApe]

Originally posted by Nihilus:

Welcome to classic FPS game. But really. This is where all begun before we went full "Press F to pay respect" nonsense.

But 1 important tip:
- Hitscan enemies (the cultists with Tommy gun and dynamite) are always placed in areas and rooms behind a wall or elevation the way, that when you enter the room, they have direct line if sight, but you can't see them until you enter. So yeah, the game is f***g with you. :D

You have 3options.
- Always throw dynamite in the room or to bounce behind the corner, or the remote detonated dynematie (Tipp: If you throw a remote dynamite, and you switch to an other weapon and back to the remote dynamite, you can throw an extra bundle again, and later detonate all at once)
- Save (F2) every time before you enter a room and strafe into the room to see the corners first.
-Shoot them with Shotgun right click or Tommy gun. Shotgun right click is instakilling them, and Tommy gun is stunning them,.

Shotty's alt-fire is a blessing