A Simple Guide to Chain Kills

Chain killing is easy to do right and easy to do wrong and this guide will help you find the right moment to start your stabbing spree.
In this guide you will find a detailed step by step procedure to set up and execute chain kills as well as picking the right targets and situations to assure an easy chain.

1.) Setting up a convenient quick-access melee key

The very first step to becoming a chain kill GOD is to set up your melee key in a way that you can easily and quickly execute nearby enemies.

Depending on your play-style and keyboard orientation you will want to find a key near your movement keys or mouse to bind to your melee/execute prompt.
Personally I recommend binding melee either to 'F' on a keyboard or to the left/right bumpers on a controller.
Alternatively and by far my favourite set-up is binding melee to a mouse key if you have one available.

This is an example of the setup I am using; it's a simple macro script that presses the 'P' key on my keyboard to which I bound my melee/execute prompt.

Play around with several set-ups and find the one that is most comfortable for you.

2.) Required skills to chain kill and those that assist it

Before you can chain kill you must unlock it first under the development skill tree under the 'Gadgets' category.
You must purchase either of the tier 1 knife skills, either 'Swift Gambit' or 'Nimble Hands', then purchase the 'Combat Awareness' skill.

This will cost you 60,000 Credits to unlock.

Here are a few helpful skills that can help you traverse the map and make your life a little bit better.

1. Universal Camoflage - 25,000 Credits {Tier 1}

This skill is great tier 1 stealth skill that will help you get closer to your targets without being seen.

2. Tracker - 25,000 Credits {Tier 1}

This is another useful tier 1 skill that helps you find out enemy pathing to find the optimal locations for your chain kills.

3. Nimble Hands - 25,000 Credits {Tier 1}

This is one of tier 1 skills that you can pick in order to unlock the 'Combat Awareness' skill. I personally prefer 'Nimble Hands' over 'Swift Gambit' as you shouldn't need to chase kills while chain killing.

4. Lighter Equipment - 25,000 Credits {Tier 1}

This is a useful tier 1 skill to get if you find yourself running around a lot. It pairs magnificently with the next skill on the list; 'Wraith'.

5. Wraith - 57,500 Credits and 3 Challenge Tokens {Tier 4}
[Minimum credits to acquire skill: 165,000 + 1 Challenge Token]

This is a brilliant tier 4 skill that allows you to do whatever you want really. This skill is on the pricy side as it will run you 165,000 credits to unlock as well as tossing 4 challenge tokens in as well. This skill pairs really well with the 'Universal Camoflage' skill so I recommend getting that one alongside this one.

3.) Picking the right targets

This is easiest thing to mess up while setting up a chain kill.

The best and most common targets to use for chain kills are the "buddies". A pair of "buddies" is the easiest way to get a successful chain kill and there are plenty of these in every contract map.
Here are a few examples of "buddies" you can find:


These two can be found under the bridge on the Kolchak Harbor contract. These guys are an easy target for a chain kill as they are both facing forward and not towards each other.


These two buddies can also be found in the Kolchak Harbor contract at the far end of the train yard in the north of the map.


These two are also in the Kolchak Harbor contract in between the snowplow and white van in the trainyard, in the same general area as the previous pair of buddies.

An important thing to note is the distance that the buddies are standing apart; they should be within one enemy model's shoulder distance away from each other at maximum.

These pairs of buddies are the easiest to take down in a chain kill and it is easier to sneak up on the first two examples than the last example because in the last example the guy on left is looking at the guy on the right and may notice you sneaking up on them if he looks at his friend.

Buddies are not the only targets you can chain kill as you can take out 4-5 enemies in one chain kill if you find a great situation, however, taking down buddies is best until you feel comfortable enough to try out bigger groups of enemies in more disadvantageous set-ups.

The key thing to take away is that chain killing requires patience and understanding of enemy paths.
Don't get frustrated if you can't get two enemies to line up right; they aren't the only pair of buddies on the map.

4.) The fun part

Now that you have successfully picked out your targets and have everything lined up for a chain kill it is time to commit murder.

Sneak up behind your targets until the prompt to "take down" alongside the assigned melee key pops up on their back.


Hitting your melee key will begin the take down animation during which an orange prompt arrow will appear that will allow you to extend your chain kill to your next target.

This is the tricky part: you only get about a second and a half to react to this prompt, and you have to press the corresponding directional key to the arrow's orientation.
In this case you need to press 'forward' which in my case would be my 'W' key.

Repeat this for each arrow that pops up and you will get something that looks like this:
https://youtu.be/uh_YQmWhi_U
https://youtu.be/Zu_R0WaPFnQ
https://youtu.be/CuSF-fHjo78

Good Luck Seeker

Congratulations!
You are now a certified chain killing master.
Go wreak havoc out there, Seeker.

[Waaagh]

GOOD

[AlconburyBlues]

I can't get it to work, ever. I press takedown, and the press the arrow as soon as it shows and it doesn't do anything. Just a simple takedown of the one I targeted first. I have all the skills unlocked, so that's not the problem. Weird.

Are you supposed to spam the arrow or hold it? I've tried everything.

I even tried cheating and using ghost mode so I would have more opportunities, but it never works.

[Bill70]

pmsfl at the way you "tea bagged" the one of the last pair at the end of the video lmao .... Nicely done and very good info/guide for "Chain killing" ,, you have an award from me ;)

[doomedSniper]

Hey Aries, as far as I am concerned,
1. You can chain kill moving enemies. Start the chain when they are closest.
2. You can chain kill 3 enemies(max. congestion) just like SGW3, S23 enhanced mode. Relentless Chain kill.
3. Chain kill can also be combined with death from above.

[gsievert]

If you remapped your movement keys on a keyboard the chain kill won't work unless you use the original ASWD keys after the arrow appears!!

[Red Zero]

Its an unnecessary risk that can cost a young agent his life. I'll do individuals wid da blade yemaan but sometimes even that can f***up.

[Shane Gooseman]

Doesn't work at all. It doesn't matter in which directory the arrow points. Everytime my character doesn't continue the melee attack. I hope there will be a little update to work better. :´(

[Axel]

How to chain kill 5 in second mission??? O_o

[Aries]

1. The orange prompt most likely won't appear if you try to chain kill enemies moving. The AI are bad enough that you can still press the take down button again to kill the 2nd guy, but it won't count as a chain kill. Maybe a bug, idk.
2. There is almost no scenario that you can chain kill more than 2 targets, at least I haven't seen one