In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the ninth and most vile part of hell is reserved for traitors. Biblical figures like Cain and Judas Iscariot join historical figures like Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus to be punished by Satan himself for all of eternity.
Among Us players truly understand the feelings Alighieri must have experienced as he writes about betrayal. It sells itself as a local party game, but Among Us has no quarter for treachery. Come and learn the tools of the trade that make sure the crew succeeds and the imposters meet with the fate they so richly deserve.
Updated on December 15th, 2021 by Hodey Johns: How awesome is Among Us? The game was released with almost no advertising or fanfare and is now being regularly played by powerful politicians, popular streamers, and notable celebrities. Yet, somehow, the best was still to come. Among Us has now been released on VR, much to the joy of the medium's fans. After playing this for several hours with friends, it became obvious that the old ways just wouldn't do. This list has been updated with new tips that increase survival odds and decrease the opportunities to get stabbed in the back.
12 Turn Around Constantly
Especially with the VR version, getting sucked into tasks and ignoring the environment is one of many rookie mistakes to make in the game. Don't feel the need to finish a task, even if that task only needs "just one more second."
The game is balanced so that an awaiting imposter can kill a player from the vents right before they can complete a task. Knowing this, make sure to take a break and cut down on the times when the character is exposed.
11 Move With Purpose
One of the fastest ways to become everyone's favorite crewmate is to become expeditious. Faster crewmates can spend more time protecting each other and keeping track of potential imposters than completing mundane tasks or screaming into the chat when they see their own shadow.
If nothing else, faster crew members become running targets, especially in VR. Trying to kill them is automatically harder and imposters are far more likely to kill the slower members first and work their way up the chain from there.
10 Know The Layout
While finding Among Us astronauts in real life can be exciting, start with finding everything in the game first. Knowing the map is the best place to start. Among Us adds a layer of intrigue and strategy to getting around the ship.
Learning about the map mitigates several problems. The infiltrator will usually be among the last into the room, so getting there quickly helps verify innocence. Additionally, doing tasks efficiently from room to room rids the crew of the notion that these laborers have the time to do any extracurricular sabotage.
9 Keep An Eye On The Clock
There are undoubtedly many cosmetic and side activities to occupy the player's time with in Among Us. Ranking every pet can, and should be, a fun dialogue that fans should discuss while they are playing. But keep an eye on the clock.
The key to weeding out infiltrators is timing. Players that keep track of when events of sabotage and murders occur are at a huge advantage because they can make a note of who was in the area and who was not at the time they were discovered.
8 Speak Up
New players make key mistakes when coming upon their first dead body. They run away, they position themselves directly over it, or they wait for a few minutes before reporting.
Don't overthink this. Immediately report dead bodies after learning how to type in the game. Running from the scene of a crime results in an instant accusation. The thought process behind delaying is to absolve wrongdoing, but the longer the crime goes unnoticed, the wider the window of opportunity gets for your fellow crew members to figure out who could or could not be the murderer.
7 Work Hard
Nobody is acting anyone to complete every achievement in the game. The only way this game gets anywhere near that difficulty is if the gamers make it hard on themselves because the tasks are incredibly simple. So simple, in fact, that they should be done religiously and without hesitation.
A full task log means no time to be off committing felonies. Seeing a crewmate fill their time with hard work means they weren't snooping around. Declaring innocence is as easy as knocking out these meaningful tasks.
6 Participate In All Events
Don't ignore a sabotage event by letting character colors psychologically affect the player. New players tend to run around frantically looking for the imposter after the sabotage event caps off. The intent is admirable, but the action is unhelpful; the infiltrator knows to flee the scene and won't appear until it is safe to do so.
Sabotage events are a unique identification opportunity. Fixing the destruction denotes a helpful crewmate status and keeping an eye on who else quickly helped out coalesces a group of cadets that are certain of one another's allegiances.
5 Utilize The Security Cameras
Another amateur mistake of the well-intended is to camp around the security cameras and check the log constantly. These changes are all logged automatically, so viewing them does not require an active person, just someone who swings by after an event happens to see who was where.
Instead of making frequent checks, use the camera room after finishing up several tasks or after something major happens. Imposters will use the vents to get around and the security camera will note when it sees someone mysteriously go from the northwest to the southeast without being seen anywhere in between.
4 Timely Scanner Usage
Thankfully, Among Us has a straightforward injury checkup system. Imposters have many means of fooling other players, but even they can't fool machines into thinking they are anybody other than a traitor.
When a crewmate goes into the Med Bay to complete the Submit Scan task, check it out through the scanner. If it highlights green, then this is the single, easiest way to confirm a crewmate's innocence in the entire game.
3 Tactical Emergency Meetings
There are two erroneous ways to handle emergency meetings: Calling them over a hunch or not calling them at all. Both are deadly and will result in catastrophic failure for the entire crew.
The emergency meeting room is not a fearful area. Take a note at the start and see how many meetings are allowed. Most of the time, this is once per player. So if the player can fully exonerate even one person or narrow down the list of suspects to a few names, then call the meeting right away. Knowing this information will give focus to the other crewmates in between meetings.
2 Know When To Not Work
Dying isn't fun in any game unless the player is the one doing the killing. In Among Us, being a ghost might cut off speaking to the living as far as words go, but it does not cut off communication.
Ghosts are still required to complete their tasks. As they do so, they will likely see the infiltrator moving around the vents and being a scoundrel. When in the presence of the saboteur, stop doing any tasks and wait until the traitor leaves. This erases any alibi they would have had during their crimes.
1 Buddy Up
Though mics are cut off for a good chunk of the game, it helps to hang out near friends. Especially after the tasks have been completed, hanging around fellow crewmates as they check off their list safeguards both members from harm. Plus, it makes for a grand exoneration when two crewmates vouch for one another at the next meeting.
Among Us is all about friendship; a squad of space pioneers that deserve to be lauded as heroes. Rooting out these bad eggs with assistance from a friend is imperative to the safety of all. And if one buddy breaks off for a period of time during which something awful happens, then the damage can be contained and the culprit brought to justice earlier sooner rather than later.
Among Us was released on June 15th, 2018, and is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Android, PlayStation 5, PC, and VR.