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Daniel hiding from a Gatherer.

Hiding is one of two major ways to avoid being killed by enemies in the Amnesia games, the other being running. Broadly, it is the method of avoiding the monster's detection, by remaining still, quiet, and out-of-sight.

Information[]

Hiding is present in all games of Amnesia series. Fully-effective hiding can only be done in a dark, unlit area (including the interiors of wardrobes). The lantern must be turned off when hiding; otherwise, the player will be illuminated and easily seen by an enemy, even at the longest of distances. Having low sanity can affect hiding, as a monster's chance to detect the player increases the lower his or her sanity is, even in the dark. The player is usually allowed to find a good hiding place in advance, thanks to the screen distortion and audio cues that indicate that a monster has spawned and/or is nearby. By default, pressing Left Control (ctrl) is the crouch button; crouching makes the player character significantly harder to be seen.

The Dark Descent and Justine[]

Hiding in a dark place for an extended time frame will slowly drain sanity, giving the player the need to find a balance between being in light and darkness. In the expansion Amnesia: Justine of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, hiding is also needed to avoid the Suitors, though the task is a bit simpler in the expansion due to all of the Suitors (Aloïs, Basile, and possibly Malo) being blind. In Malo's case, however, he is encountered in a flooded tunnel so he can hear Justine Florbelle even if he doesn't see her yet.

A Machine For Pigs and Rebirth[]

In some areas of Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs and Amnesia: Rebirth, hiding is the only way of getting past the Manpigs and Ghouls without confronting them. Ghouls can actually follow Tasi Trianon via smelling her scent, without hearing her first. Therefore, player needs to change the hiding place constantly and reach to the nearest safe zone before getting caught. On the other hand, Wraiths are not able to smell her, so the same tactics used against Gatherers can be used against Wraiths. However, there is a caveat: Wraiths do not chase the player, instead, they paralyze her with their lights of control stones. So, the player needs to break free from their lights, instead of running away, once they get caught. Once caught in the Wraiths' lights, there are a few seconds that the player can keep moving before being paralyzed.

The Bunker[]

In Amnesia: The Bunker, the concept of hiding is the same as the previous games. However, this task is made more difficult, due to the Beast adapting to its surroundings, as well as reacting to many of the player's actions. In the previous games, most enemies spawn and then despawn after a while, or stick to a certain location. The Beast's AI is designed much more differently than that, as the Beast can appear roughly anywhere within the Bunker.

Making noise may bring the Beast to your location, but performing very loud actions will almost certainly cause the Beast to exit out of the Bunker's walls and scout the area, making hiding an absolute necessity. This means that nearly every time the player fires the revolver and causes an explosion, the Beast will show up, and the player should plan on a hiding strategy beforehand. When the Generator is not fueled, and the Bunker becomes shrouded in darkness, the Beast will scout the Bunker much more often, making hiding even more of a necessity.

When the player reaches the Roman Tunnels, the Beast will not be encountered there. Instead, they will encounter Toussaint Beaufoy. Toussaint is an insane and hostile soldier that fires his shotgun at anything he hears. Hiding from him is not too difficult, as he is not as agile and mobile as the Beast, and hiding should be easier, but can still shoot you from afar. Despite his blindness, he can sometimes "detect" the player's location if they are too close to him, even when completely silent.

Types of hiding places[]

  • Dark corners
  • Underneath beds or tables (Amnesia: Rebirth, Amnesia: The Bunker)
  • Inside closets or cupboards
  • Behind objects (e.g. boxes and barrels)
  • In a fortified room
  • In a locked room (Amnesia: Rebirth, Amnesia: The Bunker)
  • An empty, unlit room with plenty of hiding places.
  • Triggering flashbacks can also "hide" the player from any enemies that already spotted the player (example: In the Choir's main hall, when being chased by a Brute, quickly enter the torture wheel chamber to trigger the flashback in there).

Hiding strategy[]

  • When entering a new area, take a few moments to look around. Make a mental note of any potential hiding places.
  • Running significantly increases the chances of being seen, so don't run through levels unless a monster is already pursuing.
  • A common myth is that staring at the enemies causes them to realize they are being watched and eventually locate Daniel. This is NOT the case, however. No amount of prolonged staring will cause the enemies to detect Daniel faster. Sanity will be lost, but your position will not be revealed.
  • If Daniel collapses from low sanity, nearby monsters will hear it and go into a temporary searching state.[citation needed][Veracity of this gameplay mechanic is suspect]
  • Any hard collision physics that makes a sound will alert nearby monsters to the source of the sound, so don't make any extraneous noise. Beware of loose, noise-making objects on the floor or on furniture that could be ran into, knocked over, or walked on.
  • Keep a distance between yourself and the monster, especially when the atrocity is in close range. If one brushes up against the player, it will immediately attack.
  • Whenever the player is in a room that naturally has much lighting, an encounter with an enemy is unlikely—keep in mind that this is not always the case. Do not let your guard down fully.
  • Hiding behind something, such as a crate, is always preferable, but if this is not possible, hiding in a shadowy corner is just as effective.
  • When first arriving in a new area or room, create a makeshift hiding place if none exists; search the area for crates and/or barrels that can be moved, find the darkest available corner, and pile the obstacles on top of each other/place them close together, just in case a monster ambushes.
  • Most of the time, it's a good idea to close any doors entered. Monsters tend to spawn just outside the room the protagonist is in, so closing the door will give the player several precious seconds to act if one does spawn.
    • Likewise, consider barricading the door, when time is aplenty and the situation dire. However, in general, creating hiding places is a better use of objects, as barricading is time-consuming. Plus, any objects (such as barrels and crates) broken in a successful barricade will not be usable in the future, either for hiding or further barricading.
  • Listen to the music for cues. It will sound very tense when monsters are in "search mode," so do not leave a hiding place until the monster has left, and the music returns to its normal ambiance. If the music intensifies, and the Terror Meter plays, the player has been discovered. At that point, it will be time to change tacics and run.
    • When running, do not attempt to hide while the terror meter is still blaring. The monster will continue to pursue the player character into dark areas, unless line-of-sight is first broken.
  • Even if the monster has left, move cautiously as it could wander back into the room and spot you. Listen for their distinctive sounds to know if they are still present, and if so, remain hidden.
  • It can be difficult to find the direction of the enemy, so be sure to look for the enemy's shadows.
  • Know when to stay hidden for an extra-long period. If the player's health is dangerously low, and no Laudanum is available, don't bother trying to run; in such a state, Daniel is incapable of sprinting away from any threat.
  • Open doors slowly and while standing on the side with the hinges. Occasionally, when a door is opened, an unknown monster will be directly on the other side. By staying mostly behind a partially opened door, the player character's body will be mostly hidden, giving the player the greatest chance of avoiding detection.
  • Lastly, know what cannot be evaded. The Shadow and Kaernk cannot be fooled and always know exactly where Daniel is (though the Kaernk can be distracted).

Trivia[]

  • In Amnesia: The Dark Descent, the developers, according to an interview with Thomas Grip, intentionally created the game with no mechanical effect on hiding from monsters, from simply having low Sanity.[1] The game leaves the mechanical impact of low Sanity unclear to allow the player to make inferences about potential consequences of neglecting the Sanity system and create fear for themselves through their own imagination.

References[]

  1. "How Amnesia: The Dark Descent Tricked Players Into Scaring Themselves | War Stories | Ars Technica" [Video]. Ars Technica. Youtube. Published 16 April 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMl2la8-3-o.

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