Impostors in Among Us are given a list of fake tasks to act like they are completing as a way to help them blend in with real Crewmates. The Impostors cannot participate in real tasks, which is particularly dangerous when it comes to visual tasks like scanning, clearing asteroids, or emptying trash. Because of this, if visual tasks are kept turned on in the game settings, players can easily find out whether a person is an Impostor by asking them to perform a visual task. However, even with visual tasks turned off, there are still ways for Crewmates to spot Impostors faking a task.
When playing as an Impostor, players tend to pretend to perform a task in full view of other Crewmates, who may then vouch for their innocence after seeing them working like everyone else. However, different tasks take different lengths of time to complete, and all completed tasks come with a visual cue of the progress bar at the top of the screen moving forward. Eagle-eyed Crewmates might be able to pick up on some of the best Impostor tricks in the game and recognize when an Impostor is not actually performing tasks. Here's how to spot Impostors faking tasks as a Crewmate in Among Us.
How to Spot an Impostor Faking a Task in Among Us
The easiest way to tell if someone is faking a task in Among Us is to pay attention to Common and Visual tasks. If the lobby host leaves visual tasks on, players should look for the visual animations that play at the end of visual tasks to make sure it was successfully completed. Players should also keep in mind which tasks, like Swipe Card, are always shared by all Crewmates. If any Crewmate has Swipe Card, it is safe to assume all Crewmates do. However, if a Crewmate does not have Swipe Card on their list, this indicates no one else has it either. If a player goes to perform Swipe Card, and the Crewmate watching does not have that task on their list, the Crewmate can reasonably assume this is an Impostor. The Common Tasks in the game are:
- Enter ID Code
- Fix Wiring
- Insert Keys
- Scan Boarding Pass
- Swipe Card
These can be an instant giveaway for Impostors who aren't careful.
Next, players should keep in mind how long it takes to complete each task. In Among Us, tasks are classified as short or long. Short tasks can be completed in a single step and don't take very much time. By contrast, long tasks either require multiple steps or take a while and require players to walk around for a time. If a Crewmate spots a player performing a task like Inspect Sample, and they leave the area quickly, this can be a giveaway that it is a fake task and the player is an Impostor.
Finally, players can always see when tasks are being completed by watching the progress bar at the top of the screen. The progress bar will move any time a task is completed. For multi-step tasks, the bar will move when the last step of the task has been completed. Impostors faking tasks do not cause the progress bar to move. Some Impostors have taken to waiting at the location of the task until they notice the progress bar move from another Crewmate completing a task elsewhere on the ship or base. This can be helpful, but can also cause the Impostor to leave a long task too early and give themselves away anyway.
Crewmates should also remember that the progress bar won't go up until the last step of a long task has been completed. There is a chance if a Crewmate leaves a task and the progress bar doesn't go up that it is just one of these multi-step tasks and not immediately suspicious.
Among Us is available for PC, iOS, and Android.