Among Us has exploded in popularity, leading it to overthrow Fall Guys as the most-watched game on Twitch. This rampant success may be a little too fast as InnerSloth’s servers have been unable to keep up with the player demand. The explosion is a user base which also means that many players are trying the game blindly, without much strategy or knowledge.
Crewmates and Impostors have different goals and also some completely separate actions. Unfortunately, Crewmates can make terrible decisions that play right into an Impostor’s hands. Sometimes it might be due to a player not understanding the game’s mechanics, while often some Crewmates may be purposely ruining the experience. Still, there are lots of common habits and behavior Crewmates should kick if they truly want to win.
Unhelpful Actions While Roaming the Map in Among Us
In the pre-match lobby try to select a color and outfit that stands out from everyone else. If two people are wearing the same hat and both select a shade of green, it can become much harder to describe them differently. This can be further compounded with players who have some level of color blindness. Additionally, choose a name that isn’t easily confused with another player or a commonly used word. While it might be funny for a player to give themselves screen names like “me”, “no one”, or “person” it just leads to a disruptive match for the Crewmates (but great for the Impostors).
Don’t ignore tasks
Crewmates can snatch up victory by all collectively finishing their assigned tasks. Forgoing one’s tasks puts a huge burden on all other teammates and gives the Impostors more time to kill and sabotage. Tasks should be prioritized by speed and location; it may be pointless to rush to the other side of the map to complete just one task, especially if there is risk of being killed along the way.
On the plus side, even if a Crewmate is killed they can still undergo tasks while in Ghost form. In fact, some tasks may be easier to complete as Ghosts can move through walls. However, try to avoid doing tasks while a nearby Impostor is faking, otherwise, they may take credit for the dead Crewmate’s progression.
Avoid camping for Impostors
While finding Impostors is a good strategy, sitting in a single area hoping to spot them in vents or catch them on camera can be faulty. First, camping around an area means that the Crewmate isn’t focusing on their tasks and will ultimately hurt their team. Second, players with this behavior leave themselves vulnerable to getting ambushed. A better solution (once personal tasks are complete) is to actively follow someone under suspicion.
Don’t assume anyone else will fix the sabotage
Map sabotages can either put Crewmates at a disadvantage or in more extreme cases hand Impostors instant victory. If everyone independently decides that some other crew member must take care of it, then no one actually will. It may not be worth aborting a long task or running across the map, but if the sabotage solution is reasonably close by then one should make fixing it their top priority.
Don’t waste time in Decontamination
Both Mira and Polus have hallways that lock and force everyone to be “cleansed” before moving forward. This decontamination state activates in both directions and will eat up a few seconds. These lost seconds of match time can often be just what Impostors need to achieve victory. Worst yet, being trapped in these halls with Impostors is a perfect opportunity for them to kill unnoticed. A good solution is to only traverse Decontamination the minimum times needed to complete tasks.
Don’t ignore a dead body
Players who discover their dead comrades should always report it right away. This immediately jumps to a meeting where evidence and testimony can be presented. The longer a murder goes unreported, the more muddled information becomes about suspects and the reporter themselves. Failing to report can also be incredibly detrimental to the unresponsive player, as it can make it seem like they were the killer fleeing the scene.
Bad Habits During a Meeting in Among Us
First, never waste emergency meetings if there is nothing relevant to report or discuss. The Crewmates only have a limited number of meetings, and depleting them quickly will hurt the team. This interaction also interrupts other Crewmates during their own tasks and brings everyone to the map’s conference area (Cafeteria or Office).
Don’t pretend to be an Impostor
While it might be obvious, alluding to being or outright stating to be an Impostor will just make it easier for true Impostors to blend in. Crewmates should never say that their screen name is written in red, that they entered the vents, sabotaged the map, killed someone, or plan to do the former. Even if they aren’t voted on to be ejected, their future information will be tainted and unreliable.
Don’t falsely claim to have finished a task
Players should always be honest about the tasks they have already done or still have yet to complete. If the task progress went up and a Crewmate doesn’t confirm it was them, an Impostor could claim they in fact worked on it. Even worse is when two Crewmates claim credit, yet one (or sometimes even both) didn’t actually do that task. This will likely lead to arguments and distrust among the Crewmates.
Additionally, a Crewmate saying they have a task that isn’t even in the match will be highly suspicious. Everyone has a shared list of common tasks they can check and each map contains a handful of exclusive tasks. For example, someone saying they have Clean O2 Filter on Polus is currently impossible.
Don’t lie about witnessing other players
Making false statements about any player will ultimately hurt the Crewmates’ chance at victory. Lying that Crewmates were in the vents or killed someone while in one’s presence isn’t helpful. The claimant will immediately jump on everyone’s suspicion list if their lie leads to a confirmed innocent being ejected.
Additionally, clearing an Impostor by saying they successfully completed a visual task is also extremely detrimental. This false negative will simply allow the Impostor to get away with more dangerous actions and make the claimant seem like an accomplice.
Don’t derail the discussion
The meeting is a free form conversation where players can say whatever they want before the time ticks down. This is the only way to trade information or openly accuse others during the match. It is completely unhelpful to change the subject or have unrelated side conversations. Crewmates that treat meetings like a chat room are basically not playing the game and are leading to Impostors slipping by unnoticed. While a Crewmate shouldn’t be completely silent, it isn’t worth filibustering via useless chatter. If a one has nothing constructive to state, a good balance is to just say who they agree or disagree with.
Don’t randomly vote or skip
A Crewmate’s vote or abstinence is a powerful tool to not only eject Impostors but can subtly express who they trust and distrust. A majority ejection can be reached with just one person voting a certain way. Brazenly voting or skipping without a reason can lead to either an Impostor escaping punishment or an innocent Crewmate being executed. Before selecting a vote, Crewmates should mull over the facts they already know, weed out lies, and lean in with some intuition. Even if a vote later proves to be wrong, it is better to be backed by educated choice rather than arbitrarily smashing button prompts.
Truth doesn’t equate innocence
One of the biggest traps that Crewmates fall in to is fully trusting Impostors. The enemy will be doing anything to appear as part of the crew, and that can often mean telling the truth. Just because a player confirmed someone’s innocence, reported a corpse, or lead to an Impostor’s ejection does not mean that they are necessarily a Crewmate. Crafty Impostors will sell out their own kind if it means securing an overall victory. Players should never become complacent and remain suspicious of others until they have personally witnessed them finish a visual task.
Among Us is available now on PC, Android, and iOS.