Abyssal Escape Beginner Guide

The basics

Abyssal Escape is a 1-vs-all horror game on Roblox for up to 8 players. One player becomes the killer, and the rest are survivors. Survivors win by reaching the escape ring before time runs out. The killer wins by taking everyone down first.

There's no fixed cast of survivors. Everyone plays a custom vessel, a blank character built from templates (hedgehog, fox and echidna bases), with your own colors, accessories, animations and voice. The killers are Sonic.exe-style entities. See the tier list for all five.

Your first five minutes

1. Do the tutorial. On first launch it walks you through customization and equipping abilities.
2. Build your vessel. The editor is deep but not always clear. If you can't find how to switch avatars, look for the change button at the bottom left of the screen. At least one reviewer spent a long time hunting for it.
3. Equip your two starter abilities: Weak Punch (a short stun) and Healing Box (heals you or a teammate).
4. Queue up and watch your killer chance. Each player has a percentage chance of being picked as the killer.

How a match works

The escape timer

Every round starts with a countdown that grows with the number of survivors (the escape timer guide has a table by lobby size). Release-week players report about 3 minutes with one survivor and about 4 minutes with two. The game's tester said each extra survivor adds about 75 seconds, so a full server runs a lot longer.

Red mist (X's presence)

Patches of red mist are spread around the map. Stand in one and complete the skill-check minigame to clear it. While you do, you're locked in place, so clear mist when the killer is somewhere else. Up to four survivors can work on the same patch, and every patch you clear cuts time off the escape timer.

The escape ring

At one minute left, an escape ring spawns and is marked on every survivor's screen. Reach it and step in to escape before the timer hits zero.

Killer phases

Every killer moves through three phases during a round. Each phase starts at a set amount of time remaining. Phase 2 brings small buffs. Phase 3 brings big ones or a full transformation:

• The Deity (X): keeps his kit and gains flight in Phase 3.
• Furnace: Heat refills on its own up to 50% in Phase 3.
• Fleetway: a large speed boost in Phase 3.
• No More Innocence: turns into a hedgehog form with a new moveset, and the TVs disappear from the map.
• 2017X: turns into Beast Form (Broken Face), with an M1 that hits for 40 and a new moveset.

Every killer's basic attack (M1) does 35 damage since the v1.24 update on October 18 (it was 20 at launch), so three hits take a survivor from full health to down. The longer the round goes, the more dangerous the killer gets, and that's why clearing mist matters so much. It shortens the time you spend against a Phase 3 killer.

Stamina

Survivors and killers both have stamina. Stamina doesn't slow your running, but abilities and attacks cost stamina, and it refills much more slowly while you run than while you walk. Running out of stamina means no abilities when you need them, so walk when you're safe.

Abilities and rings

You equip two abilities. You start with Weak Punch and Healing Box, and everything else costs rings, which you earn from matches. One reviewer reached about 1,000 rings in their first two hours.

• Don't run two stuns. If both of your abilities are stuns (Weak Punch, Fireball, Arm Cannon), both stun durations are halved.
• Pair a stun with mobility or defense. Slide keeps your stamina for later, and Phantom Reflex is a parry that stuns the killer if you land three in a row.
• Healing locks you in place and costs a lot of stamina, so heal behind cover.

See the ability notes on the tier list page for what's strong right now.

Maps

The game launched with two maps:

• Don't Drown: a chemical-plant-style map with water, springs and TVs. If you go down in the water you're stuck there, and No More Innocence uses the TVs to travel.
• A dark castle-style map: long, maze-like corridors with very little light. Reviewers say it's hard to tell areas apart, and that some players make all-black characters to blend into the shadows.

Reviewers also report that the mist patches spawn in the same places every match. Once you've learned where they are, you can route between them faster. The downside is that killers know where to look for you too.

Survivor tips

The how to escape guide has a full step-by-step plan. The short version:

• Work on mist together, but don't bunch up so tightly that one attack hits everyone. Furnace's flamethrower and No More Innocence's tricks both punish clusters.
• Watch for the killer's tells. If the whole map turns grey, it's No More Innocence. A “survivor” running at you might be his Deceit clone.
• Never walk through The Deity's rings. They deal 50 damage.
• Stay near teammates against Fleetway. His Grab is at its worst when he can carry you away from help.
• Revive quickly, before the killer reaches Phase 3.

Your first killer rounds

• Start with The Deity (X). He's free and he's the easiest killer to get results with. Hide and Seek shows you every survivor.
• Patrol the mist patches. They spawn in fixed spots, so survivors will be there.
• Don't chase one survivor forever. Every patch they clear brings the escape ring closer, so break off long chases to protect objectives.

Known issues at launch

The game is in alpha and the Roblox page warns about bugs. These issues come up across release-day reviews:

• Mobile performance problems and crashes, and aimed abilities that are hard to use on mobile.
• Healing Box sometimes fails to heal, and Heroic Boost can leave you stuck in place.
• Small M1 hitboxes, with complaints tied to shift-lock aiming.

Expect these to change with patches. We'll update this page when they're fixed.

FAQ

How do you escape in Abyssal Escape?

Clear red mist to shorten the timer. When the timer reaches one minute, an escape ring appears and is marked on your screen. Reach it before time runs out.

How long is a match?

It depends on the number of survivors. Release-week players report about 3 minutes with a single survivor and about 4 with two. The game's tester said each extra survivor adds about 75 seconds.

How is the killer chosen?

Each player has a percentage chance of becoming the killer. Players have complained that it feels random. There is no pity system yet.

Is Abyssal Escape free?

Yes, it's free on Roblox. You earn rings by playing and spend them on abilities and killers. The game also has in-game purchases.

Is there a last man standing (LMS) mode?

Not yet. When you're the last survivor nothing changes: no LMS music, no heals and no buffs. You just have to survive the rest of the timer. The developers have shown LMS themes, which are awarded based on how well each side plays, so a proper LMS system is expected.