Overview
This guide aims to educate and support players as to how to become better players in Town of Salem so that they may perform in competitive gamemodes, mainly Ranked.
Introduction.
A formal welcome to my guide for competitive Town of Salem.
Town of Salem is a game which puts characters with roles aligned to different factions against each other. They are generally split into the Town, Mafia and Neutrals. Although it appears simple to play this game, competitive configurations such as Ranked Practice and Ranked require a deeper understanding and knowledge of the game in order to perform better. As a result, I have decided to write this guide in the hopes that players after reading this will become better players who will be able to perform in such competitive environments.
The Characters. (Part 1: The Town)
Before we begin, it would be better for every single faction and role to be listed out and explained. As mentioned in the introduction, there exists the Town, the Mafia and the Neutrals. Each of them have their own goals which must be actualised in order to win. This will be mentioned below.
The Town.
The Town has one goal in a Ranked match. This is to lynch or kill off the Mafia and certain Neutral roles that are Evil or Kill capable. The Town is subdivided into several categories. This includes the Town Investigative, Town Killing, Town Protective and Town Support.
1) Investigator.
The Investigator is capable of investigating one person every night. This allows him to partially identify the person’s role from the different messages he gets after investigating them. The results are as follows:
Escort, Transporter, Consort – Your target is skilled at disrupting others.
Investigator, Consigliere, Mayor – Your target has sensitive information to reveal.
Sheriff, Executioner, Werewolf – Your target is waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Vigilante, Mafioso, Veteran – Your target owns a gun.
Lookout, Forger, Amnesiac – Your target sticks to the shadows.
Spy, Blackmailer, Jailor – Your target knows your darkest secrets.
Doctor, Disguiser, Serial Killer – Your target is covered in blood.
Bodyguard, Godfather, Arsonist – Your target is not afraid to get their hands dirty.
Medium, Janitor, Retributionist – Your target works with dead bodies.
Survivor, Vampire Hunter, Witch – Your target keeps to themselves.
Framer, Vampire, Jester – Your target may not be what they seem.
With the new update, it is now much more difficult to fully identify an Evil role. Investigators should hence record down their results and then compare them to dead roles before revealing your results to the Town. With a role removed, for example Bodyguard, any other BG claims will most likely be the Arsonist or Godfather for example. It will take time to get used to the new results, but it is still a very powerful role.
With the latest update, all doused targets will be found as Bodyguard/Godfather/Arsonist.
2) Lookout.
The Lookout is capable of looking over one person every night. This allows him to identify who has visited that person, if any. Players controlled by a witch will be detectable by the Lookout even if the role that they have is incapable of visiting. The message that you will receive will be “____ visited your target last night!”
3) Sheriff.
The Sheriff is capable of interrogating one person every night. This allows him to directly identify factions with precision in certain situations. The messages that you will receive and their implications are as follows.
Your target is not suspicious. – This message is shown for all Townies, Amnesiac, Survivor
Executioner, Jester, Witch, Vampire, Godfather, Arsonist and the Werewolf on non Full Moons.
Your target is a member of the Mafia. – This message is shown for all Mafia except Godfather and anyone who was visited by a Framer.
Your target is a Serial Killer! – This message is shown for the Serial Killer.
Your target is a Werewolf. – This message is show for the Werewolf during the Full Moon.
4) Spy.
The Spy is capable of hearing all whispers, listen to the Mafia talk as well as watch who they visited at night. The ability extends to even when the Spy is dead is in the graveyard, making it a very powerful Town Investigative Role. However, this role has received a slight nerf with the night Mafia chat stating the presence (or absence) of a Spy.
1) Bodyguard.
The Bodyguard is capable of guarding one person every night. If the person guarded is attacked, the Bodyguard will fight off the attacker, killing the attacker and dying in the process. He is also capable of putting on a bulletproof vest once each game, protecting him from all attacks in exchange for not protecting someone else.
2) Doctor.
The doctor is capable of healing one person every night. If the person is attacked, the doctor will restore the person back to health, preventing him from dying. He is also capable of treating himself once every game similar to the Bodyguard, protecting him from all attacks that night.
1) Jailor.
The Jailor is capable of jailing one person every night, after selecting them during the day. You will be able to anonymously talk with your prisoner. While in jail, the person will be protected from all visits and attacks from most roles. The exception will be the decision to execute him or the prisoner committing suicide. You can execute up to 3 people with the caveat that if you execute a Town member, you lose the ability to execute anyone further. The Jailor is unique, meaning there can never be more than one in a game.
2) Vampire Hunter.
The Vampire Hunter is capable of killing vampires that visit or are visited by him at night. He is also capable of hearing what the vampires say at night. The presence of this role means that there are Vampires in the match. Upon the death of all Vampires, you will revert to a Vigilante. You will not revert from Vigilante to Vampire Hunter in any situation.
3) Veteran.
The Veteran is capable of alerting up to three times, once every night. During the alert, you cannot be killed on alert, except by the Werewolf. All other roles that visit you will be killed by you during the alert, even Town members. As a result, this role can either help the Town massively or devastate their numbers as a large portion of the Town are capable of visiting. The Veteran is also unique.
4) Vigilante.
The Vigilante is capable of shooting up to three times, once every night. The bullet will kill most roles with some exceptions. The exceptions include roles such as the Executioner, the Serial Killer, the Godfather and the Arsonist. This means that a target that is immune to your shot should be one of the following, unless they were jailed or healed.
1) Escort.
The Escort is capable of role blocking one person each night. With some exceptions such as roles that are immune to role blocks, all other vulnerable roles will not be able to perform their role that night. If you roleblock the Serial Killer, you will be killed by him.
2) Mayor.
The Mayor is capable of revealing himself as the Mayor during the day. Upon doing so, he will be unable to be healed and cannot be whispered to or whisper to others. However, his vote will then be counted three times. This is an unique role. With the update, he has become a swing role for the town, but
3) Medium.
The Medium is capable of talking to the dead at night. Upon dying, the Medium can also seance a person selected during the day to be able to talk to them at night.
4) Retributionist.
The Retributionist is capable of resurrecting a Town member that has died over a night. This cannot be done if the target has been cleaned by a Janitor or has left the game. This is an unique role.
5) Transporter.
The Transporter is capable of transporting two people at night. This swaps all targets between them, including attacks as well as investigations and protections. The people that were swapped will not be displayed to the town as previously intended.
This section has covered all Town Roles.
The Characters. (Part 2: The Mafia.)
The Mafia.
The Mafia has the goal of killing off everyone that will not submit to them. This includes the Town, Neutral Killing roles as well as Vampires. They will be the second largest faction in Ranked games.
1) Disguiser.
The Disguiser is capable of disguising himself as one person each night. This will result in the Disguiser appearing as the selected person’s role set if investigated by the Investigator, and the person’s affliation (Not guilty or Guilty) by the Sheriff. In addition, if the Disguiser is killed the night they disguise or lynched the following day, the role shown to the Town and the graveyard list will be the role of the player disguised as the previous night. This is a massive change.
2) Forger.
The Forger is capable of rewriting the last will of the person he targets, up to three times in one game, provided that the target is killed at night. This will override whatever will the dead person had originally wrote.
3) Framer.
The Framer is capable of framing one person every night. The victim, if investigated will appear to be a member of the Mafia.
4) Janitor.
The Janitor is capable of erasing one person’s will and role, provided that the person dies at night. The role and will be visible only to the Janitor that cleaned the person.
1) Godfather.
The Godfather is capable of selecting one person to die every night. The Mafioso if alive will carry out the order. However, if the Mafioso is killed, the Godfather will kill the person himself. He is immune to Vigilante bullets as well as Serial Killer attacks at night. This role is unique.
2) Mafioso
The Mafioso is capable of voting one person to die every night. If the Godfather does not select a person, the Mafioso will decide who will be attacked. If the Godfather selects another target, the Mafioso will be overruled. The Mafioso will become the Godfather if the Godfather is killed while the Mafioso is alive for any reason.
1) Blackmailer.
The Blackmailer is capable of blackmailing one person every night. The blackmailed target is incapable of talking at all during the day. In addition, the Blackmailer is now capable of listening to all whispers, similar to a Spy. However, the targeted player will still be able to vote and will be capable of saying the phrase “I am blackmailed.” if he is voted up to the stand.
2) Consigliere.
The Consigliere is a more powerful version of the Town Investigator. He is capable of investigating one person every night, and is able to immediately identify the person’s role with precision. However, doused targets will be stated as the Arsonist.
3) Consort.
The Consort is the Mafia version of an Escort. She is capable of roleblocking one person each night. Similarly, if she visits a Serial Killer, she will be killed by the Serial Killer.
If there are no kill capable Mafia left, one Mafia from another category will become the Mafioso. This ends this section.
The Characters. (Part 3: The Neutrals)
The Neutrals are the least populated in a Ranked game. They each have different goals that they will have to actualise before they will win. These can swing the favour on which faction (or their own), will win.
The Neutrals.
1) Vampire.
The Vampire is capable of converting a Town member into a Vampire once every other night between bites. The bites will kill all Mafia members except for the Godfather. He will be immune to detection by a Sheriff. He will also be able to chat with other Vampires at night. The oldest Vampire will decide who will be converted, and the youngest will visit them. In addition, there can only be four vampires at any one moment.
1) Arsonist.
The Arsonist is capable of dousing one person in gas every night. Selecting himself every night will ignite all doused targets, killing them immediately. He is also immune to attacks at night. Doused targets will not know that they are doused and will also appear as the Bodyguard/Godfather/Arsonist and the Arsonist for Investigator and Consigliere results respectively.
2) Serial Killer.
The Serial Killer is capable of killing one person every night. He is also immune to attacks at night. If roleblocked by an Escort or Consort, the Serial Killer will kill the roleblocker instead of the original target. If jailed and not executed, the Serial Killer will kill the Jailor.
3) Werewolf.
The Werewolf is capable of killing a target, as well as every single person that visits the Werewolf or visits the target on a full moon. During the full moon, the Werewolf is vulnerable to detection by a Sheriff. Otherwise, he is undetectable by the Sheriff. In addition, the Werewolf is immune to attacks at night. The Werewolf is an unique role.
1) Amnesiac.
The Amnesiac is capable of selecting one non unique role from the graveyard and becoming that role during the night. He is not capable of winning if he does not select a faction.
2) Survivor.
The Survivor is capable of putting on a bulletproof vest up to 4 times per game, once every night. This makes the Survivor immune to attacks at night.
1) Executioner.
The Executioner wins if his target is lynched by the town. His target will always be a member of the Town. If his target is killed for whatever reason at night, he will become a Jester. The Executioner is immune to attacks at night.
2) Jester.
The Jester wins if he is lynched by the town. Nothing else to say here.
3) Witch.
The Witch is capable of controlling one person every night, and directing that person towards another. The Witch is capable of making roles that cannot visit usually visit another. If the controlled person has a kill capable role, the Witch will be capable of controlling who gets killed. In addition, the Witch can now see exactly the role of the player they are controlling.
Oh boy Rachel Morgan!
This summarises the entire Characters list.
Important Game Mechanics.
This section aims to educate players on important game mechanics that will be vital to optimal performance in a competitive match. These should be mastered and will be important for all roles.
1) Whispering.
All players are capable of whispering. This allows you to communicate with that person privately during the day. The only roles capable of reading the private conversation will be the Spy. To whisper, the following command should be used at all times.
/w (number) (message), without the brackets.
The reason that you should not type the name in order to communicate and instead solely use numbers is because if two people have similar names, for example John Hathorne and John Proctor, typing /w John (message) may result in the message being sent to the wrong person.
2) Voting and passing judgment.
All players are capable of voting during the day for a target to be brought up to the stand, and subsequent pass judgment on whether the person is guilty or innocent. The option that has the majority of all voters that voted will decide on whether the person on the stand is lynched or released.
3) Last Will.
This is an extremely important game mechanic. The Last Will allows crucial bits of information to be revealed as Town member. In addition, the Last Will can be written so that Evil roles can support their claim that they are a Town role, increasing the likelihood that they will be pardoned at the stand. Evil roles that do not have a will are more likely to be lynched or executed when they claim another role.
A good format would be as follows.
(Name)
(Role)
(Information, etc N1 – X)
To copy paste the will, highlight it with your mouse, press Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+V in the chat.
4) Death Note.
The Death Note is displayed when a person is killed. The killer will be able to communicate messages to the entire town through the Death Note. For example, information such as “John was immune to my attack!”, or “I am John, the Veteran.” can help you confirm your role or influence who is lynched that day.
5) Understanding of Roles generated during a Ranked game.
The following roles will be generated each game.
Jailor – Unique Town role.
2 Town Investigative – May be Investigator, Lookout, Sheriff or Spy.
2 Town Support – May be Escort, Mayor, Medium, Retributionist or Transporter.
Town Protective – May be Bodyguard or Doctor.
Town Killing – May be Vampire Hunter, Veteran or Vigilante.
Random Town – May be any Town role, as long as Unique roles do not occur more than once.
Godfather – Unique Mafia role.
Mafioso – Unique Mafia role.
Random Mafia May be any Mafia except Godfather or Mafioso.
Neutral Killing – May be Arsonist, Serial Killer or Werewolf.
Neutral Evil – May be Executioner, Jester or Witch.
Neutral Benign – May be Amnesiac or Survivor.
Any – May be any Town, Mafia or Neutral role, as long as Unique roles do not occur more than once.
As shown, 15 roles will be generated per Ranked game. As a result, if there are confirmed roles, you may arrange the people into a list. If there is a confirmed Retributionist for example and someone else claims that, the person will most likely be lying. By arranging such a list, you can greatly narrow down likely Evil roles that should be lynched. You may even put in your Last Will to assist other players in identifying who should be lynched or targeted next.
Having mentioned all these, let’s get into the most important part. This will be strategies to win during a competitive match.
Strategies for Town Roles.
This section will not directly list strategies for every single role to win. This is because there is no one strategy that is foolproof, and due to different roles having different strengths, weaknesses and vastly different gameplay, it will be more important for the entire Town to work together as a unit. In addition, there is an element of luck required for a particular role to flourish and succeed (for example, the Sheriff may be extremely lucky and identify both the Random Mafia and the Mafioso in two nights, getting them lynched or executed). While I admit that there are certain situations where a particular player is capable of carrying the Town to victory, this is more common in Ranked games with inexperienced or bad players.
As a competitive player playing as a Town member, you should work together with your Town members to win instead of focusing on a strategy for a particular role.
Town Investigatives such as the Sheriff, Investigator and Lookout should keep a Last Will at all times. Even if the Mafia is directly found early game, it may be better to tell the Jailor in public chat to jail and execute the person tonight or get a Vigilante to shoot them rather than yell at them to lynch the target immediately to avoid being called an Executioner.
This is due to Executioners frequently trying to get people lynched early game in order to secure a win. By not forcing the Town to lynch, you are more believable early game. Writing such information in your will can also direct the town to lynch the person after you die once they have confirmed that you are indeed a Town Investigative. However, if your target was indeed transported, results can indeed change. As a result, you should confirm with the Transporter (if any) whether the person was transported if leading the lynch or kill. The Spy, being a very powerful role, can also keep important information obtained in the will. The Spy should also record down every single visit from the Mafia, as this will help confirm himself as the real Spy instead of a Blackmailer pretending to be a Spy, and also hopefully identify the Neutral Killing role if a person visited is still alive.
Investigators should note that if there is an absence of Neutral Killings in multiple nights, it is very likely that there exists an Arsonist in Ranked, and should take appropriate measures to quickly determine who are doused and lead lynches on suspicious claims, supported by investigative results.
Town Investigatives should also investigate players that are suspicious or require confirmation. Silent players that refuse to talk, players who claim roles that aren’t likely, should be investigated. Remember that this role is extremely important to the Town, as without them, there will be no educated guesses.
Town Support should use their abilities to the benefit of the Town.
For example, Mayors can reveal and play a Mayor game, which is a game where players to reveal their role through whispering, organise everything and then identify suspicious players to lynch. While this is greatly disliked by many players, the fact remains that this is still a viable strategy for confirmed roles until it is patched. Retributionists should bring back players that are vital to the town, with Town Investigatives, Jailor and Town Protectives being rather important. Mediums should reveal who they are in dead chat so that they may be verified if they are brought back. Transporters should not randomly transport players, double transporting one person is useful in confirming that there exists a Transporter or that you are the Transporter. The original changes in 1.5.9 for the Transporter have been canceled. As a result, Transporters should step out and clarify if someone else was mistakenly investigated to avoid a lynch on a Town member. This also means that the Transporter is harder to confirm. Escorts can roleblock suspected Serial Killers to identify them, block Mafia attacks, so on and so forth. Never roleblock a confirmed important Town role as the Escort.
Playing as any of the Town Support means that although you may not play a direct role, you still have abilities that can turn the tide of the game in the Town’s favour.
Town Killing roles are a double edged sword. In the right hands, they can be used to confirm suspected Evil roles, for example a target immune to a Vigilante shot may be the Godfather or the Neutral Killing role. The Jailor, a very powerful Town member should also jail suspected individuals and exercise good judgment in deciding whether the person should be executed if the person was not lynched. Working together with confirmed Town Investigatives will help greatly with these roles.
As the Veteran, the role is capable of annihilating both the Town and the Evil roles if they visit you on alert. Veterans should be extremely careful in choosing when to alert. Veteran baiting by saying phrases such as “I’m Mayor, don’t kill me Mafia” may lead to Town Protectives coming to protect you. As a result, balance the risk and reward whenever you choose to alert.
As the Vampire Hunter (extremely rare, I hear that it was 1/1500) in a Ranked game, you may want to reveal that you are a Vampire Hunter early. This is because Vampires can convert many Town roles. Alerting the town early may allow the town to eliminate the Vampires before they become a threat late game.
Again, the Town Killing roles are very useful in good hands and if you happen to get them, you should be aware of the responsibility that you have and use your abilities wisely.
Town Protective roles should be on people that will be most likely targeted by killing roles during the night. For example, an Investigator that has successfully led the lynch on a Mafia member may be targeted that very same night. Protect them accordingly as one night without any Town deaths can swing the game in the town’s favour. If necessary, use the self heal if you are under immediate threat that night. In the event that the Doctor and Bodyguard both find each other, this nearly invincible combination may result in a Town victory.
This concludes this section. It is not in my interest to list out strategies for every single role, as every game will be different. What is consistent is that Town with members that are aware of what they are doing with their particular role will more than likely win consistently.
Hopefully, this section will have helped you identify what you should be doing with your role to maximise the chances of your faction winning. For your information, Town has a rough win rate of around 70%. This is also shown by the fact that you lose a lot of Elo when you lose as the Town. As a result, you should be working together, not being a solo player.
Strategies for the Mafia.
The Mafia holds a small number of positions every game, usually 3 with 4 at max if the Any is Mafia. However, although they are small in number, continuous killing with elimination of the Neutral Killing and getting the Town to lynch their own or spare you will turn the tides in your favour. As a result, every single Mafia player, regardless of role should have a legitimate claim and last will. For example, a Mafioso might want to claim that he is a Vigilante. If the other Town Killing is a Veteran or does not speak up, you may be able to escape detection for several turns. A Consigliere might want to claim that he is an Investigator and write a will with Investigator results. A Janitor might want to claim that he is a Medium. The list goes on.
Generally, the Mafia should be careful in what they say in their Mafia chat at night. The risk of a Spy reading everything you say may reveal information such as the number of Mafia, players that are likely not to be Mafia, so on and so forth.
Mafia Killing roles should determine what roles should be killed off first. For example, a confirmed Investigator should be killed off if the Town Protective is dead. There are many situations, and it will be up to the Mafia Killing roles to decide which is safest to eliminate first, or if randomly choosing is better in advancing the goal.
Mafia Deception roles can be very useful in assisting the Mafia. For example, a Forger can effectively eliminate all information in the last will by rewriting a false will, similar to the Janitor who can erase both the will and the role. This can help confuse the Town and support Mafia claims. The Framer can harass the Town Investigatives by trying to frame their target. This can delay lynching by several days or bait the Vigilante into shooting the framed target.With the 1.5.9 changes, the Disguiser is now a role in which you need not fear or avoid using. If there is a confirmed Town member or if you know that another player is an important role like the Jailor, you should focus on making a will that is feasible for the Jailor. This is so that if you get killed or lynched overnight, there could be a chance of the Town lynching the real Jailor, making counter claims more difficult as they do not know that was a Disguiser. In addition, this can protect you from Town Investigatives like the Investigator and Sheriff, although the Spy will still be able to see your visits. Hence, you should balance disguising (and by extension confusing the game to the Mafia’s advantae) and not doing anything.
Mafia Support roles can support the Mafia through their abilities. For example, the Consort can keep role blocking the confirmed Investigator. The Consigliere can pretend to be an Investigator, even helping the Town investigate players, while revealing key roles found to the Mafia for elimination. If the Arsonist is found early, the Consigliere should consider revealing this to town for a quick lynch, especially if the Arsonist has doused Mafia players. The Blackmailer can blackmail Town members that are already thought to be suspicious by the Town, so that they are incapable of defending themselves or sharing important information. In addition, the Blackmailer can choose not to blackmail anyone and instead pretend to be a Spy. He can even record down Mafia visits. This new buff to the Mafia will make Blackmailer gameplay much more viable.
It may be beneficial for the Mafia not to target Survivors, Witch or reveal the Neutral Killers early in the game, as the Survivor or Witch may vote with the Mafia, and the Neutral Killers may assist the Mafia in continuously reducing Town numbers until midgame, where removing them will be in the interest of the Mafia.
Generally, Mafia have only a 20% win rate in Ranked. Hence, even if you lose as the Mafia, you will not lose much elo (usually only -3). You should not feel disheartened if you lose as the Mafia if you have done your best.
Strategies for Neutral Roles.
The Neutral Roles are generally the only roles in which a particular strategy is relevant for them. This is because they are usually on their own and only have other Neutrals to rely on, for example Survivors and Werewolves can win together by killing off everyone else. As a result, this section will list out various tips and strategies for each Neutral role.
Amnesiacs should pick a role as soon as possible, as holding on without choosing will make you increasingly suspicious to both the Mafia and the Town, making you a target for elimination as you will be increasingly dangerous late game. Balancing choosing Town (which has the highest win rate) and other factions should be done based on your own judgment. If you reveal yourself to be an Amnesiac to the Mayor for example, you should pick a Town role quickly before you are eliminated. Remember that if you do not pick a role and are killed, you will lose generally -4 elo, which is more than a Mafia loss. In certain situations where you aren’t certain of what you should do, it may be safer to remember a Neutral Killing role such as Arsonist in order to lose minimum elo (-1).
Survivors can win with any faction as long as they are alive at the end. As this role is a wild card, you may be targeted by either side if they feel that you will not vote with them. Revealing yourself as a Survivor as soon as possible (for example Day 1) may make the Town decide not to deal with you and instead focus their efforts on the Evils, and vice versa. Choosing when to vest when you feel that you are in danger and also deciding when to support a faction will be vital in winning.
While extremely rare in Ranked, your presence does not automatically guarantee a Vampire Hunter. As a result, you should stay hidden and convert confirmed Town members slowly. You can also bite suspected Mafia members to eliminate them with the exception of the Godfather. Lategame, Vampires become extremely deadly. Hence, your focus should be to try and survive until then, while slowly converting most Town roles to your side.
Usually, it is not wise to try and get your target lynched early. It may be wiser to wait until Day 2-3 before claiming that you are a Sheriff, Investigator or Lookout that has found a target to lynch. Early claims are generally treated with much higher skepticism. After lynching your target, you will remain an Executioner and can help vote for any faction you choose, since you would have guaranteed a definite win. Occasionally, the town may help you lynch your target in exchange for your word that you will assist Town in voting for the Evils. This is because you will effectively be an immortal voter for Town and some Towns are willing to help you in exchange for that.
The thing is, if a Jester strategy gets too popular, it will begin to work less effectively. For example the strategy claiming that you are a Vigilante and you have tried to shoot someone Night 1 but found him to be immune, claim to be Executioner then telling Town you won’t vote for them and then hoping to get lynched used to work, it no longer does in Ranked. As a result, you should try different strategies. For example, refusing to provide a will and role while you are voted up may get you lynched. In addition, claiming a vote that cannot be possible while putting up a blatantly fake will may also help you get lynched. Persuading the Transporter to lynch you so he can transfer guilt onto suspected players has also worked out for me several times. Generally, you should experiment for the best strategy for yourself, as there are many ways (Make sure it follows the rules!) to get yourself lynched.
The Witch can win with the Mafia or Neutral Killing roles. As a result, the Witch should try and ally themselves as soon as possible and perform acts that will disrupt the Town, for example controlling a confirmed Vigilante to shoot a confirmed Town. As the Witch is not kill immune, it may be beneficial for the Witch to get a confirmed Town Protective to stay on themselves until they can reveal themselves to the Mafia or Neutral Killers for assistance. With the 1.5.9 changes, the Witch is now capable of knowing the role of the person controlled. This may be useful in removing priority targets if you can team up with the Mafia or NK late game. However, as she is still vulnerable to attacks, it may be wise to keep the TP on yourself if you find him.
The Arsonist should try his best to balance between dousing players and finding out when to ignite. It may be wise not to douse the Survivor as it will guarantee that he cannot vote against you. This role is difficult to win with, and some people have found success in pretending to be a Survivor and voting with Town until lategame, but that is not a strategy that works consistently. Hence, it will be up to yourself in deciding how you will want to play this.
However, with the Arsonist update in 1.5.11, it is easier to hide behind that claim that you have been doused, as it is silent and doused players are shown as Bodyguard/Godfather/Arsonist and Arsonist to Investigators and Consiglieres respectively. Any role can thus be claimed, and the best one should be identified based on the demographics of the Town at that point in time. This buff has made the Arsonist easier to play, but dousing and igniting early game will still cause the Arsonist to lose the advantage of stealth that has been bestowed by the update. Careful play will increase the likelihood of succeeding in this role.
The Werewolf is extremely dangerous, being able to kill anyone he visits and is visited by. It may be wise not to reveal yourself early game and instead pretend to be a Survivor or Sheriff until lategame, although trying to go for targets that will have lots of people visiting may be a good decision especially early game.
The Serial Killer is vulnerable to roleblocks and the Jailor which will reveal himself. It will be up to you to decide how you want to play this, which may differ from continuously attacking every single night, to lying low and appearing midgame if you have remained undetected until then.
Ultimately, the Neutrals only have a 10% – 30% win rate from Neutral Killers having the lowest at 10%, 20% for Executioners and 30% for Jesters. Much of it will be up to luck rather than your own gameplay, hence again do not be disheartened if you lose with these roles often. The elo loss from these roles are also very low at -1 for a good number of them.
Tips and Miscellanous Information.
Of course, there will always exist people that want strategies for every single role. As a result, I will link you to [link] where you will be able to read up about common strategies for every single role. However, I reiterate that with the exception of Neutrals, Mafia and Town generally require everyone to put in some effort in order to have the best chance of winning, rather than focusing on a particular strategy on your own.
It would be better not to AFK even in the graveyard unless your role has no further chance of winning, in which it might be better to leave and start another Ranked game. Town members that AFK might be brought back and might miss out on some valuable information.
A full list of updates made in Patch 1.5.0 can also be seen here.
[link]A full list of updates made in 1.5.9 can be seen here.
Credits.
Once again as with all the guides I write, I always have people to thank.
Bonus picture of a Ranked Vampire win I had as the first Vampire!
In no order of merit,
1) Blank Media Games, for creating this great game.
2) Frozengerbil, Ninakask, Aus224 and other image hosting sites that have contributed to the pictures in the guide.
3) My many friends, many of which play games with me on a regular basis.
4) The many players that play this game, where I have experienced many huge plays together.
5) Chief Editing Officer Er. Dr. Mechanical Engineer Lexi, BEng (Mech), MEng (Mech), PhD (Mech Eng) for helping me edit this guide… Kappa.
6) And finally, the reader…
YOU.
