Predator Observations, Tips and Tricks

[Jaeger486]

I wouldn’t say I’m the best at predator, far from it. But I will say I’ve improved drastically over time as I’ve gotten the hang of predator. I wanted to write this to help out any of the other people out there having a hard time being bullied by the fire team.

My load out:
Hunter
Combistick
handheld plasma caster
Healing kit, Motion detectors, audio decoys
Light bender, modified reserve, adrenal boost

With light bender your camo will last a ridiculously long time, step out of camo and it will regen quickly. You want adrenal boost for making leaping easy and for getting quick stamina when melee attacks are parried.

I want the disc to be amazing but having to stand still while you use it usually doesn’t work. I like the plasma pistol because it’s sort of a midrange weapon between the caster and the combistick. You can fire it on the move and players don’t really expect it.

The trees are a trap. The FT expects you to be in the trees so they will look for you there. If you decide to climb them, be prepared to fire and leap out ASAP.

It’s much harder for the FT to deal with you on the ground in the bushes and running behind trees to sneak away.

Sprinting and leaping are the fastest way to get to the FT.

Use target isolation immediately when it comes off cool down at the start of the game, the FT usually hasn’t mudded up by then and you should be able to figure out where they are heading.

You want to start attacking the FT as soon as you find them. Don’t wait for them to start their objectives. The sooner you attack, the more disorganized and bogged down they get. If you kill or down one right away then they tend to really get pissed off and will chase you all over the map to get revenge.

I’ve had much more success killing the FT in the jungle between objectives than in the actual areas where the AI is, there’s just much more freedom in avenues of attack. Shoot, leap, hide behind a tree to recharge, repeat.

Remember you win if they don’t complete their job in 15 min.

Never ever get greedy. Even if you think you can get that quick claim. You may still get shot considerably. Better to leap away and then shoot them when they get their buddy up.

Be careful on spamming the melee button. You’ll get shot up while you’re stuck in an attack animation. Safer to get one or two hits while running by and then leaping away. This has the added benefit of annoying them and an annoyed fire team isn’t a cohesive fire team.

Leap leap leap! I cannot stress this enough. If you leap back and forth and around the fire team you move so quickly you can’t be hit and they will lose track of you. When I play FT I never see predators using leap enough.

The hunter is the best class. The scout is fast but can’t take any damage. The berserker is tough but slow and everyone expects him and plans to counter him. He cannot leap enough without getting winded.

Use motion detectors. Plant them on the buildings you regularly see FT in. I cannot overstate how valuable they are. I frequently bully the FT until they are trapped in one building and the motion detector lets me know whenever they try to make a run for it and I can race to that side of the building and shoot plasma into it. I like the imagine the frustration and fear on the FT when they can hear me stomping around on the roof knowing that I know exactly where they are at all times.

Always eat piggies when you can find them. Save your heals for when you really need them and can’t find a piggy. You’re pretty safe in the early game running off to find a pig. The heal they do is considerably faster than the one from your medkit.

Melee is generally a trap. You’re much safer harassing at range and only getting into melee when it’s 1v1. Every time I die it’s because I get greedy and want to melee someone. At most, onlt melee 2v1. Never drop in on a full group. The exception to this rule is slamming the whole team when the chopper cables come down. I’ve killed entire teams by using a well timed slam at the evac area, but it’s extremely risky.

Pick perks that you will use all the time. Fearless seems good until you realize you’re only in melee a few seconds of each game.

To summarize, you want to capitalize on your ability to dictate where and when to engage the FT.
Keep moving. Use leap as much as possible. You can’t take damage if they can’t target you.
Melee is generally a trap and will get you killed.
You want to be attacking and moving all the time. Staying in the same area for too long will get you killed.

Again, I’m not an amazing predator. It just took me a really long time to get the hang of it and I thought I’d share my experience with people who may be having a hard time.

[KameofWar]

my Go-to zerker build runs
Sword
net
heal
beartrap
audio decoy
impen
fearless
impatient

and generally i don’t have a problem at all the plasma caster is a good enough ranged weapon to serve any ranged situation atm for me at least
with slam bug you can literally just run at full fireteams
sometimes i run fast hands for faster swapping between stuff to go for CC into melee using bear traps makes things a breeze
all the rest of your points is solid though i think as zerker i still have enough stam to leap as often as i’d need to but melee def isn’t a trap if you understand fireteam meta and use Crowd control/ walk imbetween swings you can do just fine in any situation also with bear traps you can almost negate reinforcements entirely no one expects to spawn in a bear trap
I do also run a Hunter with Bow+ something but not as often as my zerker as my success rate is much lower due to finding it difficult to confirm downs with me bein less incentiviced with trying to claim
i believe his perks are down range impen and big leap i have done the +nrg reserve and cloak reduction a few times also i just don’t think they are that neccasary if you just have big leap instead
oh and for you data nerds you might want these

Predator perk#'s Not finished yet
All DMG stats

Crouch for 3 seconds without moving then leap with crouch pressed down

Always carry bow and combistick and bear traps when you see 4 pc fts

Leap near ledges where they dont look

Avoid running unless you really need to

throw bear trap on path where they might be, wait in radius of trap with stick ready to be thrown for a headshot,down 1 guy , run away equipping a bow then shoot them as they res their teammate

Also abuse plasma charge on roofs of buildings

Be 1000% percent sure that you can down second guy if 1st guy is downed,cause if you are not certain you can get another down then just finish off 1st guy
Also remember to always apply harassment all the time ,also don’t be afraid to jump right into then and get in stealth,sometimes they look into trees too much and then not look at their feet .
If parried you gotta jump back and reset

though to each their own if you perfer a more ranged approach i just find range a riskier gambit with it being more difficult to guarantee kills as fireteam can simply outgun you if they are aware of your presence whereas the burst dmg from melee i find far more reliable

[Bjorn]

i applaud you into sharing your predator knowledge with other players so thy can become better. more of these topic instead of buff this and that

[Saikoro]

Solid post. I would have never thought to attack in “lanes” as a Fireteam is between Objectives. Nor did I realize if the Timer runs out, they lose. That’s awesome.

I’ll definitely take all of this into consideration!!

[Pkripper24]

Motion detectors are extremely helpful for me. My loadout is a Hunter with combi stick and bow, although I suck with the bow. I’m good w the disc but it’s situational. I have fearless, impenetrable, and large pouch. I’m really good at stalking the FT using my motion detectors to wait for one of them to get a little too far from the group. Leap or run up on them w the combi stick and kill them quick. I’m really good at getting in and out quick then attacking from another angle. The hunter is fast enough and with fearless good in combat then add impenetrable and he can take more bullet damage which is what downs a predator the fastest. Add the large pouch and I can heal an extra time allowing me to be more aggressive. I played all day yesterday died twice wiped the FT many times and had a few stalemates. Still no trophy’s yet 😡

[Saikoro]

I’ve always loved the ‘87 Jungle Hunter’s Design, so by default I always choose him. So yeah, Hunter Class all the way.

I swear by the Net Gun and Bow. The Net Gun is phenomenal for either Hit and Run antics, trapping Stragglers, trapping a Fireteam grouping up on you, or my personal favorite, saving a handful of Shots for the Chopper Extraction. You’d be surprised how you can disorient an organized Exit. It’s also hilarious to see Smoke Bombs thrown everywhere since Thermal Vision nullifies the Effects.

And holy crap is the Bow stellar. What’s most interesting is that it’s technically unlimited Ammo, as long as you pick up the Arrows after you shoot them. It’s also perfect for mid to long Range engagements. You can either stand still and pace your Shots, while Cloaked of course, when Fireteams’ attention is on Objectives or go for quick Shots when you’re constantly moving/leaping through varied terrain. The Predator’s quick speed and verticality is it’s best asset and the Bow compliments it perfectly. I used to default to the Combi-Stick but it’s Swing Speed is too slow in my Opinion, and goes against the speed Predators are known for. I save the Plasma Caster for mopping up Bow engagements or when Fireteams cluster up when panicking. Or even better, trying to hide from you. Once you accustom yourself to how the Bow feels, it’s a natural extension of the Plasma Caster. It even has the same charge effects!!

For Perks, I’m running the trio (sorry, forgot the names) that takes less Energy during Cloaking, extra Energy and quicker Energy regeneration. For quickly getting in and out, it’s perfect.

Bear Traps have been my go-to lately. I was using Audio Decoys for a while but the Trap offers more opportunities and tactics to control the pace of an engagement. It’s also a godsend for trapping other Players who are trying to revive fallen Fireteam Buddies.

As long as you take your Stamina into account as well as remembering when to swap out of and alternate/deactivate between Cloaking and Thermal Vision, you’ll always have enough to reposition. Just don’t forget that you automatically come out of your Cloak if you Melee. Be sure to stay on top of your equipment.

I’ve also gotten into the habit of attacking with a single Melee since it keeps you out of Animation Traps and allows you to quickly pick away at Fireteams, especially ones who are trying to hop around you. This technique alone has really changed my thinking as to how I dip in. Before, I thought going ham was the way to go and I ended up dying far too often instead.

Lastly, don’t go in always thinking you’ll kill every Fireteam Member. I’d rather have them slip away and possibly escape instead of losing and going all Kamakaze with the Self Destruct (which is a crapshoot anyway). Keeping this in mind, you’ll find that your pacing will change for the better and your Gameplay will improve vastly.

All of this goes to show you that all of the naysayers complaining that the Predator is too weak proves they’re playing wrong. It’s all about set ups, patience, and knowing when and when NOT to engage.