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9 ways to use stealth effectively in Marvel’s Spider-Man
How to overcome all your enemies without making a sound.
There are many occasions in Marvel’s Spider-Man where approaching a situation quietly will have a much better effect than going in all webs blazing.
Stealth plays a huge part in Marvel’s Spider-Man, whether it’s in one of The Taskmaster’s Stealth Challenges, a mission within the main story, or when taking out a Hideout to earn yourself some Base Tokens. You can often overcome large groups of enemies without alerting a soul, and it pays to be the strong and silent type.
We’ve got some tips to help you with every facet of stealth – by the end you’ll know exactly how to utilise the skills and suits without making a sound.
1. Stay off the ground
Stay off the ground and hidden in the shadows
© Insomniac Games
Keep your feet off the ground and approach every area from above unless absolutely necessary. It means enemies will never have a clue you're there, and you’ll be able to access your next move without the threat of being caught. Look for a crane, lamppost, rooftop or tower, and press L2 and R2 together to zip yourself on top of it.
2. Survey the area
Check out your surroundings before making a move
© Insomniac Games
Once you’re at a safe height, pressing R3 will scan the environment and show where the enemies are. Alternatively, you can check your mini map to see the thugs' exact whereabouts, leaving you to decide how you plan on taking them out.
3. Safety first
Certain areas are heavily occupied by enemies, so it’s not always a good idea to try and take one out without knowing exactly how and if it’ll alert someone nearby. Pressing R3 doesn’t just help you see where enemies are, but it also indicates whether or not it's safe to attack. If you see two enemies stood near each other, pressing R3 will show you if you can safely attack someone by highlighting a grey ‘safe’ icon. Once this pops up, take your opportunity as quickly as you can because enemies move around and won’t stay in the same spot forever.
4. Path of an enemy
Clock a thug's route to give you the best shot when you pounce
© Insomniac Games
Following on from the last tip, it’s worthwhile watching how all the enemies move within an area. If you’re taking out a lot of enemies in either the dock or a warehouse, there’s plenty of room for them to move about, and you’ll often find that they’ll walk specific paths, rarely staying still. Some of them stay put, but that’s mainly the snipers on the rooftops. It may take a bit of time to watch how each enemy moves, but it’ll mean you have a better understanding of each of the thug’s thought processes, and in turn remove more of them successfully.
5. Take out the snipers first
That pesky chap is a textbook sniper
© Insomniac Games
Larger areas of the game become heavily populated with snipers as you progress. Not only are their shots deadly when they hit, but they also have a larger scope of the area, and if you’re not careful they’ll spot you as soon as you approach the muscle on the ground. Before you even think about taking out any enemies on the ground, always take out the snipers; fewer eyes above means less chance of getting spotted.
6. Takedowns
The best possible way to take down enemies without arousing any suspicion whatsoever is by utilising all three of the takedowns. After the ‘Don’t Touch the Art’ mission, you’ll learn three unique methods of disposing of criminals quietly, and all are hugely effective, only requiring one point of contact to achieve.
By pressing Triangle, the Web Strike Takedown pulls you towards an enemy quickly and knocks the wind out of them, while the Perch Takedown can be performed from above by pressing Square, pulling the thug into the air and wrapping them in webbing, leaving them in a webbed cocoon.
The third takedown is a simple Stealth Takedown and requires you to sneak up behind an enemy and press Square to activate. The only caveat is that other enemies can see/hear the Perch and Web Strike Takedowns being used, but that’s where it’s a necessity to check whether it’s safe or not to perform.
7. A little distraction
No need to cause a distraction with this one
© Insomniac Games
Causing a little distraction can sometimes really help to isolate specific enemies by sending off another to investigate the noise you’ve just created. Pressing L2 to aim at a nearby object and hitting R1 to fire a bit of webbing at it will cause a ruckus that they need to check out. Firing too close to two enemies will startle both, so make sure it’s closer to one than the other. Once they’ve disappeared to check it out, scan to see whether it’s safe, then perform a Perch Takedown for optimal stealth. Of course, you could do a Web Strike Takedown, but that’ll mean you’re on the ground and more vulnerable.
8. Innovate
There are three types of Skill Trees in Marvel’s Spider-Man, but if you want to improve your Stealth, there’s a certain skill you’ll need to unlock to make sure your quiet approach is, well, quieter. Head to the Innovator Tree and use the Extended Perch Takedown skill. It will allow you to web up enemies from a greater height, which is hugely important in areas where enemies are further below you.
9. Suits you
What suit will you opt for?
© Insomniac Games
As you probably already know, there’re a lot of different suits in Marvel’s Spider-Man that grant you plenty of different abilities, but two suits will aid you when it comes to stealth. The 'Spider-Noir' suit comes with the Sound of Silence ability, and this can be a godsend if you happen to make a bit too much noise; it’ll mean enemies can’t call in any backup if alerted. The second suit that’ll help you greatly is the stealth 'Big Time' suit. It comes with the Blur Projector, which creates a field of distortion that’ll hide you from any nearby enemies.
