So after finally finishing the Southsun Survival: High Scorer achievement on the weekend, I thought I’d put together this guide on how to get high(ish) scores in the minigame.
The Basics
You get points for doing the following:
- 1 point for scavenging for supplies/picking up a revenge mote
- 1 point for hitting another Survivor with an attack
- 2 points when a Survivor runs into one of your traps
- 5 points for killing another Survivor
- 50 points for being the last Survivor
General Strategies
There are two general strategies for getting a high score. The first is to be the last man standing, which usually involves camping in an isolated area with a lot of rations, and the second is to be one of the first people to die after the grace period expires.
Last Man Standing
This strategy requires you to have at least 4 Rations, so only adopt it if you happen to find yourself in a situation where you have a lot of Rations and not much offensive equipment. Generally I use this strategy if the timer is down to about 13:00 and I have 3 or more rations. If you’re near a camp without many other players around, scavenge around for as much supplies as you can gather, then run off into the wilderness and scavenge Passiflora for more rations. (Be wary about lone Passiflora in strange locations, as they’re usually Ration Traps left by other players. To avoid these, dodge roll into them, as Ration Traps work on contact. If you get a warning saying it’s a trap after harvesting the Passiflora, dodge roll back out again.)
Once you’ve gotten about 5 or 6 Rations, head out to a secluded area where ghosts are unlikely to find you. You’ll become familiar with several hiding spots favoured by players after you’ve played a while, but my favourite locations are along the western parts of Southsun Cove, near Owain’s Refuge. Few ghosts or players ever head out this far, so you’re likely to remain undiscovered even late into the game.
Once you’ve got a good spot, stay put! Ghosts may drop traps around you or even on you, but the traps won’t trigger until you move into them. Only move if someone spawns a Karka on you (and in that event, you’re likely doomed anyway, since attempting to run will probably force you into traps).
Eat rations whenever you drop to 100 health or below, although you can play risky and leave it till 80 or lower depending on the Hunger stacks on you. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to outlast your opposition.
First into the Mists
I use this strategy most of the time. The key is to try and die immediately or soon after Evon announces the end of the grace period while being near Camp Kiel or Camp Pride. The reason for this is because these two camps are heavily populated by Survivors scavenging for supplies, leaving a bonanza of Revenge Motes for you to collect. Collect as much as you can (remembering that you can only hold a maximum of 15 Motes), then immediately spawn a Karka if there are one or two Survivors remaining in the camp. If you’re lucky, it’ll take down one or even both Survivors for a nice score bonus. (I’ve managed to get 30+ points before during this initial period just by collecting Revenge Motes and a few lucky Karka kills.) Save the remaining Revenge Motes for other Survivors.
From here, go hunting around the map for other Survivors, collecting any and all Revenge Motes you see. It might seem counter-intuitive, but you DON’T want to kill most Survivors you run across. Instead, run ahead of the Survivor, then drop a Teleport Trap (Pull of the Mists) in their path. You gain 2 points whenever someone runs into one, meaning that Teleport Traps are the most cost-efficient trap you have in terms of point scoring.
When it comes down to two Survivors, and if you come across one that’s hiding, feel free to spawn a Karka on their location to force them out of their spot, since you can’t get any points on a Survivor that’s standing still. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of waiting until one of them runs out of rations first.