Seek and Destroy

Evolve Basics:

A little brief about Evolve, it is a not just an ordinary game wherein you can run and shoot, and hunt down enemies like a rabid lonewolf. Evolve is human connection, exchanging nods at every corner, someone’s reflex action becomes your initiator. In a MOBA infested world, Evolve and creators Turtle Rock try their best to evolve the clichéd but commercially colossal Shooter genre.

There are at 15 characters ready to be played as in the game, and there is no specific guidebook telling you what you must best do with each character. As a result, the character is often defined by its loadout and the kind of role it plays, whether in the Hunters pack or while preying as a wild Goliath or a clever Kraken. There are perks but no guns to buy, which makes it a point to stick to a class, take the level of each arsenal to its elite best and just keep on playing. The game doesn’t mock the losing side. It is competitive only when you see it that ways, otherwise it is probably the most fun and co-operative games I have ever played.

I am 10 hours into Evolve, understanding each move and mastering at least one escape tactic, but there is learning at every step as my Win to Loss ratio is finally coming to a balance. I simply love the game’s pace and character detailing, as one must understand and play as every character sometime in order to understand how to bond with each other and make the best out of each other’s strengths. As the monster, I have just one note of advice: Hunt wildlife. But on a sunny day, when the skies are clear and there are no demonic birds complementing the monster’s ways, I prefer to be the lead of my hunting team – I am a proud Trapper.

Maggie the First Trapper:

The Trapper’s primary role is to be the eye of the Hunting squad, if the Trapper doesn’t see it coming, no one else would. The first trapper you play as in Evolve is Maggie, whose pet Trapjaw is as effective as her hard hitting one liners. Daisy, the pet hound, guides the team by sniffing out the monster’s last known location. As Maggie I hover just above my pet, so that I can see if there is really anything out in the open ahead of us. Sometimes it would lead us right up to the monster feeding on a carcass, and sometimes it would help us kill albino wildlife, and grant us a super perk for the fight. Prepping for the fight is equivalent of the monster feeding on wildlife and trying to evolve. It also tries its best to keep the fight fair, in case you get ambushed by a sloth and a tyrant inside the same arena, along with the mother monster.

Besides clear day scouting, the trapper is also the first action point of every team, it sets up traps hidden in bushes and atop rocks that the monster might try to climb. It also brings down the dome when the monster is in vicinity. Maggie’s trap mines are super effective, especially if you are gearing up for that final fight, guarding the power station. In other cases, Maggie’s traps work just fine if your team is out of a medic and you want to escape the scene before the monster makes the most out of it. The traps slow down the creature and also hold it at bay, allowing hunters to gain 5-6 seconds of upperhand to go all guns blazing at the armored and upgraded monster.  Maggie’s primary gun is a Machine Pistol, supported by the Harpoon launcher that releases traps on the ground. The Machine Pistol can be a menace especially if she is at close range with the monster, as the fire rate really irritates the wounded beast, especially if it is trapped, allowing others to reload and power up.

The Mobile Arena is the class equipment that every Trapper carries along. Releasing a fully charged Mobile Arena launcher creates an impenetrable dome within the radius, to contain the monster and keep up the fight. Be very sure when to deploy the arena, as the ability needs to be recharged before it can be used again. If the monster escapes the arena before it is up, you can call the dome down, it’s ok, everyone makes mistakes. Along with ‘when to deploy the arena’, it is also necessary ‘where to deploy the arena’. The maps of Evolve are rich and exploitive, to both the Hunters and the Monster. Some portions  of the map have more cliffs and ridges than others, that benefits the Monster’s style, while others are more or less flat, allowing the team to plant as many proximity mines as they can. Be very sure.

Griffin the Second Trapper:

Griffin is a veteran trapper who knows more sh#t than anyone else in the tribe, and he prefers to go monster hunting without a trapjaw. His Sensor traps can be equipped at every distant location of the map, and in case the monster uses the same track, the sound emitter reveals the monster’s position as it is. From thereon, your job is to lead your team to the spot, by soaring, running, using the adrenaline boost (if you have the Medic Class 3: Ciara) and by dashing, before the signal is lost or the monster escapes. Playing as Griffin can take away the perfect hound abilities from your class, but it also adds something that opens up the game.

That something is called the Harpoon Gun. Instead of placing mines, Griffin goes all gunning, with the Harpoon gun. If the harpoon lands on the monster, Griffin can hold the shoot button and lock the monster’s movement for a brief time. The monster is exposed to all kinds of flanking in those moments, including armour wearing off. Griffin has a Gauss SMG that ricochets more bullets in lesser time, and can be severely damaging especially at mid range. The Harpoon Gun ability makes Griffin not a close combat favourite, avoid being ten steps from the monster. In case it wants to run away from the arena, hold the harpoon gun and bring it back, or set up a Sound Spike and tag the monster, then follow it to the location it is hiding.

The Trapper Class vs. the Team:

Trappers are an asset to a Hunting squad, and that first move can actually make or break the team down. Trappers are also the next ones  vulnerable to monster attacks after the Medic, so it is vitally important to keep the Trapper alive in order to excel in the fight. From my experience of Evolve, I’ve seen that the match gets tougher for the monster if the Trapper and Support ties bonds and the Assault and the Medic on the other hand. The Trapper is always open to monster attacks, and with the Support’s shield or satellite booming, it can really shine. Trappers add not only premise but also firepower to the team, and when the monster is down to its last trickle of health, every other class, including the Assault must back off for an immediate medic. Because with the traps set, the Trapper can withhold the fight all by itself for some time.

I am following Maggie and Griffin’s footsteps and will be unlocking my third Trapper soon, but in case you want to read more about Evolve, stay tuned to this page as we bring you the Class Specifics of the heart of the Hunting pack next – the Medic. Happy hunting guys; and best of luck in your endeavors to cancel the apocalypse.