Haunted Heist pits a team of Heisters against player-controlled Tricksters in a procedurally generated luxury mansion. To win a round, Heisters must locate a set number of gems, navigate back through dark corridors, and deposit them into the safe room before the 10-minute match timer expires. Tricksters win if the timer runs out or if they wipe out all Heisters using supernatural ambushes, stealth, and voice deception.
The game is developed by autotroph games for 3 to 8 players (with custom lobbies supporting varying team ratios, such as 1v4 or 2v6). Because every layout is randomized, success depends on team coordination, careful battery management, and identifying friend from foe over proximity voice chat.
Core Match Objectives and Round Setup
Every match starts in the safe room, which acts as the Heisters' home base and extraction zone. Before heading into the halls, hosts can adjust match variables such as the required gem count (commonly set between 3 and 9 gems) and starting handgun ammunition.
| Feature | Heisters | Tricksters |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Objective | Find gems and return them to the safe room | Eliminate Heisters or stall until the timer hits zero |
| Vision | Directional flashlight (drains battery) | Built-in night vision |
| Mobility & Stealth | Standard sprint and crouch | Sprint, crouch, wall/ceiling crawling, and brief invisibility |
| Offensive Tools | Handgun, occasional grenade launchers | Melee stabs, ambush attacks, floor traps, and bows |
| Communication | Proximity voice chat, walkie-talkies | Proximity voice chat, voice changers, and muting powers |
Once the safe room doors open, the 10-minute round timer starts ticking. Heisters split up or roam in small pairs to scour rooms, courtyards, and passages for loot, while Tricksters spawn into the estate to stalk them.
How to Play as a Heister
Playing as a Heister requires balancing speed with resource conservation. Moving alone makes you an easy target, but clumping into a large group makes your squad vulnerable to area-of-effect traps and ambushes.
- Locate Gems and Compasses: Search rooms and furniture for glowing gems. If your lobby settings enable compasses, keep an eye on your HUD navigation markers: the gem compass points toward nearby objectives, while the safe room compass guides you back to base. Crouching can help obscure your movement profile.
- Explore Passages and Vaults: Certain mansion wings lead to secondary areas, such as the Passage. Some high-tier loot rooms or power-up vaults require collecting colored keys or key shards to unlock extra resources.
- Manage Your Flashlight and Energy: Pressing F toggles your flashlight. Your flashlight continuously drains a battery energy pool. You must conserve this juice because the same resource bar powers your revival gear.
- Defend Yourself Wisely: Handguns carry scarce ammunition (often limited to 3 or 4 rounds per match unless powerups or extra ammo crates are found). Only shoot when you are certain an approaching figure is a hostile Trickster, as friendly fire is active. Heavy weapons like grenade launchers deal massive damage but can instantly wipe you and your teammates if fired in close quarters.
- Deposit Your Haul: After securing a gem, retrace your steps to the safe room and interact with the deposit chest. Once your team deposits the target quota, the Heisters instantly secure the win.
How to Play as a Trickster
Tricksters rely on misdirection and psychological warfare rather than frontal assaults. Instead of running directly at armed crews, successful Tricksters isolate targets and sow confusion.
- Use the Shadows: Tricksters possess innate night vision and can traverse walls and ceilings to drop down behind unsuspecting players.
- Cycle Cooldown Abilities: Abilities operate on individual timers. Invisibility allows you to slip through doorways or bypass crosshairs, while disguises let you take on the exact character appearance of an active Heister.
- Exploit Voice Deception: By pressing the ability key (default F), Tricksters can alter their voice modulation or mimic the voices of other players in the lobby. Use proximity chat to call for help, lure players into dead ends, or convince squadmates to shoot each other.
- Disrupt with Status Effects: Powers like the snapping noise mute nearby Heisters, preventing them from calling out your position to their squad.
- Ambush from Blind Spots: Strike when a Heister is isolated, carrying a heavy gem, or trying to pick up a downed player's soul.
Revives, Energy, and Avoiding Friendly Fire
Death does not immediately end a Heister's involvement, but recovering fallen teammates comes with steep trade-offs.
When a Heister is killed, their physical body drops, leaving behind an interactable soul. Surviving teammates can pick up the soul and carry it back toward safety. To bring a player back into the round, a Heister must use their defibrillator tool directly on the soul or body.
Reviving requires a substantial amount of juice from your shared battery pool. If your energy meter displays "insufficient," turn off your flashlight and wait for the energy bar to recharge before attempting the revive. If a player cannot be recovered, they enter a spectator mode to watch the remainder of the match.
Friendly fire is permanently enabled for Heister firearms. In high-stress encounters where Tricksters disguise themselves as your friends or crawl rapidly along dark stairwells, panicked shooting frequently results in accidental teamkills. Before pulling the trigger, use voice comms to verify identities, or watch for suspicious behavior like silence, unexpected pathing, or unprovoked approaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Heisters kill the Tricksters?
Yes. Heisters can eliminate Tricksters using handguns or grenade launchers. However, Tricksters can respawn or utilize stealth abilities depending on lobby configurations and round modifiers, so shooting them primarily buys critical breathing room rather than permanently ending the threat.
What happens if you run out of bullets?
If you exhaust your starting ammunition, you cannot fire your weapon unless you discover extra ammo pickups or power-ups in the mansion. Conserve every shot for confirmed Trickster attacks or self-defense while carrying gems.
Why does my flashlight stop working?
Your flashlight shares a power bar with your tools. If the battery is completely drained, the beam shuts off. Turn the light off periodically in well-lit areas or safe rooms to let your energy pool regenerate.
