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Survival Tips & Strategies

Master these advanced strategies to survive the hardest shifts. From sanity management to team coordination.

💚Sanity Management

Understanding Sanity

Sanity is your mental health meter. Low sanity makes it harder to identify anomalies and increases your vulnerability to attacks.

  • 100-80% - Optimal condition, perfect anomaly detection
  • 79-50% - Slight visual distortions, still safe
  • 49-30% - Moderate hallucinations, detection impaired
  • 29-0% - Critical danger, severe hallucinations

How to Maintain Sanity

  • ✓Successfully serve customers - Each correct order restores 5-10 sanity
  • ✓Reject anomalies correctly - Proper rejection gives sanity boost
  • ✓Take breaks between rushes - Stand still in safe areas
  • ✓Use Jim-Jam - Starts with 200 sanity instead of 100
  • ✓Avoid staring at anomalies - Quick verification, then look away

⚠️ Critical Warning

If your sanity drops below 30%, stop serving and focus on recovery. Ask teammates to cover for you. A dead teammate is worse than a few missed orders.

👁️Anomaly Detection Mastery

The 3-Second Rule

Spend exactly 3 seconds checking each customer on CCTV. Not too fast (miss details), not too slow (waste time).

  1. Second 1 - Check overall appearance (body shape, color)
  2. Second 2 - Check face (eyes, mouth, nose)
  3. Second 3 - Check behavior (movement, camera interaction)

Priority Check List

🔍 Visual Checks

  • • Number of eyes (should be 2)
  • • Eye color and shape
  • • Presence of nose and mouth
  • • Skin/fur texture
  • • Body proportions

🎥 Behavior Checks

  • • Looking at camera (DANGER)
  • • Banging head on table (DANGER)
  • • Unnatural sitting position
  • • Glitching or flickering
  • • No movement at all

When in Doubt

If you're unsure whether a customer is an anomaly:

  • 1.Ask a teammate to double-check on CCTV
  • 2.If still unsure after 2 opinions, REJECT
  • 3.Better to lose bells than lose sanity/lives

👥Team Coordination

Optimal Team Roles (4 Players)

🎥 Security (CCTV Specialist)

Best Character: Lemon (Lucky, better detection)

Stays at CCTV 80% of the time. Calls out anomalies immediately. Rotates with Chef during long shifts.

👨‍🍳 Head Chef

Best Character: Pyro (10% cook speed) or Mr. Wolfgang (coffee specialist)

Handles all cooking. Masters 3-4 recipes. Communicates when food is ready.

🍽️ Server

Best Character: Jim-Jam (quick movement, 200 sanity)

Takes orders, delivers food, cleans tables. Fastest character works best.

🔧 Utility / Flex

Best Character: King (balanced) or Chipper (support)

Handles maintenance (power, fire), assists where needed, backup CCTV checker.

Communication System

Use clear, short callouts:

"ANOMALY TABLE 2" - Reject customer at table 2

"CLEAR TABLE 4" - Table 4 customer is safe to serve

"CHECK TABLE 1" - Need second opinion on table 1

"POWER OUT" - Lights out, someone go to breaker

"FIRE KITCHEN" - Fire event, need extinguisher

"LOW SANITY" - Taking break to recover

"DOWN" - Player needs revival

Pro Tip: Rotation System

Rotate CCTV duty every 5 customers or when sanity drops below 60%. Fresh eyes catch more anomalies and prevent burnout.

⚡Speed Service Strategies

Kitchen Optimization

  • •Pre-brew coffee during slow moments (2-3 cups ready)
  • •Ingredient stations - memorize locations, move efficiently
  • •Batch similar orders - if 2 coffees ordered, make both together
  • •Clean as you go - don't let dishes pile up

Movement Efficiency

Minimize unnecessary walking:

  • • Plan your route before moving
  • • Carry multiple items when possible
  • • Use shortest path between stations
  • • Upgrade walk speed with Scrappy's upgrades
  • • Sprint only in emergencies (if upgraded)

Order Priority System

✓ High Priority

  • • Customers waiting 2+ minutes
  • • Simple orders (black coffee, toast)
  • • Verified non-anomalies

⏸ Can Wait

  • • Complex orders (pancakes, sandwiches)
  • • Just arrived customers
  • • Suspicious/unverified customers

🚨Emergency Protocols

Power Outage

Lights go out, CCTV becomes harder to use.

  • Action: Send ONE person (Utility role) to breaker room
  • Others: Stop taking new orders, guard the person going to breaker
  • NEVER go to breaker room alone in late shifts

Kitchen Fire

Flames appear in kitchen, spreading if not handled.

  • Action: Grab fire extinguisher immediately
  • Location: Near kitchen entrance (memorize this!)
  • Usage: Aim at base of fire, spray until out

Teammate Down

A player's sanity hits 0 or they're attacked.

  • Action: Nearest teammate revives (hold interact button)
  • Priority: Revival takes 5 seconds - others cover
  • After: Revived player has low sanity, needs break

Anomaly Swarm (Day 7+)

Multiple anomalies appear at once.

  • Action: STOP service, everyone checks CCTV
  • Strategy: Reject all suspicious customers
  • Wait: Let swarm clear before resuming normal service

Advanced Pro Tips

💰 Bell Farming

  • • Perfect Order Streaks give 20% bonus bells
  • • Complex recipes give higher tips
  • • Mr. Wolfgang's passive boosts counter tips
  • • Replay easier days for consistent bell income

🎯 Character Combos

  • • Pyro + Mr. Wolfgang = cooking powerhouse
  • • Jim-Jam + Lemon = high sanity team
  • • King (free) is viable for all content
  • • Chipper (future) will boost entire team

⚙️ Upgrade Priority

  • 1. Walk speed (quality of life)
  • 2. Kitchen equipment (faster cooking)
  • 3. CCTV upgrades (better detection)
  • 4. Sanity recovery items

🧠 Mental Game

  • • Stay calm under pressure
  • • Trust your teammates
  • • Learn from failures
  • • Take breaks between hard attempts