On July 6, 2016 Evolve, an online first-person shooter, entered the Alpha test period of Stage 2. Turtle Rock, the game’s developer, promises to enter Beta this August. What does this mean? Well, Evolve becomes a free-to-play game for everyone on Steam, so you don’t have to pay for it anymore.
The game also went through some changes — such as longer respawn times, non-ranked casual mode, and changes to hunters’ abilities. Since the game received lots of new players due to the new distribution model, it is time to give a few tips to those who are completely new to the game.
This guide will cover all the monsters available in Evolve, their abilities and how to use them in the most effective way. If you need help understanding the basics of the game, here is an excellent beginner’s guide for you.
Goliath
Goliath is the first monster available in Evolve. It’s quite mobile for its size, and it is especially effective in a close combat with the hunters. He has some amazing abilities that you should use appropriately.
- Rock Throw — allows Goliath to pick up a massive rock and throw it with high precision at one or more targets, thus serving as an AOE.
- Tips and tricks:
- If you want to aim well, you need to stand still, so choose safe spaces to perform the throw.
- Also, be aware of the huge knockback from the throw.
- Leap Smash — helps Goliath cover huge distances very quickly by jumping really high and far. When it lands, the smash hit can be extremely damaging to the hunters party.
- Unlike Rock Throw you can move while performing Leap Smash.
- If you simply need to jump far and away, use the Traversal ability, which is the same as Leap Smash, but without the Smash.
- Charge — makes your monster rush forward through the area damaging all the hunters and wildlife on its way.
- Use it to quickly escape the danger zone.
- Remember that you can’t turn while performing Charge.
- Fire Breath — an excellent AOE that sets everything on fire. If you use it on one target, it can deal massive amounts of damage.
- You can effectively use this ability to uncover cloaked hunters. Just set them on fire and you will be able to see them.
- Also, it is the best way to hunt for wild animals.
Another type of the same monster is Meteor Goliath — a slightly improved version of original Goliath that carries more armor, but basically has the same set of abilities.
Kraken
Kraken is larger than Goliath and it can fly. This ability allows him to be especially effective in a long-range combat and in controlling the battlefield from above.
- Lightning Strike — since Kraken is designed after a mythical god-like monster, it has god-like abilities. So, it can cast a lightning storm over a large area dealing a lot of damage.
- Use it as an AOE on hunters that can’t quickly escape the area of damage.
- You can actually manually change the position of the Lightning Strike before it hits the ground.
- Banshee Mines — when in air Kraken can throw down these little mines that explode on impact. It can also serve as an AOE.
- Use Banshee Mines to track the movements of the hunters when they chase you.
- Also, remember that mines can be destroyed as well.
- Vortex — an energy impulse that can knock down and damage any target that stands on its way.
- Use this ability to protect yourself by pushing away the chasing hunters.
- It can be used to lock an enemy in the corner.
- Aftershock — definitely one of the strangest abilities in the game, but if used correctly it can be quite useful. It creates a bubble of energy around Kraken that deals a lot of damage.
- You need to move constantly to get the most out of this ability.
The modified version of Kraken is called Elder Kraken and is available in the game. Now, with Stage 2 it’s really good and received some cool buffs to its abilities.
Wraith
Wraith is an assassin among the Evolve monsters. It’s extremely agile and fast, but it has the lowest pool of health. So, the main strategy here is to be quick and sneaky with your attacks.
- Abduction — allows Wraith to perform a quick hit-and-return move. So, as soon as it hits an enemy, it immediately returns to its initial position.
- This ability can be used to grab a fleeing hunter.
- You can also set the hunters off of their track of movement.
- Warp Blast — an excellent ability that lets Wraith teleport to a certain location and create a blast of energy at the spot of arrival.
- If you’re in trouble, use this ability to quickly leave the danger zone.
- You can use it in the air as well by creating a blast in the sky.
- Supernova — Wraith creates a field of energy around itself that boosts all of its attacks and the speed of movement.
- Try to stay inside the Supernova as long as you can — in this case enemies will have serious trouble dealing with you.
- Decoy — this ability allows you to spawn a decoy that hits even harder than Wraith itself. It can be your personal assistant in times of trouble.
- Try to spawn a decoy when you’re inside Supernova — you’ll be undefeatable.
- Focus on one enemy at a time and let the decoy work through the rest.
Behemoth
Behemoth is the biggest and the strongest monster in Evolve. It is well armored and has a huge pool of health. However, it is quite slow and cannot jump.
- Fissure — appears when Behemoth smashes the ground. It travels all around and can cover a large territory, thus it works well as an AOE.
- This is Behemoth’s main ability, so use it as often as you can.
- Use it as a long range attack, when you don’t want to approach the hunters directly.
- Tongue Grab — similar to Wraith’s Abduction ability, but in the case of Behemoth its body stays on the same spot.
- Use it to catch a fleeing hunter or a wild animal.
- Lava Bomb — appears when Behemoth spits a pool of lava that forms into a sphere. It then deals damage to any target that tries to approach it.
- Use this ability to prevent hunters from chasing you down.
- Rock Wall — Behemoth summons a wall of rock that deals damage. It’s an unusual ability, but it can serve you well in special circumstances.
- Summon a Rock wall when you need to hide from your enemies.
- You can also use it as a trap.
Gorgon
Gorgon is a truly hideous monster. It looks like a giant spider that has some neat characteristic abilities, such as Web Sling that allows it to stick to the walls and a few others.
- Acid Spit — allows Gorgon to spit a pool of acid. Obviously, anyone getting into the pool will be severely damaged.
- Use it as a trap for chasing hunters.
- Web Snare — an ability that lets Gorgon spit a flock of webbing at a target, thus slowing it down and making it vulnerable to damage.
- Use Web Snare to catch fleeing hunters or wild animals.
- Spider Trap — another huge spider spawns and chases hunters. It then swallows the hunter and deals damage to it inside its belly.
- This is another classic trap from Gorgon and it should be used to prevent hunters from chasing you down.
- Mimic — Gorgon produces a copy of itself that can use Web Sling ability and explode when heavily damaged.
- It’s a tricky ability and you can use it to lure hunters into your other traps.
- Also, use it to protect yourself from the hunter party by detonating the Mimic.
If you are new to the game, then avoid using Gorgon in the beginning since it’s a really tricky one. Choose something like Goliath or Behemoth to get a better grip of the mechanics and abilities, and then you can try something harder.
Come back soon for more Evolve Stage 2 guides at GameSkinny!
