Vultures – Scavengers of Death does an adequate job explaining how to play in its tutorial, but in true 90s-retro gaming fashion, it leaves players to figure out the particulars on their own. There is no ‘rewind’ ability, so any mistake you make will stick. Mastering the fundamentals will help ensure your survival.
1. Plan Every Turn Before Spending AP and MP
Vultures‘ graphical style and foreboding atmosphere evoke many similarities to the original Resident Evil trilogy. Combat in Vultures is entirely turn-based, so use that breathing room. Before attacking, check enemy positions, count your AP and MP, and make sure you have a safe route if the fight turns against you.
Every model in Vultures is low-res and blocky for that late-90s charm.
2. Prepare Your Inventory Before Each Mission
When beginning a mission, you can swap any items you’ve collected between your inventory and arsenal. Purchase new equipment and upgrades using cash earned from collecting valuables. You can also adjust your inventory in any Save Room during a mission, if necessary.
Bring Only the Equipment You Need
You start with only 12 inventory spaces, excluding key items, though this can be upgraded as you progress. Your Samurai TW2 pistol and Night Adder knife can’t be unequipped, either. Large weapons, like shotguns and assault rifles, take up two spaces.
The image shows two free spaces in the operative’s inventory, plus a third space once the gun is reloaded.
Never begin a mission with a full inventory.
- Leave room for new items: Always have at least two empty spaces to pick up new items.
- Two healing items: Don’t carry more than two first aid kits.
- One power weapon: Have only a single ‘two-space’ weapon to leave room for ammo and explosives.
Buy Permanent Upgrades Before Extra Gear
New items are available each time a new mission is completed. You earn $100 for each valuable found in a mission. Upgrades are permanent and apply automatically.
Most upgrades are unavailable at the start of the game.
Certain upgrades must take precedence over others.
- Pistol and knife: Since you always have your pistol and knife, upgrade them as soon as possible.
- Increased inventory space: More space means additional items.
- Other weapons: Upgrade the weapons you use the most.
- Defensive upgrades last: Use stealth, spacing, and push tactics to avoid damage and status effects altogether.
3. Prioritize Safety Above All Else
Vultures‘ combat is built around efficient planning. Each turn gives you three AP (Action Points) and three MP (Movement Points), but unused points are lost at the end of each turn. To succeed, you must neutralize enemies with clever tactics while taking as little damage as possible.
Leopoldo hides from the Blind Hunter in Vultures – Scavengers of Death.
3.1. Aim for the Right Body Part
Certain weapons in Vultures can target different locations on an enemy for different effects. Some enemies wear armor, so focus sustained damage on one body location to kill the enemy. The three most common targetable locations are the head, body, and feet.
It costs 2 AP to aim for a headshot instead of 1.
Each location yields a different effect when struck.
- Head: A headshot with a gun yields extra damage in exchange for less accuracy at longer ranges and a higher AP cost.
- Body: Has the highest base accuracy to hit from a distance.
- Feet: Has a chance to immobilize the enemy if struck. May be obstructed by low-hanging obstacles.
3.2. Use Push to Stun Enemies and Create Chokepoints
Avoiding damage is worth spending extra turns, and Push is one of the safest ways to do it. Additionally, you can switch places with an enemy by spending one AP and MP if you’re trapped. Both techniques prevent enemies from attacking if you move away from them.
Since the closest zombie blocks the other two, stunning it will render all three unable to attack.
Push is one of your best survival tools because it can stun enemies, create chokepoints, move hazards, and save ammo.
- Stun enemies: By pushing an enemy into a physical obstruction or another enemy, it won’t be able to attack on its turn. Any non-stunning damage it takes will undo this, so don’t bother stunning a bleeding enemy.
- Clog corridors: Enemies can’t move through each other, so stunning the one in front will block the others. Leopoldo’s Reposition command is greatly effective at setting this up.
- Move explosive barrels: A red barrel will explode when destroyed, inflicting massive damage to all enemies (and you) adjacent to it. Since Push never reduces a target’s HP below one, there’s no risk of accidentally blowing yourself up (or finishing off a ‘stun barricade’).
- Use hazardous terrain: Certain spaces can be, or are always, hazardous. Pushing enemies on them disposes of them quickly.
- Breathing room: An extra space may be all you need to avoid damage. Keep yourself at least four spaces away from enemies whenever possible (unless they have ranged attacks).
- Conserves supplies: Pushing requires no ammo or equipment and is always available.
- Reliable: Unlike immobilization and bleeding, stunning an enemy with the Push command has a 100% success rate.
3.3. Use Leopoldo and Amber’s Unique Abilities
There are two playable characters in Vultures. Leopoldo is the strong one, and Amber is the agile one. The game chooses which character you use depending on the mission.
Unlike Leopoldo, Amber has a Grappling Gun to maneuver quickly.
Both operatives can use AP to use one of two exclusive abilities inaccessible to the other.
- Leopoldo: He can jump over low-hanging obstacles while moving and reposition enemies to any space adjacent to him.
- Amber: She can use her Grappling Gun to pull herself toward walls or pull enemies toward her.
3.4. Flee Unnecessary Encounters
Though some scenarios in Vultures require you to kill every enemy to progress, this isn’t always the case. Enemies can’t pursue you through rooms, so there’s no need to clear out a dead end if you’ve completed every objective. If you need to flee, use 2 AP to activate the Run command, doubling your MP to six for that turn.
4. Explore Safely Without Wasting Supplies
Like any survivor horror game, some enemies in Vultures lie in wait for unsuspecting victims. New players may constantly waltz into one ambush after another. Explore each room cautiously, and use as few items as possible.
A close-up of a zombie in Vultures – Scavengers of Death.
4.1. Sneak Through Unexplored Rooms
It’s tempting to run since exploration in Vultures is slow, but doing so alerts enemies more easily. Always sneak when venturing into unexplored territory. It’s safe to run when backtracking through cleared areas since enemies don’t respawn.
Always proceed with caution. You never know what’s around the corner.
You only control one operative, so isolate enemies as much as possible.
- Lead with stealth: Always explore any new rooms while sneaking. It doesn’t cost AP unless you’re in combat.
- Sneak attacks: If you fight, always start by attacking an enemy unawares to deal bonus damage. An upgraded knife always kills an unaware enemy in one hit.
- Silent knife: If nearby a weakened enemy, finish them off with your knife. It’s silent and won’t alert other enemies (though already aware enemies will still attack).
4.2. Use Your Guns Sparingly and Reload Often
Ammo is limited in Vultures, and it’s easy to run out if you rely exclusively on your guns. Use your knife to finish off enemies at low HP and save your guns for those you can’t kill in one turn. Lastly, don’t forget to reload when you’re safe, since it costs AP to do so in combat.
Push an enemy into the same wall repeatedly to stunlock them, then finish it off with the knife. This can kill any zombie without wasting a single shot.
4.3. Examine Every Corpse
Some zombie-type enemies pose as dead victims until alerted. Move your cursor over any corpse you see to determine if it’s an enemy. If it is, it will only be alerted by noise and won’t react if you sneak in front of it because its eyes are closed.
Move your cursor over each corpse you see. The HUD will reveal if it’s a zombie.
4.4. Fully Explore Every Room
If a room is black on the Map screen, there’s an area in that room you haven’t checked yet. Most valuables and equipment aren’t readily apparent, so be thorough. The statistics at the end of each mission let you know if you missed anything.
If the map has a black room, it hasn’t been fully explored yet.
