Tutorial #1: The Waiter Walks.

by SyxP

Recently added to the game is a new mission, Purloin the Guest List. On certain maps, there are difficulties in determining if the guest list has been taken. A prime example of this is Ballroom, where the Sniper’s laser is nearly parallel to the waiter’s tray. This might render the mission difficult to some. However, the sniper has the ability in limiting the spy’s option on when they can purloin effectively. This would be the subject of this post.

We first note that the spy has very few opportunities to purloin on a large map. By letting the game play dice, the spy has to wait for Toby to select the spy specifically and offer the spy a drink. This must also come at a time where the spy is not trying to engage in other actions, such as flirting with the Seduction Target or contacting the Double Agent, as it would lead to the waiter giving up waiting. (This can be avoided if rushing, but the pressure will hopefully cause the spy to succumb and settle for White Action Tests.)

In interest of fairness and not to make the mode impossible, there is an option to call the waiter over. The option would be accessible, if there is a path from the waiter to the spy. (Mostly, there is a bug on various dead spots on the map.) This is where the sniper can exercise his/her ingenuity. Instead of determining purloins, which is tough and attention taking, we can instead focus on the path of the waiter. (This should not completely replace looking for thefts, though.) The waiter follows a very fixed pattern of movement, which learning it can be useful to the sniper.

The waiter will serve people in the same landing pad, then choose another person, repeat. There are a few small details about this, such as the timing when he chooses who to serve next, but these details are mostly unimportant for the practical sniper. However, for the more theoretical sniper, I strongly encourage you to study more on your own. (The details will be covered in the manual, I assure you.) This simple predictable pattern leads us to be able to determine if the spy is calling the waiter over at an inappropriate time. For example, a consequence of this pattern is after the waiter decides who to serve to next, he will go straight to the person and never turn unless the person moved. If the waiter diverges from his initial path, this would imply either his destination becomes unavailable or the spy has called the waiter over.

Using this technique, one could punish spies for calling the waiter at inappropriate moments. Before you play your next few games, I urge you to enter practice mode and have a look on the pathing of the waiter, which is both unique and predictable. A key component of Sniper play is to limit the Spy’s options, I hope that this tutorial will help you in gaining more wins as a Sniper. If you are a spy, be careful when you decide to call the waiter over when you wish to attempt purloin, as this might lead to a bullet in your cranium.