Summary
A unique and beautifully bonkers hide n’ seek game from Cozy Cabin Studios,Oh Deeris a little multiplayer indie gem that’s a lot of fun with the right group of people. Simple, quick and easy to hit the ground running fast, Oh Deer is highly recommended and not as tricky as it first appears.
There’s a lot you can pick up in-game and from the behavior of others as you play, but if you’re struggling to either hide from the hunter or track down those deer, then don’t worry. We’ve picked up some fun facts and broken them down into five for deer and five for Hunters. So here are some helpful beginner tips for Oh Deer.
10Go As Far Away As You Can
As a Deer, you’ll spawn right in front of the Hunter’s Cabin and it’s worth going as far back into the map as you possibly can. Whether that’s using fart jumps or standing up and just legging it to the safety of the woods, you don’t want to be by that door unless you’ve got a very good chance of blending in.
Because Hunters were once Deer players, they know how far you’re able to run. So often they’ll start inspecting every Deer within a few feet or just a little bit away from their Spawn Point. If you’re far in the back, you generally won’t have to worry. But if you’re close then try and find a bush or some boulders to hide behind.
9Clench Those Cheeks
As the round starts and the Hunter starts to get closer and closer, you may feel the urge to use the Fart Jump, don’t it’s a death sentence. The noise will instantlygive away your positionand catch the attention of a Hunter as you soar through the air, or slide along the ground because the jump arcs a bit fiddly.
In general, unless you’re in the middle of a chase and have literally nothing to use as cover or a way to blend in, keep your finger off that button. The jump is far too wonky and unreliable to use for navigation and it has a cooldown. So if you mess up and get stuck or land short, you’re screwed.
You can adjust the cooldown and strength of the Fart Jump in the settings before any Private Game if you’re the Host.
8Stay With The Herd
As a Deer your best chances lie within a big group of Deer. After all, the Hunter only has three arrows so giving them more targets makes it much harder for them to find which ones are the right Trophy Bucks. The more time you can make them waste in decision-making, the better.
Also, most Hunters are expecting Deer that are players to be on their own, so they’ll tend to focus on stragglers off on their own which might look a little odd. If you can find a little clump of AI Deer, attempt to position yourself at the back or within them. So then at least if the Hunter takes a test shot, the funky hitboxes of the AI will take the arrow and not you.
7Try To Lure The Hunter
This tip is one that’s more useful depending on a few factors. For one, if landmines and bear traps are active, and if the map has death pits, which only a few do. Now, because most Hunters will get Tunnel Vision when chasing a Deer, it’s very easy to lure someone to their doom.
For example, onto a Landmine on one of the main paths if the Landmine Event is active. Or into a death pit in the middle or edge of the map. Like in Basin, Hilltop, and Plateau where the edges around the drops are very steep and easy to slide into or off. The Deer are faster than the Hunter, so use that to your advantage.
If you want to earn extra style points you’re able to try Fart Jumping over a gap to really demoralize a Hunter. Plus, they’ll be too busy watching you to see the hole.
6Camp Out Near Mushrooms
This one is a bit of a Double-Edged Sword as it can also kill you if you’re not careful. Munching on Mushrooms fills your health back to full, reveals the location of the Hunter briefly, and if you eat a certain amount you may unlock achievements for doing so.
However, whenever you eat a Shroom the Hunter will see a little noise indicator on their screen pointing in your vague direction. Now, this can lead the Hunter right towards you over time. Plus, they can put a Trail Cam down to make it harder for you. But in a lot of cases, they’ll get distracted by another player and you can happily chomp for a while before being discovered. Plus, the less you move, the slower your hunger bar goes down. So if you find a little clump of Mushrooms, just hang around there for a while.
If the Hunter plops a camera down, just walk behind it and continue eating. It can only pick up anything in front of it.
5Hold Your Fire
Now we start on the Hunter and the number one piece of helpful bit of information you need to retain is that you should be patient. You’ve only got three shots and bad kills lower your sanity fast, so bide your time. The round goes slower than you think, plus the longer you prowl, the more prone the Deer will be to making mistakes.
Holding your fire is something you should be doing in chases as well. Also, the game is a little buggy and because the arrows have to travel through the air it’s very easy fo them to miss. They’ll not register on a Deer, or just clip into an invisible hitbox. Ideally, you should only fire when you have a deer within a few feet, pinned in, or running in a straight line without deviating in direction.
At time of writing, because Oh Deer is a bit buggy, it’s commonplace for lag spikes, collision, and rubber banding to run amok during chases.
Whilst it may seem you have an impossible task in front of you as the Hunter you’re able to make things easier on yourself by using Trail Cams. You’ve got six to use liberally and you really should put them as far apart as you can. The rounds are fast and there’s no point in hoarding something that you can reposition on a whim.
The Trail Cams will help you keep eyes on larger areas of the map and they’re mandatory to use in some of the larger arenas. Like Crystalised and Redwood for example since there are spots you just won’t be able to see. The cone of vision onthe Trail Camsis invisible to players, so Deer have to guess which direction they’re facing. Plus, its area of vision is ridiculously wide and it will automatically catch everything within 180% in front of it.
Trail Cams can’t see anything behind it, so just pop two down back-to-back and you’ve got a large 360-degree area covered by cameras.
3Stay Close To Cabins
As a Hunter, your initial reaction is going to be to sprint off into the woods to find those pesky Deer. Whilst you can do that, you shouldn’t go too far. It’s far too easy to use up your sanity and trigger nightfall or waste too much time before night comes. When that happens, you’re as good as dead.
When the Deer become Wendigos they can, and will, outrun you. One hit from their janky hitbox claws kills you, so being able to run right into a cabin fast means the difference between winning and losing the round. Some of the newer maps have more places to hide, but in the older and bigger zones, there’s a lot of ground to cover. So hang around them and keep the cabins within view if you can.
The Safe Cabin selection is completely random. The best you may do is to stay mobile and keep drifting back to one just in case it activates as the safe room.
2Listen For The Farts
As a Hunter, your main cue for the location of Deer is going to be them crunching on Mushrooms, or if they happen to be very panicky, fart noises. Normally a Deer player will use it as a last resort, or to get further into the map. But if you’re walking near Deer and you suddenly hear it, chances are you may have spooked someone into running away.
Plus, the player-controlled Deer are the only ones that can perform this jump and it is quite loud. So it’s very useful for narrowing down the general area where you should be snooping around for other players. Plus, you may’t exactly miss a Deer that’s being propelled through the air by its own poop.
1Don’t Just Run After Deer
The last and most important tip for Hunters is that you really shouldn’t just sprint after player-controlled Deer when you see them. Often they will loop you around the map, or a big hole in the ground, between trees and anything else that will act as cover against your arrows.
Their goal is to survive and waste your time and shots, and with how buggy the multiplayer can be you’ll lose track of them fast. Instead, in a chase attempt to cut them off or herd them towards a corner of the map where there are no other Deer todisguise themselvesas. Limit their options for escape, wear them down, then take them out.
