This guide is aimed to help both new and old players understand the basics of how to play as a scavenger in the Blood Harvest release. It will explain core game mechanics and the basic strategies you should be following when playing as scavenger. This guide only briefly touches on abilities and perks - I recommend reading Manta’s Deathgarden Manual if you want full explanations of what each vambrace power, perk, and passive does. Please note that certain passives and perks which will change some of the numbers I state in this guide. Eg Most scavengers carry 10 blood, but Dash carries 15.

NOTE: As of 28/07/2019 this guide is up to date! Finally!

Scavengers have 2 main objectives: gathering blood and escaping the garden. There are also optional objectives in the form of missions.

Gathering Blood:

• Your individual aim is to deliver as much blood as possible while in the garden.
  
• Your team aim is to deliver 140 blood to achieve a scavenger domination.
  
• You collect blood by interacting with blood altars. You can carry 10 blood collected from blood altars at a time.
  
• You deliver the blood you have collected by interacting with blood banks.
  
• Any undelivered blood you are carrying when you escape via exit gates counts towards your final delivery total.

Escaping the Garden:

• In order to escape you must trigger blood mode. Once blood mode is triggered the exit gates begin to spawn. It takes 20 seconds for the exit gates to spawn. Enter the exit gates once they are fully spawned to escape.
  
• After 8 minutes of play time blood mode will automatically trigger. This is a draw between scavengers and the hunter.
  
• If there are only 2 scavengers left blood mode will trigger. This is a hunter domination.
  
• If 140 blood is delivered blood mode will trigger. This is a scavenger domination.
  
• There is a revealing light which creeps outwards from the exit gates during blood mode until it covers the entire map. If you are within the revealing light you will be revealed (outlined in red) to the hunter.
  
• The game will end 2 minutes after blood mode has been triggered if there are still any scavengers who are alive and have not yet escaped.

Rewards and Upgrades:

• You are rewarded with currency and experience based upon how much blood you deliver, whether or not you escaped, and actions you performed while in the garden.
  
• The currencies are iron, blood cells, and ink cells.
  
• Iron is used to unlock new characters and to upgrade perks and abilities.
  
• Blood cells are used to unlock perks, upgrade perks, and buy new cosmetics.
  
• Ink cells are used to unlock vambrace powers, upgrade abilities, and prestige scavenger characters. Ink cells are called "gold" or "honey" by some players.
  
• Experience automatically progresses the experience bar of the character you are playing as. When you completely fill the experience bar that character levels up.
  
• You must complete missions before you are able to unlock and upgrade perks and abilities. For example, you may be required to cling to a wall for x seconds before you have the option to upgrade a particular perk. Missions are optional, but it is important to complete them to advance through the progression system.
  
• Once you have gotten all of a character's vambrace powers and perks to level 10, you may prestige them. Prestiging a character resets all their vambrace powers and perks to level 1, but you are rewarded with a cosmetic and badge next to your name. Characters may be prestiged a total of 4 times.

Health:

• Scavengers have 3 health bars. You lose health when you are shot. The amount of health lost depends upon the gun you are shot with and your proximity to the gun.
  
• You naturally recover health over time. You naturally recover health up to completely refilling the health bar you are currently on. Eg If you have 1.5 bars of health left, you will naturally recover 0.5 of a health bar bringing you to 2 full health bars.
  
• To recover additional health you must interact with a health crate.
  
• If you lose all three health bars then you enter a downed state. A bleed out timer begins once you are downed, which will kill you once it runs out. The bleed out timer is shorter every time you are downed, until it reaches a minimum length of time.
  
• You can be revived from the down stated by interacting with a health crate, by having another scavenger interact with you, or by having a health bolt shot at you. You are revived with 2 bars of health.
  
• The hunter can recycle you while you are in a downed state, which will respawn you elsewhere on the map and return you to the state you were in when you first entered the map.
  
• After you have been recycled at least once the hunter can execute you while you are in a downed state, which will kill you and remove your from the match.
  
• If you run off the edge of the map you will respawn is you have no yet been recycled. If you run off the edge of the map after you have been recycled, you will die.
  
• An exception to the above 2 points is during blood mode. Once blood mode has been triggered the hunter may execute any downed scavengers and running off the edge will kill you, regardless of whether or not you have been recycled.

Basic Abilities:

• Scavengers have the ability to crouch, jump and dodge roll.
  
• Crouching reduces your visibility, allowing you to hide in various areas of the map.
  
• If you jump onto a vertical surface you will cling to it for a few seconds before falling off. You can do 3 vertical jumps in a row, after that your character will fall.
  
• Dodge rolling makes you move faster and lowers you to the ground, but it doesn’t make you invulnerable to damage. You can use the dodge roll to avoid taking damage and travel across the map more quickly than running. Dodge rolling uses stamina, which naturally regenerates over time. You may do 5 consecutive dodge rolls with a full bar of stamina.
  
• Scavengers also have the ability to shoot bolts...

Bolts:

• Scavengers have access to normal and vambrace bolts.
  
• You can use the normal bolts to mark objects, revealing that object to other scavengers. You can carry a maximum of 20 normal bolts at a time.
  
• Vambrace bolts will have different effects depending on the vambrace power you chose before the match began. You can carry a maximum of 3 ability bolts (or "power cores") at a time.
  
• You can use both types of bolts to destroy constructs. Ability bolts do more damage than normal bolts.

Each character has unique perks, which will give you unique advantages. This guide is not going to explain what each ability bolt and perk does; check out Manta's Deathgarden Manual for more information on that.

Crates:

• Yellow crates provide 10 normal bolts. Some players may refer to bolt crates as "bananas".
  
• Blue crates provide 3 vambrace bolts. Some players may refer to power core crates as “blueberries”.
  
• Red crates will heal you. You can use red crates to heal yourself to full health when you are in your normal state. When you are in a downed state you can use red crates to revive you to a normal state, but you will be revived with only 2 health bars. Some players may refer to health crates as “cherries”.
  
• Golden crate provides either scavengers or hunter with a buff depending on who activates it. When activated by a scavenger, the golden crate provides all scavengers with unlimited normal and ability bolts for 30 seconds. When activated by the hunter, the golden crate provides the hunter with unlimited stamina and ammo for 30 seconds. The golden crate spawns 3 minutes into the match, or when the timer reads "5:00".
  
• If a crate has a glowing red pattern covering it then it has been hacked by the hunter. If you interact with a hacked object you will be revealed to the hunter.

Ammo crate.


Power core crate.


Health crate.


Golden crate.

Objective Points:

• The piles of corpses are blood altars. You interact with these to gather blood. You can only carry 10 blood at a time.
  
• The tall black pillars are blood banks. You can interact with these to deliver blood. The Hunter will be notified when someone is delivering blood, but your character outline is not revealed.
  
• The tall, spiral columns are exit gates. You must enter an exit gate in order to escape the garden. Once blood mode is triggered, the area from the exit gate spawn point outwards is gradually revealed until the entire map is revealed. If you are within the revealed area, you character is revealed (outlined in red) to the hunter. Once the entire map is revealed the exit gates will have fully spawned and you may escape.

Blood altar.


Blood bank.


Open exit gate.

Constructs:

• Constructs are objects which the hunter can use to create disadvantages for scavengers.
  
• All constructs can be destroyed or temporarily deactivated with bolts. Ability bolts do more damage to constructs than normal bolts.
  
• The big metal constructs dotted around the map are drones. At the start of the match these will be inactive; the hunter must activate them using power cores gathered from blue crates. When a drone is activated it will cover an area of the map in a red light which reveal any scavenger who enters that area to the hunter. Constructs are only temporarily deactivated when you shoot them down. You must shoot bolts consecutively to deactivate active drones, as activated drones heal damage over time.
  
• Some hunters have the ability to place turrets. Turrets will shoot at you if you are in their line of sight, even if you are hidden in a bush. Turrets are permanently destroyed when shot down.
  
• Some hunters have the ability to place mines. Mines will explode if you get too close to them, causing you to lose health and be briefly stunned. Mines are permanently destroyed when shot down.

Inactive drone.


Active drone.

Notes:

• Credit to M4I3X for crate images.
  
• One day I may update these images. Don't bet on it though.

Staying Alive:

• As an inexperienced player you should stay hidden from the hunter. If you are coming from Dead By Daylight you may be used to engaging with killers without too much risk; this is not the same in Death Garden. You are unlikely to escape a chase unless the hunter messes up, so you should be prepared for most chases to result in you being downed. When you are downed there is a high chance the hunter will instantly recycle/execute you. The only reason a hunter wouldn't instantly recycle you is if they want to chase someone else nearby. The only reasons a hunter wouldn't instantly execute you is to farm you by recycling again. For this reason you should make an effort to avoid being found by the hunter until you understand the core gameplay better.
  
• Hunters can hear you moving, so if the hunter is nearby you should aim to minimise your movement to avoid being found. Similarly hunters can hear/see you shooting bolts, so don’t shoot bolts when the hunter is nearby.
  
• Crouching in a bush makes you essentially invisible to the hunter. Hunters can use their stun ability to check bushes, but often don't due to the overwhelming number of bushes on the maps. This makes bushes one of the best places to hide. Try not to hide in really obvious bushes to check though, such as bushes around a blood bank someone was just delivering at.
  
• If you stay still for too long then you will be revealed for the hunter. This means you cannot spend too long hiding in bush. A way to circumvent this issue is to hide in a grouping of bushes, so you can crouch walk around within the bushes. This movement should prevent you from being revealed.
  
• Avoid areas of the map which have a lot of active drones. While it is possible to temporarily deactivate drones the hunter will be aware that a drone has been deactivated, thus alerting the hunter that someone is probably in that area. You can use this to your advantage by shooting down drones which are on the opposite side of the map, potentially tricking the hunter to investigate that area.
  
• Similarly, if the hunter is spending a significant amount of time in one area of the map you should avoid that area of the map. It can be tempting to stay in that area of the map if you have gotten familiar with it since you don't want to waste time travelling to and learning the spawn layout of another part of the map (or you might just be lazy like me). But you'll also be wasting time having to hide from the hunter in that area, and there is little to gain from the additional risk.
  
• It may be a bad idea to run straight towards the exit gate when blood mode is triggered. This is because the area closest to the spawn gates is revealed first, meaning you will be revealed to the Hunter without any means of escape for several seconds. It may be better to stay away from the exit gates for a few seconds, then dodge roll towards the exit gates once they are almost fully spawned.

Teamwork:

• The best time to deliver blood is when the hunter is occupied with another player. If you can see the hunter is boosting over to another player delivering blood or that another player is getting chased, then you should deliver blood. The hunter can only focus on one scavenger at a time, so they can’t chase you if they’re busy elsewhere.
  
• Try to help other scavengers. The more scavengers that are alive the more potential distractions the hunter has, which will make it easier for you to deliver blood. If you can see someone is getting chased near you, consider using your vambrace power to help them.
  
• When you collect a crate or blood, the contents are provided to all scavengers within close vicinity. For example, if you collect 1 blood then any scavengers nearby will also receive 1 blood. If you see a scavenger nearby you should wait for them before collecting blood so that you can both receive the blood.
  
• It becomes more difficult to escape the more scavengers who die throughout the match, as the hunter is more likely to come for you first during blood mode. Try to keep your team-mates alive for the entire match, if only so the Hunter may go for them instead of you during blood mode.
  
• Teamwork actions (such as reviving downed players or shooting a vambrace bolt at someone else getting chased) rewards you with a lot of XP compared to other actions (such shooting down constructs or marking objects). If you want to level up quickly try to stay close to your team mates and help them whenever possible. Please note that while at one point there was a method to farms team actions for tens of thousands of points this is no longer possible. Y'all will never get 100,000 experience in a single match like me, suckers. :P

Getting Chased:

• Try to keep you distance from the hunter. Hunters have a shock ability which both stuns you and damages you if you are within a certain radius distance from the hunter. Shocks are arguably the hunters most deadly tool, and can easily win the hunter a chase. Keep your distance from the hunter to avoid getting shocked.
  
• Do not run in a straight line when the hunter is chasing you as it makes you an easy target. Make a conscious effort to zig zag and constantly change direction.
  
• Do not spam dodge roll, otherwise you are not getting the maximum speed boost duration possible from each roll. Wait for one roll to complete before using dodge roll again.
  
• Use structures to break line of sight with the hunter whenever possible. If you break line of sight the hunter will not be able to shoot you, and you may get the opportunity to lose the hunter. Note that shock works through structures, so a hunter can shock you even if you have put a structure between yourself and the hunter.
  
• Use height to your advantage. Hunters need to use their speed boost in order to climb up most structures, which will use up some of their stamina. If you force them to climb a structure to get to you they will have less stamina for shocking you with. Additionally, many newer hunters struggle with aiming upwards.

Vambrace Powers

• It is possible to revive downed players using the heal bolt. The timing to achieve this before the hunter executes a downed scavenger is precise, but possible. Staying close to someone with the heal bolt can be a good idea as a new player.
  
• Heal bolt recovers health over time, whereas the shield bolt instantly gives you a health bars worth of shield. This means the shield bolt is generally more valuable than heal during chases.
  
• Shield, active camo, and smoke can all allow you to take hacked crate without being revealed. Shield will be absorbed when you take a hacked crate and you from being revealed. Active camo will prevent you from being revealed for the duration of active camo. Smoke will prevent you from being revealed for as long as you are in the smoked area.
  
• Active camo can allow you to pass by areas covered by drones without being revealed or shooting down the drone. This is useful for travelling across the map more stealthily.
  
• Active camo and smoke are great for preventing you from being revealed during blood mode. If you keep yourself hidden for the first several seconds, the hunter will hopefully chase after someone else who has been revealed.
  
• Speed boost is one of the best powers to have during a chase (in the current game state). It's incredibly straight forward to use and understand: it just makes you run fast. You may be tempted to use speed boost due to how simple yet powerful it is, however I do not recommend you use speed boost as a new player. Speed boost can encourage bad habits, and if you use it as a crutch you will not improve your skills.

Hopefully the information in this guide will help you survive a little longer during your first few hours of gameplay. The number one thing to remember is prioritise being stealthy until you have more experience. I’ve played over 300 hours of runner in the old version of Death Garden, and I’ve found that Blood Harvest requires a much stealthier approach. I’d also recommend you try to work with your team mates: cooperation isn’t mandatory, but as I’ve discussed in the strategies section it has clear benefits. Cooperation is also the only way to achieve a scaveger domination. Finally, have fun. I know that's something every guide ever has said, but I've seen many players burn themselves out (including myself) from try-harding too often. If you find an off-meta strategy which doesn't work consistently but you enjoy doing it, do it! Dumb but fun strats are what keep me playing this game.

Feel free to message me on steam or discord (@Darelz #0292) if you have any further questions about how to play Death Garden: Blood Harvest. I love playing with other people, so I would be happy to play with you and (try to) give you some tips. You can ask me to be added to the T1 discord, we're looking for competitively minded people to play with.

I appreciate any feedback you could give me for this guide, especially if you have spotted an error I need to correct. I plan on making a strategy guide for Inked once I get her to prestige 4, so look out for that!

-Darelz, SHSL Torment, dummy thicc Inked main, and ruler of bot_cmds.