House of The Locust Survival Tips & Mechanics

1. Stamina Conservation & Sprint Pacing

Your stamina bar depletes rapidly while sprinting and takes approximately 4 to 6 seconds of walking or resting to replenish. Never exhaust your entire stamina gauge during normal exploration. If The Locust detects you when your stamina is empty, escaping becomes nearly impossible because monster sprint speed exceeds base player walk speed. Always keep at least 50% of your stamina in reserve.

2. Flashlight Management & Light Aggro

The Locust possesses acute visual perception in direct line of sight. Keeping your flashlight on while turning corners illuminates your avatar, significantly increasing the monster's detection radius. Pulse the flashlight for brief fractions of a second to check room layouts, then switch it off before advancing into open hallways.

3. Audio Awareness: Heartbeats & Chittering

The game uses dynamic 3D positional audio. A faint insect chittering sound indicates The Locust is roaming nearby rooms, while a rising heartbeat sound cue warns that the monster is within immediate line-of-sight distance. When the heartbeat intensifies, crouch instantly and remain motionless behind solid cover.

4. Evasion Maneuvers & Doorway Cutting

When pursued in a straight corridor, The Locust will steadily gain ground due to its higher acceleration. To shake pursuit aggro, make sharp 90-degree turns through door frames and round hallway corners. The monster's turning radius forces it to wide-steer, giving you crucial distance to break line of sight and slide into a dark room closet.

5. Cross-Platform Controls & Input Optimization

Whether playing on PC (Keyboard & Mouse), Mobile (Touchscreen), or Console (Xbox/PlayStation), optimize your control layout for immediate crouch access. On PC, bind crouch to Left Control or C so you can slide-crouch without releasing WASD directional keys. On Mobile, enlarge the crouch touch button in settings to ensure reliable tactile responses during sudden jumpscare encounters.

6. Cooperative Multiplayer Strategy

In lobbies with up to 50 players, The Locust can only chase one target at a time. Teams that communicate can designate one unburdened runner to intentionally bait The Locust around circular hallway loops while other players safely retrieve the Keycard, Key, and Wire Cutter.

7. Advanced Corner Cutting & Turning Radius Exploits

When fleeing down narrow corridors, The Locust possesses high linear acceleration but suffers from a rigid turning radius during corner navigation. By executing sharp 90-degree cuts around doorway jambs and immediately sliding into a crouch against the inner wall, players can exploit the monster's momentum, forcing it to overshoot the intersection and break active visual tracking.

Never attempt to outrun The Locust down straight unobstructed hallways. If caught in an open foyer with no nearby doors, utilize furniture obstacles such as dining tables or central pillars to circle-strafe the monster while maintaining a full stamina bar for your final sprint break toward safe rooms.

Additionally, monitor the dynamic audio heartbeat frequency. A double-beat tempo indicates The Locust has entered its terminal lunge phase, during which sliding sideways under door frames is the only reliable method to evade an instant-elimination hitbox.