Hey there! This is more of a fun little thing I casually began writing around the time I passed 3k hours in this silly little game called Super Animal Royale. And I believe there certainly are a couple of things I've learned throughout this time. Thus, I figured sharing a couple of thoughts that tend to help me in a lot of situations when it comes to the competetive-side of things, which will be the main focus of this Guide! And I hope you can find this a light-hearted little thing where I share a couple of thoughts that might just be interesting and help you out as well! :)


THE RIGHT MINDSET

If you don't mind me adding a little "fluff", from the fluffy sheep-main, I got a couple of words I'd like to say beforehand!

When it comes to the competitive side of this community, it's easy to get overwhelmed by a lot of the skillful players you may encounter, and you might even feel a bit discouraged after comparing yourself to some of them. But don't you worry, the most important is not the amount of kills you stack up, the wins you gain, or even how you perform in comparison to another. No, the most important thing is that you have fun, no matter how that may look!

But before you decide to focus on improving or stepping up your game, I want you to do it from the right Spirit: Whether I do well, or whether I consider it less well, I'll not allow that to grab my focus from simply having fun! Being able to play well, but also being able to take losses, and seeing them as a part of the game, rather than something negative, is a strength and a healthy mindset! Because just like in everything, we won't succeed in it all, and that's normal, human, even! (You get what I mean, animals, haha.)

But with that out of the way, welcome aboard! And I hope you enjoy some of my thoughts along the way!

(I've rated my points based on Efficacy/importance with the rating from 1-5. 5 being most important!)

• Always kill Emus/Hamster balls if you aren't gonna use them. Give your opponents as little advantage as possible. (2/5)
  
  
• Whenever you see a Minigun/BCG, hide them, if possible, so no one can use them against you. (2/5)
  
  
• Don't EVER "spray and pray", unless you know you have more health, and that your gun kills faster than your enemies. (Make that a habit to remind yourself.) (3/5)
  
  
• As a general rule of thumb: Don't make each engagement a gamble. Your main goal is to always stay at as high an advantage as possible against each opponent (and surrounding), stay at higher health/tape than them. If you're one-hit-kill, don't engage. If they got better weapons or you don't have any to combat that with, don't risk it. (4/5)
  
  
• If your hits don't connect, you won't connect them. You've encountered a repelling magnet player against your playstyle. Leave them if possible. Don't be stubborn. (2/5)
  
  
• Always keep distance from corners. Your biggest enemy is the shotgun, which is an instant kill at a close enough range. You won't be able to run away before their next shot is ready. (4/5)
  
  
• Whenever you fight an opponent, always keep a set distance from them, even when you believe an enemy could be around a certain area. (4/5)
  
  
• Gas is not your enemy! It doesn't do much damage unless it reaches tier 3, so use it as a way of escaping if needed. It's just an extended arena with a little bit of damage ticking. (4/5)
  
  
• Never appear (or reveal) as if you are at a disadvantage/never run away; your enemy will abuse this, chase you down, and kill you easily. Instead, "puff up", appear as a threat: use good intensive movement, play aggressively, and your opponent will back off, allowing you to either then run away, or heal up as necessary. (5/5)
  
  
• Don't be an open target, use covers, and only appear under the times you're shooting. When your opponent reloads, you have a window where you strike back, spray, and push them, but don't get too comfortable; be ready, a second weapon can be used at that moment. Bite off health by health instead of going for all of it at once! (5/5)
  
  
• If an enemy won't fight you and runs away, and you can't catch up. Just leave them and save your ammo. (2/5)
  
  
• If you follow an enemy, and they run around a corner, be prepared; they can either bluff or have/obtain a shotgun on the way, and surprise attack you as a result. If there's a small passage, like in the forest, preferably find another way around. It's not worth the risk. (4/5)
  
  
• Position is your lifeline: you might have noticed the ending circle might get chaotic. Try fighting people before the circle closes. When it does, you become an easy and noticeable target. Always staying at corners, having plenty of cover, without a one-way exit or an open area around you, is very important, as that'd be a red flag with the lack of movement and known position. (4/5)
  
  
• Make your position unknown: Move around. If you just killed someone, don't just heal up on the spot, but make your position unknown once again by taking cover somewhere else. And then take care of your needs before getting back into the battle! (4/5)
  
  
• Use audio clues. Sometimes, enemies chop grass, eat mushrooms, heal up, tape up, or simply walk. Hearing these sounds will allow you to know their position and surprise attack them, giving you an advantage. (3/5)
  
  
• Assume movements, use blind shots. It doesn't hurt to miss a couple of shots, but if you connect them, you've got a strong start against them. Editionally: Hearing a shot connect will give you their positional information. (5/5)
  
  And to counter last point, be unpredictable, attack, turn around, and appear as if you have no patterns, and you'll be very likely to avoid blind (or normal) shots yourself. (4/5)
  
  
• Use the "wiggle movement" (as I like to call it) when using a spray-based gun at a finishing stage. By moving up and down in (short) irregular patterns around your opponents' radius, it'll confuse them about where to aim. As we generally shoot ahead of our enemy's movement, assuming where they'll go, rather than where they currently are positioned. However, doing this will make your opponent shoot around you, not knowing where to aim, allowing you to focus your aim towards them. (4/5)
  
  
• Don't forget about your melee weapon! It might seem risky, but it is a very effective weapon, especially when you're out of ammo. For example, whenever someone passes you and you have your melee equipped, just go for it! That one muscle-memory hit often results in a free kill! (4/5)
  
  
• Throwables can be a deadly weapon — even bananas! They can also be thrown above a whole lot of areas, including some walls, such as the shooting gallery or the Pixile Port. Try some of these out for yourself, and you'll find a lot of handy places to ambush your opponent with! (3/5)
  
  
  EDITIONALLY
  
  
• Personalize your keybinds! There are definitely a lot of players who prefer the default configuration, but for others like me, it just doesn't quite cut it. Having easier access to "E", for example, moving it to a right-click. Or moving nades to a thumb-klick might be translated into a better experience. See what works best for you! (It'll take about a day or two getting used to something new, but it might be worth the change!) (3/5)
  
  
• Personalize your cursor. I don't mind the default crosshair, but for someone who both likes a personal touch and also for the crosshair to gain a bit more contrast from the background. "YoloMouse" is a great and cheap program on Steam that allows you to change your in-game cursor/crosshair to any image you want. (3/5)
  
  
• Turn "V-sync" off for the most accurate visualization of your enemy's position. (4/5)
  
  
• Wanna get rid of the boot-up animation every time you launch the game? Right-click SAR in your Steam library, go to "General" and in "Launch options" paste "-novid" and you'll be spared those 5 seconds. :) (1/5)
  
  
• Wondering if it is you or your opponent that are lagging? In-game, write "/netdata", and when you press enter, it'll display at the top-right if you experience net/packet loss in percentages. (1/5)

• Don't underestimate anyone. Many times, you might have taken a player for granted, not putting much effort against them, but then ending up dying from it. Play equally against everyone! (1/5)
  
  
• The right mindset does a lot: if you tell yourself, "I can't win against those players", your brain will operate in a different, more "panicking" way, preventing you from making the right decisions. Having the mindset that I can beat anyone does a lot to conquer them! 4/5)
  
  
• It might sound silly, but it is effective: Always sitting up instead of lying down in your chair helps your brain stay alert by preventing it from otherwise relaxing more. Also, your posture will thank you! (1/5)
  
  
• If you're out of energy, haven't eaten much, you might notice your movement and reactions become very slow and non-responsive in a lot of situations: avoid playing at that moment. Eating, proper sleep, and generally taking care of yourself will help your performance in game, but also your life in general! :) (3/5)
  
  
• One trick I often use to verify whether I got the needed energy to perform well or not is to go to the shooting gallery, pick up a silenced pistol, and spam it. If you perfectly time your shots, you've got some energy at hand! But if you shoot in irregular intervals, and can't quite reach the max Rate of Fire, it's a good sign you will have a hard time on the island. (3/5)
  
  
• Analyze: the times you die, ask yourself what you did wrong, what you should have done, and shouldn't have done in that situation, and adjust accordingly for future encounters. (4/5)
  
  
• Learning to count or at least paying general attention to the damage you deal, from ticking armours to knowing how many hits someone should be from death. It'll help you to know if you or they are at an advantage. And will help your decision-making in the combat. (5/5)

FINAL WORDS

I was gonna add a lot more to this guide, such as "how to optimally combat each weapon," going on about their strengths, weaknesses, and what you might pick up against something else. And sure, there are a lot of things that might be worth mentioning, but I believe that it largely comes down to experience and discovery as you go. Not only do I find it helpful to find things out myself, but I might very well convince myself that something is completely out of the question, while another may very well have a greater experience with just that!

So, don't be afraid to try things out, find your playstyle, and preferences. Everything isn't and shouldn't be black and white on paper, but it should be an individual experience where you discover things, try things, and first of all, say it with me, gang: have fun!
Amen on that, haha.


Hope this guide could help you out in one way or another! And hope you a blessed one!