Forsaken Killer Counters: How to Beat Azure, 1x1x1x1 and Every Killer

Every Forsaken killer has a plan, and every plan has a gap. The Forsaken wiki's killer pages list weaknesses and survivor-side advice for all eight killers, and read together they give a clear picture of what each one fears: height, loops, stuns, teammates standing close, or simply moving at the right time. This guide flips that information around and turns it into a matchup sheet for survivors.

If you want the killers' own stats, abilities and unlock costs, each killer has a page: Azure, 1x1x1x1, c00lkidd, Guest 666, John Doe, Noli, Nosferatu and Slasher. The killer tier list ranks them by stats. This page is about beating them.

Rules that work against every killer

These come up on almost every killer page, so learn them first.

• A stun cancels an ability. The wiki says stunning 1x1x1x1 during any ability cancels it, even one already cast. The same logic applies to long windups on Noli, John Doe and Azure.
• Sound cues matter. Mass Infection and Unstable Eye (1x1x1x1), Azure's plants and Noli's abilities all announce themselves. Listen, then change direction.
• Stay near teammates, but not in a single clump. Nosferatu's abilities mostly hit one target, and Slasher is described as weak against good teamwork. Standing next to the chased player lets you stun or body-block.
• Loops beat several killers. Guest 666 is "heavily countered by looping" and Noli is "heavily countered by thick loops".
• Height and map layout matter. 1x1x1x1 cannot aim up. John Doe struggles in open maps such as Planet Voss and Glass Houses. See the maps guide for where each layout appears.
• Watch your stamina. Slasher is described as almost useless without stamina management, and Azure's Golem has low stamina.

Matchup table

Azure

Azure wins by filling the map with plants and punishing players who run through them. The wiki notes that his plants are triggered by sound and can be disarmed by walking instead of sprinting near them once they finish blooming. He has no tracking ability, so the standard advice is to play stealthily. He also has a low base sprint speed and no way to gain speed, unlike other slow killers.

What to do:

• Walk near Seeker Bulbs unless you are in a chase.
• If a Seeker Bulb catches you, stand still, because its projectiles are fast and predict movement.
• Treat Vines as bait. A skilled survivor can lure Azure into a Vine hit that wastes the trap.
• Stun Azure while he uses Enstrangle. The wiki says a Sentinel stun cancels it.
• Do not try to outrun the Golem in a straight line. It is fast but has very low stamina, so it cannot win a long chase.

1x1x1x1

1x1x1x1 is described as the slowest killer in general and relies on projectiles to compensate. The wiki recommends staying on elevation, because his projectiles cannot be aimed upward, and notes that some maps have several similar high spots he can use to surprise you.

What to do:

• Listen for Unstable Eye and Mass Infection, and step off generators when you hear them. Players often open with Unstable Eye plus an Entanglement hit.
• Assume Entanglement is ready when a chase begins. Its cooldown is 15 seconds, and it pulls you for 0.85 to 1.25 seconds.
• Stun him during Mass Infection. The wind-up is long, and a stun such as Chance's One Shot or Shedletsky's Slash cancels it. Two Time needs a backstab to stun.
• Avoid straight lines when his abilities are active.
• If you play Guest 1337, you can punch the minions to remove them.

Since the Slasher update his melee base damage is 20 with a slow windup, so a juke works if at least 1 to 2 seconds have passed since his last slash.

c00lkidd

c00lkidd is fast, with the highest sprint speed (tied with Slasher), and Walkspeed Override gives him a 90 speed burst. He is also hard to dodge on a straight run because the dash has a big hitbox. The wiki lists his weaknesses: the shortest M1 range, no real tracking, abilities that miss against experienced players, and low health for a killer. Missing Walkspeed Override "can easily reset a chase."

What to do:

• Do not run straight when Walkspeed Override is available. Bait it, then change direction. A miss gives you distance.
• Kill or distract the Pizza Delivery bots. The wiki says someone else can distract them or you can destroy them.
• Use 007n7's clone before he dashes; the damage and lunge can go to the clone.
• Coordinate stuns. A team of Sentinels such as Chance players can kill him because of his low health.

Guest 666

Guest 666 is strongest in open maps and weakest in twisty ones. The wiki calls him the largest killer, which makes him easy to spot and stun, and says looping counters him. His Blood Hunt lets him reduce stun time and counter Undetectable abilities, so Noob, 007n7 and Two Time lose some of their usual tricks.

What to do:

• Loop around tight corners and thick structures; avoid large open maps.
• Let Taph and Builderman exploit his size with traps and sentries.
• Block him with Noob's Slateskin or 007n7's clones.
• Use his aura-reading ability against him. The wiki says it leaves him motionless for about 4 seconds.
• Be careful with healing. Hemorrhage stops healing, so Medkits are weaker once he has hit you.
• Jane Doe is a good matchup; his big collision hitbox makes Crystal Pitch easy to land.

John Doe

John Doe is the wiki's "most map dependent" killer. Corrupt Energy and Digital Footprints are traps with a very long wind-up, so the idea is to see them coming. The Digital Footprints apply Slowness II for 10 seconds, but the wiki says Veeronica can hit a wall to cut that to 2.5 seconds of Slowness IV, and that she can jump over both trap abilities.

What to do:

• Move away the moment the wind-up starts.
• Remember that stunning him during Corrupt Energy's windup triggers his Unstoppable passive, so a stun there can help him.
• Use Taph's Tripwire or Dusekkar's Plasma Beam to apply Slowness and cancel the speed John Doe gains from Digital Footprints.
• Jane Doe can punish the end lag of Corrupt Energy.
• Sentinels who step into Digital Footprints can use the speed boost to land a stun.

His Slash does the highest base damage of any M1 (28), and with 2,300 HP he is very hard to kill, so avoid trading hits.

Noli

Noli depends on surprise. The wiki says he "struggles greatly" if survivors start the chase first, because his windups are long. His terror radius is 20 studs larger than normal, tied with Guest 666, but hallucinations and fake generators can mask it.

What to do:

• Hear the larger terror radius and react before he teleports with Observant.
• Dodge Void Rush; the hitbox is small, and it needs two hits for high damage.
• Place traps. Taph traps on generators and Builderman sentries can stop Void Rush.
• Use thick loops.
• Against fake generators and mirages, check that what you see is real before committing.

Nosferatu

Nosferatu is an all-rounder with many invincibility frames, so he is hard to stun mid-ability. His weakness is groups. Most of his attacks hit only one target, and bodyblocking or sandbagging by teammates works well against him. 007n7's clone also counters him easily.

What to do:

• Stay near other survivors instead of running alone.
• Move out of Cataclysm's path as soon as it starts. Its blood puddles are not instant, so you have time.
• Beat the Bloodhook minigame. A successful reel-in pulls you in, but a miss costs him a lot of ground.
• Chance, Two Time and Shedletsky can punish a missed Bloodhook, and Guest 1337 can block freely on a successful minigame.

Slasher

Slasher has the highest damage: Gashing Wound hits for up to 50 (70 enraged). He has no ranged attacks, no way to speed himself up and no way to slow survivors, and his abilities punish him if stamina runs out.

What to do:

• Stun him once with a Sentinel and run. A single stun can end the chase.
• Make him spend stamina. Raging Pace is only a free stamina tool when he is already winning.
• Against Two Time's backstab, a Slasher who turns and uses Gashing Wound removes most of your health, so do not backstab blindly.
• Use Noob's Bloxy Cola carefully: the wiki recommends Slasher switch targets because he has no way to close the gap.

For how stuns, slowness and healing are stacked, read the status effects guide. Survivors are covered in the survivor tier list.

Common mistakes

• Running in straight lines against Azure, 1x1x1x1 and c00lkidd.
• Fighting alone. Nosferatu and Slasher both want isolated targets.
• Sprinting past plants. Walk near Azure's plants outside of a chase.
• Stunning at the wrong moment. Against John Doe, a stun during Corrupt Energy windup can trigger his passive.
• Using Medkits against Guest 666. Hemorrhage blocks them.

FAQ

How do you counter Azure in Forsaken?

Walk near his plants instead of sprinting, stand still when a Seeker Bulb catches you, stun him during Enstrangle and stay with teammates.

How do you counter 1x1x1x1 in Forsaken?

Stay on elevated ground, because his projectiles cannot aim upward, and stun him during Mass Infection to cancel it.

Which killer is weakest to teamwork in Forsaken?

Slasher is described as weak against good teamwork, and Nosferatu struggles against groups and body blocking.

Which survivors counter Guest 666?

Taph and Builderman exploit his large size, Noob and 007n7 block him, and Jane Doe lands Crystal Pitch easily against his hitbox.

Do stuns work on every killer in Forsaken?

They cancel most abilities, including 1x1x1x1's, but Nosferatu has invincibility frames during many abilities, and John Doe gains his Unstoppable passive from some stuns.