Tap the skill button to awaken Phantoms for 25 seconds. Hold the ability button to select a Survivor within view and send the Phantoms after that Survivor, or transmit Rage to your Puppet and order it to pursue nearby Survivors. When the Puppet hits a Survivor or swap positions with you, it will stop moving.
Phantom Phantoms will automatically pursue nearby Survivors. Tap the skill button again during this period to recall the Phantoms. After recalling the Phantoms, a percentage of Rage will be recovered according to the remaining time.
Gameplay[]
With his Awaken skill, Hell Ember can generate a Phantom using a fury charge, which will roam the map and attack and pursue any survivors it spots. His Puppets can also be "awakened" with fury, allowing them to move around and chase Survivors. Both will move at a slightly slower speed than Hell Ember himself. It's important to note that Hell Ember cannot interact with his Awaken skill if he is currently carrying a Survivor, is interacting with a Map element such as a pallet, or is currently incapacitated by a stun.
Phantoms and Awakened Puppets behave very similarly to Hunter bots during pursuit, but aren't affected by Leo's Persona Talents and have limited interactions during a match. They can destroy downed pallets they find in their way, but cannot vault windows or interact with other Map elements, Terror Shock Survivors, or be stunned. Exceptions exist to this behavior, see below for more insight.
Gaining Rage[]
Awaken's functionality is heavily dependant on Leo's External Trait, Infernal Soul. Thanks to it, Hell Ember starts each match with 80% of a fury charge, and can gain more passively or through different conditions. For further details about the conditions to obtain Rage, and the various amounts gained from stuns and other events, please visit the following article: Infernal Soul.
Phantoms[]
A Phantom summoned in game. Notice the red ring below it, slowly disappearing before it begins moving.
A Phantom will move only after a 2.5 seconds delay since it was summoned, increased to 4.5 seconds if generated near a Survivor tied to a Rocket Chair. This delay is indicated by a red ring below the Phantom, which slowly depletes before it can move. A Phantom will disappear after 25 seconds, unless it is recalled early by the Hunter. Recalling a Phantom will grant a percentage of the Rage back, with the amount decreasing the longer the Phantom has been active. After successfully hitting a Survivor, the Phantom will enter a recovery animation and stay still for 5 seconds before becoming active again.
When summoned, the Phantom will roam between nearby Cipher Machines and attack any Survivor it spots. However, Hell Ember can target a specific Survivor by holding the Awaken button, forcing the Phantom to prioritize chasing them instead. A Phantom will walk towards a targeted Survivor even if the latter is outside of its detection range. Summoned Phantoms have no collision for Hell Ember, allowing him to walk through them, however Survivors will be unable to do so instead. Only one Phantom can be present on the Map at any one time, and a new one can be summoned only if the previous Phantom is recalled or expires.
Awakened Puppets[]
Awakened Puppets behave mostly the same as a summoned Phantom. Once a fury charge is used on a Puppet, it will begin immediately roaming toward the nearest Cipher Machine. Unlike Phantoms, Awakened Puppets will walk the Map indefinitely and its Rage will only expire if it's used to switch positions, successfully hits a Survivor, is dismantled, or if it's picked back up by Leo. Puppets cannot be targeted to a specific Survivor, meaning it will walk away if it doesn't spot the user and begin chasing them.
Awakened Puppets can be dismantled by Survivors much like stationary ones, which will temporarily stop them in their tracks and, if completed, expire their race. If a Survivor begins dismantling an Awakened Puppet but stops before completing the process, it will stop it in place for 3 seconds before it will begin moving again, resuming its patrol. Puppets possess no collision for Hunters and Survivors alike, neither while stationary nor while Awakened.
Other Details[]
Phantoms and Awakened Puppets possess a dedicated behavior for their pursuit and patrol which, although very similar in most aspects, differentiates them from conventional Hunter bots found within matches and Custom Mode. These behavioral differences include:
Phantoms and Awakened Puppets will catch up with any pursued Survivor, but will never reach enough proximity to hit them while they're running. They will only swing their weapon if their target closes that gap, such as by taking a sharp turn or stopping.
Both cannot Terror Shock Survivors who are hit while interacting with a Map element.
Both cannot vault over windows. The only exception to this are the breakable windows found within China Town.
Both cannot be stunned, pushed or slowed down by Survivors, their Tools, or Map elements such as the Tram. The only exceptions to this are Professor's Scales and Antiquarian's Mechanical Flute, with the latter being able to push them back but not incapacitate them.
Other Details[]
Due to the feature of transferring Rage to the Puppets by dragging, the Hell Ember cannot rotate his in-game camera when selecting Survivors for the Phantom to chase.
Recalling a Phantom will refund the Rage by 75% of the remaining Phantom's longevity.
Phantom's activation time will increase to 4.5 Seconds if they are within 10 meters from an active Rocket Chair.
As Hell Ember[]
Please press "Expand" to see tips about using Awaken.
It is advised to use the targeting function for Phantoms whenever possible. This prevents the Phantom from walking away from the chased Survivor, which can easily happen if they run outside of its detection range before it begins moving.
Targeting guarantees that the Phantom will focus on the chased Survivor, allowing Hell Ember to cut them off and corner them.
Targeted Phantoms will walk towards the Survivor regardless of distance, even before the Survivor enters its detection range or if they move far from them. This can be used to great effect while camping a chaired Survivor, as the Phantom will focus exclusively on the incoming rescuer.
This also proves especially useful while chasing an injured Survivor that is being supported by their teammates, as the injured user can be targeted to prevent the Phantom from being distracted by other players.
As Hunter, you can take advantage of stuns to purposefully build up your Rage meter, especially with short, avoidable stuns such as placed Portals or electrical areas. However, this is only recommended if it won't give the chased Survivor a window of opportunity to create distance, or if the stuns are located near a chaired Survivor and the rescuer hasn't yet appeared.
It is not advisable to use your Rage charges too freely, as they can be easily lost and can take a long time to gain back, leaving Hell Ember without secondary damage sources. It's important to manage your Rage charges wisely, using Phantoms efficiently, recalling them when not useful anymore, and keeping fury charges available for camping.
If Hell Ember is carrying the TeleportActive Trait, they can use this to teleport to an Awakened Puppet without expiring its Rage charge.
As Survivors can easily dismantle a Puppet to prevent it from hitting them and stopping it temporarily, it is not recommended to use them during chases and camping unless absolutely necessary. Phantoms are more reliable for pursuit and camping since they cannot be stopped by the Survivor.
Awakened Puppets prove more useful to roam the Map and put pressure on decoding Survivors, which will be forced to either waste time dismantling them or risk being hit or giving Hell Ember a chance to switch positions to them.
Awakened Puppets can still be effectively used during pursuit by throwing them right next to an escaping Survivor. This won't give them the time to use the dismantle prompt, and will allow the Puppet to immediately swing at them. This is only advised if the player has Rage charges to spare, or if a Phantom would otherwise be unable to reach the Survivor.
Phantoms and Awakened Puppets completely ignore Survivor invisibility effects, such as the ones applied when using a Wand, Pocket Watch or Aromatherapy Cane, and will keep chasing an invisible Survivor. This can be very useful to locate and hit a Survivor currently using their ability.
It's important to note however that a Phantom cannot be targeted onto a currently invisible player. They will still spot and chase them if they are withing its detection range once it's summoned, however.
Phantoms are entirely solid to Survivors, preventing them from passing through them and blocking their movement. This can be used in a variety of ways.
During pursuit, a Survivor can be blocked in their path by a Phantom if they aren't careful to make a wide curve around them, allowing for Hell Ember and the Phantom itself to hit them. This is most common in chokepoints, such as pallets.
Small openings and doorways can easily be blocked by a summoned Phantom. This is particularly useful when chairing a Survivor indoors to prevent a rescuer from reaching the Rocket Chair. This method can be expanded to larger openings by summoning a Phantom and then quickly moving next to him, also using Leo's body to block an entrance.
Phantoms can also be used to block Survivor projectiles and dashes, such as a Flare Gun shot, a Rugby Ball push or a thrown Cricket Ball. This makes use of the delay after a Phantom is summoned to create a temporary obstacle, and can be particularly useful when picking up a downed Survivor with a nearby harasser, or to prevent being stunned while camping or chasing. It, however, requires precise timing as the Phantom could wander off, leaving Leo exposed.
If Awakened Puppets hit a Rocket Chair with a tied Survivor on it, they will go through their recovery animation but will not lose their Rage charge. This allows them to swing again once their recovery animation is over.
While Phantoms and Awakened Puppets cannot generally interact with Map elements other than pallets, an exception is made for the breakable windows in China Town, which they are able to vault. This will apply damage to the window just as if a Hunter or Survivor had vaulted it.
Phantoms and Awakened Puppets cast a red light in front of them and trigger a Survivor's heartbeat. This can be used to the Hunter's advantage to conceal their true position to the chased target, which won't be able to tell the Hunter's distance due to the heartbeat caused by the nearby Phantom or Puppet.
If no Survivor is nearby or targeted, a summoned Phantom or Awakened Puppet will always roam towards the nearest undecoded Cipher Machine. If all Cipher Machines have already been completely, they will instead roam towards the nearest Exit Gate.
This can be used to the Hunter's advantage to put pressure on nearby Cipher Machines being decoded, or to allow a roaming Puppet to reach an Exit Gate so Hell Ember can switch positions with it.
As Survivors[]
Please press "Expand" to see tips about playing against Awaken.
Dismantling Puppets, Awakened or stationary alike, is very important to countering Hell Ember's gameplay. A fully dismantled Puppet expires its fury charge, if it was given one, and puts it on a notably long cooldown before Leo can use it again.
Puppets will however highlight any nearby Survivor to the Hunter, giving them an opportunity to switch positions, and if Awakened, could spot the Survivor and hit them. It's advised then to approach a Puppet only if the Hunter is currently occupied chasing someone else or is unable to switch positions, such as when carrying a downed Survivor or is being stunned.
Hell Ember can gain Rage much more quickly by receiving stuns, which in turn allows him to deploy more Phantoms and Awaken Puppets more often. It is thus advised to not stun Leo unless absolutely necessary, as this could allow him to quickly build up Rage charges and give him much stronger during pursuit and while camping.
While risky and requiring precise timing, a Phantom or Awakened Puppet's hit can be avoided by taking a very sharp turn around them. This allows a Survivor to avoid being cornered and quickly switch directions even with a Phantom or Puppet right behind them, but can backfire and grant the Hunter a free hit if performed erroneously.
It's important to not take sharp turns when being chased by a Phantom or Awakened Puppet, as they can take the opportunity to swing and hit you. Whenever possible, always take wide curves when being chased.
It's also important to keep watch for where Hell Ember is located while being chased by a Phantom or Awakened Puppets, as losing track of his position gives him the opportunity to corner you.
Phantoms and Awakened Puppets will always break downed pallets in their way. Survivors can use this to their advantage to create distance with them.
If an Awakened Puppet is chasing you, make sure to click the dismantle prompt as soon as it shows up. This will stop the Puppet in its tracks for a few seconds, preventing it from hitting you.
This is especially crucial when rescuing from a camping Hell Ember. Tapping the dismantle prompt leaves him unable to apply secondary damage unless he summons a Phantom.
Phantoms can be very strong for camping a Rocket Chair, and unlike Puppets, cannot be dismantled or stopped. As a consequence, a rescuing Survivor needs to quickly assess the situation and react accordingly.
If a Phantom has just been summoned, keep an eye for its red ring depleting at its base. This indicates the delay before the Phantom can move and attack, so use this time wisely.
If the Phantom was summoned before the rescuer has reached the Rocket Chair, it may be more useful to instead lure it out to a nearby downed pallet and letting it break it. This will give the rescuer time to reach the chaired Survivor while the Phantom catches up.
Alternatively, the final Persona Talent Flywheel Effect can prove very useful. If timed correctly, the Phantom will swing at the Survivor and enter the full 5 second recovery delay, as if it had successfully landed a hit.
Supporting Survivors can help out their currently chased teammate by purposefully interrupting Hell Ember's line of sight on them, forming an obstacle that make it harder for him to target the chased Survivor with a Phantom. If Leo doesn't target his Phantom, it will chase the nearest Survivor it spots, which the supporter can trigger to lead the Phantom away from their teammate.
This can backfire however, as Hell Ember gains additional Rage for every Survivor he is chasing. If he's still able to target the Phantom onto the chased Survivor, an attempt at supporting may just give him more fury charges to use.
Phantoms and Awakened Puppets are immune to most Survivor stuns and control effects, so it is pointless to try and stop them this way. There are, however, a few notable exceptions:
Professor's and other Survivors' Scales will stun a Phantom or an Awakened Puppet, pushing them back and immobilizing them for a few seconds.
While Antiquarian's Mechanical Flute cannot prevent them from attacking, it can push a Phantom or Puppet, Awakened or stationary, if she swings it in their direction.
As Fire Investigator can place a large Inflatable Airbag at will, this can be used to disrupt a Phantom or Awakened Puppet's track. Since they cannot walk through the obstacle, they will be forced to walk around it, allowing the player to create distance.
Buff: Hell Ember can now select a Survivor in his field of view for the Phantom to focus on chasing.
Buff: Adjusted the delay before newly awakened Phantoms can move (from 3 sec to 2.5 sec).
Nerf: Adjusted the delay before newly awakened Phantoms can move (from 3 sec to 4.5 sec) if awakened near a chaired Survivor.
Adjustment: Added a visual cue below a newly awakened Phantom, visible to all players, to show its delay's duration before being able to move.
August 31st, 2023
Adjustment: Shortened the time necessary to hold the Ability button for Awaken.
Trivia[]
While otherwise very similar to Leo in appearance, the Phantoms notably carry a sickle, not a shark mace. This is reminiscent of Hell Ember's former weapon from the game's early days, the bone sickle.
Hell Ember Navigation