With the latest Deadrop Snapshot dropping this month, we're putting in the hours to get better at the early access vertical extraction shooter—and now we’re ready to share some hard-won tips and tricks gleaned along the way.

The first-person shooter (FPS), developed by Dr. Disrespect's game studio Midnight Society, has captured the minds of gamers amid its open development cycle, which lets players see how the game evolves over time. That said, it is really hard.

We've spent tireless hours perfecting our aim, reading Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", and searching through patch notes to help fill our Deadrop tips stash with strategic goodies. Don't have hours? No stress, we've got four tips that will help you dominate in Deadrop.

Building your stash

When you first boot up the game, you'll have next to nothing in your stash. You might feel vulnerable because of this.

To address this, simply spend a few games dropping in naked, looting up, and extracting as soon as possible. If you're not confident with your weapons, then simply avoid conflict. Your aim here is to build a stash with lots of backpacks, armor, and a few weapons.

Eventually, you'll have a strong-enough stash to drop in wearing a helmet, body armor, a backpack, and a weapon—without the risk of losing everything you've earned. Of course, your items aren't going to be the best in the game, but you'll have built a great foundation to hold your own in game.

Stash looking low again? Don't be afraid to drop in naked.

Top tip: use smoke grenades to extract safely.

Master movement

Picture this: You have a rare item that you want to extract with, but an enemy is on your tail. You don't have the ammo to challenge them, so how do you escape? John Wick-esque movement.

There are poles that you can climb, ladders to scale, slopes to slide on, and ziplines to fly down—or fly up if you have the new zipline thruster. And, don't forget to holster your weapon to run faster by pressing X.

Once you have the basics down, you can start getting creative. You can jump from high up on the map and use a zipwire or grab a ledge to break your fall. 

Deadrop has lots of unique ways to shake off an opponent or gain ground on a potential victim—be sure to use them!

Top tip: hold F, rather than spamming F, when trying to climb a ledge.

Learn the maps

Deadrop’s early maps are incredibly dense. And if you don't know the layouts, then you risk being shot from a spot you didn't know existed, or running into a brick wall when trying to escape.

We recommend picking a handful of areas on each map and trying to perfect them one by one. This way, you'll begin to understand your surroundings more, easily falling into cover and knowing where you're vulnerable from.

Top tip: pick up a death bag (by pressing F), drop it onto a lift, and click the button to go up. You're then free to loot safely.

Play vertically

Deadrop is a vertical extraction shooter, so use the verticality of the game to your advantage—they put it there for a reason!

Like in any form of battle, having the high ground is an incredible advantage. In this game, with good use of movement and map knowledge, you can gain highly advantageous positions on your opponent.

Know where an enemy is, but haven't quite got the shot on them? Grab the high ground and then let them taste your lead.

“He who occupies the high ground… will fight to advantage” — Sun Tzu.

Hopefully with these four tips, you'll begin to dominate in Deadrop. Good luck out there… GG.