Resident Evil Resistance: Mastermind Tips

With Resident Evil Resistance now out in the wild, understanding how to play as a Mastermind can be a bit of a struggle. Playing as one of these overlords and controlling the field of play is a complicated endeavour with a lot of moving parts. But we have compiled a list of Mastermind tips, that should help you succeed at thwarting the survivors' escape.

Resident Evil Resistance Mastermind Tips: Lock Doors

Starting off simple, one of the most important things you can do as a Mastermind in Resident Evil Resistance is lock doors. Locking doors can prevent and delay the survivors from completing an objective for a short period of time, allowing you to fill a room with zombies and traps, dealing a chunk of damage and lowering the timer.

Locking doors can be done by looking at the door and hitting the corresponding button on the keyboard or controller. Do take note that after locking a door, you have to wait another 20 seconds before you can lock another one, so make sure it counts.

Resident Evil Resistance Mastermind Tips: Split Survivors Up

Matches in Resident Evil Resistance can be a challenge for new Mastermind players if the group of survivors are communicating or instinctively stick together. That is why the key to being a successful Mastermind is to split up survivors so that they are on their own or with one or two others. 

Splitting up survivors can be done in a few ways. First of all you want to lock doors (which is highlighted above) to easily separate survivors. You also need to make use of Leghold Traps whenever they are available to place down. These will hold a survivor in one location for five to 10 seconds, and if their teammates don't notice they have been trapped, you can plan ahead and place a zombie or two in the room whilst they are trapped or beforehand. Leghold Traps also work well with the Machine Gun.

When searching for puzzle pieces to complete the objectives, the group of survivors will tend to split up naturally to save time. This is the moment where you want to pounce on that separation and try to delay their progress as much as possible. A great way to do this is by using your bioweapon card in the second or third rooms. Utilizing this correctly can allow you to kill one or two survivors and wipe off a substantial chunk of the time left.

Finally, if you happen to kill a survivor and the rest of the group is waiting at the exit door. Focus on the survivor who has just respawned and has to travel back through the room. The survivors cannot escape until all four of them are standing at the exit door. So, if you delay even one of them by placing Leghold Traps and zombies while locking doors, then you can prevent a successful escape rather easily. 

Resident Evil Resistance Mastermind Tips: Use The Discount Card Wisely

When you see a discount card pop up in your hand, it can be tempting to use it straight away. However, you should use it tactically; because, if you use it and then control a zombie or your bioweapon, you won't gain any benefit from it as the bonus will run out. If a camera gets destroyed or disabled, it can also be a waste.

Therefore, you want to use it when you have a large stack of energy built up. That way you can dump a number of zombies and traps into one area and benefit from the lower cost across multiple card uses, rather than just one or two.

Resident Evil Resistance Mastermind Tips: Combine Cards

Another key component of succeeding as a Mastermind is to combine cards that synergize well with one another. I already mentioned using your machine gun on a survivor stuck in a Leghold Trap, but another good combination of cards is a licker and a few regular zombies or a zombie dog (and a Berserk round if you have it). 

This is an especially potent combination when used on one or two survivors who are on the lonesome, as they can easily become overwhelmed. If all four of them are together then it is more often than not a waste of your cards and energy. 

Finally, if you are using Daniel as your Mastermind, try to combine Leghold Traps with his Tyrant bioweapon. Once a survivor is trapped, use your Pulverize attack to kill that survivor in one blow. It takes a lot of time to perform the full attack, but it is more than worth it, especially when using it if the escape timer is low.

Resident Evil Resistance Mastermind Tips: If You Need To, Skip A Room

Another thing that can be hard to get used to when you first get started as a Mastermind is leaving the survivors to progress into a room and not spawning any zombies or traps.

Instinctively you will want to attack as soon as you can. However, if you are short on energy, or are worried that the camera might get destroyed, it is not worth spawning a zombie just to have it be killed instantly. 

Instead, you should wait, move the camera in the next room, and use the time to build up some energy, place traps and landmines in the survivors' path, and prepare to do some damage. Although matches in Resident Evil Resistance are quite fast-paced, it can be vital to take a few seconds break. Plan out your attack and look at the map to anticipate what the survivors will do next. A good tip I found is to focus on placing zombies and traps in narrow corridors or at two ends of a room, trapping people. If a room has multiple exits or ways to escape, then maybe consider holding off.

Resident Evil Resistance Mastermind Tips: Keep Your Eye On The Survivors' Progress

My final tip for playing as Mastermind is to keep an eye on the survivors' progress. In the heat of a match, it can be easy to not keep track of how close they are to completing the room, but you should always have it in the back of your mind. This is important because you do not want to blow all your energy and use some powerful cards when all the survivors are gathered around the exit door. 

Even if you are able to deal a chunk of damage and spawn a bunch of zombies and traps, the chances are they will likely escape anyway. I failed to look at how close the survivors were to completing the puzzle in my first handful of games and wasted countless, powerful cards that could have come in handy later on. Of course, if you are in the third and final room and the survivors are about to escape, you should instead use everything you can to kill one of them and delay their escape for as long as possible. 

That covers all the tips we have right now for playing as a Mastermind in Resident Evil Resistance. What are your thoughts on Resident Evil Resistance now everyone can get their hands on it? Have you found any tips that we haven't covered?