Hello, fellow Slime Survival players! I am Powerofbeds, a CubeCraft player who plays nothing but Slime Survival when it is the featured game. As people gain wisdom as they age in real life, Slime Survival players gain wisdom as they play games. Including all the games of Snowman Survival and Slime Survival from when it was an Arcade game that was available 24/7 (neither of which count towards game stats), I have played a few thousand games. With that much practice, I often want to post threads like this to help everyone else to become better.
Before I continue, here are the links to my other threads:
15 ways to get better at slime survival
Tips for using powerups in Snowman Survival (Snowman Survival is like Slime Survival but with winter maps and snowmen instead of slimes)
How to use the powerups in Slime Survival well (This includes more details than the last thread and includes the powerups that exist in Slime Survival but not in Snowman Survival)
Slime Survival tips for evading slime-hitting powerups
Slime Survival basics and map-specific tips
Slime Survival: How to read minds
Slime Survival: Rarely Used Tricks (This describes several rare techniques, including some this thread does not describe, but this thread has more detail and some new tricks)
Everyone who has played at least a few games of Slime Survival would know what powerups are. Various powerups can be collected from around the map, each one doing something unique. Survivors can collect powerups to benefit themselves or harm slimes. Some people use powerups in ways that are so bad that it would have been better if they never had the powerup. Some use them in the most common way, which is not always the best. This thread describes the most rarely done things you can do with each powerup (which are not necessarily the best but look very stylish).
Every Powerup: It is sad how many people do not use the simplest and easiest technique with powerups. It works with any powerup except speed. I say this in every other thread, but I will say it again here because it is super easy and super effective: Don't show your powerups! People tend to just hold their powerups until they use them. This is convenient, but it is more effective to select the second hotbar slot until switching back to use the powerup when you want to use it. Especially with powerups like Frost Sword that the slimes can try to evade, if the slimes see the powerup in your hand, they will know what to expect and can read you like they have an instruction manual about how to catch you. If you have a Frost Sword, slimes know to try to hit you, then prepare to run if you chase them.
Frost Sword: Usually, when you have a Frost Sword, what you want to do is hit a slime so you can get away from them, or, in Slime Freeze Tag mode, recover a paralyzed survivor who is getting camped. I have seen countless people use Frost Sword aggressively, hunting the slimes just to try to freeze them (and failing to hide their powerup as described already, which makes it even worse). They would be better off never having a Frost Sword. What I have never seen anyone else do, however, is use a Frost Sword to freeze a slime, then use the ice that froze them as a platform to get to where you want to go. Suppose you are between two elevated locations that are too far apart to jump between, but you could jump between them if you could jump in midair. The east platform has a slope leading up to it and the west one does not. You want to get on the west one. If you freeze a slime between the two platforms, you can go on the east platform and then jump on the ice you created with the Frost Sword to get to the west platform. Note that this cannot often be done because of how specific the landscape needs to be to use this technique. This also cannot be done in Snowman Survival because the Snowman Stabber (the Snowman Survival equivalent of the Frost Sword) does not create a platform of ice.
Instant Wall: Part of the reason for me listing this powerup immediately after Frost Sword is that it can be used in the same way. Instant Wall is normally used to stop a slime from getting to you (extra effective in a narrow corridor) or blocking a slime's projectile (though when doing this, you must use the powerup in advance because despite the name, Instant Wall is not instant). You can place an Instant Wall in the same scenario described in the Frost Sword section and use it as a bridge to cross the gap. However, even this is not the rarest use for this powerup. If you have very precise timing, you can jump off the Instant Wall as it is being placed. In Freeze Tag Mode, you do not have a speed effect, so the timing is different. If you sprint-jump forward and place the Instant Wall as you are about to reach the peak of your jump, you can jump off it as it is being placed, because the Instant Wall is placed from bottom to top. If you are playing normal mode, you will want to place the wall at around the same time you hit the jump button (spacebar by default on PC). I call this the Instant Wall Double Jump. Imprecise timing could end up with you blocking yourself off with the wall or getting stuck inside it.
Additionally, a technique just as rare (because I have never seen anyone do the previous technique or this) is to use an Instant Wall to trap a slime in a hiding spot as they are searching it. With precision, you do not need a hiding spot, as you can simply place the wall at an angle around a corner they are in.
Gravity Explosive: This powerup is almost always used to launch slimes away from its user. However, this thread is not called "Common uses for powerups". Slimes are not the only things this powerup can launch. It can also launch slime balls, paralyzed survivors, and powerups. You can use the gravity explosive in a very rarely seen way for all of these. If you use the gravity explosive about 1.2 seconds before a slime ball hits you (with an error margin of only about 0.2 seconds), you will block the slime ball, stopping it from hitting you and launching it away from the slime so they cannot pick it right back up. You can also launch paralyzed survivors you have no time to recover to other alive survivors so they can recover them instead. You can also launch powerups you have no interest in to another survivor who could use them (helping out other survivors helps so they can remain a target for slimes instead of becoming another opponent).
Fireballs: I see these used one at a time far too often. Using all three in a burst is much more effective as this is harder to dodge. Used at the right time, they can be fired at slimes who are jumping over a gap, because the fireballs slow the slimes down, which will disrupt their jump.
Decoy: This powerup is normally used to make survivors invisible until slimes hit their fake replica. This is perfectly logical, but have you ever used a Leap powerup to get to a high location right before grabbing a Decoy? By leaping into a Decoy and onto a raised platform, you can have slimes target you, knowing a Leap or Blink is required to get to where you are, and then end up angry when they find out you somehow got a Decoy up there. If you don't do this, at least have your decoys look away from where you expect the slimes to come from so they think you don't see them.
Shield: A great powerup for saving yourself. Also a great powerup for saving other survivors. Is another survivor about to get hit? Jump in front of them with your Shield to spare your fellow survivor's life instead of your own! This can help a lot in the long run.
Leap: As described in the "Decoy" section, you can use a Leap right before grabbing a Decoy to get to a high location with that Decoy. However, this is not limited to Decoy. Use a Leap right before grabbing another Leap to add to your momentum and cross half the map in 3 seconds. Use a Leap right before grabbing a projectile like Slime Puncher, Fireballs, or Survivor Recover Grenade to shoot from the skies! Use a Leap right before grabbing an Instant Wall to do an Instant Wall Double Jump super high up where everyone gets to see the show! Though this requires insane timing, because your speed rapidly changes when you use a Leap, so you must use the Instant Wall at the precise moment you should, depending on your speed. When you are going at the speed you would be when running in normal mode, for example, use the Instant Wall about 1 block under the peak of your jump while still ascending. I haven't done this much myself, so I can't really help much with the timing other than that.
Blink: Blink is often used to reach a high-up location without having to slowly jump up there. However, it is much harder to see a player who is using Blink because they are a bunch of particles instead of a full-size player. This is how you can jump off a high location with Blink in your first hotbar slot (but NOT in your hand, as slimes that can see your blink powerup will know to not fall for this trick) and then use the Blink to go right back up, while the slime gets juked into jumping down. Be prepared to run away again if the slime doesn't jump down, as those who are not gullible enough do not do that.
Speed: This is commonly used to run from the slimes. Why not take a break from just running and turn a corner, only to go right through a slime as they turn around to confront you? This is effective if you just ran into a narrow corridor where you cannot dodge the slime(s).
Jump Boost: Too many people keep sprinting and jumping after getting this powerup. They are faster just running, even if they are in Slime Freeze Tag mode with no Speed powerup. Its best and most reliable usage is jumping up two blocks at a time to get to a high location, but its rarest use is jumping over slimes. With the Jump Boost powerup, players jump 2.5 blocks in the air, which means they jump so high that their feet at the peak of their jump go higher than their head was when they were on the ground. Any uncharged slime shots aimed at you can be jumped clean over. This is possible without jump boost if the slime aims at your feet, but it is much easier with Jump Boost. Watch out for charged shots, as they are bigger and will hit you anyway.
Slime Puncher: The common usage for this powerup is to shoot slimes to knock them backwards. They are knocked farther back if they are in the air, and the powerup is extra effective for knocking them off a ledge. However, this powerup can make a pretty good distraction sometimes if you are using the Burst Firework Arrow Trail, obtained as a Legendary item from cubelets. This arrow trail triggers fireworks when the arrows hit a block, and firework sounds also occur when survivors pick up powerups (or when powerups spawn, though the sound does not play for slimes when a powerup spawns in normal mode). Slimes can think there is a survivor where the arrows land. Alternatively, you can use fireworks to block a slime's vision.
Slime Trap: This powerup is normally used by being placed out in the open. Some players try to place Slime Traps under slimes so it immediately catches them, which is only a good idea when you are invisible because of a Decoy. People rarely place Slime Traps strategically, such as on white blocks where they camouflage with the floor or on blocks slimes absolutely must step on to get where they want to go, such as in a one-block-wide corridor or the bottom of a ladder. This is not only the rarest use for Slime Traps, but also the best.
Spider Web Bomb: It is too common that this powerup is simply thrown backwards when a survivor with it is being chased. Turning around to throw and aim it slows the survivor down just as much as it slows the slime down. During this time, the slime can simply yeet their projectile at you and you are done for. It is better used to help other survivors. Survivors can punch the cobwebs to instantly break them, but slimes cannot, so they cannot be more of a nuisance to the survivor than to the slime.
Slime Blinder Bomb: Just like the Slime Trap, I often see this powerup being placed out in the open. Slimes can take an extra half second to just walk around them. When placed in a narrow corridor (3 blocks wide or less), slimes can be forced to get blinded. This is so simple but surprisingly uncommon.
Survivor Recover Wand: This is used to recover a survivor instantly. However, the words "a survivor" can be replaced with "multiple survivors". On impact with terrain or a survivor, the Survivor Recover Wand recovers all survivors within a radius of about 2 blocks. If two survivors are right next to each other, you can recover them both. Now imagine if 7 paralyzed survivors congregate on the same block...
Survivor Recover Grenade: Everything about this powerup is very similar to the Survivor Recover Wand. It recovers all survivors within a certain radius on impact. It is a projectile. However, it travels faster and has a larger range, but is affected by gravity. However, these minor differences make both powerups have different rare uses described. Though being affected by gravity is usually a bad thing because it makes it harder to aim, gravity is a blessing in disguise. The Survivor Recover Grenade can be thrown straight up right before being hit by a slime so gravity pulls it back down right onto yourself. Hence, you recovered yourself. An egg thrown straight up takes 4.5 seconds to land, so you are fine if you throw the egg within 4.5 seconds of being hit.
Note that few of these usages for these powerups are the best usages. Depending on the situation, they can be, but the important thing about them is that they look quite stylish and impressive. I described many of the best usages as well, but don't expect that what is uncommon is what is best, because that is not always true. Thank you for reading!
Before I continue, here are the links to my other threads:
15 ways to get better at slime survival
Tips for using powerups in Snowman Survival (Snowman Survival is like Slime Survival but with winter maps and snowmen instead of slimes)
How to use the powerups in Slime Survival well (This includes more details than the last thread and includes the powerups that exist in Slime Survival but not in Snowman Survival)
Slime Survival tips for evading slime-hitting powerups
Slime Survival basics and map-specific tips
Slime Survival: How to read minds
Slime Survival: Rarely Used Tricks (This describes several rare techniques, including some this thread does not describe, but this thread has more detail and some new tricks)
Everyone who has played at least a few games of Slime Survival would know what powerups are. Various powerups can be collected from around the map, each one doing something unique. Survivors can collect powerups to benefit themselves or harm slimes. Some people use powerups in ways that are so bad that it would have been better if they never had the powerup. Some use them in the most common way, which is not always the best. This thread describes the most rarely done things you can do with each powerup (which are not necessarily the best but look very stylish).
Every Powerup: It is sad how many people do not use the simplest and easiest technique with powerups. It works with any powerup except speed. I say this in every other thread, but I will say it again here because it is super easy and super effective: Don't show your powerups! People tend to just hold their powerups until they use them. This is convenient, but it is more effective to select the second hotbar slot until switching back to use the powerup when you want to use it. Especially with powerups like Frost Sword that the slimes can try to evade, if the slimes see the powerup in your hand, they will know what to expect and can read you like they have an instruction manual about how to catch you. If you have a Frost Sword, slimes know to try to hit you, then prepare to run if you chase them.
Frost Sword: Usually, when you have a Frost Sword, what you want to do is hit a slime so you can get away from them, or, in Slime Freeze Tag mode, recover a paralyzed survivor who is getting camped. I have seen countless people use Frost Sword aggressively, hunting the slimes just to try to freeze them (and failing to hide their powerup as described already, which makes it even worse). They would be better off never having a Frost Sword. What I have never seen anyone else do, however, is use a Frost Sword to freeze a slime, then use the ice that froze them as a platform to get to where you want to go. Suppose you are between two elevated locations that are too far apart to jump between, but you could jump between them if you could jump in midair. The east platform has a slope leading up to it and the west one does not. You want to get on the west one. If you freeze a slime between the two platforms, you can go on the east platform and then jump on the ice you created with the Frost Sword to get to the west platform. Note that this cannot often be done because of how specific the landscape needs to be to use this technique. This also cannot be done in Snowman Survival because the Snowman Stabber (the Snowman Survival equivalent of the Frost Sword) does not create a platform of ice.
Instant Wall: Part of the reason for me listing this powerup immediately after Frost Sword is that it can be used in the same way. Instant Wall is normally used to stop a slime from getting to you (extra effective in a narrow corridor) or blocking a slime's projectile (though when doing this, you must use the powerup in advance because despite the name, Instant Wall is not instant). You can place an Instant Wall in the same scenario described in the Frost Sword section and use it as a bridge to cross the gap. However, even this is not the rarest use for this powerup. If you have very precise timing, you can jump off the Instant Wall as it is being placed. In Freeze Tag Mode, you do not have a speed effect, so the timing is different. If you sprint-jump forward and place the Instant Wall as you are about to reach the peak of your jump, you can jump off it as it is being placed, because the Instant Wall is placed from bottom to top. If you are playing normal mode, you will want to place the wall at around the same time you hit the jump button (spacebar by default on PC). I call this the Instant Wall Double Jump. Imprecise timing could end up with you blocking yourself off with the wall or getting stuck inside it.
Additionally, a technique just as rare (because I have never seen anyone do the previous technique or this) is to use an Instant Wall to trap a slime in a hiding spot as they are searching it. With precision, you do not need a hiding spot, as you can simply place the wall at an angle around a corner they are in.
Gravity Explosive: This powerup is almost always used to launch slimes away from its user. However, this thread is not called "Common uses for powerups". Slimes are not the only things this powerup can launch. It can also launch slime balls, paralyzed survivors, and powerups. You can use the gravity explosive in a very rarely seen way for all of these. If you use the gravity explosive about 1.2 seconds before a slime ball hits you (with an error margin of only about 0.2 seconds), you will block the slime ball, stopping it from hitting you and launching it away from the slime so they cannot pick it right back up. You can also launch paralyzed survivors you have no time to recover to other alive survivors so they can recover them instead. You can also launch powerups you have no interest in to another survivor who could use them (helping out other survivors helps so they can remain a target for slimes instead of becoming another opponent).
Fireballs: I see these used one at a time far too often. Using all three in a burst is much more effective as this is harder to dodge. Used at the right time, they can be fired at slimes who are jumping over a gap, because the fireballs slow the slimes down, which will disrupt their jump.
Decoy: This powerup is normally used to make survivors invisible until slimes hit their fake replica. This is perfectly logical, but have you ever used a Leap powerup to get to a high location right before grabbing a Decoy? By leaping into a Decoy and onto a raised platform, you can have slimes target you, knowing a Leap or Blink is required to get to where you are, and then end up angry when they find out you somehow got a Decoy up there. If you don't do this, at least have your decoys look away from where you expect the slimes to come from so they think you don't see them.
Shield: A great powerup for saving yourself. Also a great powerup for saving other survivors. Is another survivor about to get hit? Jump in front of them with your Shield to spare your fellow survivor's life instead of your own! This can help a lot in the long run.
Leap: As described in the "Decoy" section, you can use a Leap right before grabbing a Decoy to get to a high location with that Decoy. However, this is not limited to Decoy. Use a Leap right before grabbing another Leap to add to your momentum and cross half the map in 3 seconds. Use a Leap right before grabbing a projectile like Slime Puncher, Fireballs, or Survivor Recover Grenade to shoot from the skies! Use a Leap right before grabbing an Instant Wall to do an Instant Wall Double Jump super high up where everyone gets to see the show! Though this requires insane timing, because your speed rapidly changes when you use a Leap, so you must use the Instant Wall at the precise moment you should, depending on your speed. When you are going at the speed you would be when running in normal mode, for example, use the Instant Wall about 1 block under the peak of your jump while still ascending. I haven't done this much myself, so I can't really help much with the timing other than that.
Blink: Blink is often used to reach a high-up location without having to slowly jump up there. However, it is much harder to see a player who is using Blink because they are a bunch of particles instead of a full-size player. This is how you can jump off a high location with Blink in your first hotbar slot (but NOT in your hand, as slimes that can see your blink powerup will know to not fall for this trick) and then use the Blink to go right back up, while the slime gets juked into jumping down. Be prepared to run away again if the slime doesn't jump down, as those who are not gullible enough do not do that.
Speed: This is commonly used to run from the slimes. Why not take a break from just running and turn a corner, only to go right through a slime as they turn around to confront you? This is effective if you just ran into a narrow corridor where you cannot dodge the slime(s).
Jump Boost: Too many people keep sprinting and jumping after getting this powerup. They are faster just running, even if they are in Slime Freeze Tag mode with no Speed powerup. Its best and most reliable usage is jumping up two blocks at a time to get to a high location, but its rarest use is jumping over slimes. With the Jump Boost powerup, players jump 2.5 blocks in the air, which means they jump so high that their feet at the peak of their jump go higher than their head was when they were on the ground. Any uncharged slime shots aimed at you can be jumped clean over. This is possible without jump boost if the slime aims at your feet, but it is much easier with Jump Boost. Watch out for charged shots, as they are bigger and will hit you anyway.
Slime Puncher: The common usage for this powerup is to shoot slimes to knock them backwards. They are knocked farther back if they are in the air, and the powerup is extra effective for knocking them off a ledge. However, this powerup can make a pretty good distraction sometimes if you are using the Burst Firework Arrow Trail, obtained as a Legendary item from cubelets. This arrow trail triggers fireworks when the arrows hit a block, and firework sounds also occur when survivors pick up powerups (or when powerups spawn, though the sound does not play for slimes when a powerup spawns in normal mode). Slimes can think there is a survivor where the arrows land. Alternatively, you can use fireworks to block a slime's vision.
Slime Trap: This powerup is normally used by being placed out in the open. Some players try to place Slime Traps under slimes so it immediately catches them, which is only a good idea when you are invisible because of a Decoy. People rarely place Slime Traps strategically, such as on white blocks where they camouflage with the floor or on blocks slimes absolutely must step on to get where they want to go, such as in a one-block-wide corridor or the bottom of a ladder. This is not only the rarest use for Slime Traps, but also the best.
Spider Web Bomb: It is too common that this powerup is simply thrown backwards when a survivor with it is being chased. Turning around to throw and aim it slows the survivor down just as much as it slows the slime down. During this time, the slime can simply yeet their projectile at you and you are done for. It is better used to help other survivors. Survivors can punch the cobwebs to instantly break them, but slimes cannot, so they cannot be more of a nuisance to the survivor than to the slime.
Slime Blinder Bomb: Just like the Slime Trap, I often see this powerup being placed out in the open. Slimes can take an extra half second to just walk around them. When placed in a narrow corridor (3 blocks wide or less), slimes can be forced to get blinded. This is so simple but surprisingly uncommon.
Survivor Recover Wand: This is used to recover a survivor instantly. However, the words "a survivor" can be replaced with "multiple survivors". On impact with terrain or a survivor, the Survivor Recover Wand recovers all survivors within a radius of about 2 blocks. If two survivors are right next to each other, you can recover them both. Now imagine if 7 paralyzed survivors congregate on the same block...
Survivor Recover Grenade: Everything about this powerup is very similar to the Survivor Recover Wand. It recovers all survivors within a certain radius on impact. It is a projectile. However, it travels faster and has a larger range, but is affected by gravity. However, these minor differences make both powerups have different rare uses described. Though being affected by gravity is usually a bad thing because it makes it harder to aim, gravity is a blessing in disguise. The Survivor Recover Grenade can be thrown straight up right before being hit by a slime so gravity pulls it back down right onto yourself. Hence, you recovered yourself. An egg thrown straight up takes 4.5 seconds to land, so you are fine if you throw the egg within 4.5 seconds of being hit.
Note that few of these usages for these powerups are the best usages. Depending on the situation, they can be, but the important thing about them is that they look quite stylish and impressive. I described many of the best usages as well, but don't expect that what is uncommon is what is best, because that is not always true. Thank you for reading!
