As someone who has played over four thousand games of Snowman Survival (including Snowman Survival and Slime Survival on Java), I am noticing a lot of Snowman Survival players who make mistakes that make me want to play against some better opponents. There is no system for separating players based on win rate (which would be a cool idea), and I cannot increase the skill of my opponents, but I can provide some tips to play better.
And so I have done in the past. Here are all the threads I have made on Snowman Survival and Slime Survival in the past (these focused on Java edition and most of them are focused on Slime Survival, but these can also be used in Snowman Survival on Bedrock — replace "Frost Sword" with "Snowman Stabber" and forget about what I say about using its ice as a platform):
15 ways to get better at slime survival
Tips for using powerups in Snowman Survival
How to use the powerups in slime survival well
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
Slime Survival: Rare uses for powerups
In all my previous threads, I have talked about things you should do to improve. This time, I will talk about things you should stop doing because they hinder your performance. If you don't make a mistake I list, I don't care, I will still use the word "you". Just pretend you're not the subject.
Don't show your powerups.
I say this in all my threads and I don't care that it is probably getting repetitive. This is super simple and super important. Get into the habit of selecting your second hotbar slot before the first snowman is chosen. Switch to the first hotbar slot to use your powerup, then switch back to the second after using it. If snowmen cannot see what powerup you have, they do not know what to expect and cannot act accordingly. This is even true if you are a snowman. Don't show that you have your snowball and people will assume you don't. Switch to the first hotbar slot when you want to use the snowball and switch back after throwing it. If survivors know you do this, they will still be unable to tell whether you have your snowball, so you are better off anyway.
Don't chase directly.
When chasing a survivor as a snowman, it is very tempting to remain behind them and try to close the gap between yourself and them. They have a permanent speed effect and the ability to collect powerups, so doing this will only catch them if they screw up running away. Whenever you find the opportunity, go a different path that gets to where they are trying to go faster than they get there. They will find that there is already a snowman where they want to go, and will end up joining your team. Similarly, as a survivor, you should always choose a path that does not allow the snowman to do what was just mentioned. Get chased for too long and you will eventually run out of opportunities of escape, so find and use a powerup if you have to.
Don't shoot where a survivor currently is.
Too many people shoot where the survivor is and not where they are going to be. The only way this hits is if the survivor is running in a straight line and the snowman is along that line. If you shoot where they are, survivors will dodge your snowball by accident every time. Even if a survivor is standing still, in most cases, you should throw your snowball to one side of the survivor in an attempt to cause them to move aside into the snowball by reflex.
Don't fall for fake AFK.
I have seen fake AFK hundreds of times. This is where the first snowman remains motionless at the start of the game, waiting for survivors to come and taunt the snowman. When they do, they laugh and have a great time until they see the text informing them that they are now also a snowman. When taunting an "AFK" snowman, there are many possibilities for what might happen. The only safe ones are by far the most unlikely. If the snowman is not actually AFK, you are simply falling for their trap. If they are AFK, they will begin the game with a teammate when they return to their keyboard or controller (yes, that teammate is you). If they are AFK and get disconnected, a new main snowman will be selected. That would be great if you are it because you can catch whoever else came to taunt. But if you were one of those people who came to taunt but you did not become the new main snowman, now you are in that position of becoming the next snowman. Even if someone farther away became the new snowman, you are still smack in the center of the map, out in the open, looking like a fool. If you want to have some fun with this, put a decoy in front of the "AFK" snowman and watch it get destroyed, making the snowman look like an idiot. Fake friendly is a similar concept in which the snowman pretends to just want to have a good time with the survivors (intending to keep them as survivors) for 3.5 minutes, until those survivors find themselves in the same predicament of imminent melting.
Don't hide without an escape plan.
Hiding is a decent strategy because it gets you out of the way of the snowmen who are running around, throwing their snowballs everywhere. However, the main snowman has a tracker they can easily use to find you, so if you are the nearest survivor, they will come straight for you. If you have no escape plan, one snowman will enter your hiding spot and two will leave. You should always have at least one plan of escape for if a snowman comes, though multiple are better. This way, if a snowman prepares to hit you if you use one escape route, you can simply use another.
Don't forget about your range.
Snowballs have a surprisingly low range as compared to slimes in Slime Survival, but they are not melee weapons. Survivors often expect you to not throw your snowball until you are right next to them. By seeing a survivor in a high location and climbing straight up to them, you give up control of their escape route and allow them to run. If you simply shoot at them from below, you have no need to go up there. The survivor will come down because they are no longer a survivor. However, if you are using your snowball as a melee weapon, use a right-click (or the equivalent on your controller — whatever button normally places blocks). Left-clicking often does not work if the survivor is exceptionally close to you (less than a block away), but a right-click instantly converts them to a snowman. You can use this on survivors who think there is no way to hit them when they enter a one-block nook.
Don't use powerups if you don't have to.
Powerups are extremely useful because they allow survivors to escape snowmen. When being chased, it is usually necessary to use a powerup because if no powerup is used, the snowman will chase you until they catch you. Powerups become more and more important throughout the game because their spawn rate increases as the game goes on. However, if you don't need to use a powerup, don't use a powerup! It is better to save your powerup for a more demanding situation that might be about to happen than waste it immediately and simply delay the inevitable. If you don't need to use a powerup but are about to pick up another, there is no reason not to use it.
Don't play as an individual.
Most people understand the concept of using the entire team of snowmen to work together to catch the last few survivors. This is obvious. What most people fail to understand is that the survivors should work as a team. If you could jump into a chase to stop a snowman from chasing another survivor, you should. They probably do not understand this concept, so helping them remain a survivor may not help you as much as it should, but it will be very helpful that they do not become a snowman. It only isn't helpful for those annoying people who leave when they become a snowman. To those people, please stop. Find the fun out of playing as a snowman and think about how the other snowmen would feel about finally managing to catch you only to have you leave them to finish on their own.
Don't be aggressive with Snowman Stabber.
It is tempting to use a Snowman Stabber to turn the tables against the snowman, chasing them instead of having them chase you. Think about this — who wins? Some guy with a melee weapon or a snowman with a ranged snowball they can throw? Charging at snowmen with a Snowman Stabber is pointless because you cannot use your Snowman Stabber once you are a snowman yourself. It's even worse if you also show your powerups. There is no point to using the Snowman Stabber except to defend yourself or another survivor, such as if a snowman refuses to stop chasing you or this other survivor.
Don't use Gravity Explosive carelessly.
Gravity Explosive can be a very useful powerup because it launches snowmen high up into the air. Their horizontal movement is greatly hindered while they are in the air, so you can increase the distance between yourself and them. Do you use Gravity Explosive this way? You do? Uh oh. Snowmen can use Gravity Explosives you place to their advantage because they allow the snowmen to use some tactical ideas, giving them a chance to shoot from a highly elevated location and/or to simply land on some higher ground, increasing the pressure on you. They can also see the entire map and know exactly where everyone within their render distance is located. Thus, the powerup you used helped the snowman. Gravity Explosives are more useful as the game goes on because there are more snowmen to hit and less survivors for those snowmen to locate.
Don't place Decoys without tactical ideas.
There are way too many Decoys people place for absolutely no reason. What good does a Decoy do if you are not the runner in a chase? Decoys keep you invisible for fifteen seconds or until the decoy is destroyed. This is totally useless if you are not about to be attacked but is very useful when running away. Snowmen will either lose you in your fifteen seconds of invisibility or their focus will shift to your Decoy and they will destroy it, giving you a large amount of space to use. You can also defend your decoy by using a Snowman Stabber on snowmen threatening to destroy it. They cannot aim for you while you are invisible. Just make sure you always wait fifteen seconds after placing a Decoy before placing another one because if a Decoy is destroyed and you place another, your invisibility will end before the Decoy is destroyed. Note that Decoys last thirty seconds on Java, so replace every instance of "fifteen" here with "thirty" if you are playing on Java.
Don't sprint and jump.
Usually, sprinting and jumping is faster than just sprinting, but if you are a survivor, it is faster to just run, especially if you have the speed powerup. Speed effects only speed you up while you are on the ground, and although this means you have more momentum for your jumps, simply running is faster. Only sprint and jump if you are a snowman.
Don't use ladders to escape.
When you are running from snowmen, the worst thing you can do is try to escape by climbing a ladder. This is the slowest means of transport in the game and you are a very attackable target. Climbing onto a ladder and jumping off immediately is sometimes a good strategy to try to make the snowmen throw their snowballs up the ladder, but this is only a good idea in dire situations.
Don't lose track of the first snowman.
It is a great idea to try to keep track of as many snowmen as you can, but you cannot keep track of all of them after there are enough. Even just two snowmen will escape your notice if they separate enough. Especially when there is only one snowman, always make sure you know where they are so they can never sneak up on you. Do this and you will never again be the second snowman.
Don't hunt the hiders.
As a snowman, you may want to search hiding spots as you run around the map. Take a brief glance into hiding spots but do not search them. Only search hiding spots when there are no longer enough survivors that you can simply find and target one. If you find a hiding survivor, attack them. If they escape, they are probably not going to last long because they do not have practice evading snowmen without hiding. If you catch them, great job, now your team is bigger. If they do not leave, they are probably a decent snowman because hiding without an escape plan is such a dumb strategy that they are probably snowmen quite often. Feel free to search hiding spots if your tracker leads you there as the main snowman.
Don't take the obvious route to where you want to go.
Most people pick a spot at the beginning of the game and go there as quickly as they can. However, this involves taking the most obvious route there because that is the fastest route. Take some extra time to take a route that is less clear to the snowmen where you are going. A great example is on the Holiday Workshop map. The most popular spot is the top of the fire truck ladder. Ninety-five percent of players climb the side of the ladder closer to spawn, but this advertises to the snowman exactly where they are going. Climbing the ladder immediately is never a good idea because there are no snowmen to cover the escape options, but the snowman knows exactly where you are. Climb the other side of the ladder and avoid being noticed so easily. This takes an extra half second, which is no significant amount in such a situation.
Don't expect poor performance.
You may expect most people to not be particularly good at the game. This often works, but you cannot assume everyone will make the mistakes I listed above at every opportunity. Always assume the snowmen will do the best idea they could do. Be prepared for anything, but you can capitalize if an opponent does make a mistake. Many people fail to figure out what survivors are doing wrong and capitalize. Now that you know what they could do wrong, you can do just that. Other people will make the mistakes listed above, and I explained exactly why those things are bad ideas. If your opponents do those ideas, you now know how to show them why they are bad ideas.
These are all mistakes I see people doing very frequently. Every single game, I see at least one of these mistakes being made. You probably make them yourself. I will even admit that I make these mistakes myself sometimes, though often just for fun, such as escaping snowmen by placing an Instant Wall and jumping off the bottom of it as it is being built. This is completely unnecessary because it uses a powerup I did not need, but it looks super cool and stylish and is very funny to perform (check out the "Rare uses for powerups" thread using the link at the beginning of this one to learn how to do this). Thanks for reading!
And so I have done in the past. Here are all the threads I have made on Snowman Survival and Slime Survival in the past (these focused on Java edition and most of them are focused on Slime Survival, but these can also be used in Snowman Survival on Bedrock — replace "Frost Sword" with "Snowman Stabber" and forget about what I say about using its ice as a platform):
15 ways to get better at slime survival
Tips for using powerups in Snowman Survival
How to use the powerups in slime survival well
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
Slime Survival: Rare uses for powerups
In all my previous threads, I have talked about things you should do to improve. This time, I will talk about things you should stop doing because they hinder your performance. If you don't make a mistake I list, I don't care, I will still use the word "you". Just pretend you're not the subject.
Don't show your powerups.
I say this in all my threads and I don't care that it is probably getting repetitive. This is super simple and super important. Get into the habit of selecting your second hotbar slot before the first snowman is chosen. Switch to the first hotbar slot to use your powerup, then switch back to the second after using it. If snowmen cannot see what powerup you have, they do not know what to expect and cannot act accordingly. This is even true if you are a snowman. Don't show that you have your snowball and people will assume you don't. Switch to the first hotbar slot when you want to use the snowball and switch back after throwing it. If survivors know you do this, they will still be unable to tell whether you have your snowball, so you are better off anyway.
Don't chase directly.
When chasing a survivor as a snowman, it is very tempting to remain behind them and try to close the gap between yourself and them. They have a permanent speed effect and the ability to collect powerups, so doing this will only catch them if they screw up running away. Whenever you find the opportunity, go a different path that gets to where they are trying to go faster than they get there. They will find that there is already a snowman where they want to go, and will end up joining your team. Similarly, as a survivor, you should always choose a path that does not allow the snowman to do what was just mentioned. Get chased for too long and you will eventually run out of opportunities of escape, so find and use a powerup if you have to.
Don't shoot where a survivor currently is.
Too many people shoot where the survivor is and not where they are going to be. The only way this hits is if the survivor is running in a straight line and the snowman is along that line. If you shoot where they are, survivors will dodge your snowball by accident every time. Even if a survivor is standing still, in most cases, you should throw your snowball to one side of the survivor in an attempt to cause them to move aside into the snowball by reflex.
Don't fall for fake AFK.
I have seen fake AFK hundreds of times. This is where the first snowman remains motionless at the start of the game, waiting for survivors to come and taunt the snowman. When they do, they laugh and have a great time until they see the text informing them that they are now also a snowman. When taunting an "AFK" snowman, there are many possibilities for what might happen. The only safe ones are by far the most unlikely. If the snowman is not actually AFK, you are simply falling for their trap. If they are AFK, they will begin the game with a teammate when they return to their keyboard or controller (yes, that teammate is you). If they are AFK and get disconnected, a new main snowman will be selected. That would be great if you are it because you can catch whoever else came to taunt. But if you were one of those people who came to taunt but you did not become the new main snowman, now you are in that position of becoming the next snowman. Even if someone farther away became the new snowman, you are still smack in the center of the map, out in the open, looking like a fool. If you want to have some fun with this, put a decoy in front of the "AFK" snowman and watch it get destroyed, making the snowman look like an idiot. Fake friendly is a similar concept in which the snowman pretends to just want to have a good time with the survivors (intending to keep them as survivors) for 3.5 minutes, until those survivors find themselves in the same predicament of imminent melting.
Don't hide without an escape plan.
Hiding is a decent strategy because it gets you out of the way of the snowmen who are running around, throwing their snowballs everywhere. However, the main snowman has a tracker they can easily use to find you, so if you are the nearest survivor, they will come straight for you. If you have no escape plan, one snowman will enter your hiding spot and two will leave. You should always have at least one plan of escape for if a snowman comes, though multiple are better. This way, if a snowman prepares to hit you if you use one escape route, you can simply use another.
Don't forget about your range.
Snowballs have a surprisingly low range as compared to slimes in Slime Survival, but they are not melee weapons. Survivors often expect you to not throw your snowball until you are right next to them. By seeing a survivor in a high location and climbing straight up to them, you give up control of their escape route and allow them to run. If you simply shoot at them from below, you have no need to go up there. The survivor will come down because they are no longer a survivor. However, if you are using your snowball as a melee weapon, use a right-click (or the equivalent on your controller — whatever button normally places blocks). Left-clicking often does not work if the survivor is exceptionally close to you (less than a block away), but a right-click instantly converts them to a snowman. You can use this on survivors who think there is no way to hit them when they enter a one-block nook.
Don't use powerups if you don't have to.
Powerups are extremely useful because they allow survivors to escape snowmen. When being chased, it is usually necessary to use a powerup because if no powerup is used, the snowman will chase you until they catch you. Powerups become more and more important throughout the game because their spawn rate increases as the game goes on. However, if you don't need to use a powerup, don't use a powerup! It is better to save your powerup for a more demanding situation that might be about to happen than waste it immediately and simply delay the inevitable. If you don't need to use a powerup but are about to pick up another, there is no reason not to use it.
Don't play as an individual.
Most people understand the concept of using the entire team of snowmen to work together to catch the last few survivors. This is obvious. What most people fail to understand is that the survivors should work as a team. If you could jump into a chase to stop a snowman from chasing another survivor, you should. They probably do not understand this concept, so helping them remain a survivor may not help you as much as it should, but it will be very helpful that they do not become a snowman. It only isn't helpful for those annoying people who leave when they become a snowman. To those people, please stop. Find the fun out of playing as a snowman and think about how the other snowmen would feel about finally managing to catch you only to have you leave them to finish on their own.
Don't be aggressive with Snowman Stabber.
It is tempting to use a Snowman Stabber to turn the tables against the snowman, chasing them instead of having them chase you. Think about this — who wins? Some guy with a melee weapon or a snowman with a ranged snowball they can throw? Charging at snowmen with a Snowman Stabber is pointless because you cannot use your Snowman Stabber once you are a snowman yourself. It's even worse if you also show your powerups. There is no point to using the Snowman Stabber except to defend yourself or another survivor, such as if a snowman refuses to stop chasing you or this other survivor.
Don't use Gravity Explosive carelessly.
Gravity Explosive can be a very useful powerup because it launches snowmen high up into the air. Their horizontal movement is greatly hindered while they are in the air, so you can increase the distance between yourself and them. Do you use Gravity Explosive this way? You do? Uh oh. Snowmen can use Gravity Explosives you place to their advantage because they allow the snowmen to use some tactical ideas, giving them a chance to shoot from a highly elevated location and/or to simply land on some higher ground, increasing the pressure on you. They can also see the entire map and know exactly where everyone within their render distance is located. Thus, the powerup you used helped the snowman. Gravity Explosives are more useful as the game goes on because there are more snowmen to hit and less survivors for those snowmen to locate.
Don't place Decoys without tactical ideas.
There are way too many Decoys people place for absolutely no reason. What good does a Decoy do if you are not the runner in a chase? Decoys keep you invisible for fifteen seconds or until the decoy is destroyed. This is totally useless if you are not about to be attacked but is very useful when running away. Snowmen will either lose you in your fifteen seconds of invisibility or their focus will shift to your Decoy and they will destroy it, giving you a large amount of space to use. You can also defend your decoy by using a Snowman Stabber on snowmen threatening to destroy it. They cannot aim for you while you are invisible. Just make sure you always wait fifteen seconds after placing a Decoy before placing another one because if a Decoy is destroyed and you place another, your invisibility will end before the Decoy is destroyed. Note that Decoys last thirty seconds on Java, so replace every instance of "fifteen" here with "thirty" if you are playing on Java.
Don't sprint and jump.
Usually, sprinting and jumping is faster than just sprinting, but if you are a survivor, it is faster to just run, especially if you have the speed powerup. Speed effects only speed you up while you are on the ground, and although this means you have more momentum for your jumps, simply running is faster. Only sprint and jump if you are a snowman.
Don't use ladders to escape.
When you are running from snowmen, the worst thing you can do is try to escape by climbing a ladder. This is the slowest means of transport in the game and you are a very attackable target. Climbing onto a ladder and jumping off immediately is sometimes a good strategy to try to make the snowmen throw their snowballs up the ladder, but this is only a good idea in dire situations.
Don't lose track of the first snowman.
It is a great idea to try to keep track of as many snowmen as you can, but you cannot keep track of all of them after there are enough. Even just two snowmen will escape your notice if they separate enough. Especially when there is only one snowman, always make sure you know where they are so they can never sneak up on you. Do this and you will never again be the second snowman.
Don't hunt the hiders.
As a snowman, you may want to search hiding spots as you run around the map. Take a brief glance into hiding spots but do not search them. Only search hiding spots when there are no longer enough survivors that you can simply find and target one. If you find a hiding survivor, attack them. If they escape, they are probably not going to last long because they do not have practice evading snowmen without hiding. If you catch them, great job, now your team is bigger. If they do not leave, they are probably a decent snowman because hiding without an escape plan is such a dumb strategy that they are probably snowmen quite often. Feel free to search hiding spots if your tracker leads you there as the main snowman.
Don't take the obvious route to where you want to go.
Most people pick a spot at the beginning of the game and go there as quickly as they can. However, this involves taking the most obvious route there because that is the fastest route. Take some extra time to take a route that is less clear to the snowmen where you are going. A great example is on the Holiday Workshop map. The most popular spot is the top of the fire truck ladder. Ninety-five percent of players climb the side of the ladder closer to spawn, but this advertises to the snowman exactly where they are going. Climbing the ladder immediately is never a good idea because there are no snowmen to cover the escape options, but the snowman knows exactly where you are. Climb the other side of the ladder and avoid being noticed so easily. This takes an extra half second, which is no significant amount in such a situation.
Don't expect poor performance.
You may expect most people to not be particularly good at the game. This often works, but you cannot assume everyone will make the mistakes I listed above at every opportunity. Always assume the snowmen will do the best idea they could do. Be prepared for anything, but you can capitalize if an opponent does make a mistake. Many people fail to figure out what survivors are doing wrong and capitalize. Now that you know what they could do wrong, you can do just that. Other people will make the mistakes listed above, and I explained exactly why those things are bad ideas. If your opponents do those ideas, you now know how to show them why they are bad ideas.
These are all mistakes I see people doing very frequently. Every single game, I see at least one of these mistakes being made. You probably make them yourself. I will even admit that I make these mistakes myself sometimes, though often just for fun, such as escaping snowmen by placing an Instant Wall and jumping off the bottom of it as it is being built. This is completely unnecessary because it uses a powerup I did not need, but it looks super cool and stylish and is very funny to perform (check out the "Rare uses for powerups" thread using the link at the beginning of this one to learn how to do this). Thanks for reading!
