Swarm Dodge guide: how each monster moves and where the points are

How a run works

You have one ability: moving. Two monsters start walking in from off screen, and every 5 seconds one more joins them. At the same moment everything on the field gets 3% faster. Monsters never leave, so the field only gets fuller until it holds 34 of them, which happens at about 2 minutes 40 seconds if you last that long. The speed keeps rising after that with no limit.

Monsters begin at 80% of their listed speed. By one minute they are at 116%, and by two minutes 134%. You always move at the same speed, so the gap between you and the swarm closes steadily over a run.

Scoring

• Motes are worth 5 points. Three are always on the field. When you take one, a replacement appears at least a quarter of the screen's short side away from you and not right beside a monster.
• Grazes are worth 1 point. You score one when the edge of your character passes within a short distance of a monster's edge without touching it. Each monster can pay only once every 0.9 seconds, so standing next to one does not farm points; you need to pass it, then pass it again later.

A mote is five grazes. Motes are the backbone of your score, and grazes are what you pick up on the way to them.

The five monsters

After the first 8 seconds, each new arrival is picked at random: treants and imps are the most likely, bats and wizards less so, and a mage pack least likely, though a pack adds three bodies at once.

Treant

Big and slow, and it never deviates. It is harmless in open space and deadly in corners, because it walks straight into the spot you are trapped in. It is also the easiest monster to graze, since its path is completely predictable.

Imp

The imp is the one that will eventually outrun you. Its speed passes yours at around 1 minute 55 seconds, and from then on you cannot simply run from it. Its wobble swings its heading back and forth, so it does not come at you on a clean line. Move off its approach early, and prefer to let it pass on your side rather than trying to outpace it.

Bat

Bats close on you while swaying perpendicular to their path, so the line you dodged is not the line they end up on. Give them a wider berth than their size suggests. A bat becomes faster than you at about the three-minute mark.

Wizard

A wizard leads its target. If you run in a straight line, it heads for the point you will reach. Change direction as it gets close; a sharp turn makes its aim wrong. Moving slowly or stopping briefly also shrinks its lead, since it aims using your current velocity.

Mage pack

Three mages arrive together, each pulled off to its own side as it approaches, so they close off a direction rather than a point. Leave through the widest opening as soon as the pack appears, before the fan closes.

Using where monsters spawn

Every new monster appears just off screen on the side furthest from you. You can use that. If you spend most of your time in one half of the screen, new arrivals come from the opposite edge and have the longest walk before they reach you. If you drift near a corner, the next arrival comes from the far side, but you have also left yourself little room to escape a treant.

A sensible default is to hold a position a little off centre, cross the middle to collect motes, and come back.

Controls matter more than they look

On a touch screen or with the mouse held, your character walks towards the point under your finger or pointer, and it slows down as it arrives so it settles without jittering. That means steering by pointing just in front of yourself gives you less than full speed. Point well ahead in the direction you want to go when you need to escape. With WASD or the arrow keys, you always move at full speed.

Opening plan

1. For the first 8 seconds, only treants and imps arrive. Collect motes aggressively here; you are faster than everything.
2. Practise grazing the treants: pass alongside one close enough to see a point pop, then keep going.
3. When bats, wizards and mages start arriving, switch to collecting the nearest mote rather than the one furthest from danger.

Mid-run strategy

• Take motes on a curve, not a straight line. Straight runs are what wizards punish.
• Collect grazes only as a side effect. Deliberately circling a monster for points uses time you need to reach motes.
• Keep the imps in view. Losing track of one is the most common way a run ends once they outpace you.

Common mistakes

• Hiding in a corner. You score nothing, and a treant will pin you there.
• Running directly away from a wizard.
• Waiting to see where a mage pack settles instead of leaving early.
• Holding your finger right on top of your character, which caps your speed.

If you're stuck

Aim first for a run that collects every mote in the opening 20 seconds. Then try to keep collecting through the one-minute mark, when the field holds 14 monsters. Most of the score in a good run comes from motes taken while the swarm is still slow enough to outrun.