Hello, fellow Cubecrafters! I am Powerofbeds, a guy who plays an unhealthy amount of Snowman Survival. I have played around five thousand games now (including Snowman Survival and Slime Survival on Java), and it is sometimes too easy for me to win. That is why I make threads like this one and all of these, which I have made in the past:
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
Snowman Survival: Common Mistakes
Snowman Survival: Survivor Strategy
Snowman Survival: Snowman Strategy
My previous thread said that it would probably be my last tips thread for Snowman Survival, but "who knows if ... the game will get an update?" And the game got an update before I even posted the thread. This thread focuses on what has changed from last year and how to incorporate those changes into your playstyle.
Toys
Toys is one of the two maps introduced in the new update. Do not expect to win here as a survivor because this map is quite unbalanced in the favor of the snowmen. There are several reasons for this. There are minimal hiding spots for those who like to hide, and for those who don't, the map is small and open, there is minimal high ground to take a safer location, and what high ground there is can usually only be accessed via ladders that are out in the open. The structure of the map also provides few options for escaping when you are getting chased and it is very easy to get cornered. However, there are some tips that can help to make things a little easier. I always recommend against hiding, but if you must, I find that the best spot to do so is inside the train on the high shelf (the one that can only be accessed via the jump pads). Try to maintain high ground whenever possible, and hold a Leap powerup for as much of the game as you can because it allows you to get to higher ground (on top of one of the presents) more easily, and it also allows you to leap over snowmen as they try to shoot up to a high spot you are already at. One more tip I have is comparable to a mechanic of the classic game "Pac-Man", which, if you've ever played, you might know that there is a path that leads off the screen and leads to the other side of the screen which the ghosts (who you are trying to avoid) cannot move through nearly as quickly as you can. Similarly, by going to the side of the shelf that is accessed via two jump pads, you can land on the edge of the lower jump pad and get to the top without using the second one. This saves you several seconds and cannot be done by snowmen because they lack the permanent speed effect survivors have. If you are playing on this map as the snowman, don't give the survivors a moment to breathe, as they will use it to climb one of the ladders they can only climb if they are alone.
Snowglobe
Snowglobe is the other of the two maps that did not exist last year, and similarly to the Toys map, this one is also very unbalanced, but this time, it favors the survivors. A lot of the map is open like Toys map, but the difference this map has is how easy it is to access good locations to stay. The cake in the middle is not such a location because there are too many ladders that lead up to it and it is too easy for snowmen to sneak up on you, but by jumping from it to the nearby tree and from there onto the house, you can remain up there for a long time. Watch for snowballs being thrown from the neighboring house and snowmen attempting to get onto the house with you from the same way you came. Snowballs cannot reach you from the ground. Additionally, the giant snowman near the edge of the map is a great asset for survivors because although it is never wise to try to escape a snowman who is chasing you by climbing a ladder as you are slow and predictable, this ladder, which is accessed from behind the snowman, is completely concealed within the snowman and takes an entire ten seconds to climb. This gives you a great opportunity to stall. If you bring a Decoy up there, that's even better because you can jump down onto the snowman's nose (the structure) if you see a snowman (enemy) ascending the ladder. By placing it on the base of the nose, you force your enemy to jump down onto it to destroy the Decoy, and meanwhile, you just casually make your way back up the ladder again. Grab another powerup on the way if you can. The turkey is also great for survivors as there are many ways up and you can use the high ground to your advantage. If you are playing on this map as a snowman, good luck. It won't be easy. Try to force survivors out into the open as the map is still fairly open, and if you happen to be on top of the giant snowman, you can get onto the ladder and throw your snowball downward (right-click is better here) and hit a survivor as they are coming up. Due to the lack of space to move aside, there's nothing the survivor can do. This does not tend to be something you should try for unless the opportunity happens to present itself because there is no guarantee that a survivor will come along.
Snowman
Snowman is a map that existed last year but has since been removed. So I guess there's not much to say about it.
Shield
The shield has recently been added to Bedrock edition. It is a powerup that already existed in Java, and now it is here on Bedrock edition to be the new most powerful powerup in general. In some situations, it might be better to take something else (such as taking a Decoy somewhere to try to gain space if you are attacked, a Leap to get somewhere faster than the snowmen, or a Snowman Stabber for a medal if you are more competitive), but the Shield powerup is generally the strongest powerup due to the simple trick of not showing your powerups. I say this in every thread because it is simple and effective. Select the second hotbar slot until you are ready to use your powerup, then switch to the first to use it. Snowman cannot see it, so they will not know what to expect. This goes double for shield because the 15-second timer does not count down if you are not holding the shield. This means you are vulnerable, but if you only hold the shield when a snowman could hit you and hide it when you are safe, your shield essentially means you can survive a hit for free. It is supposed to launch snowballs away from it as well, but don't count on this because it doesn't always work this way. And please don't just stand next to the snowmen with your shield. You block a hit. So what? You lose the shield and now you have to escape without it. That's a huge mistake I see a lot of people making. If you have a shield and get hit twice, you're now a snowman.
Fireballs
Fireballs are another new powerup recently added, and isn't this just crazy? Two new powerups arrive in Bedrock edition and one of them is instantly the best powerup and the other is instantly the worst. Fireballs have incredibly small hitboxes snowmen can easily dodge, and they have a cooldown of about half a second, preventing burst fire, which was really the only way to use them effectively on Java. If you do manage to hit the snowman, they get the blindness effect for a few seconds. This is not even worth the risk. By turning toward a snowman who is chasing you to shoot fireballs at them (which is the only good way to use this powerup, as any other usage is wastage), you slow yourself down almost as much as they will if you hit them. The problem is that you probably won't hit them, so all you're doing is losing space and potentially becoming a snowman yourself. With how hard it is to hit snowmen with these, they should just do the realistic thing they would do and cause the snowmen to instantly melt, but that means that snowman doesn't get to enjoy the rest of the game. What a predicament. My recommendation is to simply not use these, and even to pick them up if you don't have a powerup just for the sake of getting them out of the way for later.
Powerup Pickups
Powerup pickups have changed as well, as the models are bigger and fancier but the nametags that accompanied them are now gone, meaning you can no longer see them through walls. Snowman Stabbers can also be difficult to locate due to the model being three small swords, all separate from each other. It is better to use the firework color to locate Snowman Stabbers. I believe yellow fireworks indicate Snowman Stabbers, but I can't say for sure about any powerup because I have (mild) colorblindness, so you probably know more about it than I do. The other difference about powerup pickups is the size of their hitboxes. For this year, the radius of powerup pickup hitboxes was about three blocks. They have since been reduced to closer to around 1.5 blocks radius. This is still huge, so be extra careful about these powerup pickups if you already have a powerup you would rather keep.
With that, you have now learned about the changes this year's new update has given to snowman survival and how to incorporate those changes into your playstyle to increase your win rate. I have learned a lesson of my own and will therefore not say that this will be my last tips thread again (in fact, I already intend to write a remake of my first thread, "15 ways to get better at slime survival", because I now have over six times as much experience now than I did then). Thanks for reading!
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
Snowman Survival: Common Mistakes
Snowman Survival: Survivor Strategy
Snowman Survival: Snowman Strategy
My previous thread said that it would probably be my last tips thread for Snowman Survival, but "who knows if ... the game will get an update?" And the game got an update before I even posted the thread. This thread focuses on what has changed from last year and how to incorporate those changes into your playstyle.
Toys
Toys is one of the two maps introduced in the new update. Do not expect to win here as a survivor because this map is quite unbalanced in the favor of the snowmen. There are several reasons for this. There are minimal hiding spots for those who like to hide, and for those who don't, the map is small and open, there is minimal high ground to take a safer location, and what high ground there is can usually only be accessed via ladders that are out in the open. The structure of the map also provides few options for escaping when you are getting chased and it is very easy to get cornered. However, there are some tips that can help to make things a little easier. I always recommend against hiding, but if you must, I find that the best spot to do so is inside the train on the high shelf (the one that can only be accessed via the jump pads). Try to maintain high ground whenever possible, and hold a Leap powerup for as much of the game as you can because it allows you to get to higher ground (on top of one of the presents) more easily, and it also allows you to leap over snowmen as they try to shoot up to a high spot you are already at. One more tip I have is comparable to a mechanic of the classic game "Pac-Man", which, if you've ever played, you might know that there is a path that leads off the screen and leads to the other side of the screen which the ghosts (who you are trying to avoid) cannot move through nearly as quickly as you can. Similarly, by going to the side of the shelf that is accessed via two jump pads, you can land on the edge of the lower jump pad and get to the top without using the second one. This saves you several seconds and cannot be done by snowmen because they lack the permanent speed effect survivors have. If you are playing on this map as the snowman, don't give the survivors a moment to breathe, as they will use it to climb one of the ladders they can only climb if they are alone.
Snowglobe
Snowglobe is the other of the two maps that did not exist last year, and similarly to the Toys map, this one is also very unbalanced, but this time, it favors the survivors. A lot of the map is open like Toys map, but the difference this map has is how easy it is to access good locations to stay. The cake in the middle is not such a location because there are too many ladders that lead up to it and it is too easy for snowmen to sneak up on you, but by jumping from it to the nearby tree and from there onto the house, you can remain up there for a long time. Watch for snowballs being thrown from the neighboring house and snowmen attempting to get onto the house with you from the same way you came. Snowballs cannot reach you from the ground. Additionally, the giant snowman near the edge of the map is a great asset for survivors because although it is never wise to try to escape a snowman who is chasing you by climbing a ladder as you are slow and predictable, this ladder, which is accessed from behind the snowman, is completely concealed within the snowman and takes an entire ten seconds to climb. This gives you a great opportunity to stall. If you bring a Decoy up there, that's even better because you can jump down onto the snowman's nose (the structure) if you see a snowman (enemy) ascending the ladder. By placing it on the base of the nose, you force your enemy to jump down onto it to destroy the Decoy, and meanwhile, you just casually make your way back up the ladder again. Grab another powerup on the way if you can. The turkey is also great for survivors as there are many ways up and you can use the high ground to your advantage. If you are playing on this map as a snowman, good luck. It won't be easy. Try to force survivors out into the open as the map is still fairly open, and if you happen to be on top of the giant snowman, you can get onto the ladder and throw your snowball downward (right-click is better here) and hit a survivor as they are coming up. Due to the lack of space to move aside, there's nothing the survivor can do. This does not tend to be something you should try for unless the opportunity happens to present itself because there is no guarantee that a survivor will come along.
Snowman
Snowman is a map that existed last year but has since been removed. So I guess there's not much to say about it.
Shield
The shield has recently been added to Bedrock edition. It is a powerup that already existed in Java, and now it is here on Bedrock edition to be the new most powerful powerup in general. In some situations, it might be better to take something else (such as taking a Decoy somewhere to try to gain space if you are attacked, a Leap to get somewhere faster than the snowmen, or a Snowman Stabber for a medal if you are more competitive), but the Shield powerup is generally the strongest powerup due to the simple trick of not showing your powerups. I say this in every thread because it is simple and effective. Select the second hotbar slot until you are ready to use your powerup, then switch to the first to use it. Snowman cannot see it, so they will not know what to expect. This goes double for shield because the 15-second timer does not count down if you are not holding the shield. This means you are vulnerable, but if you only hold the shield when a snowman could hit you and hide it when you are safe, your shield essentially means you can survive a hit for free. It is supposed to launch snowballs away from it as well, but don't count on this because it doesn't always work this way. And please don't just stand next to the snowmen with your shield. You block a hit. So what? You lose the shield and now you have to escape without it. That's a huge mistake I see a lot of people making. If you have a shield and get hit twice, you're now a snowman.
Fireballs
Fireballs are another new powerup recently added, and isn't this just crazy? Two new powerups arrive in Bedrock edition and one of them is instantly the best powerup and the other is instantly the worst. Fireballs have incredibly small hitboxes snowmen can easily dodge, and they have a cooldown of about half a second, preventing burst fire, which was really the only way to use them effectively on Java. If you do manage to hit the snowman, they get the blindness effect for a few seconds. This is not even worth the risk. By turning toward a snowman who is chasing you to shoot fireballs at them (which is the only good way to use this powerup, as any other usage is wastage), you slow yourself down almost as much as they will if you hit them. The problem is that you probably won't hit them, so all you're doing is losing space and potentially becoming a snowman yourself. With how hard it is to hit snowmen with these, they should just do the realistic thing they would do and cause the snowmen to instantly melt, but that means that snowman doesn't get to enjoy the rest of the game. What a predicament. My recommendation is to simply not use these, and even to pick them up if you don't have a powerup just for the sake of getting them out of the way for later.
Powerup Pickups
Powerup pickups have changed as well, as the models are bigger and fancier but the nametags that accompanied them are now gone, meaning you can no longer see them through walls. Snowman Stabbers can also be difficult to locate due to the model being three small swords, all separate from each other. It is better to use the firework color to locate Snowman Stabbers. I believe yellow fireworks indicate Snowman Stabbers, but I can't say for sure about any powerup because I have (mild) colorblindness, so you probably know more about it than I do. The other difference about powerup pickups is the size of their hitboxes. For this year, the radius of powerup pickup hitboxes was about three blocks. They have since been reduced to closer to around 1.5 blocks radius. This is still huge, so be extra careful about these powerup pickups if you already have a powerup you would rather keep.
With that, you have now learned about the changes this year's new update has given to snowman survival and how to incorporate those changes into your playstyle to increase your win rate. I have learned a lesson of my own and will therefore not say that this will be my last tips thread again (in fact, I already intend to write a remake of my first thread, "15 ways to get better at slime survival", because I now have over six times as much experience now than I did then). Thanks for reading!
