Evolve Guide: How to Play as the Wraith

As Evolve lumbered towards launch in all its horn-covered fury we were bombarded with images of the imposing Goliath and the tentacled Kraken so much that we forgot something. Many forgot that Evolve was launched with three different monsters rather than a paltry two. Luckily Turtle Rock didn’t forget as we came upon the delightful sneakiness of Evolve’s third monster – the shadowy Wraith. She might not have the power to make small children cry or big men scream at a glance but she hides within her something far worse. She’ll kill you and your friends one by one while the last one standing is none the wiser.

The Goliath is terrifying and the Kraken is weird-looking. That’s the two first reactions you’ll normally find briskly popping into the mind of those who look upon them. When you look at a Wraith though, your mind can’t help but wander to wondering just how this thing is supposed to be as powerful as her brothers. The answer is she isn’t, and that’s what makes her ten times scarier.

The Wraith in Evolve is not something to be taken lightly. She’ll succumb quickly to a hail of gunfire, that’s for sure, but she’s just as likely to kill half your team before you even realize you can’t smell Daisy’s Trapjaw backside any more. Kraken players prefer to harry their opponents from afar while Goliath players rip them apart three at a time in close combat. Those who choose to play as the Wraith, however, take heed: learn her strengths and weaknesses before molding them into a weapon which, when used correctly, can kill a whole slew of hunters in the blink of an eye.

If the idea of playing as a stealthy and sneaky floating snake of a creature with 10 foot blades sounds like your kind of Tuesday then get yourself onto the next page as we present to you a guide for how to play as the Wraith in Evolve.

Warp Blast

Ability names in Evolve are very rarely impressive, none more so than the Warp Blast. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a useful tool available to a Wraith however. It plays to the strengths of the monster too in what it does. Warp Blast catapults the Wraith forward into whatever poor sap (or animal) is in the monster’s path and then, a second or so later, explodes into a ball of whatever the hell it is a Warp Blast is made out of. Seriously does anyone know? You, over there; yes, you in the plaid shirt with the monumentally thick-framed glasses on: any ideas?

Whatever the hell it’s made out of, Warp Blast sure as hell gets the results. Launch yourself into a congregation of animals to enjoy a literal smorgasbord of meat after they all fall beneath the power of exploding Marmite. Carefully stalk your prey until it’s alone before suddenly appearing in its face to explode in what can only be described as surprisingly shiny and melted toffee that’s been in the garbage for two months and smells faintly of the gym’s lost and found box.

Warp Blast isn’t all happiness and sunshine though. The Wraith is, without a shadow of a doubt, the least sturdy of Evolve‘s trio of tremendous creatures. Throw a bullet into a desk-fan and it’ll cause enough damage to end a Wraith’s day out. If you are going to use Warp Blast, you need to be totally sure that you’ll win or there’s an escape route open to you.

A great time to use this is when you’re facing down a Hunter who is currently escaping your clutches. Aim your Warp Blast just ahead of them and jump into shot. It’ll give them a fright, allowing you to whip out a Supernova or activate Decoy after the Warp Blast ignites to enact a clean getaway. Warp Blast is also the Wraith’s best method of taking down turrets in Evolve‘s Defend mode. Jump in, explode, then Decoy the hell out of there to achieve success.

Abduction

Put that probe away, this isn’t that kind of Abduction. Evolve doesn’t do that sort of stuff. The Wraith’s Abduction is perhaps her signature skill and definitely one of the most unique you’ll ever come across when playing Evolve. Activating Abduction sends out a faint red targeting telegraph. Line it up with a Hunter (or animal) and the Wraith suddenly zips forward at high speed to collect whatever you targeted. If you’re successful, she with latch onto her prey before quickly jumping back to her start point. Should you fail to grab anything, you’ll still return to your original point.

This is your bread and your butter. This is both your rod and your staff. It might only be one thing, but Abduction is a tried and tested method in Evolve which Wraith players can use to exact cruel death upon foes. The best place to use this is fairly obvious really. When an opposing Hunter strays a little too far from the pack or lags behind their group, use Abduction to pull them back into your clutches and rip them apart to stamp down your true domination of Evolve‘s battlefields. It’s also incredibly satisfying to snatch annoying pets and kill them before their owners can come to help. 

The greatest use of Abduction, though, comes from playing with the very systems of Evolve. When you’ve downed a Hunter as a Wraith one of the more annoying tasks is stopping their friends from coming to revive them. It’s an arduous process which requires you to either slash at the fallen foe while Hunters shoot you full of holes, or try to harass the enemy so they ignore their broken ally. Both of these are dangerous for the Wraith.

You can, however, use Abduction to pull the ground-stricken enemy away from their allies. This’ll stop them being able to easily run over and will probably require the enemy to re-position. As an added bonus it stops the Hunter team from being able to throw down traps around your escape route as you’ll already be too far away for them to do anything. Pull downed enemies onto the tops of bluffs or buildings to make it a real slog for the enemy.

It also goes without saying that a Wraith can fairly easily win Evolve‘s Rescue missions by using Abduction. Warp over to where those who need to be rescues are lain, then pull them away into your own personal lair of death before the Hunters can even touch them.

Decoy

Okay, so you can instantly zip into combat and explode or flit in out of nowhere and pull enemies away into your clutches. What you need now is something different. Something to distract the enemy when you’re caught in a corner. Something that’ll allow you to stand atop a mountain, twiddling your 1890’s mustache while the Hunters stand around scratching their heads. How about the ability to instantly create a sentient copy of yourself while you cloak and slip away? Yeah, that’s just what you need.

Having to deal with one monster in Evolve is enough. So imagine the anguish of Hunters when you hit the Decoy button and create a copy of yourself, only to slip away into the shadows while the team of humans against you wastefully shoots at an apparition you created. This Decoy isn’t a completely impotent ghost though. It is in fact capable of doing a fairly substantial amount of damage to opponents in lieu of your presence. Using a Decoy is like using a fire-and-forget missile before throwing a disguise on and slipping into the bushes. Just give the missile claws and you’re pretty close. 

One important thing to remember when you activate Decoy as a Wraith though is that you’re not invulnerable while it’s active. Should a random Hunter’s shot clip you, they’ll know you’re there. If you accidentally push the button to warp away and evolve another day, they’ll know you’re there. Try to use an attack and, well you get the picture by now right? Hit Decoy and retreat for a second attack rather than using it as part of your combat combination. This is also because when you become visible, the Decoy is destroyed automatically.

A great use for the Decoy in Evolve is when trying to chew your way through smaller wildlife creatures. Wander into their patch and set off Decoy before sitting back and watching the death circus begin. You’ll take no damage while it kills everything and you walk in to eat the remains.

Supernova

When you read that word – Supernova – you imagine that the Wraith is capable of setting off a small celestial-level explosion in the maps of Evolve. Sadly, that’s not right. That doesn’t mean Supernova doesn’t have its uses though; if anything, using Supernova properly is more important than using any of the Wraith’s other abilities in Evolve. Activating Supernova throws up a small arena-style area, within which the Wraith is buffed with higher attack speed and bonus to her armor.

The best time to use Supernova is when you’ve got a group of Hunters trapped. While they can float away, it’s much more difficult for Hunters to escape in Evolve than Mr. Monster. Fly into them with a Warp Blast and then activate Supernova to slice your enemies into nothing more than something you’d see on a deli counter. Supernova also has its use against single enemies too. Pull them back with a swift Abduction and then activate Supernova to cause huge amounts of damage to your enemy without even breaking a sweat.

Supernova’s effects in Evolve are not just granted to the Wraith. A Wraith’s Decoy can also reap the benefits of this bubble of boom-boom (working title) so as to add even more possibilities to your maelstrom-causing needs. Warp Blast into enemies and throw out a Supernova then when the going gets tough, activate your Decoy before the Supernova ends. You can even make use of Abduction here to pull Hunters back into your Supernova instead of letting them just run away.

While there’s plenty of talk about killing Hunters here, the wildlife of Evolve is just as important. If you have the opportunity to attack multiple animals quickly, use Supernova to ensure you rip through them quickly enough so you’re not vulnerable for what will feel like an age.

Killing Hunters as a Wraith in Evolve

Now to the business of what to actually do as a Wraith in Evolve. Well of course, the finer points of any strategy are up to the player (that’s you). There are a few pointers however that can be used by anyone when getting started with the Wraith. The first one is that a Wraith doesn’t need to kill the larger wildlife creatures. They might evolve faster from them, but a Wraith is much less physically capable of taking the hits. It is instead best to try to kill only the smaller prey, while taking on larger enemies only when you’re really desperate.

Making good use of the Wraith’s traversal capabilities is just as important here. She is capable of a warp-based jumping maneuver not unlike her Warp Blast. This allows her to very quickly move from point to point in the blink of an eye. The only problem here is that when you’re on the ground, your start point and end point both leave tracks. Try to ensure you use this when on higher ground. It’s also great for confusing Hunters since they’ll not be able to guess where you’re going to be. If you’ve been using Warp Blast often, jump into the Hunters to really screw with their heads when you don’t explode.

Taking on each of the Hunter classes is essentially the same for a Wraith. You grab them, pull them away from their friends, then assassinate them quickly before their allies can help out. Your priority should almost always be to not get too close to the Assault class characters of Evolve. These little buggers are capable of huge amounts of damage when you’re close to them. Completely hammer them or try to stay away to ensure your survival when they’re in the mix. Medics are often quite easy for a Wraith to take down, but certain abilities like Val’s Tranquilizer Gun can pose a problem. If you’re hit by it, use Decoy to remove the debuff for a short time.

Support Hunters can be a serious problem when they start cloaking people. Your best chance against them is to keep moving and look for signs of Hunter movement on the ground. If you suspect a group of Hunters is somewhere, dive into them with a Warp Blast and make them cry.

Your first target without a doubt as a Wraith in Evolve should always be the Trapper. You’re a highly mobile and lightly armored creature who needs to move to survive. The Trapper is a pain in the backside and nothing sort of a nuisance who delights in nothing more than stopping you from moving freely. Focus them down and rip them to pieces before they can remember if your name is spelled Wraith or Wriath.

Have you been enjoying Evolve? Which is your favorite Monster? What’s your strategy for succeeding as a Wraith in Evolve? Let us know in the comments.