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TEN-HUT!! Boots in line cadets, we’re here to learn about the fine art of Titan Slaying! I am Major General Boots of the Survey Corps, here to guide all of you towards the path to being Titan Tackling Terrors like me!
Bottom Line Up Front
Cadets, before I go into further detail I got some ground rules to keep you from becoming ground humans.
- Attack the nape of the neck to kill a Titan. Nothing else will kill it.
- Attack with both blades in a X for the most effective quick kill.
- If you find you are missing the nape of the neck, Try ducking closer. The blades are shorter than you might expect.
- Attack its ankles to make the titan drop to its knees for a VERY brief moment.
- If aiming the grappling hook at a Titan’s head while flying through the air, aim the grappling hook’s reticle just a hair away from the actual bullseye in the direction opposite of where you are flying. This is to account for the grappling hook’s slightly slow speed.
- Thanks to the nature of the ODM gear, motion-sickness is not a worry. I suffer from motion sickness and never felt a hint of nausea. Should you feel motion sick playing this or any VR games please remember to immediately take the headset off, give yourself a half hour to recover, and drink some water. Otherwise recovery time might take longer if you try to bare-knuckle through it.
- While you might assume the ODM gear will be impossible to control and adapt you, all it takes is a couple of minutes to get used to the controls and you will be swinging through the trees in no time.
- All in all, it might be difficult but that rewarding difficulty that will make you lift your arms in victory with every massive goon to meet the floor.
- Remember: Reiner’s a traitorous loser!
Attack on Quest
Tireless Titan trimming thrust tactlessness towards this teacher. So, your last instructor got eaten. It was a terrible tragedy. We never saw it coming, but such is the nature of the beast. I’m sorry.
Has this line of human humongous-head harvesters heard of Attack on Titan?! Anime and Manga Legend? Cultural phenomenon, soldier?! Well I hope you have! As these perfect recreations of what you are going to face out there beyond our GLORIOUS walls!
Oh, no you didn’t hear me wrong! There are actually TWO Attack on Titan games for Vr! Both are available for FREE. To avoid any confusion I will be explaining how to fight titans in the game Attack on Quest. AoT:S is the other one, for you curious soldiers out there.
SideQuest
SideQuest is a free and easy to use program that you install onto your PC and then use that to install games and programs found on the SideQuest program itself.
You might be familiar with a number of titles that got their start on the Quest headset, or Vr at large, on the SideQuest marketplace. A bulk of the games offered by Meta/Oculus’ AppLab come from this program. Pavlov is another game from here you might have heard of, though it has gone on to be available to a wider audience lately.
While some games on this program require payment, Attack on Quest is absolutely free!
How to Kill a Titan
Flare Gun
To kill a titan you first need to know how to summon a titan. Pressing the thumbstick of your right controller will switch between your left sword and the flare gun. Pressing B, the top face-button of the same controller, will rotate between four colors which will summon different types of Titan. Information on the Titans themselves will be detailed further below.
Red
This will be your first and most used flare-color. It will summon multiple titans of varying size. Until you fire the green flare, the Titans will respawn elsewhere after falling flat on their face and vanishing. The Titans can be out and active while using the Black and Purple flares to summon the boss titans.
Green
This desummons any of the Titans currently out on the field.
Black
This summons the Armored Titan, it CAN be summoned while normal titans are out but CAN NOT be summoned while the Female Titan is out. Only one will be summoned at a time.
Purple
This summons the Female Titan. Like above, the Female Titan CAN be summoned while the typical Titan is terrorizing the town but she CAN NOT be summoned while the Armored Titan is stampeding about. Only one will be summoned at a time.
ODM Gear
Get comfortable with your OMD gear, cadet, it is gonna save your life more than your legs ever could have hoped to.
The ODM stands for Omni Directional Mobility. As the name implies, this simply means it allows you to fight, as a human with blades, in a three dimensional plane. In layman’s terms, you’re Spiderman, but with more oomph!
That oomph will come in the form of gas, which you will either need to refill at certain points hidden in each level which I have oh so helpfully designated in the Level breakdown below. To refill them, hold your hands out towards the gas canister and wait for the meter to refill. You need to make sure you refill each hand individually, but you can refill them both at the same time.
This gas not only allows you to boost through the air but is integral to the functionality of your ODM gear. So, if you have no gas, your grappling hooks won’t work.
Using the ODM is simple in practice, but difficult to master. So I will give you my tips to fling yourself around like Levi in an organized fashion that would make ‘Humanity’s Strongest Soldier’ Ackermann Proud.
- If you merely shoot the grappling hook at something and expect to swing like Spiderman, you are wrong. We aren’t here to make Peter Parker Proud! We are here to obtain Ackermann’s admiration, after all! You need to shoot the Grappling hook with the trigger and THEN hit the grip button while pressing forward on the thumbstick. This sounds complicated but you will find it very intuitive in practice and your muscle memory will catch on exceedingly quick.
- To that end, releasing the grip-button/retract-the-line button while pressing the boost (A or X for the respective grappling hook) will mildly boost your air time. Similarly and more effectively…
- You can perform a slingshot that will send you shooting up into the direction you want by launching a grappling at two points on either side of the direction you wish to go. Boost while reeling yourself and, this is important, release before the apex of your make-shift slingshot. You want to keep the momentum you have going. Once more, imagine your ODM a slingshot and yourself its ammunition.
- You can jump on a surface while your grappling hook is attached to something yet fully retracted. This will give you a few moments of air time without releasing your grip on the Titan, allowing you to readjust your position if you find yourself too high or low to reach the nape of the neck.
- Whenever you think you are straight-as-the-crow-flies to the neck or able to adjust using the above tip, aim for the back of the head and reel yourself in for a quick and effective method of lining up your shot.
- If flying through the air at high speeds and aiming for a Titan’s head, aim your grappling hook just the faintest bit away from the Titan’s head in the direction opposite of where you are traveling. This will allow the grappling hook, which moves slower than a bullet, to actually make it mark rather than barely miss the head of the needle.
- While you of course need to aim to fire, rely more on your peripheral. As you want to look at where you want to go rather than where you want to latch to as it will assist in leading you to thread the needle.
Combat
There is only one way to kill the average titan. The Boss Titans have a bit more to them and will be touched on below along with the Titans themselves. The only way to take one down is the nape of the neck. The most efficient way to slice the nape of the neck and make it count is to aim directly for the middle of the back of the neck then either slice with both blades parallel to each other or in a cross formation with both blades meeting at the center of this X.
If you find yourself constantly missing your mark, there is a chance you are overestimating the length of your swords. Try slightly bending your knees as you slice the neck if you find yourself constantly missing or, in the same energy, aim for the tips of the blades to hit just behind the target. Aim for the Titan’s Adam’s apple while ALSO aiming for the nape of the neck.
I ain’t here to spoil an Anime you most definitely should be binging should you not know the reason for this. The folks over here at this branch of the Survey Corps, Manga Insider. A most prized division.
Anyway, unless you select the ‘unlimited blades’ options in the gameplay sections of the options menu, your blade has a chance to break after repeated strikes to a Titan. Missing the crucial nape of the neck and hitting anywhere else on the titan will have a high chance of breaking the blade. The exception to this is the ankle, which will send the titan falling to their knees for a brief period which will allow you ample time to aim for the back of the head.
When the swords break, hit the topmost face button (B or Y) to eject the blade, and then, while holding the now empty blade holster to one of the refills sprouting from the front of your ODM gear, hold the same button to lock a fresh blade in. You have four replacements on either of your hips for 8 blades in all. You can replace a blade using either hip regardless of the hand the holster is in.
When you run out of blades you can refill them in the same way you refill your gas, by finding the ODM gear in each level (described in detail directly down below), and holding the sword or sword handle of the canister you want to refill. You need to do this for both hands individually but you refill both hands at the same time.
Levels
These four levels are everything you need to feel like a badass like Levi. While it doesn’t house everything from the Anime/Manga, it has areas important to the story and, most of all, are varied enough in all regards
Training Grounds
ODM Refill Location: On the right of spawn, leaned up against a tree.
As the name implies this is the best place for you to practice your skills. Unlike the other maps there isn’t a lot here in terms of scenery, but there is exactly what you need to learn the ODM gear and combat. As there is a small selection of trees of varying sizes scattering the vast empty grass planes you find yourself in. This will be perfect for learning how to sling around so well Levi and Spiderman would both blush.
Meanwhile, there are large cardboard Titans littering the area. What makes them special is the small but notable patch on the back of their neck. Unlike a real titan, these are easy to see and will break upon a successful strike. This will be perfect for testing if something is wrong with your aim or form when slashing your blades.
You can still use the flare-gun to spawn in a Titan, but unlike what the name suggests the Training part are the aforementioned trees and cut-outs, many things make this the hardest map for fighting Titans.
- The trees are well spread out for training, but the small section leaves you unable to escape a Titan that has noticed you and gone berserk. They will chase you across the map and the only way to shake them will be to kill them.
- Killing them will be difficult as while the trees are perfect for practicing your swinging, the area is small and makes it difficult to perform more intricate maneuvers to get behind a Titan that has seen you.
Titan Forest
ODM Refill Location: In the tiny cabin that you first spawn in at, leaned up against the wall right next to the door.
Like in the series, this is a forest with Trees so massive you can fly higher than any Titan can reach and a canopy so thick the sun can barely light your way.
This will be the first level the game spawns you in and it is the best all around level to build up your kills. The trees are tall and covered in perches for you to live out your Levi fantasies watching the titans and building your tactics. The trees also seem to go for miles so you have PLENTY of room in every direction to escape from a Titan that got their eye on you.
Also, it is just.. Supremely serene. It is pretty enough that sometimes I simply like throwing this game on and swinging around in this level with the Titans scrambling around like wildlife. Cannon-fodder in that we must cleanse the forest of their filth, but wildlife nonetheless.
Utgard Keep
ODM Refill Location: On the ground floor of the castle ruins are a set of stables. The ODM gear will be leaned up against one of the posts on the side facing the tower.
A ruined fortress with only a few sides of the defensive walls and a massive tower stand surrounded by a small circle of trees sparsely peppered but also perfect for traversal and combat.
The scene of a dramatic battle where many climatic and historic battles were fought. One in particular, but we aren’t at MangaInsider.com where you’ll find a more detailed synopsis of series lore, right now. I’m your guide to killing and slaughtering these monsters. Not why they are here and whether or not there is a deep moral dilemma in them due to the shocking secret behind both their existence and the reason we attack the neck.
So an added tip to your Titan Killin Training is to use the Tower as your central point but don’t rely on it. The trees, walls, and even faces of other titans make the perfect anchor points to scamper across the landscape like you were born with grappling hooks in your thighs.
The tower is still the most useful spot as it will always be there to help you gain momentum or dramatically swing under a stone arch for cinematic effect.
Shiganshina
ODM Refill Location: This one is harder to find, but thankfully it is near the one landmark that is easy to direct you towards. The ODM gear is leaning on the ground on the wall of one of the normal buildings, but it is in an alley on a block that is directly next to the massive blue castle-like building.
This block is located on the side with the tallest portion, the tower. This will be the side that is facing where you initially spawn in. From the alley, you will be able to see the corner of the large castle as well the red gate that is opposite of where you spawned.
This is the town we all know and love. It is located on the south side of Wall Maria. You might know it as where the walls first fell thanks to the Collosal titan. Don’t worry. We haven’t heard of any sightings of that one at all. For now. This is also the hometown of the hero Erin Jaeger. There haven’t been any sightings of HIM either. Not in this simulation at least.
When it comes to feeling like you are *in* the anime, however, this map sells it. The Titan Forest is a close second, but everything from the art style, to the architecture, to a dopey Titan lumbering just over the rooftop of that architecture, everything just oozes the charm and style of the franchise.
The buildings are also perfect for practice. Unlike the trees of the Forest or the trees and tower of the Keep, these buildings are mostly shorter than the average titan. You will find towers, the walls, and the central castle for that often sought high ground, but more often than not you’ll have to be creative with your alleyway maneuvering to be able to escape these beasts.
Difficulty Level Listing and Ranking
This is based purely on how difficult it is to maneuver around the map and combat based on fighting purely the titans. Facing the bosses will vary.
From Easiest to Hardest I have to rank it: the Titan Forest, Utgard Keep, Shiganshina, and Training Ground.
As for my level ratings… The list from least to most beloved would be difficult but have to be: Training Grounds, Utgard Keep, Titan Forest, and Shiganshina.
Enemies
Cardboard Titans
Exclusive to the training grounds, this ‘enemy’ is not summoned by a flare-gun but instead littered around this map exclusively. They are cardboard caricatures of Titans with a thick target on the back of the neck the proper size and location for you to be able to properly test your skills. Only a properly aimed swing will destroy the target.
Unsurprisingly, they have proven to be nonviolent in field tests.
Titans
Red Flare
These are the first enemies you should attempt fighting. Unless you count the cardboard of the training ground an ‘enemy’. As I clearly did for this guide but that’s simply semantics, soldier!
These are the ‘control sample’ the rest are built off of. The Bosses will follow similar ideas unless otherwise stated. The key difference is these Titans are not brilliant. Unlike the Armored and Female Titans, these lots aren’t geniuses. They can, however, be perceptive as a cat at the window of a bird sanctuary. If they catch sight of you, they are going to keep their eye on you and keep their front to you until you lose their train of thought and vision for long enough.
All Titans at this stage aren’t the brightest bulbs and also come in varying sizes. The smaller ones are easier for you to take down as a beginner, but as you develop your tactics even the tallest of these Titans will seem as strong as the smallest.
It is the abnormal Titans that can really stick in your craw. The Abnormals are easily distinguished by the inherent skill they developed compared to the other base-Titans to RUN. This might seem a silly skill to express concern over, given our ability to not only run but project ourselves rapidly across vast distances like majestic swallows, but remember Titans are bigger than buildings and some bigger than towers.
As for attack strategies beyond the Abnormals bull-rushing you is quite simple. Grabbing and eating you. Beyond defensive capabilities I will mention, they grab you and eat you. Defensively they aim to as well, but again, remember they are monstrously massive.
Once you get your ODM down, avoiding their hand should be easy as they don’t move as fast as the Bosses do.
This leads to the part you need to avoid until you get ODM and your combat accuracy down. The former gets you on their neck. The latter gets you to slice their neck before they notice you are there, as they will reach up and swat the back of their neck like you are a Mosquito. They don’t do this particularly quickly and effectively if, once more, you practice your ODM maneuverability like a good cadet
Now, in the Attack on Titan franchise, there are nine Titans that are notable for having human levels of intelligence and unique powers that make them HORRENDOUSLY powerful. This simulation, for your sanity, only includes two. Sweet nelly, though, do these two exemplify the terror the nine titans can cause well. Once more. For now, there are only TWO of these bosses in Attack on Quest. They can be, one at a time, released at the same time as the horde of Base Titans.
The Armored Titan, Reiner
Black Flare
The Armored Titan has two attacks. The first is he will rush you and the second is a powerful ground pound. Avoid being near him when he jumps into the air and slams down or you will be immediately killed by the force.
Instead, we are going to use that first attack against him. If you grew up on 3D platformers, you know this tactic well. You need to get the Armored Titan to run at you and straight into a tree or building. This will leave the dork lying flat on his face thinking about his sins against his teammates. Maybe letting out an unseen tear for being such a massive failure.
Be aware, Reiner here will launch himself into the air for a ground pound after a brief moment of running so plan your route accordingly and be sure to get out of the way before Titan and Tree start a newfound friendship.
Once that happens, knowledge of the anime or manga will help you hear. We lack the explosive capabilities the Survey corps had in the anime, but we do have air control. He will stay down for an extremely short period, and once he gets up touching him in any way will kill you. So be aware.
The method to obtain points and the area you aim for are still his cheeks. We can’t blow them open to expose Reiner but we can chip them open like bacteria on a cavity!
The Female Titan, Annie
Purple Flare
She knows Kung-Fu and will wreck your day with it.
Annie will first appear wandering with purpose. As you expect, she is mostly seen moving like she has a destination in the Anime. That is the same here.
Until she sees you. The moment the female Titan sees you she will make sure you know of it. Unlike Reiner, who will either stand and stare or start attacking. Annie walks. Like some kind of horror game creature, the Female Titan knows she is in no hurry. If you get far enough away she will return wandering, but otherwise?
She will stare dead at you and calmly advance. It is lowkey one of the creepiest things I have experienced since Alice in RE4 Vr. Don’t tell her that though. Monster doesn’t need gratification like that.
The Female Titan requires care. Unlike other Titans, you need to go low. If you fly around her head she will show her Kung-Fu with, admittedly, great form. A spinning jump kick is her go-to move, but she has been known to try and pluck you from the air if that seems easier.
If you are on the ground, she will perform a spinning kick.
You need to go for the knees. You might need to practice the aim, but you will see the score normally reserved for killing Titans appear. Then you know you have reached your mark. She won’t be dead though. Not yet. Just remember. The Knees.
FAQ
Question: What is Attack on Titan?
Answer: Attack on Titan is a Manga series created by Hajime Isayama and an anime series directed by Tetsurō Araki and produced by Wit Studio. It follows the story of Erin Jaeger, his two childhood friends, and the other cadets who go on to be member of the Survey Corps whom are the division of the military in the world of Attack on Titan specifically tasked with the evisceration and study of Titans in part due to their unprecedented understanding of vertical movement equipment.
For far more detail information, please be sure to visit our sister site, Mangainsider.com.
Question: Is Sidequest Hard to Use?
Answer: The sound of Sidequest can seem spooky. All this talk of sideloading and third-party. SideQuest acts much like a marketplace full of free and paid VR games which you can install right onto your headset. The instructions on the website are quick and simple, while installing both of these games afterwards just takes a click of a button while your Quest 2 is plugged into your computer using a compatible USB 3.0 cord.
The simple answer? No, it is not hard at all! It’s actually quite easy to use and highly user-friendly.
Question: Will These Games Make me Motion Sick?
Answer: I suffer from motion sickness myself! BAD motion sickness. So let me assure you this game is surprisingly good at keeping you from getting sick. I have had a few games that had me nauseated quickly, this is not one of them.
The ODM gear might have you swinging around like spiderman, but I believe it is thanks to how AoT VR handles your angle of momentum. While you are capable of swinging like a pendulum, as I cover in the section on this gear this is controlled completely by the player.
Someone who gets horrifically motion sick within minutes of being a passenger in a car will miraculously find that, if instead being in the driver’s seat in control of the vehicle, the psychological shenanigans at play seem calmed as it seems to understand you are the one in control. The ODM gear in this VR title is the same way.
The Final Conclusion
Jokes about being in military training aside, I respect the Troops of many countries including my own, and demand you do the same by the way, I am not pulling your ODM gear telling you this game is everything you are looking for in an Attack on Titan Vr experience. I do admit that lacking a campaign is mildly disappointing, but there is enough charm to immediately stop caring once you start slicing Titan napes like you’re the legend Levi Ackermann himself.
My nights since playing this game have been filled with the need to throw my headset back on and take a couple Titans down. The night will be quiet, I will be comfortable. Then, from the depths of my subconscious… “ARE YOU THE PREY OR ARE YOU THE HUNTER?!” Followed by operatic rock blares in my head. I sit up rapidly with a sudden need to grapple hook a kaiju. I understand my purpose is to protect our sacred walls from these monstrous hooligans.
I am a part of the Survey corps now so.. If you don’t see me again. Know that I died doing what I now love, killing Titans and making the digital world a safer place. For the two seconds it takes for another to respawn, but the only way to clear the ocean is to start by taking sips.
That is everything I have to teach you, soldier! I am so proud. I am a very happy Boots. Speaking of which, one last question. This time from me to you.
You heard the roar of the Boots. Now, Are you the prey or are you the hunter?
Attack on Quest is available for free on the SideQuest for the Meta/Oculus Quest and Quest 2 Virtual Reality headsets.
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