Paint and Seek Camouflage Guide
Survival depends on more than picking a beige wall. This guide covers eyedropper sampling, HSV fine-tuning, outline concealment, and repainting when you rotate between color zones. Read the controls reference first if you are new to the paint tool.
Eyedropper Sampling
The eyedropper pulls the exact RGB value from the surface under your crosshair or touch reticle. Always sample at the height seekers will see — standing eye level for wall hides, crouch height for low furniture on House, and product-row colors on Grocery Store shelves rather than bare metal frames.
Sample a large flat region, not a shadow gradient edge. Shadows shift across the round on Bank lobby marble; pick a mid-tone patch and adjust Value afterward. Avoid sampling your own painted avatar — that creates a feedback loop of wrong colors.
Common eyedropper mistakes
- Sampling tiny props instead of the wall seekers scan from doorways
- Using default palette swatches without eyedropper on expert maps
- Forgetting to re-sample after moving even one meter across a color boundary
- Standing on polished floors that reflect a different tone than your torso
HSV Fine-Tuning
Raw eyedropper colors rarely match under round lighting. Hue shifts warm indoor tones on House; Saturation must increase on Arcade neon; Value drops for vault shadows on Bank. Think of HSV as correcting what the eyedropper cannot see — directional light and gloss.
Ranked by impact on our paint tier list, Eyedropper + HSV Fine-Tune sits at S-tier because lighting-aware tuning beats perfect hex on a static swatch. Use small slider increments: a 5–10% Value change often fixes shadow mismatch without washing out Saturation.
Map-specific HSV starting points
- House: Living room beige walls and sofa backs — see the house map guide for full zone list.
- Grocery Store: Refrigerator sides and freezer white panels — see the grocery store map guide for full zone list.
- Bank: Marble lobby walls with grey veining — see the bank map guide for full zone list.
- Arcade: Neon cabinet sides and button panels — see the arcade map guide for full zone list.
Roughness pairs with HSV on glossy surfaces. Lower roughness mimics marble shine; higher roughness matches matte carpet and wallpaper. This matters less on House but separates good Bank hides from instant tags.
Outline Breaking
Perfect color still fails if your avatar silhouette reads as a human shape against a flat wall. Break outlines by tucking into geometry: sofa backs, bookshelf spines, refrigerator alcoves, and prize machine rears. Consult the props tier list for S-tier furniture choices.
Crouch (C) lowers visible height near counters. Rotate (R) until flat edges parallel the wall — limbs sticking out at 90° angles catch seeker peripheral vision even with matched paint. Combine crouch with corner placement so only one surface faces the likely seeker path.
Shape detection cues seekers use
- Vertical columns where walls should be flat texture noise
- Head-height bumps on otherwise uniform shelf rows
- Feet protruding from under tables when color matches the tabletop only
- Reflection breaks on Bank floors and Arcade glass panels
Freeze (F) only after outline and color align. Movement after freeze is the easiest tell. Study seeker behavior in the seeker route guide to predict which angles they check first.
Repainting and Zone Rotation
Static hides win on House; advanced players rotate when seekers clear a room. Repainting means unfreezing, moving to a new color zone, eyedropper sampling again, HSV tuning, repositioning, and re-freezing — all before the seeker re-enters. Practice the sequence in custom lobbies before ranked play.
Cross from warm living room beige to cool hallway grey on House and your old paint reads as a glowing blob. The maps and hiding spots guide lists safe rotation paths per map. On Grocery Store, moving from produce greens to aisle browns demands full repaints, not slider tweaks alone.
Repaint decision checklist
- Has the seeker left this room and closed line of sight?
- Is the new zone color more than one HSV slider away from current paint?
- Is there geometry at the destination to break outline again?
- Do you have at least 15 seconds before likely re-entry?
Unlock extra colors via Hider Paint Palettes so repaints stay fast. Redeem active codes for coin boosts before buying palettes.
Practice Progression
Start on House mastering eyedropper plus freeze timing. Add HSV tweaks on Grocery Store, roughness on Bank, then full rotation drills on Arcade. Use the paint match helper below for interactive map presets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I sample color from the floor or the wall?
Sample the surface visible to seekers at your hiding height. If you stand against a wall, eyedropper the wall — not the floor beneath you. Mismatched vertical surfaces expose your outline instantly.
Which HSV slider fixes dark corners?
Lower the Value (V) slider to match shadow pockets on Bank vault corners or Arcade back walls. Raise Saturation on neon maps where default muted paints look grey against bright cabinets.
Does roughness matter on every map?
Roughness is critical on glossy Bank marble and reflective Arcade machines. On House wallpaper it matters less, but matching matte versus shine still helps at close seeker range.
When should I break freeze to repaint?
Repaint only when the seeker has cleared your zone and you must rotate to a new color boundary. Unfreeze, sample the new surface, adjust HSV, reposition, and freeze again quickly.
Do paint palettes change eyedropper results?
Palettes expand available colors in your tool library. They do not auto-match surfaces — you still eyedropper and fine-tune. More palette options speed matching on diverse maps.