To successfully betray your fellow Runners in Nightroot Interactive's chaotic multiplayer game, you must strategically use the Swap ability to trade places with a teammate just as the Catcher attacks, or utilize body-blocking while disguised as a massive prop in narrow map chokepoints. Mastering how to sabotage teammates SeekOut requires timing your betrayals so the Catcher focuses entirely on your decoy, letting you escape and survive the timer.
SeekOut is not your standard cooperative hide-and-seek experience. While the game pitches a team of "Runners" against a relentless "Catcher," the reality of the mechanics heavily incentivizes looking out for number one. If you want to consistently reach the end of the timer and secure your win, you cannot rely on simply hiding in a corner. You have to actively manage the Catcher's "aggro"—and the most effective way to do that is by feeding them your friends.
Why Learning How to Sabotage Teammates SeekOut is a Core Survival Strategy
The fundamental math of SeekOut heavily favors the hunter. In a recent Early Access patch, Nightroot Interactive specifically increased the Catcher's base melee damage from 20 to 25. This 25% damage buff means that getting clipped by a stray swing is more punishing than ever. You simply cannot afford to take a hit while navigating the map.
Furthermore, the developers actively encourage betrayal. The official game description explicitly states that players should "use spells, traps, and special abilities to outplay your enemies and sometimes even sabotage your own teammates to gain the advantage." This isn't a griefing exploit; it is a fully supported, core survival mechanic built directly into the game's sandbox.
When a Catcher enters a room, their cognitive load is maxed out. They are scanning dozens of physics objects, looking for subtle movement, listening for audio cues, and managing their own ability cooldowns. They are playing a high-speed game of whack-a-mole. If you can force a teammate to break their disguise or emit a loud noise, 100% of the Catcher's attention will instantly snap to them. By providing a clear, obvious target, you exploit the Catcher's tunnel vision, allowing you to quietly reposition or escape entirely.
Top Abilities for How to Sabotage Teammates SeekOut
Your success as a traitor relies entirely on how well you utilize the Runner ability orbs scattered across the map. Not all abilities are created equal when it comes to throwing your friends under the bus.
| Ability Name | Cooldown | Sabotage Application | Betrayal Risk Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swap | 45s | Instantly trade positions with a teammate right before an attack hits. | Extreme |
| Sabotage Trap | 30s | Drop a snare near a teammate's hiding spot to lock them in place or create noise. | High |
| Clone Confusion | 60s | Spawn a clone directly on top of a teammate's prop to draw Catcher aggro. | Medium |
| True Invisibility | 50s | Un-morph, trigger a loud noise, then vanish, leaving your teammate exposed. | Low |
SeekOut in-game screenshot
When examining the Cooldown Times of your arsenal, you must plan your betrayals around the math. The Swap orb sits at a modest 45 seconds, making it your most reliable tool for direct intervention. The dedicated Sabotage trap operates on a fast 30 seconds, while Clone Confusion is a lengthy 60 seconds.
The Swap ability is the undisputed king of friendly fire. The frame-timing is everything. If you are cornered and a Catcher's Fireball is hurtling toward you, activating Swap on a nearby teammate instantly trades your positions. The projectile connects with them, ensuring your teammate takes the 25 damage instead of you.
Similarly, True Invisibility has been heavily buffed. The developers fixed the old "Prop Invisibility Exploit" (where you could vanish without breaking your prop form), meaning you now have to un-morph to cast it. The ideal play is to un-morph directly next to a hidden teammate, jump to create a footstep audio cue, and instantly pop True Invisibility. The Catcher will rush the noise, find your teammate's prop, and smash it to splinters.
Map-Specific Tactics: How to Sabotage Teammates SeekOut on Pirateland and Horror Carnaval
Betrayal is highly contextual. A strategy that works in a wide-open courtyard will fail miserably in a tight corridor. Understanding the geometry of SeekOut's maps is the difference between a successful sabotage and getting yourself caught in the crossfire.
SeekOut in-game screenshot
On the Horror Carnaval map, the environment itself is your greatest weapon. The map features a roaming AI "helper dog" that wanders the grounds, actively sniffing out hidden Runners and barking to alert the Catcher. If you know exactly where a teammate is hiding, you can deliberately kite the helper dog toward their location. Once the dog locks onto them, you can body-block the narrow funhouse doorway using a massive barrel prop, trapping your teammate inside the room with the barking dog. When the Catcher inevitably arrives to investigate, you simply drop your prop form and flee through the Pirateland map transition zones.
The Pirateland map offers its own unique chokepoints. The lower decks of the pirate galleons are incredibly cramped. If a Catcher's Fireball is flying down the stairs, transforming into a large cannon or treasure chest in the middle of the stairwell creates an impassable wall. Your teammates behind you will be completely trapped, forced to absorb the Catcher's assault while you safely roll away.
The Art of the "Bait and Switch" (Prop Morphing Mechanics)
Prop Morphing is the defining feature of SeekOut, but using it maliciously requires a deep understanding of the game's physics engine and line-of-sight mechanics.
SeekOut in-game screenshot
Mastering Prop Morphing means knowing exactly when to break cover and when to blend in. The golden rule of sabotage is spatial contrast. If your teammate morphs into a tiny, hard-to-see prop like a coffee mug or a lantern, they are relying on being overlooked. You can ruin this by holding an Invisibility orb and transforming into a massive, highly conspicuous large barrel right next to them.
When the Catcher bots (or human players) arrive in the room, their eyes will immediately be drawn to the giant barrel that looks completely out of place. Just as the Catcher winds up their hammer swing, you activate your orb. As the recent patch notes declared, it is literally "Time to vanish in plain sight!" The Catcher's massive AoE (Area of Effect) swing will miss you entirely but will obliterate the tiny coffee mug teammate sitting adjacent to your former position.
Advanced Strategies for How to Sabotage Teammates SeekOut Without Getting Caught
The most common mistake novice Runners make is sabotaging their team too early in the match. If you get all your fellow hiders killed in the first 60 seconds, you are left alone on the map with a fully buffed Catcher who has absolutely nothing else to do but hunt you for the remaining three minutes.
SeekOut in-game screenshot
To optimize your win rate, you must adhere to the 4-Minute Survival Sabotage Curve. During the opening 0:00 - Prop Morphing Phase, your only goal is to establish your baseline disguise and memorize the exact props your teammates have chosen. By the time the Catcher Spawns at the one-minute mark, you should be positioned near a teammate, but safely out of direct sightlines.
Your First Sabotage Opportunity shouldn't occur until at least the 2:00 mark. You want your teammates alive as meat shields for as long as possible. Only trigger a distraction or a Swap when you are actively being hunted and have no other escape route.
If you are nervous about executing these frame-perfect betrayals in live multiplayer lobbies, you can practice this exact timeline in the Advanced AI Practice Mode. The developers recently updated the bot behavior so that Runner bots can now use their ability orbs on you. This means you can practice your timing against AI teammates who will actively try to sabotage you back, creating the perfect low-pressure environment to hone your reflexes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Is sabotaging teammates considered toxic in SeekOut? No. Nightroot Interactive explicitly built the game around this mechanic. The official Early Access description encourages players to "sabotage your own teammates to gain the advantage." It is an intended, core survival mechanic designed to create hilarious, chaotic moments, not a bannable griefing exploit.
Can Catchers see when I use the Swap ability? Yes, there is a brief, glowing visual particle effect when the Swap orb is activated. However, because Catchers are usually tunnel-visioned on the movement of the chase, they rarely process that the Runner they are swinging at has suddenly transformed into a completely different prop until after their hammer has already connected with your teammate.
Does the Sabotage ability work on Catcher bots in AI mode? Yes. In the newly added Advanced AI Practice Mode, Catcher bots are programmed to react to the audio noise and visual cues of your sabotage traps. You can perfectly replicate live-lobby betrayals offline, as the bots will reliably shift their aggro to whichever Runner is making the most noise.
What happens if two Runners use Swap on each other at the exact same time? The server prioritizes the input with the lower ping. The Runner who registers the Swap first will successfully trade places, while the second Runner's ability will fail to cast, often leaving them directly in the path of the Catcher's attack.