Storm and deadside

01Storm play is a gameplan

Storm play is a really good strat in solos, and a lot of gameplans are built on it. It only works when it is structured. Hanging in the storm by accident is just edge with extra steps.

1. It depends on your spot

Spots on the outside of the map mostly come with an outstorm gameplan. Midmap spots almost always come with a midmap gameplan.

2. It depends on you

If you fight well and do not panic, land midmap, go early and claim deep. If you play smart or get nervous in a lot of fights, storm suits you better.

3. What you do out there

Farm cap mats, stack your heals and take the vendings on your way. Done right, you reach the endgame as stacked as someone who played deep midmap.

4. Coming back in

Come in deep. The easiest way is via the deadside in Zone 3 or 4. If you stay out longer, come in deep in Zone 5 where the zone opens, but that is a bigger risk. Whitelining in on edge is only the fallback: when the zone pulls into the middle of the map, or pulls max far away and a long way around through the storm is not worth it. Then get as deep as you can.

5. The price

Storm damage is the price of the strat, not a mistake. Storm in the midgame even protects you a bit from getting keyed. But if storm is your midgame plan, you cannot tank much storm in the endgame. Players who played deep midmap can.

02Your storm budget and white heals

Storm damage adds up over the whole game, so plan it before you spend it.

Your budget

• Zone 1: Do not take a single storm tick.
• Zone 2: When it pulls, go into the storm right away rather than waiting until the zone has closed. In the storm, go around to the deadside instead of straight through the lobby.
• Shortly before Zone 5 closes: The budget runs out. After that, storm sickness kicks in and the storm is no longer a way to rotate.

Healing outside

• Only whites outheal the storm: The storm takes your white health. Med Kits, Chug Jugs and Chug Splashes give it back, shield heals like minis and biggies do not. Without whites, go in and do not tank much storm.
• Low HP outside: If you have the time, do not walk into the zone with 80 HP. Heal up outside with your Chug Jug to around 150, then shockwave in. Now you can wait for the next zone and react to it.
• After a kill in the endgame: If going in now would be scuffed, for example because the zone closes in 5 seconds, outheal in the storm and wait for the next pull. If it pulls back to you and you have enough heals, outheal until the zone reaches you. You keep your builds and waste no mats on the zone. If it pulls max away, shockwave, go front and claim a good layer.

Out of mats, storm is your best play. Play your heals, outheal the zone and take as many placements as you can. If you already have storm sickness, jump someone and take the 50/50 instead. As long as you have mats in the endgame, play your mats first (Refresh).

03How to use the deadside

The deadside is the side of the zone nobody rotates in from. In Zone 3 and 4 it is the easiest way to come in deep.

A deadside only exists when the zone pulls toward the edge of the map. Then it is the side facing away from the map center. There are no POIs out there, just sea or the edge of the map, so no players come from that side. When the zone sits in the middle of the map, players rotate in from every side and there is no deadside.

• Best case: Most players sit edge, and you usually know where the congested side is. Go all the way to the deadside and then deep onto a good spot.
• Edge on the deadside: In the midgame it is the lesser evil, but still not good. If the zone pulls toward the congested side, you are the last one to rotate. Edge on the congested side is the expensive one. You get held, you burn mats and heals defending, and you do not get deep next zone either.
• Next zone: From the deadside you can usually go deep next zone. The exception is a zone that pulls max straight away from you. You will not make it deep in time, so try to come in on the deadside again.

If you end up on the bad side, tank a bit more storm and go around to the empty side instead of rotating straight through the full side.

04Playing a side in the endgame

Playing a side in the endgame is a bet on the next pull. It can reward you a lot or punish you a lot.

1. It pulls to you

You already have the win position, and everyone else has to come to you.

2. It pulls away

You have to go through everyone. The middle is now between you and the new zone, and players are boxed all over it.

3. Why play a side

On a side you have less risk of getting jumped. The risk you take instead is a zone that pulls fully to the other side.

4. The middle

The middle sits in between. You do not take the bet there.

5. You lost the bet but have height

Either shock forward and build up again, or give the height up for now, see Layers.

6. From Zone 10

If you sit on lowground in the middle, your position matters less than your awareness. You have to know what is happening around you.

Where the zone pulls after Zone 4 is random, so you cannot read it in advance. More on that in Playing zone.