How to Avoid the Monster - MONOCHROME Wiki
Avoidance is not about reflexes. It is about where you make noise, when you stop moving, and whether you planned a hiding spot before you needed one.
Overview
The creature is dangerous in exactly one situation: when you are where your noise is. Everything on this page follows from that single idea. If you control where attention is pointing, the level becomes a quiet walk through corridors with an occasional pause, and the run stops being a scramble for your life.
Avoidance in a Real Run
This recording shows what successful avoidance looks like from the player's perspective: long quiet stretches broken by short pauses, rather than constant movement. Note how often the runner stops completely.
The Avoidance Routine
These five steps form a loop you repeat through the whole run. They are ordered the way you should execute them, not the way they are usually taught.
The last step is the one players skip, and it is the reason they die to the same mistake twice.
Plan before you search
Identify your hiding spot and your escape corridor before opening any container. Deciding mid-chase is how runs end.
Search the far rooms first
Create noise at the far end of the network so its attention points away from the rooms you have left to clear.
Stop after every search
Freeze for a few seconds once a container is opened. The creature investigates the noise source, not your live position.
Walk, never sprint
Sprinting multiplies your noise profile. Save it for a confirmed chase, and only to break line of sight.
Move on your own noise
Advance while it is investigating somewhere you already left, so the two of you are never travelling toward each other.
Sound Sources, Ranked
Not all noise is equal. These are the actions that generate attention, ordered from most to least dangerous.
Sprinting
The single loudest action available, and the fastest way to pull the creature onto your route.
Searching Containers
Every open drawer and crate registers. A full sweep is a steady stream of noise.
Opening Doors
Traversing a doorway is audible, which is why loops with fewer doors are safer.
Normal Walking
Quiet enough to be safe at distance, but not silent when you are close to it.
Prying Boards
A one-off noise burst at the very start of a run, usually harmless.
Standing Still
Generates nothing, which is exactly why it works as a response to noise.
Reading the Corridors
The network is built as loops, and loops are what make avoidance possible. A loop gives you two ways to reach any room, which means you can always choose the approach that keeps the creature behind you.
That is also why straight corridors are dangerous. In a straight stretch there is only one route, so if the creature enters from the far end your only options are to hide or to run through it.
Experienced players think in terms of which side of the loop the creature currently occupies. Once you can answer that question at a glance, most of the tension disappears from a run.
Encounter Responses
Match your response to the situation rather than reacting the same way every time. The wrong response is usually worse than a slow one.
| Distance | Creature State | Best Response |
|---|---|---|
| Distant, out of sight | Patrolling | Continue quietly |
| Nearby, out of sight | Investigating | Stop moving until it passes |
| Visible, mid corridor | Aware | Break line of sight immediately |
| Very close, chasing | Pursuing | Reach a hiding spot, do not outrun |
| Lost sight of it | Searching | Hold position, wait for it to reset |
Habits That Prevent Chases
These habits exist to stop a chase from starting, which is always better than surviving one.
- Choose your hiding spot before you start searching a room.
- Keep the corridor behind you in the camera view while searching dead ends.
- Never sprint inside a corridor you have not cleared.
- Wait a full beat after any noise burst before moving on.
- If you lose count of the creature, stop and listen until you can place it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I stop the monster from finding me?
Control your noise. Search the far rooms first, stop moving after every search, and avoid sprinting entirely unless a chase has already started.
Does standing still actually work?
Yes. The creature investigates the last noise it registered rather than your live position, so freezing after a search lets it commit to the wrong corridor.
Can I hide during a chase?
You can, and you should. Breaking line of sight and reaching a planned hiding spot is the correct response; sprinting in the open is not. See the hiding spots guide.
Is it easier to avoid solo or in a group?
Solo, clearly. Groups generate far more noise and their attention is spread, so the creature finds the group's route much faster.
Should I silence the game to avoid stress?
No. Positional audio is your earliest warning of where the creature is, and playing without it removes your main avoidance tool.
What if I have to search a room near the creature?
Search it last, when most of your route is already cleared behind you. That way a chase pushes you toward finished, quiet space rather than unexplored rooms.