Two descriptions of the Locust are both in circulation, and they do not fully agree.
Written guides say the distorted insectoid humanoid hunts by sight and flashlight exposure rather than sound alone. A lit beam is how it finds you. Nearby clicking means turn the light fully off and freeze, because it struggles with a stationary target in total darkness. Shelves that smash mean it has seen someone. The open center aisle is called the most exposed path in the store.
Recorded shopping runs emphasize the noise meter, cart bumps, gunfire, and a scream-stop rule: when you hear the scream, stop, because it knows where you are if you move. A heartbeat means move off your spot, then stop again. Crouching the whole time has still produced a chase.
You do not have to settle the argument before you play. Darkness answers the sight story. Quiet answers the noise story. Recorded survivors do both.
Default movement
- Hold Control whenever the Locust might be near. Walk or sneak as the habit. Sprint is the exception.
- Watch the bottom-left noise meter. More movement raises it.
- Take corners wide with the cart. Do not bump shelves, walls, shoppers, or teammates. A shove has gotten a player snatched seconds later.
- Save stamina while the monster is only heard. Spend it when you are actually seen, then get behind a shelf and stop.
Cover that counts
A tall rack that blocks the view is cover. Crouching in an open lane is not. One player abandoned the frozen aisle because the shelves were too small and the monster looked over them. Weave through shelving gaps instead of sprinting the central corridor. If the thing you need sits in a corridor the Locust patrols, including the customer-service lane in written accounts, wait for the gap.
Cue card
| Cue | Safer response | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Clicking nearby | Flashlight fully off, freeze | Written guide |
| Lights go out | Assume it is active; get dark and quiet | Written guide, and blackouts in recordings |
| Scream | Stop moving | Recorded players |
| Heartbeat while hiding | Move once, then freeze in a new spot | Recorded players |
| Shelves smashing | You are spotted; break line of sight | Written guide |
| It has seen you | Short sprint, then real cover | Both |
| It is only nearby | Keep sneaking; do not spend stamina | Recorded runs |
Freezing is not invisibility. The same player who stood still was caught standing still later. If the cue does not fade, relocate.
Flashlight, without fake battery math
The flashlight is issued when the store goes dark. Players call the beam weak. A written guide says the battery drains past the produce section and that light gives you away. Recorded gameplay confirms the item and the weak beam. It does not publish a battery timer or a spotting distance. Habit is the plan: off by default, a short burst to read a shelf or a mine, off again. Kill it entirely on clicking. There is no documented "hold still for X seconds."
After a patch, retest a corridor before you trust it. The October 2026 publishes did not include a changelog.