The Texas Chain Saw Massacre might not be the oldest asymmetrical horror game out there, but it’s gone through phases nonetheless. Most recently, blood-rushing Grandpa to get him to Max Level while Hitchhiker surrounds him with traps became a popular strat among the Family. Even with the Agitator perk, it’s not easy for Victims to secure a win. Yet, that all changed with the introduction of Virginia, who — with the right build — can put an end to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre‘s most annoying strat.
How the Hitchhiker/Grandpa Trap Strat Became Meta
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has multiple perks, like Universal Donner and Surgical, that make Blood Harvesting more effective. Speed-feeding Grandpa isn’t anything new, but placing Hitchiker traps around him saw a sharp rise in popularity after YouTuber Arctik made a video demonstrating the strategy in early March. While he’s far from the first player to trap Grandpa, the technique spread through the community — and with experienced Killers, it’s difficult for Victims to counter.
Virginia’s Ability Can Disrupt Grandpa Feeding
Just like Connie counters Cook, Virginia counters strong Blood Harvesters like Sissy and Nancy or anyone with a full blood vial. Her Boon ability allows her to throw powder that temporarily blinds Family members or contaminate blood buckets. At Level 3, Virginia’s Powder Cloud can completely drain blood vials after selecting Reduce Family Blood Vial in the Boon Ability Tree.
There are multiple ways to successfully use this ability:
- Toss powder at known Blood Harvesters after they collect blood buckets.
- Use powder on Family members who have just killed a Victim.
- Camp by Grandpa and toss powder at Family members when they go to feed him. (This can be done at a distance, allowing you to drain a Family member’s blood vial as they feed Grandpa, even if there are Hitchhiker traps.)
The last bullet point is, perhaps, the most effective against the Hitchhiker/Grandpa trap strat, although it requires camping, which may not suit everyone’s playstyle. While some credit Arctik with popularizing the Grandpa trap method, he also deserves acknowledgment for offering counters in his recent videos spotlighting Virginia gameplay.
Note: Virginia can also contaminate blood buckets to slow down Blood Harvesting. However, right now, blood buckets can only be contaminated for 1 minute and 10 seconds with the Level 2 ability: Increase Contamination Duration. With Family members still able to pick up blood after being blinded, investing in Virginia’s Powder Cloud is definitely the more effective option.
Best Virginia Build to Counter Blood Harvesters
At the time of writing, Virginia’s Skill Tree is still broken. However, if you plan on countering Blood Harvesters, investing in Toughness and Endurance perks would be wise.
Boon Ability
- Reduce Family Blood Vial (Level 3)
Perks
- Stunt Double: Receive 70% less damage when jumping out windows or climbing down wells and get back on your feet faster (random perk).
- Ran Track: Increases Endurance by 7 at Level 3.
- Extra Drip: At Level 3, you’ll continue to receive 6 HP for 12 seconds after using a healing item (random perk) OR What Doesn’t Kill You: Avoiding additional damage for 15 seconds after being hit by a melee attack will reward you with 100% of the health just lost at Level 3 (random perk).
If you’re able to drain a Family member’s blood vial and lose them, you’re in the clear. However, if they end up hunting you down or catch on to your strat, Ran Trak will be instrumental in boosting the Endurance you’ll need to get away. Stunt Double has you covered for well plays, and Extra Drip or What Doesn’t Kill You is vital to replinishing HP quickly so you can get back to the matter at hand — preventing Grandpa from getting fed.
Looking for more tips and tricks? Check out our other The Texas Chain Saw Massacre guides.
