How to be a d!#@ in Dead Space 3 co-op!

Scaring and griefing your co-op buddy in Dead Space 3 is a subtle art. Co-op may take the scares out of Dead Space, but it also allows you to add them back in yourself! Whether you’re looking to inject some fear and terror back into your partner’s life, or you’re looking to have some laughs at their expense, this guide has you covered. Employ these tricks at your own risk; the first few are innocent but the griefing tricks should probably be saved for someone who really has it coming.

Vent terror

This is how it all starts. The sound of a vent popping open is the first clue that Necromorphs are coming for you. It’s been that way in all three Dead Space games, so most players are trained to listen for it. So what better way to scare your friend than to shoot out the vents yourself?

It’s all about timing. You have to do it out of sight and with a quiet weapon. Break open vents with melee strikes or a single bullet and you’ll be scaring the pants off your partner in no time. Pro-tip: all those elevators and revolving doors have vents in the ceiling, so throw a little claustrophobia into the equation!

Stomp denial

This one is hilarious. Stomping is one of Dead Space’s big pleasures, especially when the things you’re stomping reveal goodies like health and ammo. Let your teammate lead the way, and just went they go to stomp open a box, scoop it out from under them using kinesis.

If only you could use kinesis on dead bodies in co-op…

Box fort

Sometimes you’re stuck waiting for your teammate to upgrade their suit or build a fancy new gun. Sometimes those rooms are full of boxes you can reposition with kinesis. At the very least, you’ll get a laugh as they pull their head out of the menus and realize you’ve been building up a wall around them while they were gone.

Stasis jerk

Some of the fast-moving machinery in Dead Space 3 has to get going a bit before you can use stasis, slow it down, and solve the puzzle. For example, there’s a piston puzzle that shows up a couple times in the game. To run through the piston mechanism, you have to slow it down at just the right time. Use stasis at the wrong time and you’re just wasting everyone’s time. Yep…

Which means you should totally do that if you’re trying to test your friendship.

Excessively loud gun

Equip something really loud, like a rocket launcher or an electrified ripper blade. Now wait until you know your buddy isn’t looking and blast the floor right behind them. The ripper blade is especially great because you can grind it against the floor for some Texas Chainsaw Massacre horror.

Ladder camping

There are more than a few moments throughout the campaign where simply standing at the top of a ladder and blocking the way will make things very stressful for your co-op buddy. Mute your mic, because the hilarity of making your partner sweat will be too much to stifle.

Kill with kindness

If you’ve already finished Dead Space 3 you’re probably swimming in resources. What do you do with all that junk? Obviously, you should make tons of Small Health Packs and share them all with your co-op buddy at once!

I’d probably avoid doing this one to anyone you like, it’s pretty annoying.

Those are just a handful of ways you can be a d$@% in Dead Space 3 co-op, discovered organically over the course of my playtime with my prankster girlfriend. There are probably many more clever ways you can screw with your fellow Isaac or Carver, and you should share them in the comments below.

Just don’t be too mean! This is all meant in good fun, as a way to keep things interesting over the course of DS3’s 20-hour campaign. Griefing is a bit of an art. You want to tease your friends, not leave them chanting, “Turn it off, turn if off, turn if off…”

Joe Donato plans to one day play all the games. Follow him in this fruitless endeavor on Twitter: @JoeDonuts.