Friday the 13th has a pretty simple concept, as a game. A few counselors (depending on player number!) are dropped into a match with Jason, with one person in the lobby randomly chosen to play as the famous slasher killer. The goal is to escape the map before Jason kills you, or survive the twenty minutes max that the match will last.
While Jason has different versions you can choose to play as, there are multiple counselors too. Some are based on the movie characters and some seem more random, but each of them has different stats and skills that make playing them a very different experience. So just how are you supposed to choose?
Consider the following things...
10 Consider How Experienced You Are
If you're just starting off with Friday, you're not going to want to pick one of the counselors that might be more challenging. Some of them have better stamina and speed, and if you're not practiced enough to stun Jason or to run rings around him if he chases you, you may just want to run away. Counselors such as Vanessa and Bugsy are equipped to get the hell out of there if things get nasty, so you might want to start off playing it safe.
However, if you're more experienced and have different goals, consider one of the more difficult counselors!
9 Do You Want To Avoid Jason As Much As Possible?
If you want to avoid Jason as much as possible regardless of experience level, you want someone with good stealth. Stealth means that they'll be harder to hear, so the noise rings that show up when Jason looks around might not be as big or even as visible at all for them as they would be for another counselor. AJ and Deborah are examples of counselors with great stealth, and are worth considering if you want to stay down low.
8 Or Do You Want To Taunt Him?
If you'd rather taunt Jason and are experienced enough to think you might be good at it, you'll want to pick a character with good speed to get out of the way, sure, but also one with good luck. The luck stat affects how quickly a weapon breaks. Sometimes, a bat can break after one hit and sometimes, it'll take five. If you truly intend on beating Jason up, you're going to want to pick the counselor with the best possible luck stat.
7 Are You More Likely To Run Or Hide?
But luck may not matter to you if you don't intend to fight Jason at all. If it's going to be running and hiding, consider a balance of stealth and stamina (so you can run to somewhere safe if he gets close to you). All of the counselors will be better at one of those than the other, so you're going to have to pick which means the most to you.
6 Which Trophies/Achievements & Badges Are You Missing?
If you want to collect the trophies and achievements a console offers, you'll have to play as certain counselors to get them. You'll also have to play as certain counselors to get all of the badges.
For example: say Chad and Mitch are your favorites to play. If you don't ever deviate, you won't get the badge that's there for taunting Jason thirteen times because to taunt Jason, you need his mother's sweater — and to pick that up from his shack, you need to play as a female counselor.
5 Are You Going To Attempt Repairs?
Perhaps one of the most vital questions to ask yourself is, are you going to attempt repairs?
Repairing the phone fuse, car, and boat, all give you the same minigame, and how hard this minigame is will depend entirely on your character. It's a little like the skill check in Dead by Daylight which might give players of that an advantage, but there are less 'skill checks' for characters more skilled at repairs. Do not pick a counselor like Vanessa if you intend to actually repair things.
4 What Will You Do If Cornered?
You've been cornered by Jason — will you try and dodge around him, or will you fight?
Fight or flight?
Consider this, and choose your counselor accordingly. You're going to want a decent strength stat if you fight him, but you're going to want good speed if you'd rather just run away and not get too close to him at all.
3 Which Jason Are You Playing Against?
It's not always possible to know which Jason you're playing against. Actually, it's only really possible in a private match where you can select which player will be Jason. But if you do know, you might want to pick your counselor accordingly. For example: certain versions of Jason can run where others can't, which means speed becomes important. There may be certain versions of Jason you're more willing to try and stun (and if you're going to go up against Savini Jason, we salute you). But where possible, it's definitely a great idea to match your counselor to the Jason you're up against.
2 Which Other Counselors Are You Playing With?
You also might want to coordinate with friends. If you already have someone good at repairs, take someone who can distract Jason, or vice versa!
Or, to go even more deep into things, coordinate to kill Jason. Get a counselor who can escape or die early and come back as Tommy, and get a female to take the sweater. Make sure there are people to take his mask off, people to distract... Because let's face it. If you do want to kill Jason, it's going to take some coordination.
1 Who Just Feels Right?
Utlimately, you should play whoever feels right. Try out some different counselors, see who suits your playstyle, and decide on your favorite. From then on, they can become your constant — and who knows? It might even be a counselor that you didn't expect to be your ride or die.