Five Nights at Freddy's

The overall goal of Five Nights at Freddy 's is simple: prevent the titular Freddy and his band of animatronic pals from getting into your office at any cost. As mentioned, you have three lines of defense; the cameras, the lights, and the doors. The catch is that each of these consumes power, of which you have a limited amount. Naturally, the more of them are active at any given time, the more power you use. Run out of power, and you'll only have a few seconds left before Freddy himself slips in and personally punishes you for your poor power management. That said, if 6 AM is close enough, you might be able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat... if you're lucky.

On the Subject of Day Length

So the first question you might ask is: how long is a day in the world of FNAF? The answer is simple; each hour of game time corresponds to 90 seconds of real-world time. Therefore, each night lasts a total of 540 seconds, or 9 minutes. Knowing this can prove helpful when you're in the 5 AM hour and wondering how much time you have left before your power potentially runs out.

On the Subject of Power Consumption

Power consumption is a little more complex than it may appear at first glance. Each night, you'll see your power represented as a percentage in the lower left corner of your screen, starting at 99% and cutting off shortly after it hits 0%. However, this is a little misleading; power is actually calculated in tenths of a percent, with each night starting at 99.9. Since the tenths value is hidden, the game simply rounds down to the nearest whole number to display your power. Therefore, it'll show that you have 99% power when your actual power level is between 99.9 and 99.0, but the moment it reaches 98.9, your displayed power will drop to 98%.

The number of bars shown just underneath the percentage represents how quickly your power is draining, and increases as you use more devices. There is always a minimum of one usage bar, presumably from things like the fan and the office lights which you can't disable. The lights and cameras are all tied to a single bar; you can't have more than one of them running at the same time. Each of the doors contributes another bar. Therefore, you can have up to a maximum of four usage bars if you have both doors closed and either have a light on or are looking at the cameras.

The specific way the game calculates power drainage is simple; it deducts 0.1 every second for each usage bar. For example, if you have one of the doors closed and are looking at the cameras, you'll be using up 0.3 power per second, thus draining a full percent roughly every 3 seconds. Now remember that you've got to hold out for 540 seconds, and suddenly you can see just how precious a resource your power really is.

But it doesn't end there. While the drainage mechanic works exactly as described on Night 1, the remaining nights throw a little wrench in the works. Each night imposes an additional power penalty in which it drains an additional 0.1 power every so often. How often this occurs depends on the night:

• Night 2: Every 6 seconds
• Night 3: Every 5 seconds
• Night 4: Every 4 seconds
• Night 5 onward: Every 3 seconds

As a result, your power will drain much faster the further you get in the game. To put this in perspective, at the late stages of the game, after taking into account base power consumption, you will only have a mere 27.9 power to work with in terms of camera, light, and door usage.

Finally, there's one last way for your power to get drained; whenever Foxy hits your door when it's closed. We'll get into the specifics of that when we discuss Foxy's AI in depth.

That's about it for the gameplay fundamentals, so let's get into the meat and potatoes of this guide; discussing how your foes work.

Camera Feeds:

• Cam 1A - Show Stage: Starting location for Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica. They do not return once they leave.
• Cam 1B - Dining Area: All three main animatronics can occupy this area.
• Cam 1C - Pirate Cove: Foxy the Pirate Fox's location, behind a purple curtain and an "Out of Order" sign.
• Cam 2A - West Hall: Connects the dining area to the left side of your office. Triggers Foxy's attack if he leaves Pirate Cove.
• Cam 2B - West Hall Corner: Located to the left of your office.
• Cam 3 - Storage Room: Located off the West Hall. Generally ignorable.
• Cam 4A - East Hall: Similar to the West Hall, but Foxy does not attack from this side.
• Cam 4B - East Hall Corner: Chica and Freddy often linger here before attacking.
• Cam 5 - Backstage Area: Located off the left side of the dining area.
• Cam 6 - Kitchen: This camera feed has issues; you primarily hear sounds from this area.
• Cam 7 - Restrooms: Located off the right side of the dining area. Far from your office.

Freddy Fazbear, the titular animatronic, typically lets his counterparts handle the initial threats. However, he personally intervenes against persistent players and those who fail to manage their power effectively.

Freddy operates in two distinct modes: Enemy Mode, where he moves around the restaurant with other animatronics, and Blackout Mode, which activates when the player runs out of power, causing Freddy to appear at the left door.

Enemy Mode Mechanics

In Enemy Mode, Freddy has a movement chance approximately every 3 seconds, faster than other animatronics. His AI level is generally lower, not exceeding 4 during normal gameplay. Freddy follows a specific path: Show Stage -> Dining Area -> Restrooms -> Kitchen -> East Hall -> East Hall Corner. If he reaches the East Hall Corner and views a camera feed other than 4B, he will move into the office if the right door is open (resulting in a game over) or retreat to the East Hall Corner if the right door is closed.

Freddy is difficult to track once he leaves the Show Stage, often hiding in shadows. Players may spot his eyes on camera feeds or hear a distinctive laugh when he moves between rooms.

Unique Mechanics

• Camera Aversion: Freddy's movement chance fails if the player is looking at his current location on a camera feed at the moment of his movement chance. This can be used to 'stun-lock' him on lower AI levels.
• Delayed Movement: After a successful movement chance, Freddy has a delay before moving, calculated by the formula 1000 - 100x (where x is AI level). This delay decreases with higher AI levels and is eliminated at level 10. The camera aversion also applies to this delay; he won't move if watched, but will instantly move when the player looks away.
• Keeping You In Suspense: If Freddy enters the office, he cannot attack while the camera is raised. With the camera down, there's a 25% chance per second for his jumpscare to trigger. Strategic camera use and luck can potentially allow survival for a short period after he enters.

Blackout Mode Mechanics

When power runs out, all other animatronic activity ceases, and Blackout Mode Freddy takes over in three phases:

• Phase 1: Begins when lights dim. There's a 20% chance every 5 seconds for Freddy to appear at the left door, up to 4 attempts (20 seconds total). The fourth attempt is guaranteed if the first three fail.
• Phase 2: Freddy's lit, flickering face appears at the left door with his music box playing. This phase also has a 20% chance every 5 seconds to progress to Phase 3, with the fourth attempt guaranteed.
• Phase 3: Occurs when the lights go completely black. (The provided text cuts off here, so details for Phase 3 are incomplete).