Gameplay Mechanics

In Slither.io, there are many gameplay mechanics and strategies. Some are dangerous, while others can benefit you. Here are the instutios!

Gameplay Mechanics

"The Edge"

In all of Slither.io, there is no gameplay mechanic more annoying than the edge of the map, or Barrier. A common event that happens in Slither.io is you may lag out when you are close to the edge, resulting in you to slam into it. And unlike its predecessor, Agar.io, when you hit the wall, you do not slide alongside it. Instead, you disintegrate, your mass disappearing (unlike running into a snake), and restarting you back to the bottom.

A snake teetering close to the Edge.

You can work the edge to your advantage by cornering someone until they die, but that will be very hard as you may slam into the edge yourself.

Speeding Up

If you press the SPACE bar and/or hold the mouse (left and right mouse buttons are the same) and/or pressing the UP ARROW key, you will be able to go faster (while losing mass at a rate of 15/second). This may surprise an opponent you are hunting, and while the enemy is shocked, you can speed in front of them, killing them, and taking their mass. You will leave a trail of pellets behind according to your color of your snake-worm. Don't get too excited when speeding up! They can sideswipe you and kill you in seconds!

Mass Rushes

While this isn't an "official" gameplay mechanic, it is a very common event. Here is how it works:

This is an example of a Mass Rush, as a lot of snakes are attacking others for the mass.

Say that there is a heavily populated area. A very big snake (possibly on the Leaderboard) dies. Lots of other snakes (big and small) rush in to have some of the mass. Greedy snakes start killing others speeding in the huge amount of mass and eat their mass, while other snakes bump into each other, causing more mass than what was to begin with. More snakes start rushing in, and start running into each other by accident, along with some greedy snakes. In the end, there will be tens of thousands of mass at that area which only a few surviving snakes will be able to pick up. It's best to avoid Mass Rushes unless you have good skills/experience (unless you are very small), NO lag on your computer at all and your graphics are set to "low". Mass rushes won't happen in an unpopulated area, such as around the edges, but a snake may be in the vicinity and surprise you, ending up killing you. There is a constant mass rush in the center of the map.

Fun Fact: Mass Rushes are sometimes known as food riots or killing sprees, because so many snakes die.

The North

The North is infamous as a place where many of the leaderboarders hang out. The snakes are usually huge in size and mass and are experienced at the game, so don't go there unless you are sure you can kill them or avoid them long enough to wait for one of them to die.