 Swan Song |
Fugitive: Revenant | Tier 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Basic (3 pt): Instead of getting downed instantly, you gain the ability to keep on fighting for 3 seconds with a 60% movement penalty before going down. Note: Does not trigger on fall or fire damage. | ||
| Ace (6 pt): Increases the duration of Swan Song by 3 seconds. Ammunition won't be depleted while the effect is active. | ||
Mechanics[]
- "You ain't ready for what's coming, you fucking cunts!"
- —Jimmy giving his all in a last stand before going down.
As noted, Swan Song allows players to continue fighting for a brief period of time once health is depleted, acting as a temporary sort of "invulnerability mode" (at the cost of speed) before finally collapsing. Upon losing all health, the perk icon appears in the center of the health ring, which turns blue and depletes until the time expires and the player is incapacitated. Whilst the penalty caps all movement, players are still able to sprint (albeit at 40% speed).
At its basic level, players only have three seconds to continue fighting, whereas aced players have a total of six seconds and bottomless magazines. The ammo effect is identical to Bulletstorm, allowing for spam attacking with single- and burst-fire weapons, and for continuous spraying with automatic weapons and massive wipeouts with explosive weapons, especially when using the Arbiter or the HRL-7.
Additionally, players can continue to act as normal until collapse, meaning standard interactions can be performed provided they can be completed within the brief time window. Trying to use a Doctor Bag or First Aid Kit will not work, as the health bar is already empty. Trying to do so will display a message, "You Are Not Long For This World!"
The Leech Ampule from the Leech Perk Deck cannot be activated if the user is in Swan Song. Conversely, even if the user has Swan Song, activates the Leech Ampule, and drops to 0 health, the user will not then enter Swan Song; the two effects are mutually exclusive.
It should be noted that this skill is only triggered by typical enemy damage, caused by gun damage and standard melee attacks. As a result, the following will not trigger it:
- Being downed by a Cloaker kick or Taser shock, as health does not decrease to zero; being downed from shocking during Swan Song simply cancels the effect.
- Taking environmental damage, such as falling from a fatal height or being incapacitated by fire damage, does not trigger the skill despite health reaching zero.
Strategy[]
Provided they can go down once more, players near collapse can cause significant harm to enemies by pushing towards them; for example, a Bulldozer becomes a much lesser threat when collapsing is inevitable and magazines are bottomless, allowing for large damage before succumbing. This can also be applied to groups of common enemies if a user has a fully automatic weapon, as upon being killed, they can provide invaluable ammo drops.
Conversely, the skill can allow for more defensive moves, such as using the skill to retreat into cover where you can be revived. You can also revive a fallen teammate (provided you have begun the revive before going down and can finish before Swan Song does), but players must be close enough or use Inspire due to the speed penalty.
Additionally, the skill is complemented by several damage-based perks: under the right circumstances, skills like aced Berserker, aced Shotgun Impact, and basic Underdog can cause devastating damage.
To maximize the usefulness of the skill, it is strongly recommended that the player bring weapons with high damage and rate of fire so that the player can deal the most damage possible while they still have no reloads and health. The Judge, Clarion, STRYK 18c, and 5/7 AP, along with many LMGs and SMGs, are all ideal candidates due to their high damage per second.
Swan Song can also be used to finish the interaction time with an object before being incapacitated, such as a (jammed) drill, especially when under fire. Any player with the skill will have an advantage than those who do not, thus they can take extreme punishment and still be able to complete a vital task.
Though it is not possible to use Doctor Bags and First Aid Kits while under Swan Song, users can still place the deployables for others to use before becoming incapacitated, which can act as a trump card. However, should one interact with the aforementioned doctor bag RIGHT before Swan Song is activated, the user will still be able to reset their bleedout time (though one is subtracted automatically and some health is still lost upon going down as this does not revert Swan Song itself).
Bugs[]
- Although players are invulnerable while under the effects of Swan Song, it is possible to enter bleed out before the timer expires by taking environmental damage (such as falling from a great height). This can cause unintended side effects: for example, being revived quickly with Inspire or Messiah, the reduced speed and unlimited ammo effects can remain for a short time.
- If players are downed twice and is in the effects of Swan Song, it is possible that if a Taser shocks the player for the full effect the player will go into custody.
Trivia[]
- The skill name comes from the ancient Greek metaphor of the same name. The term refers to people performing a dramatic effort prior to dying, making a comparison to swans who were (inaccurately) believed to sing only before dying.
- The phrase "You Are Not Long For This World!" refers to the book "Old Mortality" in Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter.
- Players under Swan Song cannot enter nor stay in vehicles until/when it expires.
- Any health gained while under Swan Song will be lost after it has ended.
- Originally, there was no icon for players under Swan Song. The HUD will display them with completely depleted health until they finally become incapacitated when the effect wears out. This was later fixed in an update in which the icon does appear.
