The Blink Pack is a special offhand item that cannot be unlocked, but must be picked up during certain missions. Currently, it is found in the Timor Station map of the Jacob's Rest campaign and Communication Center, SynTek Hospital and Arctic Infiltration map of the Tilarus-5 campaign. The Blink Pack comes with an an infinite number of uses; however there is a 20 second recharge before you can blink again.
Description
By pressing the offhand activation key (1 by default), your character will teleport ("blink") to the position of your cursor, no matter where it is on the screen or how far away from your character you place it. You cannot blink through some terrain objects, but it is worth noting that you can blink through enemies, unlocked doors, and large rocks. An instant electrical stun, similar to that generated by the Tesla Sentry Coil, is produced around the origin and destination points of a blink.
Advantages
- Unlimited uses
- Allows for escape when surrounded
- Electrical stun upon arrival leads to multiple tactical opportunities
Disadvantages
- Long recharge time
Strategy
- After the teleport your character is rendered immobile for a very brief period.
- The electrical field emitted upon arrival can easily overcome this short immobility, and makes it particularly useful against Shieldbugs and other large targets susceptible to stuns.
- Although you can blink to many places where you cannot walk to, you cannot blink on top of boxes, or to places the Swarm cannot reach.
- In general, blinking is not significantly slower or faster than running. Its main benefit is to allow you to escape a tight spot (e.g. in the middle of a group of Drones). However, there are a few locations where you can bypass large obstructions.
- When a marine dies and the death scene is shown, you can quickly move the cursor to the scene and teleport there while in slow motion, no matter how far you are. This is ideal for providing backup when a teammate is killed near other teammates and you are elsewhere.
- The electrical stun does not hinder a Parasite's ability to infest, so blinking onto a Parasite is not advised.
Notes
- With the Steam Workshop Item 'More Starting Equipment' for AS:RD the player can equip this weapon in the Lobby.