Tips

This is a list of some helpful tips and tricks. Feel free to add your own to this list!


 * Being big is no guarantee of success! Even the smallest snake can "pop" the largest if it positions itself correctly. As you grow larger, it can pay off to move further from the center and adopt a conservative strategy.


 * This being said, take bigger risks when you're smaller. You have less to lose, compared to when you're on the leaderboard.


 * Unlike in the similar Agar.io, you do not lose any length over time. Therefore there's no rush to keep eating pellets and you can take as much time as you'd like to enjoy being large.


 * "Coiling" is a popular strategy that involves using your length to create a complete circle around an opponent and slowing crushing them until they're forced to run into you and "pop". However, while coiling around an opponent you present a much smaller target and are vulnerable to being coiled yourself! This tactic is also known as "Anaconda-ing" or the "Ouroboros Manuever", depending on who you are talking to.


 * Coiling can also be used to encircle a large group of pellets, preventing them from being eaten by other players.


 * Coiling can take time and there are situations where it may be more useful to abort coiling if lots of pellets are nearby.


 * Don't be afraid to cross your own tail. Unlike in the classic arcade game, you're free to cross your own tail in Slither.io. This can be used to your advantage if you need to get away from a player who's trying to get in your way or to block someone from picking up the large amount of pellets you're aiming for.


 * Sometimes you can use the tails of other snakes to your advantage as there are situations where the combination of your and other player's tail can cut off a third player.


 * Be cautious around snakes that are the same color and size as yourself. You may think you're crossing your own tail only to find it was an opponent, but by then it will be too late!


 * Defensive uses of speed boosting include escaping from dangerous locations (for an example, from being coiled). It can also be used to intimidate other players away getting pellets or discourage them from trying to cut you off.


 * Speed boosting does not alter your turning speed, but it does change your turn radius. Turning around when speed boosting is requires making a much larger circle than turning around without boosting. For example, if a player is boosting in a crowded area and someone blocks their path forward, it is much safer to stop boosting before finding a spot to turn around. Otherwise, the player would boost directly into another snake.


 * When having 10k+ mass, then one of the defensive strategies is to go around in a big circle and continue circling. This means that whenever there is a threat, it will be safe to escape inside the circle. Though, this can lead to other players coiling you. When there is no threat, it is wise to eat nearby pellets.


 * Try to avoid playing too aggressively on a snake. Chances are, they may see the right moment and may turn your plan against you! This strategy should also be taken into consideration when feeding on a recently slain snake.


 * When feeding off a recently slain snake, steer away if you see another snake coming from the opposite direction.


 * If you can, try using some of the remains of the snake as a bait while you're coiling. Leave the circle slightly open, so that you can close up should a snake take the bait.


 * Speed boosting when small is more dangerous when feeding off the recently killed snake due to short snakes having much smaller vision.


 * Vertical vision in the game is smaller than horizontal one and therefore speed boosting while moving up or down is more dangerous.
 * If playing the web browser version, adjust the browser size so that it is square. This will zoom you out a little and give equal viewing distance from your snake to both the vertical and horizontal edges.
 * If two Snakes collide both head-first at the same speed, the smaller snake will always die. However, if the smaller snake is speed-boosting, and the larger snake isn't, the larger snake will die. Use this to your advantage if you see a larger snake appear head-first on your screen. Odds are, the player will attempt to avoid you, but if you "charge" at him, as long as it's head-to-head and he doesn't charge at you, you will automatically win. On the flip-side, if you are a larger snake, and you are trying to take out other large snakes that are a bit smaller than you, when they don't expect it, you can "headbutt" them to easily take them out.
 * Of course, this comes as a double-edged sword as if another snake suspects you to do this technique, they can simply turn away just before you hit their head, making you run into the body instead, and of course, killing you.


 * Keep an eye on your minimap in the lower-right so you aren't surprised by the edge of the map which will kill you on contact with it.


 * Try not to cross the center of the screen with your cursor when turning around. This could lead you accidentally turning into a wrong direction which can be fatal for larger snakes.


 * If you are affected by lag it can be reduced by changing to low graphics in the top-right of the main screen or by closing other tabs or apps that might be slowing it down.


 * For slower computers, a snake dying can cause a game to freeze for up to a few seconds, and can cause deaths in crowded areas.


 * If you're a large snake, do not try to out-turn much smaller snakes. Their turning radius may be better even when boosting. Instead, accelerate past them or don't let them try turning in front of you to begin with.


 * If you're heading towards another snake which is moving toward you at angle, turn towards the TAIL end of the other snake. The reasoning is simply: to reach you again, they must turn at least 180 degrees, whereas you only needed to turn less than 90 degrees. If you were to instead turn at the HEAD, especially without boosting, the snake can turn in front of you faster than you can turn out of the way, even with equal size, speed, and turn rate. In fact, in some situations, it doesn't need to turn, just boost. If you're bigger than it, it can also follow your turn and reach you before you're in the safety of your own coils.


 * Going between two snakes as a large snake is risky. You don't know if a small snake could be waiting on the other side to cut you off.


 * The map edge is dangerous. It will kill your snake without dropping any pellets. You can potentially use this as a threat, since a snake interested in harvesting you for pellets won't want you to run off the edge of the map. On the other hand, if they call your bluff, you're dead either way, and some snakes don't want to kill just for pellets, but also for fun. You can also use the map edge to pin other snakes, though keep in mind there is at best a 50/50 chance they disappear and not drop any pellets, and at worse, they do it just to spite you.


 * A small fraction of people play using bots that automatically wander across the server to feed them. These bots are easily dispatched, but keep in mind that players could pretend to be bots in order to trick you into letting your guard down. Further, these bots directly follow their master's head, so they can be used to locate an often large but inexperienced snake to kill.


 * circling in place to bait someone into coiling you is a viable strategy at any size over about 50. Wait until they're coiled you enough that they're committed, say, 75%, and then dash out in front of them. They will almost always crash if you also turn in their direction after you've escaped. This allows you a hefty number of pellets for a relatively simple technique, though keep in mind that improper execution could cause you to crash, or be actually coiled.


 * If there are a large number of pellets from the death of one or more big snakes, do not simply run in straight lines through them. Slither back and forth or loop and coil areas of pellets sufficiently far from other snakes to avoid being killed. If you're constantly boosting during this, the erratic-looking motion may cause further chaos in your immediate surroundings, dropping even more pellets. This also allows you to make a kill against another small snake and quickly, even effortlessly, dispatch anyone and everyone foolish enough to charge into the are where you're eating pellets. This frequently results in half a dozen small snakes being killed practically by accident.


 * Long engagements with a snake that do not put them in any sort of compromised position are not likely to result in a kill. A single dart, coiling attempt, tail swipe, etc, and then switching targets or techniques is more likely to get kills. Alternatively, you can try to work a snake into a more comprised position where it is easier to force a kill.


 * Boost-racing, the act of two snakes charging side-by-side to kill each other, is usually risky, wasteful, and pointless. If your goal is to cut them off in the boost race, you will probably not. Boost-races that result from coiling attempts or are themselves coiling attempts are better, but in general, once the possibility of cooling has been removed, you should keep boosting and pull away from the other snake and into the opposite direction to finish off whatever prompted the boost race to start.
 * When a reasonably large snake gets killed, it's as tempting as risky to run at max speed though the path of pellets it left. Regardless of positions against or for this tactic, have this into account when you practice it: when it is *you* or a nearby snake who did the kill, you can't possibly know whether there's another snake running towards you down the path, so pay extra attention to try and dodge the ultra fast collision (chances of dying here are 30% luck, 30% relative positions, and 30% reflex). On the other hand, when you are, say, at the tail of a killed snake, there's a way larger possibility that you will encounter the killer up the path, so you can count on it and have a slightly better chance of getting away.
 * When playing with hacked in skins, take note of the fact that some parts of the snake are purely for decoration and are not able to kill you.
 * Don't try to be too greedy! If you rush to get other snakes pellets, you might run into another fellow snake...so, eat what you need!