InnerSloth released Among Us in 2018 to almost no attention, then watched streamers turn it into the biggest game of 2020. Up to 15 players work a spaceship or base while one to three Impostors kill and sabotage, and every dispute gets settled in a voting meeting. Five maps, a role system added in 2021 and a separate Hide n Seek mode have kept it alive since.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Build | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | The Skeld | Tasks and the task bar basics | Impostor | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | MIRA HQ | Sabotage timers mastery | Impostor | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Polus | Vents and kill cooldown + gear | Crewmate or Impostor | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | The Airship | Build optimization | Crewmate | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | The Fungle | Min-max | Crewmate or Shapeshifter | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (The Skeld)
The original spaceship and the smallest of the five maps. Electrical is the classic kill room because it sits off the main loop and connects to a vent, and Security cameras cover four corridors.
Level/Difficulty: 4 to 10 players Key Rewards: Security cameras, Admin table, tight vent network
What to Do in The Skeld
- Learn Tasks and the task bar. Crewmates win by finishing every assigned task, tracked on a shared bar. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Impostor as your starting build. See our builds guide for why.
- Work tasks in the open and near other players. Being seen performing a real task animation is the only alibi in the game that does not depend on somebody choosing to believe you.
- Acquire your first equipment upgrade: Vent travel or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Tasks and the task bar fundamentals
- Impostor selected and functional
- The Skeld main content cleared
- Ready for MIRA HQ
Phase 2: Early Game (MIRA HQ)
A single-floor building with no cameras and no vitals, replaced by a Doorlog at Communications that records who passed through. Its vent network is the most connected in the game, reaching nearly every room.
Level/Difficulty: 5 to 10 players Key Rewards: Doorlog evidence, decontamination chokepoints, wide vent access
What to Do in MIRA HQ
- Work on Sabotage timers. Reactor Meltdown and Oxygen Depletion put a hard countdown on the crew and force two players to opposite ends of the map. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Vent travel if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Visual tasks are hard proof if the host left them enabled. Medbay Scan, Empty Garbage on The Skeld, Clear Asteroids and Submit Scan on Polus all show an animation others can watch, so do them with a witness present.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Polus.
- Consider whether Crewmate might suit your playstyle better than Impostor.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Sabotage timers integrated into gameplay
- Vent travel acquired
- MIRA HQ fully cleared
- Ready for Polus
Phase 3: Mid Game (Polus)
A large outdoor base where walking between rooms takes real time and bodies go undiscovered for minutes. It has Vitals, exterior cameras and a Seismic Stabilizers sabotage in place of Reactor.
Level/Difficulty: 7 to 15 players Key Rewards: Vitals panel, long sightlines, the isolated Specimen Room
What to Do in Polus
- Master Vents and kill cooldown. Only Impostors and Engineers can use vents, and being seen entering or leaving one is the most damning evidence in the game. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Kill. It's the best equipment and becomes accessible around now.
- The task bar setting decides your entire strategy. If it only updates in meetings, the jump between one meeting and the next tells you exactly how many real tasks were completed, which narrows the Impostor count quickly.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Meetings and voting for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Vents and kill cooldown mastered
- Kill acquired or in progress
- Polus fully cleared
- Ready for The Airship
Phase 4: Late Game (The Airship)
The biggest map, with ladders, moving platforms and a spawn where every player picks a starting room. Its size makes proving anything hard, and the Vault and Records corridors are near-guaranteed kill spots.
Level/Difficulty: 8 to 15 players Key Rewards: Chosen spawn, Vitals, an enormous vent network
What to Do in The Airship
- Finalize your build. You should be running Crewmate or Impostor with optimized gear.
- Kill should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- As Impostor, sabotage far more often than you kill. A well-timed Lights or Comms creates the isolation you need, and a crew fixing Reactor is a crew not watching you.
- Roles optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into The Fungle.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Kill upgraded to max
- The Airship fully cleared
- Ready for The Fungle
Phase 5: Endgame (The Fungle)
The 2023 island map, covered in fungus, with no Admin table and the Mushroom Mixup sabotage that briefly makes everyone look like a random crewmate. Impostors who plan around the confusion after a mixup do very well here.
Level/Difficulty: 6 to 15 players Key Rewards: Mushroom Mixup chaos, dense foliage cover, isolated outer rooms
What to Do in The Fungle
- The Fungle tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Report bodies immediately instead of standing near them. Self-reporting is a real strategy, but a delayed report is the most common way an innocent player gets ejected.
- The endgame loop: run The Fungle, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Shapeshifter for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Roles mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- The Fungle fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Faking a task in front of someone who has the same task and knows its length. Wiring in Electrical and Download in Communications are the two most commonly caught fakes.
- Walking alone into Electrical, Reactor or the Vault. Every map has two or three rooms that exist purely to get people killed away from witnesses.
- Calling an emergency meeting with nothing to say. It burns one of the few button uses the lobby has and puts suspicion straight onto you.
- Standing over a body while deciding whether to report. Anyone who walks in reads that as a kill in progress, and the vote is over before you finish typing.
- As Impostor, killing at the first available cooldown every single time. Predictable timing gets you counted, while a slower game gives you far more room to argue.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Work tasks in the open and near other players. Being seen performing a real task animation is the only alibi in the game that does not depend on somebody choosing to believe you.
- Visual tasks are hard proof if the host left them enabled. Medbay Scan, Empty Garbage on The Skeld, Clear Asteroids and Submit Scan on Polus all show an animation others can watch, so do them with a witness present.
- The task bar setting decides your entire strategy. If it only updates in meetings, the jump between one meeting and the next tells you exactly how many real tasks were completed, which narrows the Impostor count quickly.
- As Impostor, sabotage far more often than you kill. A well-timed Lights or Comms creates the isolation you need, and a crew fixing Reactor is a crew not watching you.
- Report bodies immediately instead of standing near them. Self-reporting is a real strategy, but a delayed report is the most common way an innocent player gets ejected.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Among Us Guides
- Among Us Among Us Overview
- Among Us Best Builds
- Among Us Tier List
- Among Us Beginner's Guide
- Among Us Tips & Tricks
- Among Us Weapons Guide
- Among Us Combat Guide
- Among Us Boss Guide
- Among Us Maps & Locations
- Among Us Crafting Guide
- Among Us Classes & Characters
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