SCP: Secret Laboratory is a free multiplayer horror game set inside a Foundation site during a full containment breach. Each round assigns your role at random: Class-D trying to escape, a Scientist waiting on rescue, a Facility Guard, or one of the anomalies hunting everybody else. Death is permanent for that round, and the facility runs on hard timers that will kill you whether or not anything else does.
Starting SCP: Secret Laboratory can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
SCP: Secret Laboratory is a horror game built around Role assignment and respawn waves and Keycard access levels. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Class-D Personnel | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Scientist | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Facility Guard | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Nine-Tailed Fox | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Chaos Insurgency | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Scientist. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Chaos Insurgency as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Role assignment and respawn waves
You spawn as Class-D, a Scientist, a Facility Guard or an SCP with no say in the matter. Dead humans return in respawn waves as Nine-Tailed Fox or Chaos Insurgency, which is why a round rarely ends when the first team is wiped out.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Role assignment and respawn waves works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Light Containment Zone
Class-D cells, SCP-914, SCP-173's chamber and the airlocks. Busiest area of the round for eleven minutes, and lethal ground after that.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for FSP-9: it's the most accessible early upgrade. The standard issue submachine gun of Facility Guards: light damage per hit, high rate of fire, and a magazine that empties quickly if you panic.
Step 4: Understand Keycard access levels
Doors and lockers are gated by keycard permissions, running from low tier Janitor and Scientist cards up to O5. Class-D spawn with nothing, so their opening two minutes are entirely about getting a card off somebody else.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Heavy Containment Zone
Three Emergency Power Stations, SCP-079's server room, SCP-106's chamber and the route toward the warhead. Most SCP fights happen down here.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Role assignment and respawn waves
You spawn as Class-D, a Scientist, a Facility Guard or an SCP with no say in the matter. Dead humans return in respawn waves as Nine-Tailed Fox or Chaos Insurgency, which is why a round rarely ends when the first team is wiped out.
Keycard access levels
Doors and lockers are gated by keycard permissions, running from low tier Janitor and Scientist cards up to O5. Class-D spawn with nothing, so their opening two minutes are entirely about getting a card off somebody else.
SCP-914 refinement
The clockwork machine in Light Containment has five settings: Rough, Coarse, 1:1, Fine and Very Fine. Fine upgrades items, Very Fine upgrades faster but can destroy them outright, and 1:1 never destroys anything while recharging radios and the Micro H.I.D.
Light Containment decontamination
At 11 minutes 45 seconds into the round, Light Containment starts decontaminating and then kills everything still inside, SCPs included. The announcement is your cue to leave whether or not you got what you came for.
Emergency Power Stations and the Alpha Warhead
Three Emergency Power Stations sit in Heavy Containment, and activating all three re-contains SCP-079. The Alpha Warhead is the other ending: once armed it runs a 90 second countdown on default settings and kills everyone left in the Light, Heavy and Entrance zones.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Staying in Light Containment past the decontamination announcement to finish one more SCP-914 run
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
2. Splitting the Nine-Tailed Fox squad to clear rooms faster, then losing four players one at a time
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
3. Sprinting past SCP-173 with your back turned instead of walking backwards while watching it
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
4. Arming the Alpha Warhead while half your own team is still down in Heavy Containment
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
5. Looking directly at SCP-096's face and then trying to hide, when it will hunt you across the whole facility
This is a common trap that costs new players significant time.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Role assignment and respawn waves and Keycard access levels
- Choose Scientist as starting build
- Clear Light Containment Zone main content
- Acquire FSP-9 or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Heavy Containment Zone
- Decontamination begins at 11 minutes 45 seconds, earlier than the fifteen minute figure players quote. Start your own clock at round start and be out of Light Containment with a full minute in hand.
- SCP-173 is frozen while any living player has it in view, so a group should have one person walking backwards watching it while everyone else moves. The moment all of them turn to run at once, the group dies.
Tips for New Players
- Decontamination begins at 11 minutes 45 seconds, earlier than the fifteen minute figure players quote. Start your own clock at round start and be out of Light Containment with a full minute in hand.
- SCP-173 is frozen while any living player has it in view, so a group should have one person walking backwards watching it while everyone else moves. The moment all of them turn to run at once, the group dies.
- On SCP-914, 1:1 never destroys an item and recharges radios and the Micro H.I.D. Fine upgrades with a chance at a better keycard, and Very Fine upgrades faster but can delete the item entirely.
- Class-D spawn with nothing while Scientists spawn with a Level 2 keycard and a medkit, which is exactly why Class-D groups hunt Scientists first. As a Scientist, avoid the cell block and head for Entrance Zone.
- The three Emergency Power Stations in Heavy Containment re-contain SCP-079 once all of them are running. Each takes time and makes noise, so start one only with somebody watching the corridor behind you.
- The Alpha Warhead runs a 90 second countdown on default settings and kills everything in the Light, Heavy and Entrance zones. If you are Class-D when it arms, you run for the Surface and abandon the loot.
- Escaping as Class-D turns you into Chaos Insurgency and escaping as a Scientist turns you into Nine-Tailed Fox, so the Surface is a checkpoint rather than an exit. Plan for a second life with a rifle in it.
- Nine-Tailed Fox lose most rounds where the squad splits to clear faster. The MTF-E11-SR trades well with SCPs, but only when three or four of them are hitting the same target inside the same few seconds.
- SCP-106 pulls victims into the Pocket Dimension where several exits kill instantly. Keep moving and check tunnels rather than standing still, because the dimension has its own timer working against you.
- A Janitor keycard is not worthless. Feed it into SCP-914 on Fine and you have a genuine chance at something that opens doors in Heavy Containment, which beats carrying it as a souvenir.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SCP: Secret Laboratory free?
Yes, it is free on Steam with no paid progression. Roles are assigned randomly every round, so nothing about what you can play changes with hours logged.
How do I escape as Class-D?
Get a keycard, move through Entrance Zone to the Surface, and reach the escape area. Escaping turns you into Chaos Insurgency, so you return armed instead of simply leaving the round.
What triggers decontamination?
A round timer, not any player action. Light Containment begins decontaminating at 11 minutes 45 seconds and then kills everyone left inside, SCPs included, which makes it a hard deadline for SCP-914 runs.
How do you deal with SCP-173?
Keep it in view so it cannot move, and never travel alone. Killing it takes a coordinated Nine-Tailed Fox squad with MTF-E11-SR rifles, and the Alpha Warhead handles it if nobody can get a firing line.
Which SCP is hardest to play well?
SCP-049 and SCP-079. SCP-049 has to land a slow attack to turn corpses into SCP-049-2, and SCP-079 plays through cameras and doors rather than a body, so both punish bad timing far more than bad aim.
More SCP: Secret Laboratory Guides
- SCP: Secret Laboratory SCP: Secret Laboratory Overview
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Best Builds
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Tier List
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Walkthrough
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Tips & Tricks
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Weapons Guide
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Combat Guide
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Boss Guide
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Maps & Locations
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Crafting Guide
- SCP: Secret Laboratory Classes & Characters
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