First Class Trouble doesn’t introduce itself well. Developer Invisible Walls includes a brief tutorial video that barely outlines the basics, with players still left wondering how to play it when they’ve joined a round. So how do you win in First Class Trouble and what are the rules? Here’s a walkthrough that will guide you on how to play the confusing game.
First Class Trouble rules and how to play
First Class Trouble features six players, with four Residents and two Personoids battling it out to succeed. The Residents must either take out the Personoids (the game’s imposters) or reach the final stage and shut down the villainous AI system known as CAIN, while the Personoids must discreetly take down the Residents and prevent them from completing their tasks.
How to find keycards
Progress in the first two stages in First Class Trouble requires players to find three keycards of different colors — red, blue, and green —which are located around each level. In the first level, the keycards are located on the bottom floor. In the second level, the keycards are located around the map, highlighted by a glowing light corresponding to their color.
Keycards can be easily found using a triangulator, which may appear on the map to be selected by a player. This triangulator will beep with greater frequency when closer to a keycard, making it easy to find and grab them. Keycards can be found just lying around, so you won’t need to search boxes or storage containers for them.
Voting off players
After each of the first two rounds, players will be asked if they wish to vote off and eject another player. If you’re a Resident, you want to vote off a Personoid, and vice versa.
As a Resident, it is your job to keep an eye on other players for any suspicious activity — you may have caught a player lying about their passenger log, or seen someone sabotage an oxygen container — and then relay that to the team after the round to get your teammates to vote that player off. As a Personoid, it’s your job to lie about your intentions and stay in the game.
At the end of the round, you’ll also be asked whether or not all the Personoids are gone. If everyone votes yes, the game will end there and then, with the Residents winning if they are correct in their assumption. If at least one person votes no, the game continues. You should only vote yes on this screen if you’re a Personoid, or if you’re very confident that all of the Personoids have been taken care of.
How to shut down CAIN
In the final round, Residents must cross the bridge and shut down CAIN. However, the bridge needs to be activated by a player in order for others to cross it, meaning that you need to trust the player activating the bridge.
The terminal closest to CAIN that activates the bridge will override the terminal closest to this map’s entrance, meaning that if a Personoid manages to cross the bridge, it is essentially game over for Residents. As the Personoid will be able to disable the bridge at any point, the only hope Residents will have is if they can knockout the Personoid using an item in their inventory. If not, the Personoid will be able to disable the bridge at will and prevent any players from crossing.
This final level is essentially a climactic trust exercise that can either lead to a satisfying victory or an excruciating defeat. If you’re a Resident, make sure you’re as certain as possible that the player crossing the bridge is a teammate. If you’re a Personoid, you want to get across that bridge — preferably with your Personoid teammate or alone — as quickly as possible.
How to kill players
First Class Trouble allows both Residents and Personoids to kill one another. The simplest way to kill someone is for one player to grab another by pressing F, while a third player performs a co-op kill using G. Note that two Personoids cannot perform a co-op kill — there must always be at least one Resident involved in either the grabbing or the killing.
Players can also be killed using one of the syringes that are locked in containers around the map and only accessible by Personoids, by pushing them into fire, dropping chandeliers on them, pushing them into electricity, or opening an airlock with a player inside it.
Champagne bottles, beer bottles, paper planes, and rackets can be used to stun other players, though they will not kill them. However, they are useful for knocking down anyone who may be looking to attack you.
How to win in First Class Trouble
Winning in First Class Trouble as either a Resident or Personoid will come down to your proficiency at carrying out tasks while also monitoring the other players.
How to win as a Resident
To win as a Resident, you will need to find both the keycards and the passenger logs that will offer clues as to which players in your midst are the Personoids, before either dispatching both of them or shutting down CAIN.
The first round remains the same — it’s a small room with three keycards, with some typically located in the closed rooms that require either collaboration or skill checks to open. The back room will require you to complete a brief mini-game where you have to click your mouse in accordance with the lines passing through the block. The others rooms require you and a partner to activate the entrance simultaneously.
Passenger logs can also be found on the walls, while champagne bottles and other equipment can be taken and later used to stun enemies. The game is rarely lost at this stage, so use it to keep an eye on other players instead.
In the second round, the map is more expansive so there are more opportunities for the Personoid to sabotage. You again need to find the three keycards, though passenger logs on the wall will be even more vital in order to ascertain who is the imposter among you. Tools such as the aforementioned keycard triangulator and the scanner, which allows you to reveal the identity of a player, will also help.
In the final round, players must successfully cross the bridge and shut down CAIN. Passenger logs can also be obtained on either side of the map which will give you clues as to which remaining players may be Personoids.
To win, Residents need to collaborate with other players they trust in order to activate the bridge, cross it, and shut down CAIN. If the Residents manage to do this without any remaining Personoids sabotaging their plans, then they have won.
How to win as a Personoid (imposter)
As a Personoid you will need to sabotage the players’ global oxygen level, get the Residents working against each other, use weapons and items that will impede their progress, and generally be as disruptive as possible.
Personoids have two abilities, with them able to use Bio Vision to scan their surroundings for other players, while Personal Chat allows them to call the other Personoid from anywhere on the map. Residents won’t be able to hear this private communication, though you must keep the button held down to keep talking.
Personoids can make use of syringes located in containers around the map in order to instantly kill other players. However, as syringes can only be grabbed by Personoids, stealing one in front of a Resident will reveal your identity. Also note that syringes can only be used in the level you acquire them — you won’t be able to carry them into the next round.
In the second stage, more tools are available for you to take down your rivals. Players who enter airlocks can be jettisoned out of them, you can push your opponents into fire, and you can even send a chandelier hurtling down to players walking beneath it. However, all of these methods are hardly discreet, so you’ll need to make sure no one is around when you do this.
Global oxygen levels are a more subtle way to take down Residents, as you’re able to sabotage one of the various oxygen stations littered around the map in order to send the oxygen level plummeting down. As you’re not a human, you’re not affected by this decrease in oxygen, so getting the meter to go down completely will see you win the game.
Additionally, you can sabotage things such as doors and oxygen vents in order to further impede Residents’ progress. You can also take helpful tools such as fire extinguishers and oxygen containers, preventing Residents from getting their hands on them in the process.
At the end of each round, you can potentially speed up a victory by convincing other players to vote on all Personoids having been discovered. If all players agree to this vote, then the game ends, making any remaining Personoids the victors.
In the final round, Residents will need to cross the bridge and shut down CAIN in order to win. This is where Personoids can make a final play to win. As previously mentioned, if a Personoid is the first to cross the bridge, it is essentially a victory for them as the terminal nearest to CAIN can deactivate the bridge at will. If two Personoids are remaining in the final round, try to get both across the bridge to ensure a complete victory and more XP.
If you’re looking to set up a First Class Trouble private lobby, find out more here. If you want to know when the game is coming to consoles, you can also learn more about its potential future release dates here.