Hell Ember

**Leo Beck**, also known as **Hell Ember**, is a Difficulty Level 1.5 and Default Hunter available to every player upon starting the game. This character is one of **28** playable Hunters added to Identity V.

—Leo Beck (Deduction Quest No. 10)

## Appearance

Leo is a bulky, well-built man with sickly, purplish-grey skin, a muscular torso and limbs and covered in burns and bloody wounds, a disfigured face with small, ghostly green eyes, a chiseled nose, and sharp, jagged teeth in a split jaw. Several tufts of dark brown hair stick up from his burnt scalp.

He wears a sickly yellow button shirt with splotches of grime, the top unbuttoned to form a collar, and the sleeves tattered, sickly tan trousers with a torn hole in the left side held up by dull orange suspenders with black clasps, and sickly yellow dirt boots with white laces. A black metal post-surgery mask with two grate eyeholes is also secured onto his face with a leather strap, and his face and neck are completely hidden beneath layers of grimy and bloodstained white linen bandages. He grasps a black shark-shaped mace in his right hand, with its jaws split open to reveal two rows of jagged white teeth, and red markings on its head and tail, forming three "X" patterns along its body.

## Gameplay

Hell Ember is a Hunter characterized by a slow chase compensated by very powerful camping. He starts the match with little to use in his favor, but gains the ability to quickly move across the map and apply pressure as he gains presence. He can use his Phantoms to cut off chased Survivors, or to help himself when guarding Rocket Chairs and Cipher Machines. He can use his Puppets to pressure key locations across the map and quickly switch positions to them, or he can awaken them to allow them to move around, patrolling and chasing spotted Survivors. As a Hunter, he excels against Survivors with weak pursuit abilities, but struggles against those with abilities that allow them to quickly gain distance or delay damage.

### External Traits & Abilities

Below is a list of Hell Ember's intrinsic traits and abilities. For more in-depth information, please check the individual pages.

 Awaken | 0
 Multiple Puppet Control | 2500

### Character Statistics

Below is a list of Hell Ember's statistics. To view other Hunters' gameplay data, please view **this article**.

### Gameplay Tips

**Please press "Expand" to see tips about playing as and against this Hunter.**

#### As Hell Ember

* Hell Ember is one of the slowest-walking hunters in the game which, when mixed with his lack of any immediately available abilities at the start of the game, can render his first chases slow. To compensate for this, the persona trait Hunt and trait Blink are recommended.
	+ Alternatively, Patroller can be used in Blink's place to hinder a survivor's escape. The trait is much easier to counter and its effects last less with each use, but unlike Blink has a much shorter cooldown, allowing for several uses in the same match.
* Both Insolence and Trump Card are ideal for Leo's playstyle: the first aids him in his early-game, while the second helps him in his late-game by switching his trait to Teleport or to Abnormal.
	+ Teleport can be used to warp oneself to Puppets, even ones that are being dismantled.
* Despite his weak chase, Hell Ember's camping can be formidable if he is able to summon a Phantom at the chair. Make sure not to waste too much of your rage during chases, as his camping is much weaker without Phantoms to aid him.
	+ The hunter can also leave a Puppet at the chair, allowing them to roam and apply pressure nearby until the rescuer shows up. During this time, more rage can be collected by getting stunned or chasing other survivors.
* It is not recommended to give Puppets fury charges and let them roam, as in this state they're easy to dismantle for survivors. It's more suitable to place them at points of interest like chaired survivors, cipher machines and gates, or throw them to close distance and cut off survivors.
	+ Phantoms are much more versatile during a chase, as they're not able to be stopped, and can successfully hit survivors more than once in the same lifetime.
	+ Although notoriously hard and somewhat inconsistent, Hell Ember can use Puppet tricking to help in his chases and camping in mid-to-late game, once the red Puppet is available.
	+ While this has a short time window, Hell Ember can manage to switch positions with his thrown Puppets before they hit the ground. This will result in Leo falling from the sky, which can be used as an opportunity to get a successful hit and cancel his recovery animation.
* A glitch allows Hell Ember to cancel his throwing animation once a Puppet is thrown, allowing him to switch positions much faster and making it easier to Puppet-trick and drop from the sky. The glitch works for both Mobile and PC/Emulator versions of the game, but the execution is different:
	+ On Mobile, all one has to do to cancel the animation is quickly swipe upward on the Puppet icon once it's been thrown.
	+ On PC/Emulator, to cancel the animation the user has to quickly press the throwing key ("1" and "2", by default) again when the Puppet's been thrown. Be careful to press it only once, as doing so twice will instead switch positions with the Puppet.
* While Puppets do not count as solid models, Phantoms instead do. This means that they can be used to body-block pallets and narrow entrances as well as shield Leo from stuns like flares and Forward's dashes.
* It is advisable to collect placed Puppets if Leo happens to be in their vicinity. A Hell Ember without Puppets to readily use in pursuits, at chairs or to apply map pressure is extremely vulnerable, especially late in the match.
	+ Alternatively, if one has fury charges to spare, they can be used to awaken a far away Puppet. This allows it to roam between cipher machines, eventually either reaching a close enough position to recollect it, or finding decoding survivors and forcing them to dismantle it, wasting their time.
* Both phantoms and puppets generate a Fear Radius, which will notify survivors of their presence if nearby. However, the heartbeat will not stop or change intensity when Hell Ember is also nearby. You can catch survivors off guard by activating a puppet, and then attacking while they run from it or dismantle it.

#### Against Hell Ember

* Hell Ember possesses a weak and slow chase, but has the potential for a very strong camping. Prolonging the first chase for as much as possible can help ensure a quick victory against one.
	+ Harassing and support characters can help the kiter survive longer by slowing the hunter down, stunning them, and protecting them. Be, however, aware that this tactic is a double-edged sword, as being in the vicinity of Leo and repeatedly stunning him only grants him more fury.
* Despite his weak chase, Hell Ember's camping can be formidable if he is able to summon a Phantom at the chair. Once he summons one, you have 3 seconds to rescue the chaired survivor before the Phantom swings. Be careful, however, as Hell Ember can take this pressuring opportunity to easily Terror Shock you.
	+ A way to counter this is to wait for Leo to spawn his Phantom, let it chase you, and run to any nearby area with Pallets. Here, you can slam one down and make the Phantom break it, putting great distance between you two.
	+ If the hunter doesn't summon a Phantom once you arrive, it means he likely doesn't have enough rage to do so, and is waiting to collect enough before he can. Take this opportunity to rescue as quickly as possible.
* Phantoms can easily pinch a survivor between them and the hunter, and thus over-using the same kiting area can end up working against you. Once the Phantom is summoned, use the window of time before it moves to transition to a new area.
* Hell Ember can throw his Puppets to quickly catch up with survivors. Keeping your eyes on the hunter while he's throwing it can give you an opportunity to take an alternate route, wasting Leo's Puppet.
	+ The hunter can also use them to surprise survivors at cipher machines and chairs by throwing them from far away. Make sure to be careful at the sky, as Puppets leave a small dark trail behind them when thrown.
* The Puppets' outlining radius is approximately the same size as that of a Peeper, but unlike it, it won't display an on-screen message when the survivor is being spotted. As such it's advisable to not get close to them unless necessary.
	+ A Leo busy in a chase, or camping a far away chair, is unlikely to switch even if your position is revealed, as it would compromise their efforts. These situations can be used to dismantle his Puppets relatively safely.
* While awakened puppets can break pallets, they cannot vault windows or interact with props such as minecarts. They are also not capable of falling from a 2-story building and will always take the stairs. Use this to your advantage to lose them in chase.
* Hell Ember's Puppets and Phantoms are not slowed down by Female Dancer's slow music boxes or by walking through Entomologist's bee swarm. Keep this in mind when playing these survivors, as Hell Ember can use this to easily corner you.
* Puppets and Phantoms will roam the map by patrolling between cipher machines until they spot a survivor to pursue. When the exit gates are able to be opened, they will walk back and forth between them.
* Phantoms and puppets can hit rocket chairs, which will induce an attack recovery. While it is difficult to pull off, you can use this to your advantage.
	+ They are also capable of hitting the breakable walls on the Red Church.

## Concept / Design Notes

### Chinese Reference Book Notes

This was the first hunter designed by our team, and he was to "test the waters" similar to Lucky Guy. We designed him as rough and violent, similar to the image of killers from American B-rated movies such as the twisted farmer from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Their design elements resemble real life more, however. In comparison to a chainsaw, designing a cold weapon is more suitable for a faster game experience, and therefore the very first hunter's appearance was successfully molded.

### Artist Notes

At this time, I encountered a review problem, and I was modifying the previous design draft, that is, puppetry. This is a specification, which will be handed over to outsourcing in batches later. At the same time, there are buttonholes, no bleeding, blood stains become thorns, violent animations become balloons, and the execution effect was originally hanged, but later changed to flying guns and chairs. But getting used to the new version is also very stylish.

## Change Log

November 16th, 2017
* Nerf: Increased Puppet switching cooldown (from 12 sec to 20 sec);
* Nerf: Decreased the switching speed boost duration (from 5 sec to 3 sec).

January ??, 2018 (Undocumented)
* Nerf: Removed the yellow Puppet's ability to be used for Puppet Tricks.

November 15th, 2018
* Buff: New external trait has been added for Hell Ember, Infernal Soul;
* Buff: New ability has been added for Hell Ember, Awaken;
* Nerf: Slightly reduced Hell Ember’s movement speed;
* Nerf: Slightly increased Puppets’ dismantle speed and the cooldown period after dismantling (to 45 sec).

January 17th, 2019
* Adjustment: Optimized attacks when carrying Survivors tied to balloons.

January 31st, 2019
* Adjustment: Optimized Hell Ember's awakening of Phantoms.

March 28th, 2019
* Buff: Phantoms' duration has been slightly extended;
* Buff: Slightly increased Hell Ember's vaulting speed (to 1.31 sec);
* Buff: Phantoms' attacks will now increase Hell Ember's presence;
* Buff: Reduced attack recovery when hitting obstacles (to 1.33 sec), improved hit range;
* Nerf: Puppets' rage now dissipates when they hit a Survivor.
* Adjustment: Phantoms can now be recalled. After recalling, a percentage of Rage will be recovered according to the remaining time;
* Adjustment: Optimized Phantoms' AI with improved hit probability and hit rate.

January 16th, 2020
* Adjustment: Improved the judgment duration for Hell Ember's charged attack and attack while holding a balloon;
* Buff: Slightly increased the range of Hell Ember's charged attack (to 3.46 m).

August 6th, 2020
* Buff: Hell Ember will start a match with 50% Rage;
* Buff: Hell Ember now won't be blocked by his Phantoms;
* Buff: Increased the duration of Hell Ember's attack judgment and shortened the backswing of his normal attack;
* Buff: Phantoms and Puppets no longer stand still for 5 seconds after missing a hit;
* Buff: Increased Hell Ember's movement speed (to 4.56 m/sec) and Puppet recovery rate;
* Adjustment: Improved Hell Ember's Puppet toss operation after long-pressing the ability.

September 16th, 2021
* Buff: Removed the temporary loss of movement after breaking Pallets.

July 6th, 2023
* Buff: In Tarot - Crystal Ball Mode, when the Crystall Ball is active accumulation speed of Rage is increased from 50% to 100%;
* Buff: In Tarot - Crystal Ball Mode, when the Crystall Ball is active Puppets can't be dismantled for 20 seconds after being placed.

August 24th, 2023
* Buff: Increase Hell Ember's movement speed (from 4.56m/sec to 4.64m/sec).
* Buff: Hell Ember can now select a Survivor in his field of view for the Phantom to focus on chasing.
* Buff: Adjusted the delay before newly awakened Phantoms can move (from 3 sec to 2.5 sec).
* Nerf: Adjusted the delay before newly awakened Phantoms can move (from 3 sec to 4.5 sec) if awakened near a chaired Survivor.
* Adjustment: Added a visual cue below a newly awakened Phantom, visible to all players, to show its delay's duration before being able to move.

August 31th, 2023
* Adjustment: Shortened the time necessary to hold the Ability button for Awaken.

## Trivia

* Hell Ember shares his model structure and many of his animations, including walking, stunning and picking survivors up, with Smiley Face and Gamekeeper, the latter of whom used to reuse many of his voice lines.
	+ This stands out as other Hunters have personalized animations, voice lines and models that differ from one another.
* Hell Ember was one of the two hunters the game launched its closed beta testing period with, alongside Smiley Face, in May 2017.
	+ In these versions of the game, Leo's appearance varied significantly from his current one: his weapon was a sickle made of bones, he lacked his mask, and used to carry incapacitated survivors over his shoulder. These details were all changed before official release to their current state.
	+ Early beta versions show him wielding a chainsaw, and possessing completely different abilities.
* As with other early characters, Leo's appearance and gameplay were inspired by elements from Dead by Daylight. In particular, he takes inspiration from the gameplay and appearance of The Trapper.
	+ Both Hell Ember and The Trapper are the game's first available hunter and killer, respectively. They're both featured in their games' tutorials, and are heavily used in promotional material, serving as the "icons" for their faction.
	+ Arms Factory, the map related to Leo's background, is heavily inspired by The MacMillan Estate, the map related to The Trapper's backstory.
* In the Gardener's diary reconstructions, he appears in his old mask-less model.

## Name in Other Languages

 🇺🇸 | English
 🇲🇾 | Bahasa Melayu

## References

1. ↑ His age was formerly listed in the Character Relations Menu but it has since been removed for unknown reasons.
2. ↑ Official Japanese Reference Book
3. ↑ Formerly, in the Diaries and as the in-game voice. A website confirming the (former) voice actor of Mercenary, The Ripper, Lucky Guy, Smiley Face, Lawyer (old voice), and Cowboy - https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E6%9D%8E%E5%85%83%E9%9F%AC
4. ↑ In the Diaries and as the in-game voice. A website confirming the voice actor of Hell Ember - https://zh.moegirl.org.cn/index.php?title=%E8%8B%8F%E9%91%AB&variant=zh-hans&mobileaction=toggle\_view\_desktop
5. ↑ He is in episode 3 of Identity V Stage Play as Leo Beck
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/identityV\_stage/status/1300694159645319168?s=20
7. ↑ Archived post from Nekooxi's IDV Development Concept Art
8. ↑ https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404174767467980660