Alibi is an operator who has always been initially straightforward in terms of the idea of her gadget, but something I’ve come to learn about her is that people tend to have multiple styles of play. As a quick 3 speed, she is underutilized and can really throw off inexperienced players while still keeping up with some veterans. With a couple of styles to show, let’s jump right into why you should choose Alibi.

Ability - Prisma

Alibi’s gadget is a deployable hologram that projects an image of herself standing idle with her gun drawn. This hologram can be walked onto to make it vanish, thus replacing your identical hologram with your operator. When an enemy shoots through the Prisma, they are then tagged with a special ping that is exclusive to Alibi which tracks their movement in quick succession. It is similar to Jackal’s ability, but it tracks your opponent closer to real time, so you’ll have a better idea of where they’re heading to after they’ve been caught.

The basic idea of Alibi’s ability is that once an opponent has shot a Prisma, you can take its place in hopes of tricking the attacker into believing you are just a hologram. The nature of this ability is what gives Alibi her variety of playstyles, as people have come to know. And while everyone plays the game differently, there have been two main lines of thinking when it comes to the use of Prismas: Tricking or Roaming. But before we get to the specifics of these two styles, let’s go over what guns complement her kit.

Loadout

Primary: Alibi’s primary choice comes between the MX4 Storm and the ACS12 shotgun. While both are clearly used for different ends, my recommendation for any beginners would be the Storm. It’s a fairly nice automatic that has access to the reflex scope (my personal choice), making it deadly in rapid close quarters situations. The ACS12, on the other hand, is a blast to use as it is one of the few automatic shotguns in the game, which is a unique advantage to have. If you’re looking to do some remodelling and Alibi’s impact grenades aren’t cutting it, bring the ACS12 into action and you’ll find no wall able to stop you (unless it’s reinforced, of course). As far as which to use, this again comes down to your approach in playing Alibi. If you’re looking to roam and focus more on the core mechanics of the game, I’d suggest the Storm as it is a reliable gun for kills. If you’re looking to use your Prismas in a more deceptive way to draw your opponents closer, then the ACS12 might be what you’re looking for.

Secondary: Alibi’s secondaries come in the form of the Keratos .357 and the Bailiff 410, both of which come with their individual advantages. Starting off with the unique Bailiff 410, this is a pistol/shotgun hybrid that hold five rounds, each with four pellets. While this may seem weak in its damage output, there is use in its capability of destruction when hatches and destructible walls are considered, easily popping holes that can be used for peeking. The Keratos .357 has a longer range by far, which makes sense as this fits in flush with Alibi’s potential for either being a roamer or a trickster. In other words, no matter the desired play style, she’ll have a weapon for the occasion. So, much like the primary weapons, if you choose to take the ACS12, it might be a good idea to get some long range potential with the Keratos .357 and, if you’re looking to roam for some kills, the Bailiff 410 gives you the ability to either take a fight close-range or pop a hatch for a quick escape.

Utility: Matching the theme of Alibi and this article, the choice of whether to take the deployable shield or the impact grenades also relies on how you’re interested in playing Alibi. The shield can cover the footpad of an Alibi, which is a tell tale sign that it isn’t the real operator, making it much more dangerous for an opponent to be able to peek. Impact grenades, in the same way they are used with other operators, give you freedom of movement when playing and can come in handy with distractions, damage against shields, and any of their usual benefits. As of writing this, Ubisoft has taken out the deployable shield due to an exploitable glitch, so the choice is a little easier for you on this, but for future reference when the gadget is back in the game, I’d recommend using the shield when you’re looking to depend on your Prismas more so than your killing capability. Impact grenades are great for roaming, but the information that your shield covers can be crucial in getting the kill on an unsuspecting attacker.

Tips

This first tip will help those of you who are looking to roam and use your Prismas as an information gathering tool. By placing your holograms in front of commonly used windows or doors, any stray bullets meant to break a barricade or get a lucky wallbang will immediately track the attackers. This tip is specifically helpful for windows as the only destructible part of the Prisma will be naturally covered by the wall, meaning it is safe to “cover” that area from prefiring. Even more dastardly, if you break a hole in a window barricade, it can be made to look like the Prisma is spawn peeking, which generally gets a tag from the attacking team. Do be aware that if you happen to be roaming near a Prisma that’s been recently shot, you can switch play styles on a dime and try to take the holograms place for a kill, though the results may vary.

If you’re looking to trick your opponents from the start, a common way of getting Prisma tags is to set them up in angles that are either commonly held or fairly well covered. By having the Prisma in such a realistic place, it is more likely that the attacker will fall for the bait and push forward for a quick kill. If you’re lurking nearby when this happens, you can set up a “crossfire” to take out the tagged target. This can sometimes backfire as if the angle is too well covered or if it winds up being an area that is unused by the attacking team. Not only are you then placed in a position that is not very useful, but your Prisma will have gained no information. Fear not though, if you realize this early on, you can just pick your hologram and carry forward to a better position.

My final tip comes for any of you who are feeling extra cheeky and want to take advantage of Alibi’s final ability. When you have an Alibi on your team, any defender that is marked outside will have their identity hidden, meaning instead of their operator symbol, there will be a grey question mark above their head. Luckily, this means Alibi’s Prismas also get tagged in this manner, potentially throwing attackers off even more. Setting up Prismas in this way is dangerous and often fruitless, but in specific areas, such as the south outdoor balcony on Skyscraper (outside the south walls of the work office objective), it can be met with some great results. By setting up a deployable shield with some Prismas and maybe even a Maestro Evil Eye, you can completely control that hallway from any attackers trying to push a flank on the main objective window. While this is specific to one area on one objective on one map, this strategy can be used in any outdoor area, so long as you keep in mind that it is dependant on being well covered, so open areas will bare even worse results.

Hopefully this wasn’t too lengthy of a read, but the dual-natured aspect of this character lends itself to some explanations. Alibi is a lot of fun to roam with, as well as someone who can just be a nuisance to fight against, which is a huge win in my book. If you’re looking for a character that will give you hours of entertainment not only in sweaty ranked games, but laid-back casuals, I highly suggest you pick up Alibi.

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