There will be a TL;DR at the end of this, in case you just want the key points and not read a bunch of paragraphs, however if you want the full knowledge I would recommend reading everything.


Unfortunately, most people who play Soul have absolutely no clue what they're doing. They might just throw a trap here and there at their feet, and have it be destroyed instantly. This guide is to teach how how to NOT do that and how you can be efficient and effective in your Soul gameplay. First, to play Soul you must understand her ability, her shareable, and her passive. Soul's Passive, Energy Battery gives you +2 Energy Limit. There's not much to say about this other than it's nice that you get an increased energy cap, which allows you to have better chase potential because you have more energy. Soul's Shareable perk is called Persistent, which decreases the rate at which you lose maximum health while in digital form. While this is nice, there is another perk called Crow's Requiem which is basically this perk, but better. I wouldn't recommend using this shareable as there is basically a better version of this perk. Before you even consider playing Soul, I highly recommend that you get the Extractor Dancing Girl to level 4 to obtain her teachable, Everyone is A Hero which grants you +2 energy every time you take damage from the Watcher. This perk is an absolute must have on Soul as if you know what you're doing, you are going to be using your ability often in a chase which costs 2 energy, so this perk is basically a necessity if you want to play Soul, as you'll find yourself running out of energy VERY quickly without this perk. The rest of the guide will be going over her main ability: Magnetic Trap

Before we start going over how to use them, it's important to understand what Soul's Magnetic Traps are and what you can do with them. You can throw these traps, and you can throw them much farther than you probably think. They will stick to the first thing they touch, and after a 3 second arming time, it will create a static field around itself that is pretty large. If the Watcher walks anywhere into this field, you will get a sound notification that sounds almost like an anvil being hit. You can right click to detonate the field, and if the Watcher is within the static field when you activate it, they will be stunned/slowed for 2.1 seconds, and drop a data cube. A very important thing to understand is that if the Watcher touches the actual thrown projectile portion of the trap, it will be destroyed instantly along with the static field and they will not be stunned. There are many things you can do with your traps to prevent them from being destroyed, as a trap that the Watcher can destroy is considerably weaker than a trap that the Watcher cannot destroy. You should never drop a trap at your feet as it will most likely be instantly destroyed, and you will have wasted 2 energy. One last thing to understand about her traps is that the main body DOES NOT need to have line of sight in order to stun the Watcher. As long as the Watcher is partially in the static field, they will be stunned when you activate it.

The best way to use your traps is to deny an area with the radius of traps where you force the Watcher to either walk through it and eat the stun, or have them take a detour around the trap that would be very inefficient for them. These traps should not be able to be broken by the Watcher walking under them.

So why is it so important to place traps on high areas? If a trap is able to be destroyed by the Watcher, they can easily lunge through it in order to break it before you can react, as they only need to reach the center of the field before it breaks. However, if they cannot break it when they walk under it, they need to walk through the entire field before you detonate it in order to avoid the stun, which basically gives you all the time you need in order detonate it if they attempt to force their way through it, which many Watchers will do when they see traps.
Example: If the Watcher were to walk under this trap, it would not be destroyed.

This is an extremely safe trap, and almost a guarenteed stun as long as you don't get baited into using it early.


Some more experienced Watchers, when they see a good trap placement, will try to bait you to detonate it early by going in and out of the radius in order to dodge the stun. If your trap is in a good position, and you think the Watcher might try to bait you, wait until they fully committed to walking through the trap as the trap radius is big enough that you have a good amount of time to wait before they fully go through the stun radius.

If you're in a chase and either panicking, or don't see any good high ground, then it's not always bad to throw a trap at the ground. Just make sure it's REALLY far away from you, as it takes 3 seconds to arm and before that it's useless. Also make sure you have plenty of distance. Most of the time, traps like these will be in the middle of the open, and you need to be very cautious that a trap on the ground is very easy to destroy, so be ready to react FAST when they walk over it, as they get destroyed faster than you might think.


One extra note: Against Warden specifically, if he charges after getting stunned, he basically negates the entire stun duration, but if you're close enough you can use this to your advantage. If a Warden is using charge to negate the stun from your traps, stun him, see if he charges, then run into him in order to take almost no damage, gain a speed boost, and get +2 Energy if you have Everyone is A Hero equipped.

(Keep in mind this last note is subject to change and is very situational depending on the player. Only use this if they are using charge to fully negate your stun, and are close enough to where you can be hit by the charge.)

This section will give you a couple of good trap locations on most of the maps with an explanation of why each is good and how you can fully use it to your advantage.

1.These staircases are found on all of the "Salt Shaker" Prison maps. These stair cases are extremely good trap locations, as if you place it properly they cannot be destroyed, and if you place it properly, the static field will also reach to the top of the stairs on the ground above it as well. Be extra careful when you do this one, as the Watcher hitbox on stairs seems to be a bit higher than normal, might be bugged, I'm not sure, but as long as it you stick it to the top of the platform above the stairs, it should be fine.

2.I put these 2 together as they give the same idea. Putting traps on the ceiling / parts sticking from the ceiling relative to the ground. It's always much better to do this than dropping it on the ground, as they will not be destroyed if walked under.
Always be looking for opportunities like the second one where if you place it, it denies an area which the Watcher can path completely. If the Watcher wants to pursue you to that trap, they either have to go around- which in that case would be stupid and a complete waste of distance and time, bait the trap, which you can counter by just waiting for them to commit, or the easiest action- just walking into it and taking the stun like a man, which is what will happen most of the time, giving you a chance to gain a lot of distance.

3.
I saved the best for last. Oh boy, let me tell you something, the bridges on Hanging Gardens are your ABSOLUTE Best Friends for Soul. Basically, throw your trap trying to stick the lantern, and you basically have a free stun. If I'm on Gardens I will almost have a trap there 99.99999% of the time, as once you get into a chase you can run there and it's basically free distance. as there's almost nothing they can do about this trap except attempt to bait you, which as I said before, won't work if you're patient. But if anything Bridges are your best friend, always keep a trap there, they're absolutely amazing. Just be careful you don't miss the lanterns, or you might end up with a trap that looks like this (first 10 seconds, you can see a trap on the top of the roof, which the timing on the stun is either impossible (too high) or incredibly tight, basically don't miss the lantern or this might happen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm9sqkVQcxw

Basically, if you do not want to read walls of text, here you go.

Always place your traps up high if possible. Don't get baited into using them early. Use Everyone is A Hero at ALL times, if you don't have it GET IT. Try to avoid placing the traps that can be destroyed. Use these images as good examples of how to use traps.

The Best Friend Bridge

Ceiling Area Denial

Staircase Traps