Game Modes - Coven

Coven Gamemodes
These are gamemodes exclusive to the expansion. A total of $10 is required to play the gamemodes, adding 15 new roles that changes how Town of Salem plays.

Coven Classic
Classic is a Game Mode in the Town of Salem: Expansion. It is the introductory gamemode to the, similar to the Classic Mode. However, the gamemode fails to do its purpose as it is rarely played.

Coven Ranked
Coven Ranked is the equivalent of Classic Ranked in the expansion. However, due to the small amount of Coven owners, and the scarcity of players in Coven Ranked Practice, this gamemode is rarely played.

Coven Ranked Practice
Coven Ranked Practice is the equivalent of Classic Ranked Practice in the expansion. It is rarely played which is the reason that there are almost no Coven Ranked matches.

Mafia Returns
Returns is a exclusive game mode that has a classic  vs  vs  setup, except with the new expansion exclusive roles. It is among the gamemodes which are rarely played.

Coven VIP
Coven VIP is a game mode that rotates weekly, and is the counterpart to Coven Lovers. It has a lot of and  Roles, and a few. One random will be selected as the VIP and all Town will know who the VIP is. If the VIP dies, loses and  wins, even if all members of the  are dead as well, so the point of the game is to make sure that the VIP dies or stays alive, depending what faction you belong to. You cannot whisper in VIP.

Strategy

 * The VIP themself has to factor in the pros and cons of how they use their role:
 * ,, and are simple -- they can't go out, and thus they are the hardest for  to deduce.
 * is also difficult to deduce, but due to being unable to visit them after reveal, needs to be careful about revealing.
 * is an interesting case -- they can keep the safe, and the  can protect them from anything. However, they can unintentionally swap themselves with a  o the target of another, possibly ending up dead.
 * 's greatest threat is the, who can send their anywhere. Once the  is dead, it is generally safe for the VIP  to target risky individuals.
 * and have the greatest catch 22 -- produce no results, and it's obvious you're the VIP. Go out, and you may walk into a witched  or . If you must go out with the  still alive, try to visit suspicious people who aren't attracting much attention.
 * A VIP will either heal a  N1 or walk into a . Claiming D1 is probably not a good idea, as  may use the "peel the layers" strategy and kill you N2.
 * A VIP is the most likely to fail, as the odds of another  claim being  is high, their status as such is obvious if no one claims, and yet claiming at all may result from a quick kill by the . To further exacerbate this, traps tend to often fail on a  -- particularly against the.
 * If you're in a good position, consider voting innocent on a known member. This could bait the  to accuse you, and subsequently out themselves. The downside is this can also bait a  who claims to be working for.
 * Town Strategies revolve around keeping the VIP alive, but also finding the right balance between openness and subtlety:
 * The VIP is always a user, and cannot be a  or.
 * Do not name the VIP in your will, ever. Replace their name with 'VIP' or a similar contraction.
 * If both and  are dead, and a user is on trial and they claim a  role, ask them who the VIP is. If they answer incorrectly or don't answer at all, they are probably evil. Do not do this otherwise, as a clever  could get a quick kill on the VIP, as described below.
 * ,, and are all crucial roles.  is a top priority for the  as they somewhat reliably find evil, while overall just getting the  to talk and figure out who their allies are.
 * If the kills on the first night, it may be wise for a  to not lay their trap until the third night. This will ensure that your trap isn't wasted on a night the  can't be killed by it, as well as give you more time to find at-risk targets, or to protect an exposed VIP.
 * Beware of making common mistakes that help pinpoint the VIP. Explained in the section.
 * If at least 3 players claim on the first day, one is liable to be a.
 * Overclaiming on the first day can also give  a blueprint for wiping out the VIP's protection in 1-2 nights. If someone has claimed  before you, it may be wise to refrain from immediately claiming yourself.
 * Not claiming can make it difficult for the  to mess with you, but if two  are silent on the first day, they will kill each other, dealing a huge blow to.
 * Exposing the can deal a devastating blow to, as a controlled  can easily result in the net loss of two  members. You can mitigate this risk somewhat by favoring the  or 's results to the 's.
 * If a is exposed on the second day, and you're a second, consider protecting the  that night. They can be forced to shoot, but you are likely to kill the , which is more than a fair trade.
 * Coven Strategies are far more complex -- to have any chance at winning, Coven needs to know what they're doing, while also on the lookout for means to find and kill the VIP:
 * A key strategy to remember, if the VIP is discovered early on, the Coven can safely attempt a quick kill by witching the onto the, and having a  or  attack the VIP. The  will be protected from any second  or  by the bewitched , and the controlled  can also kill investigatives visiting the.
 * The can send random undeclared  members to an alert  to open up claim space, but there is a chance they may target a, non-visiting role, or the VIP. The  can heal them to help manage risk.
 * 's VIP is the . Their arsenal of tricks is so vast that to lose the Coven Leader early is to all but forfeit the match:
 * A, starting on N3, cannot be harmed by traps on a or  as long as the target isn't sent to themself. This is most likely a bug, however.
 * Sometimes, a can break up a double  combo, which always includes the VIP, by sending one of the  to themself. There is a 50/50 chance that either the controlled crusader will either attack their partner, or will attack the  instead.
 * If a is protecting a  starting from N3, this can be circumvented by the  sending the  to the . The  will die protecting the, but the  will protect the.
 * If you know the VIP, and know the order in which two are protecting them, send the exposed  to the VIP -- both  will kill each other, leaving the VIP exposed the next night.
 * The is also a key player, as it can wipe out a number of players early on, sometimes score N1 kills, and overall is best as a suicide lead:
 * Claiming to be a on the VIP, as, can leave the VIP exposed and get actual protectives killed. You'll likely be found out within a couple nights, but you can do a lot of damage. Since  isn't part of the quick kill strategy, it's often worth the risk.
 * Alternatively, claiming to be "on the ", and having the send the  to you, is a decent way to lure other protectives and possibly the  and/or  to you. You'll score a lot of kills, but you'll likely be lynched the next day.
 * Given that the can only make risky contact kills with the Necronomicon, it is the second-weakest end-game role to . It is best used early and then expended to protect the other  members from lynch.
 * The is critical to quick kill strategies, but also has a few other tricks:
 * Keeping the alive is your top priority. If they're doing something risky, like messing with  on the first night, consider healing them. If the  sends a protective to themself, though, do not heal them -- you may be killed by a.
 * Consider holding your attack for a night or two, and try figuring out who the VIP is. This may also cast suspicion on those who are role blocked.
 * On the second day, consider using your investigation potion on a high-priority target, regardless of whether or not you know their role. This will dismantle any trap that has been put up.
 * The general playstyle varies based on which role you end up with:
 * The prioritizes wiping out  and  ASAP. Even if you lose your, the  can essentially make risk-free guesses as to who the VIP is if only  and  remain. Without the Necronomicon, your job is to dismantle traps. Don't plan on being able to use your finishing spell -- given the lack of claimspace in and the goal of Coven VIP, this is extremely rare.
 * The 's two most useful ghouls are the and . Unfortunately, the  has poor synergy with the, and requires strategies that involve straight up killing as many protective roles as possible. With the Necronomicon, you have a safe attack, but you still get walled by traps and.
 * The strategies revolve around having the  harass the lead, safest move is to send said  to the , while the  and  liberally seek out target VIP. The  is the worst late-game role, so they are most useful in attempting a quick kill and are expendable if it means protecting the  from lynch.
 * Finally, be on the lookout for tells that help narrow down who is and isn't the VIP:
 * Pay attention to any or  claims, putting them on your "not VIP" list.
 * If a excludes the VIP from results, keep a list of everyone who IS named. Include fellow living  if it's in your will, so as to misdirect the.
 * Also pay attention for anyone explicitly not grilled when named by the -- they may be the VIP, but they may also be someone who claimed before.
 * If a or  has no results for days, or a  claim is oddly absent or accomplishing nothing, they may be the VIP, staying home.
 * Similarly, you may wish to add active and  to your "not VIP" list, as their VIP counterparts often stay home.
 * Neutrals are wildcards, but they have their own considerations:
 * may wish to refrain from declaring or voting until they know what side they're on. Declaring D1 will prevent you from being able to lie to save your target, and may make you the target of who don't wish to antagonize.
 * A may wish to write up a couple fake wills for their target, but keep it in a separate text file so as not to reveal them upon death. If the, , or  implicates them, try to defend your target with a false  or  will that makes them look innocent. In the event of a , you may need to simply counterclaim . You merely need to keep them from being lynched that day.
 * can be cowed to help the, but it is overall risky to keep them around. If is near voting majority, it's generally best to let them live.

Coven Lovers
Coven Lovers is a gamemode that rotates weekly, and the counterpart of Coven VIP. It has a normal role list, but 8/15 players are tied to another as lovers (This means the 7 other players are left single). There are a number of special rules governing lovers:


 * If one member of a pair of lovers dies, the other is dealt the equivalent of an Unstoppable Attack. 's absolute immunity to being killed at night will protect him from this.
 * If one person suicides (leaves the game) their lover will not die.
 * Lovers are able to secretly whisper to each other without it showing up in the chat box to others.
 * Lovers can win with each other's factions. For example, if the has a living  lover, then they will be able to win with the, and will not block a  victory.
 * If all players who do not have lovers die, all lovers still alive will win even if they are in opposition (for example, if the only living players are a pair of lovers and a pair consisting of  and, all four will win).
 * cannot be (nor have) lovers under any circumstances because the will die in the process of saving another target, thereby killing their lover.
 * Aside from that, any pair of roles can be lovers.

Strategy

 * It's important to understand victory conditions.
 * The town is split into the following "teams". And, same as with swinging roles in other modes, just because you can win with someone, you should not automatically consider them your allies.
 * Single - Their only victory chance is with  victory. Their primary lynching targets are duos of killers. This is also a "fallback" side for all the  players. Once you've found yourself in the graveyard you are essentially a single town. Taking steps to ensure their victory is generally a good call for all town players.
 * -only pairs - Will win with, will win with lovers. Their primary lynching targets are single killers.
 * /Killer pairs - Will win with, will win with lovers. Their primary lynching targets are single killers, however they can turn on singles (and either lynch them or kill them at night) at any moment if they consider lovers victory to be closer than  victory.
 * Killer-only pairs - Will win with lovers. Their primary targets are single players. Single poses a threat as a voting force, single killers pose a threat as killers (so long as they can get through your defense).
 * Single killers - Only win alone. Their primary targets should be pairs with in them, then pairs of killers,  then single  and other single killers. Their main concern should be how to throw the game in style though because most players put in this situation will blatantly refuse to play their part and will just ask to be lynched.
 * Beyond the basics there's one easy to miss fact - your goal is to WIN in any way possible. This can be by killing off evils as a or surviving the game as an evil in any way possible.
 * can win from the graveyard as long as it's town victory not lovers victory.
 * can win as long as he gets his plunders.
 * can outlive their partner and win solo.
 * That said, your lover is still an asset that allows you to win with lovers victory. Even if you can count on a to bring you back, losing one means losing an asset.
 * Your lover is an asset for more than just victory condition requirement.
 * An evil paired with can use their help when going for killing singles.
 * A paired with killer can use their help to make public claims without being outed.
 * paired with can use their help to find/confirm the other.
 * Lover is also a vulnerability of cause.
 * In general keep in mind that when ONE of you has revealed you can keep the other under the radar and ask for on yourself. But when BOTH of you are known one  is no longer enough to keep both of you from death. Killers generally have some defense of their own, but generally they are NOT invulnerable at night.
 * Discuss in your hidden whispers which one of you will reveal and which will try to stay hidden.
 * Few outcomes are worse than both of you outing on the same day.
 * Don't fall for "who is your lover?, lover vouch for him" trap.
 * All you (and they, if it's genuine -side question) need is a proof that your partner is town.
 * And them just saying that they are isn't going to cut it either, they will still be asked for the same info that you'd post in chat in their stead and either trusted or mistrusted BASED ON THE INFO, not on them claiming it themselves. So DON'T EVEN CONSIDER outing for the sake of just backing up your partners words with the same exact words they could have said (unless the  is being extra dumb and stubborn and got them all the way to the stand).
 * YOUR claim and will posted on their behalf is just as viable and just as easy to CC as their own. (someone just has to say "I'm and I'm not with him" for example, or "I'm  and that will has fake visits")
 * is probably going to be pissed about it, but it's not his place to decide when you should reveal your partner.
 * However that same is your last resort if the  is being stubborn. Reveal, and ask to be tracked. Keep in mind that not every role is provable like this. For example  can't really say on his own whether you are a  or an . And almost anyone can fake being  in the eye of a  by not going anywhere next night. And even  roles are fake-able to some extent by  and.
 * Revealed NEEDS protection in order to stay alive. Killing roles with defense are generally fine to not protect, since their only threats would be the  or . The  would only be a threat late-game.
 * In reverse, revealed is known as a target likely to be protected, and unrevealed killers have a better chance of surviving being randomly targeted at night. (Depends on who is killing though)
 * Keep in mind all your winning and losing options.
 * Lovers with a can win with  OR lovers. Lovers with no  can only win with lovers. Sometimes it's easier for /evil pair to kill singles and "join" evil pairs than to keep pushing for  win. Keep that in mind as any single/paired player.
 * A pair with a in it can win with . Keeping important  members alive can greatly accelerate that process. Caring only for your lover however still puts both of you at risk (unless both are ) giving active evil more time to kill you. And if game ends with lovers victory neither of you will win.


 * Even within a pair, "discord" is possible. doesn't care if both of you live once he has won. And  doesn't need you alive in the end. That said both of those cases WANT you alive as winning a lover victory is always an easier option. But perhaps the most treacherous would be the  itself. Throwing the safety of themselves and their partner under the bus in order to ensure  victory is a viable move on their part.

Rivals
Exclusive to the Coven Expansion, Rivals was first introduced in Version 2.0.3.6849 which was released on July 20th of 2017. This game mode was one of three game modes which would rotate weekly. Rivals was the reverse of Lovers in the way that each player had a rival who needed to die in order for the player to win. The player could not visit their rival directly. Due to its lack of popularity, this game mode was later removed on February 16th of 2018.