Clive Barker's Jericho Tips for Beginners: Squad, Ammo and Survival

Clive Barker's Jericho tips for beginners come down to one idea: treat every fight as a team problem, not just an aim test. Jericho is a horror squad shooter, so your squad choices and your fight plan matter as much as your shooting. A good shot will not save a weak setup. To go further, see Clive Barker's Jericho Platforms and System Requirements.

This article covers four tips: how to handle the opening weapons and melee tutorial, how to pick and switch squad members, how to make your ammo last, and what to do when a fight turns against you. The game opens with a short tutorial on weapons and melee attacks ^[1], so that is where the first tip begins.

Think of these as early-game habits rather than a full walkthrough. They will help you through your first hours, but they do not map out every room or boss. A full walkthrough covers the whole route if you want that level of detail. For a closer look, read Clive Barker's Jericho Walkthrough.

What does the opening tutorial teach you?

The opening tutorial teaches you how to use your weapons and melee attacks. It is the game's first real lesson in combat, so it is worth taking seriously before the harder fights start. ^[1]

What the tutorial covers

The game starts a short tutorial on weapons and melee attacks at this point in the game. It begins by asking you to press B, and each step appears as an on-screen prompt. Follow each prompt as it comes up, because the tutorial moves on from one step to the next. ^[1]

Why it's on the list

This is the first place the game shows you how combat works. If you are new to squad shooters, it gives you a low-pressure place to learn the controls before enemies rush you. Experienced players can move through the prompts quickly, but it is still worth doing each step once.

Who it suits

The tutorial suits anyone starting the game for the first time. It is especially useful if you have not played a shooter that mixes guns and melee.

• Weapons: Learn how to aim and fire, and notice how quickly your ammo goes down.
• Melee attacks: Try a few strikes so you know how close you need to be and how long each attack takes.
• Weapon switching: Practice moving between your firearm and melee so the change feels natural.

A simple drill after the tutorial

Once the tutorial ends, try a short routine in your first combat room. Start with a melee strike on a weaker enemy, switch to your weapon for a tougher target, and switch back to melee if an enemy gets close again. Repeating this a few times makes the change feel automatic when the room gets busy.

Practice in the early rooms, not in the middle of a hard fight. When a group rushes you, you will not have time to remember which button does what. A few minutes of drills now means your hands already know the moves when the pressure rises.

Keep your attention on the screen, not just the controller. The prompts show you what the game expects next, and following them keeps you moving through the tutorial without getting stuck.

How do you keep your squad useful in combat?

Treat each squad member as a tool for one specific problem, and your fights get much easier. Your teammates can cover ground and handle threats you can't deal with alone, but only when each one has a clear job.

This habit earns a place on the list because it shapes every encounter. Many new players either ignore their squad or let teammates wander into trouble. A few deliberate choices before each fight can keep your team alive and save you from replaying the same room.

It suits anyone new to squad shooters, and anyone who finds their teammates keep getting pinned down. If you like to play alone and treat your squad as background support, these habits show where they can contribute more.

Here are the three habits to build:

• Match each member to a problem. Before a fight starts, decide which teammate handles which threat. One member might hold a route while another deals with enemies that approach from the side. A simple split works well: one covers the front, another watches the flank. Thinking in roles keeps your team focused instead of reacting to whatever happens first.
• Check positions before you push. Stop at the doorway of a new room and look at where your squad is standing. If a teammate is stuck behind a wall or out of line of sight, wait until they are in place. Moving forward with a scattered team is one of the easiest ways to lose a fight early.
• Swap members for the moment. When a fight or puzzle calls for a different skill, switch to the teammate who fits it. If the same member stays out front for every situation, challenges that need someone else will keep stalling you. Switching at the right time is often quicker than forcing the wrong team through.

Start with one habit at a time. Pick a single rule, such as positioning before each new room, and use it for a few encounters before adding the next. Once it feels natural, the other two come more easily.

How can you make your ammo last?

Save your firearm shots for enemies that are hard to handle up close, and use melee attacks on the weaker ones. Ammo runs out faster than many new players expect, so each shot should have a clear reason.

A shot spent on a weak enemy is a shot you won't have when a tougher one walks in. Melee costs nothing, so it's the right default whenever you can reach an enemy safely.

How to split the work

• Melee the weaker enemies. Use melee when you have a clear opening, such as when one enemy is closing in and nothing else has a line on you.
• Shoot the hard ones. Keep firearm shots for enemies that are difficult to handle in melee, such as ones that stay at range or hit hard when you get close.
• Pick up ammo as you go. Grab what you can on the way through rooms instead of waiting until the counter looks low.

Here's how it plays out. You step into a room, a weak enemy charges at you, and a second one hangs back at range. Melee the first one as it arrives, then spend a shot on the second.

Keep an eye on supply before a big room

Before you push into a large room or a tough encounter, check how much ammo you're carrying. If you're running low, slow down and clear the easy enemies with melee first.

For example, say you have only a few shots left and a crowded room ahead. Hold at the doorway, handle what you can up close, and look for pickups in the rooms you've already cleared before you open the door.

This habit suits players who like to stay close to enemies and conserve their gear. It also helps newer players who keep running out of ammo partway through a fight.

What should you do when a fight gets too hard?

If a fight is going badly, stop pushing forward and change how you approach it. Pulling back, rethinking your targets, and trying a different squad setup will do more for you than charging through at low health.

This matters in Jericho because a lost fight usually means the approach was wrong, not that the fight can't be won. It suits anyone who keeps dying in the same room and wants a plan for the next try.

The core moves are:

• Pull back to a safer position instead of pushing through low health.
• Reassess which enemies to take down first.
• Retry the encounter with a different squad setup if the first approach fails.

Pull back before your health runs out

Retreat while you still have some health left. If enemies are closing in, move to a spot where you can break line of sight and regroup. For example, if you're pinned in the open, fall back to the doorway you just came through and let your squad catch up.

Pushing on at low health tends to turn one bad fight into a longer one. A short retreat costs a little time, but it gives you room to think.

Reassess which enemies to take down first

Not every enemy in a room is equally dangerous. Look at which ones are hitting you hardest or blocking your path, and deal with those first. Leave the weaker enemies for later, once you have space to work.

Retry with a different squad setup

If you've lost the same fight twice, change who you bring into it. Swap out a squad member whose abilities don't fit the problem for one whose abilities do. For instance, if the room is full of close-range attackers, bring the member who handles them best and keep the others back.

Run the fight again with the new team. If the room goes differently, you've found a better setup. If it doesn't, try another swap rather than repeating the same attempt.

Set a plan before you push in

Decide before you move which enemy you'll target first and who covers whom. A plan made before the fight is much easier to follow when things get loud and messy. That habit is what makes the three steps above work together.

Which guide should you read after these tips?

Start with the habits that carry you through the opening hours. Get comfortable with weapons and melee during the tutorial, keep your squad in position before you push into a room, save firearm shots for enemies melee can't handle, and pull back when your health gets low.

If you want to know which squad member fits which problem, read the squad abilities guide next. It goes deeper on each member than these tips can.

When you're ready for the whole route, return to the walkthrough. It shows how the squad handles fights and puzzles from start to finish.

Sources

1. Clive Barker's Jericho - Guide and Walkthrough - Xbox 360