Traps are your backup plan when a doppelgänger slips past the counter and comes back as a monster. The current build of Shift at Midnight sells three of them, and each one is built for a different kind of threat. Buying the wrong one wastes money you need for boards, ammo, and later upgrades.
Quick answer: Buy Bear Traps for cheap, reliable kills on chasing enemies, hold Stun Mines until around night eight to control corners and lanes, and save the expensive Flame Trap for the strongest late-shift bosses that take extra fire damage.
The three traps and what each one does
All three traps are bought as supplies from the checkout, using the store computer before a threat arrives. Prices scale from cheap to costly, and that price gap is the whole reason you pick one over another.
| Trap | Effect | Cost / when to use |
|---|---|---|
| Bear Trap | Snaps shut on any enemy that walks into it | Cheapest; useful from the earliest nights |
| Stun Mine | Stuns every animal and enemy caught in its radius when triggered | Mid cost; hold until around night eight |
| Flame Trap | Burns and heavily damages everything in its radius; highest damage | Most expensive; reserve for final events |
Bear Trap: your everyday kill and lure tool
The Bear Trap catches a doppelgänger the moment it steps onto it, and its low price means you can keep several in stock without draining your funds. It shines against Hunters and Brutes, and you can actively lure enemies onto it instead of waiting for them to wander over.
It is also the answer to several enemies that shrug off gunfire. Against the Phantom, place a trap first, keep the creature centered on your screen, then slowly walk backward and guide it directly onto the trap to destroy it. The Fast Red Creature disables your pistol, shotgun, and bat and breaks through boarded doors, so a bear trap set near the exit before you approach the bus is often the only clean kill.
The same rule covers the fake bus driver. If a monster bursts out of the bus when two players press the exit button, your gun won’t fire, and a pre-placed bear trap is the safest way to stop it.
Stun Mine: crowd control for later nights
The Stun Mine doesn’t kill on its own. When triggered, it freezes every animal and enemy inside its radius, buying you time to reposition, escape a chase, or line up follow-up damage. Place it along the lanes and corners an enemy has to run through to reach you, not in open floor space.
Buying mines too early is a waste. Before night eight, the hunts you face rarely need them, so the money is better spent elsewhere. Once multiple doppelgängers per night start stacking up, mines become a strong way to control where a fight happens.
Flame Trap: save it for the strongest bosses
The Flame Trap deals the most damage of the three, burning anything inside its radius. It also costs the most, so spamming it will empty your funds fast. Keep it for the final events of a shift, when you’re facing the toughest enemies in the game.
Fire pairs well with the enemies that are specifically weak to it. The Main Boss takes extra damage from fire, and the Entity spider’s biggest weakness is fire, so a flame source works far faster than bullets against them.
Spend efficiently across the shift
Traps are expensive as a group, so the goal is matching each one to the right threat instead of over-buying. Lean on cheap Bear Traps through the early and mid nights, add Stun Mines once fights get crowded, and only invest in a Flame Trap when a boss with a fire weakness is on the way. A trap counts as working when it snaps, detonates, or ignites on the enemy and the creature drops or freezes in place.
