What the meter is for
Monsters in this beta track sound. The bottom-left meter is the practical tool: it shows how loud you are right now, in dB. Staying low is what gets a backpack home.
One recorded run is the only numeric scale available here:
| State | Reading in that run |
|---|---|
| Crouched indoors | 33 dB |
| Walking outside | 52 dB |
| Driving | 81 dB |
| Indoors modifier | -8 dB |
| Fog | drowned out 1 dB |
Sprinting is described as much louder than a crouch, but this page has no separate sprint number, so it is not given one. Unsuppressed gunfire is described as spiking past the driving reading. A wrong bunker keypad entry can buzz and pull listeners to the door.
Habits that match the meter
Crouch through buildings. Close doors as you change rooms. Do not sprint when a monster is close. Freeze if one walks into view: in one recorded encounter a crouched, motionless player was ignored. Treat that as a last resort from a single observation, not a guaranteed invisibility rule. These creatures are described as relying on noise more than on a clear look, but line of sight is still a reason to stop making sound and to break away through a building.
Use the flashlight with F and night vision with N when a room is dark. Both are toggles. Night vision gear is also reported as loot in darker, higher-value interiors. The toggle existing does not mean you spawned with goggles.
When noise is worth it
A gun is an emergency, not a room-clearing tool. Holster with Q while you search so a click does not become a shot. A silencer has been looted from supply crates and is the attachment players use when a shot cannot be avoided. It reduces the report. It does not make the town safe.
A car at 81 dB is a ferry to an exit you have already chosen, not a way to browse the map. The horn on H is optional noise. Leave it alone near a patrol.
Alarms, an EVAC beacon, and a long gunfight draw more than the monster already next to you. After you press Call Extraction, the lamp and the wait are loud attention. Be at the post before you start the clock.
People are a separate problem
The official description says some people are not as friendly. Other players and hostile figures can attack and take carried loot anywhere on the map. Quiet movement does not hide you from a player who can see the doorway. If the pack is already valuable, leave.