Teleportation is your rapid relocation tool; the invisibility decoy is your distraction-and-reposition tool. In Cronos: Lazarus, teleportation lets the Pathfinder choose a reachable point within the current area, which can separate him from a group or create an angle behind enemies. The decoy leaves a ghostly copy at his former position, draws enemy attention there and makes the Pathfinder invisible for a few seconds. Those functions are documented by Bloober Team, but exact controls, cooldowns, distances, detection rules and enemy-specific results have not been published.
This is a developer-sourced, pre-release tactics guide. Bloober Team schedules Lazarus for December 3, 2026, on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with an announced $9.99 price; a Switch 2 release is planned for Q1 2027. Steam lists the original Cronos: The New Dawn as required for the DLC, so this is not a standalone purchase. Bloober Team’s release announcement and the Steam listing are the current references for availability and pricing.
What do teleportation and the invisibility decoy actually do?
Teleportation changes the Pathfinder’s position. The decoy changes where enemies believe the threat is while temporarily concealing the Pathfinder’s movement. They solve different problems and should not be treated as two versions of the same escape button.
| Ability | Documented function | Best tactical purpose | What is not established |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teleportation | Select a spot within the location perimeter and quickly spawn there | Break away from a cluster, move toward another angle, or reach a traversable position in distorted terrain | Exact range, cooldown, control input, invulnerability, or whether every destination is valid |
| Invisibility decoy | Leave a ghostly copy at the Pathfinder’s previous position; enemies attend to it while the Pathfinder is invisible for a few seconds | Retreat, reach cover, or alter your angle while attention is diverted | Exact duration, cooldown, attack interaction, and detection behavior for individual enemies |
Bloober Team describes teleportation as selecting a point “within the location perimeter,” not as unrestricted travel across the map. Its developer diary says, “The teleportation ability will let players pick up a certain spot within the location perimeter and quickly spawn there.” Read that as bounded repositioning. The same material presents the decoy as a short-lived opportunity to move unseen, not permanent stealth or guaranteed immunity.
How should I use teleportation during a dangerous encounter?
Choose the destination before committing. The ability is most useful when the landing point solves a specific positional problem: distance from a closing group, a safer line of approach, or access to a reachable piece of terrain.
1. Identify the positional problem
Ask what is making the current position unsafe. A packed group, an obstructed firing angle, or a route that leaves you exposed all call for different destinations. Do not activate teleportation merely because enemies are present; decide where the move leaves you better off.
2. Pick a point inside the permitted area
Look for a destination outside the immediate cluster or on the opposite side of the threat. The developer’s description supports moving behind enemies when the selected point is available, but it does not establish that every enemy can be bypassed or that the move works beyond the location perimeter. Treat the destination preview and the game’s own validity feedback as authoritative once the DLC ships.
3. Check the landing situation, not only the distance
A farther point is not automatically safer. Prefer a position that gives you room to observe, retreat or line up the next action. Because no release-build teleport distance, cooldown or arrival protection has been published, avoid planning a rotation around an assumed number of seconds or a supposed invulnerability window.
4. Reassess immediately after arrival
Teleportation relocates you; it does not, by itself, prove that enemies have lost interest or that the encounter has reset. Confirm where the group, nearby hazards and potential cover are before committing to an attack. If the move only changes your angle, use that angle deliberately rather than assuming the enemies are helpless.
When is the decoy better than teleportation?
Use the decoy when leaving the current position is more important than instantly reaching a distant point. The copy remains where the Pathfinder was, so its value depends on what enemies can see and what they are already investigating.
Place the copy where attention already exists
If enemies are focused on your current position, the decoy can make that position look occupied after you move. This is a tactical inference from the documented behavior, not a guarantee that every enemy will commit to the copy. Do not assume the decoy works identically on the Tracker or on enemies with different detection capabilities.
Spend the brief invisible movement on survival
Bloober Team says the Pathfinder becomes invisible for a few seconds. Use that short window to reach cover, back away from a dangerous lane or change the angle of approach. It is safer to think of the effect as a movement window than as permission to stand in the open, reload indefinitely or attack without consequences.
Do not confuse concealment with invulnerability
The published material does not confirm whether damage, area effects, hazards or a particular enemy can reveal or hit the Pathfinder during invisibility. Keep moving toward a defensible position and avoid relying on an unannounced immunity rule.
What is the difference between teleportation and the decoy?
Teleportation prioritizes immediate relocation; the decoy prioritizes attention management and a short concealed movement. The choice should follow the threat’s shape rather than a fixed ability order.
| Situation | First consideration | Reason | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| A group is closing from several directions | Teleportation toward a clear, reachable angle | It can create space or place you outside the immediate cluster | Range and landing safety are not numerically documented |
| Enemies are concentrated on your current position | Decoy, then move away | The copy occupies the old position while invisibility enables repositioning | Enemy reactions and exact duration are unverified |
| You need to cross distorted terrain | Teleportation, if the destination is selectable | The ability is also presented as traversal toward hidden resources | No specific map route or resource location has been confirmed |
| You need a new firing angle after breaking contact | Whichever ability gives the safer angle | Positioning can matter more than raw distance | Damage, cooldown and attack-through-invisibility behavior are unpublished |
There are no documented upgrade tiers or purchasable versions of these abilities to rank. The meaningful comparison is functional: relocation versus distraction, combat escape versus exploration access, and confirmed ability descriptions versus tactics that still need retail-build verification.
Can I combine teleportation and the decoy?
You can treat a combination as a planning hypothesis, but no official source establishes an order, cooldown interaction or guaranteed result. A sensible example is to teleport toward a safer angle when a group closes in, then leave a decoy when enemies regain your position and use the brief invisibility to reposition again.
That sequence follows the two documented functions without claiming that one ability resets the other, extends invisibility or makes attacks safe. The game may impose timing, resource or eligibility rules that are not available in the pre-release material. Until those rules are published or confirmed in the retail build, describe the combination as an option to evaluate rather than a universal rotation.
How can teleportation help with exploration?
Teleportation is not described only as a combat escape. Bloober Team also presents it as traversal through distorted areas, allowing the Pathfinder to reach positions that may contain hidden resources.
Scan for reachable, valuable positions
When exploring, look for a destination that the ability recognizes inside the current area. A ledge, separated platform or gap in distorted terrain may be relevant if it is selectable, but no specific map location has been officially identified. Keep ordinary navigation in mind: a teleport destination is useful only if it leads to a route, resource or safer return path.
Use the move to reduce exposure, not to skip every hazard
A reachable point can shorten a dangerous crossing, but the published descriptions do not promise that teleportation bypasses environmental damage, scripted events or all encounter triggers. Check the new position before moving onward, and preserve a conventional route when you may need to retreat.
How should the abilities fit the Gladius and the Tracker?
Lazarus introduces the Gladius, described by Bloober Team as a weapon with piercing shots, and includes the Tracker as a pursuing enemy. Repositioning may help line up a shot or avoid being cornered, but no official source proves a specific teleportation-plus-Gladius sequence that defeats the Tracker.
Use repositioning to create an angle, not a promised damage bonus
A teleport can place you on a different line of fire, while a decoy can provide a moment to move toward cover before you aim. That is a positional inference. No damage values, penetration count, hit confirmation or guaranteed multi-enemy result has been published, so do not present the Gladius as a solved counter to any named enemy.
Respect the Tracker’s unknown detection rules
The Tracker is explicitly identified as a pursuer, but the available announcements do not establish whether it ignores the decoy, detects invisible movement, follows teleport destinations or reacts on a special timer. Keep a fallback route and avoid standing still simply because the decoy is active.
Do not import base-game mechanics without confirmation
The New Dawn documents merging and burning mechanics for managing corpses. Those rules should not be silently transferred to Lazarus as exact encounter instructions until the expansion’s release build confirms how they apply alongside the new abilities and enemies.
What should I avoid assuming about teleportation and invisibility?
The most common errors come from treating preview descriptions as complete numerical specifications. The following details remain unconfirmed:
- Controller, keyboard and mouse button assignments.
- Teleportation cooldown, charge count, resource cost, distance and exact boundary behavior.
- Whether arriving at a destination grants invulnerability, stagger protection or damage immunity.
- The invisibility timer beyond Bloober Team’s “a few seconds” wording.
- Whether firing, reloading, taking damage or interacting with objects ends invisibility.
- How each enemy type, including the Tracker, detects or ignores the decoy.
- Whether teleportation and the decoy share, reset or lock one another’s cooldowns.
These are not minor details: they determine whether a tactic is reliable or merely situational. Until the retail rules are known, frame advice around positioning and attention rather than precise rotations.
What is known about the release and what should I buy?
Lazarus is announced for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on December 3, 2026, at $9.99. Nintendo Switch 2 is planned for Q1 2027 rather than the December launch window. The dates and price come from Bloober Team’s October 28, 2026 announcement and should be rechecked if the platform store changes.
Steam’s DLC page states that Cronos: The New Dawn is required. The original game is therefore the prerequisite purchase; the $9.99 expansion is separate content, not a replacement for the base game. Console storefronts can apply their own package and compatibility rules, so verify the listing for your platform before checkout.
How do I prepare for a first attempt with these abilities?
Use this checklist once the expansion is available and the game displays its actual controls:
- Read the in-game ability descriptions and note the assigned input, resource, cooldown and destination restrictions.
- In a low-pressure area, select a legal teleport destination and observe how far the game allows you to move.
- Trigger the decoy while enemies are already watching your position, then move toward cover instead of testing its limits in the open.
- Try each ability separately before combining them, so you can tell which effect changed enemy attention.
- Against a group, choose an exit point first and keep a fallback route after arrival.
- During exploration, mark reachable positions that lead to resources or safer paths, but do not assume an unconfirmed shortcut bypasses hazards.
- Against the Tracker, test detection cautiously and do not rely on a presumed invisibility immunity or guaranteed decoy response.
The reliable principle is simple: teleport when the destination itself solves the problem; deploy the decoy when a believable distraction gives you time to move. Everything beyond those documented functions—exact timings, enemy reactions and ability chaining—needs confirmation from the released game.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cronos: Lazarus a full game or an expansion?
It is downloadable content for Cronos: The New Dawn, not a standalone release. Steam explicitly requires the base game; other platforms should be checked individually for the matching DLC package and edition.
Does the decoy make the Pathfinder permanently invisible?
No. Bloober Team describes invisibility lasting only a few seconds. The effect should be planned as a brief movement opportunity, not a permanent stealth state.
Can teleportation reach any point on the map?
The published description limits selection to a spot within the current location perimeter. It does not promise unrestricted map-wide travel, and the final game’s exact range and destination rules remain to be confirmed.
Is there a confirmed way to defeat the Tracker with these abilities?
No specific sequence is established in the available official material. Teleportation and the decoy may help with spacing and approach angles, but the Tracker’s detection behavior and a reliable counter are not documented.