There’s nothing quite as exciting as seeing your favorite game add a new playable character. For example, most Identity V fans were excited when they heard that the game would add a new hunter called Cueist. Now, the game is gearing up to introduce a brand-new survivor to the fray called Lanternist. Utilizing unique abilities tied to her projection lantern, it’s crucial to learn about this character’s ability kit if you don’t want to get caught by surprise the next time you jump into a match.
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Who is the Lanternist in Identity V?
The Lanternist, or Amanda Gaddis, is the newest survivor in Identity V. Of course, her overall gameplay is extremely different compared to most other survivors. Thanks to this, it may be a good idea to unlock other survivors and see which one suits you the best, and LootBar can help with that.
As a child, The Lanternist’s hypersomnia stopped her from fitting in with the others since she’d be sleepy and drowsy all the time. That wasn’t all, as she also saw illusions that preyed upon her senses, leading to her growing up in a prison under her father’s watchful eye.
Being the cause of her mother leaving the family in fear of the giant eye that Amanda would see in her visions, she eventually became friends with a culprit called Dogma, who taught Amanda the meaning of living for a purpose. Of course, Amanda’s purpose of living was to just live a simple life where she could see the days and nights to come without fearing the darkness or visions.
Years passed, and Amanda used optical devices to host exhibitions based on crime and nightmares, giving her a way to bring her personal hallucinations to light. This changed when Leroux gave her a projection lantern that could truly grasp what image and time could convey. Eventually, a mysterious letter led her to visit the infamous mansion where the game takes place, intent on overseeing a specific ritual.
All of the Lanternist’s abilities in Identity V
Most survivors in Identity V are increasingly having four external traits, and the Lanternist is no different. While these abilities may initially seem a little confusing, properly taking the time to learn how they work can significantly help you master this new survivor.
Living Image
Living Image is the primary external trait of the Lanternist that sets her apart from most other survivors. She uses her projection lantern to either freeze-frame herself or a fellow survivor, giving them certain buffs.
If she gives a survivor freeze-frames, then they get the Status Projection status effect. While this is active, the survivor’s condition is frozen onto the optical slide, making it so that any damage from non-normal attacks or control effects will not instantly take effect. Instead, they’ll take effect when the effect expires, though there are some situational factors to consider. Firstly, if the survivor gets hit by multiple control effects while they have the Status Projection effect, then only the most recent one will apply. Additionally, every control effect will be ignored if the survivor takes damage while they’re frozen, though the damage will take effect later.
Alternatively, if the Lanternist uses Living Image on herself, then she gets Status Projection and Position Projection. While Status Projection works the same as when used on a fellow survivor, Position Projection causes the Lanternist to freeze her body onto the optical slide, letting her soul leave her body in an invisible and invincible state and with 10% faster movement speed. Players can use the ability again to bring the body to her soul’s current location, leaving a visible trail along the path.
Don’t forget that regular attacks cause the freeze-frame to end early. Also, while survivors can end the freeze-frame manually, the freeze-frame’s duration is decreased by 20% if the Lanternist is within 20 meters of a Rocket Chair with a survivor on it.
Static Projection
While it was already established that the Lanternist is an excellent kiting character thanks to her Living Image ability, she also has some awesome support potential. This is thanks to her Static Projection external trait, which lets her freeze-frame Cipher Machines, Rocket Chairs, and even the Exit Gate.
Below is how this trait affects all three objects:
When used on a Cipher Machine, the machine is frozen on the optical slide. All decoding done on it is applied in a single burst when the ability ends
When used on a Rocket Chair, elimination progress is frozen on the optical slide. All elimination progress made while the ability was active is applied in a single burst when it ends
When used on the Exit Gate, the decoding process is frozen on the optical slide. All decoding done on it is applied in a single burst when the ability ends, just like with a Cipher Machine
Of course, survivors can still interact with all of these objects, and that too with 10% increased speed. Survivors can also choose to manually remove the freeze-frame effect if they choose to do so.
Optical Illusion
To add to the Lanternist’s kiting abilities, the Optical Illusion external trait lets the survivor use her projection lantern to confuse any hunter chasing her. Thanks to this, any pallet dropped by the Lanternist while the Optical Illusion ability is active cannot be destroyed for a full second. This duration is increased to 1.5 seconds if the Lanternist is in her disembodied state through the Living Image trait. This trait is only usable once every 10 seconds.
All Thumbs
While the other external traits are positive and work toward making the Lanternist one of the best survivors in the game, the same can’t be said for All Thumbs. Because the character suffers from hypersomnia, as detailed in her lore, her drowsy mind reduces her decoding speed by 10%.
The good news is that, despite this limitation, players can use the Static Projection ability on any object to make up for this trait’s speed decrease. It may also be a good idea to use other characters to get a feel of how the default decoding speed is and compare it with the Lanternist’s decreased speed.
When will the Lanternist come to Identity V?
The Lanternist will come to the test server on September 22, 2025, and the official server on October 10, 2025. Naturally, she’ll get her share of cosmetics as time passes, and LootBar is here to ensure you don’t miss out on anything.
Conclusion
This wraps up everything you need to know about the external traits and abilities of the newest survivor in Identity V. The Lanternist has extremely high kiting potential, and while her default design is fairly divisive, the developer will release new cosmetics for her after she comes out. Some players may want to buy an Identity V top up or two now to ensure they don’t have to spend too much at once when Identity V eventually introduces a slew of awesome cosmetics.
