Crouch

Crouching is an action that players can do in the Batman: Arkham series. It's a basic maneuver, and it was introduced in the first game, Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Gameplay
Crouching is first introduced when Batman has to quietly take down 3 of Joker's armed henchmen the first time armed henchmen appear at all in Asylum. To crouch, hold the "crouch button", namely RT on XBox, R2 on PlayStation and LCtrl on PC by default. If you merely tap the button while running, in Batman: Arkham City onward, the character will slide on the ground instead. Once you've entered the "crouch mode", you can use direction commands to creep around. Simply release the "crouch button" to stop crouching. On PC, Caps Lock is a "crouch toggle switch", allowing you to enter "crouch mode" with a single tap instead of having to hold LCtrl.

There are several benefits to creeping: the character can move faster and quieter at the same time. In contrast, normal walking is also quiet, but much slower, and running is loud. Crouching allows you to get behind enemies as quickly as possible without them noticing. On the other hand, while crouching, the camera moves back, allowing a wider field of view than when walking, helping you check your surroundings. Crouching also enables you to get through small enclosures, such as vents. It's also harder for enemies to detect you crouching. While crouching, you can even hide behind railing that, realistically speaking, should be see-through.

While crouching, if you press the "run button" (Ⓐ on XBox, Ⓧ on PlayStation and Spacebar on PC) near a grate, you will enter the grate, allowing you to move very quickly under enemies' feet, probably even more quickly than when you crouch. If you use such a command near a corner (of a wall, crate, etc.), you will "snap" to that corner and be able to perform a Corner Takedown on an enemy approaching from the other side of that corner. The combination of the "crouch button" and the "counter button" is also the command for a Ground Takedown (or in combat situations, a Ground Pound).

In Batman: Arkham Knight, the "crouch button" gains a new use, allowing you to immediately Dive Bomb off ledges if you hold it while running. Thus, make sure that you are not running to crouch properly.