A fair key nerf - two ideas
So here’s an idea I had to make keys way more fair without altering their use.
simply add time to it.
make it take 3-5 seconds to open the hatch with the key. With an animation of the survivor bending down and unlocking it. If they successfully complete the action, they instantly jump in. While they are unlocking it, they’re vulnerable to being pulled off.
Therefore, a stealthy approach would be needed. Or perhaps a pallet slam/DS. Because if the action is interrupted by being pulled off or hit, they have to restart the action.
Also, I had the idea of a dull key being for one survivor - meaning, if you use a dull key to escape, the hatch immediately closes behind the escaping survivor.
This could also lead into a killer perk that shows the hatch aura, similar to left behind. Except it also notifies you when the survivor is using a key on it and makes the hatch take longer to unlock.
I also had a separate idea that opening the hatch could require a DS like skill check. And if it fails, it degrades the key to the next lowest quality. (If you fail with a skeleton key, it dulls and becomes a dull key, if you fail with a dull key, it breaks and it becomes a broken key and no more attempt to open the hatch can be made - note that the keys quality degrading wouldn’t affect your add-ons)
maybe even a combination of both?