Which is more stressful.. Playing Survivor or Killer?
I keep hearing about how the complaining doesn't do anything, It's not warranted, constructive criticism is much more beneficial. I agree. It's hard though when things are so unbalanced as a whole.
So I was thinking about my interaction with this game, where do I feel frustrated, where do I feel like I'm having the most fun, etc...
Which got me thinking about this question.
Which role is more stressful to play... Survivor or Killer?
Which SHOULD be more stressful to play? In the sense of what this game is, and is the current result appropriate?
I just feel like a dialogue should be had in this regard to identify where the true frustrations lay. I would imagine fun is the ultimate goal for all, It is a game after-all.
Thanks.
Comments
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Depends on the experience of the survivor.
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Killer for me, definitely.
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Imo it's not even remotely close, killer is vastly more stressful. I actually find survivor pretty relaxing and that's entirely solo.
Against good survivors you get 1 mistake and you're done. As survivor you get so many second chances that you and your team has to mess up a lot to lose.
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Killer is far more stressful. You don't have a minute to stand still and just sit like survivors can. You have to constantly be working to manage gen pressure, chases, and downing. You have 4 people to keep track of and have to make split second decisions on when to keep a chase or try and go pressure some gens.
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survivor since I only play in solo queue I have to deal with interesting teammates most of the time
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Neither 'should' be more stressful. I think killer probably is more stressful though, as there's a lot more to worry about and pay attention to. It's constant action.
Survivor can be completely dreadful solo, but there's always lots more downtime whilst teammates are getting chased instead of you.
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Throwing in my vote for killer. You really don't have time to meme or play around and that's what I enjoy to do most. I don't usually care if I win or not but if you're trying to win it stinks.
Survivor I'm just really good with generators and run borrowed time. I find the chase boring so I avoid it most of the time. (Of course the game doesn't reward that but whatever. Gen popped.)
Can't say I ever really get stressed out playing but killer does get boring especially if you can't find people.
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Okay, in what regard though?
A new player, playing survivor for the first time, may experience a ton of stress. The solution is obviously invest more time into the game, get better, desensitize, and run the killer around a bunch of tiles.
So I suppose, outside of being a new player, what stress do survivors have that outweigh the stress of the Killer.
The killer is constantly juggling four different people, forced to make quick decisions, be efficient with time management in multiple categories, and prevent all of these things in an attempt to keep the survivors from escaping.
For a survivor, you have to do gens, unhook from time to time, run the killer as long as you can, and open up a door. Which is delegated among all the survivors in the trial, not just yourself. Time isn't pressing in the same sense.
From my perspective, so I'm looking for other perspectives.
4 -
Killer is alot more stressful. You are the only one in your team, so any mistake on your side is like 4 survivors making a mistake. So survivor is by desing more chill.
10 -
The game's only as stressful as the player makes it. Killer is more interactive though
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Hmm, which role is more stressful?
survivor, the dominant role, with stronger perks, better visual and chase control,
or killer, if you miss a ######### hit due to dead hard, auto aim (which devs still try to say it doesn’t exist) or other bullshit, you can basically lose the game.
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Yes but is it the ROLE that is more stressful or the situation you are in because of the other survivors you get matched up with? Is this every game? Do you always get cucked in solo queue?
I understand that Solo Queue can be frustrating, I actually only play Solo Survivor, but I do this to gain more experience and be to be better at the game individually. I don't rely on other people.
For me, with this approach, I still have a lot of fun because, yes, I am trying to escape, but most importantly I am trying to get better and have fun. Regardless of the random people I get in my game.
0 -
stressful kinda killer (if you care about outcome, i dont)
but when you play survivor you feel helpless (because you have to rely on randoms and on killer not being jerk)
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Survivor is like riding a bicycle, it's not that hard to learn, and once you do, your good to go.
Killer is like riding a bike too, but some bully keeps popping out and throwing a stick in your spokes.
7 -
Killer is far more stressful for me. I play survivor when I want to chill.
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Solo survivor can be really stressful but you kind of take breaks since the killer switches target... but overall killer is more stressful as they’re constantly tied into the match.
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It depends on a lot of things. Which killer are you playing? are you playing solo or in a swf group or are you going against a swf group?
Killer is generally more stressful though.
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Stress is highly subjective. Being a pure solo player I consider survivor gameplay more stressful (but also more challenging and rewarding) than killer gameplay as I always expect to die either by getting camped/1-hooked or tunneled off the hook without borrowed time.
Killer is kinda chill to me because I know I'll win at least 90% of my matches since the vast majority of survivors just aren't really good at the game (including red rank survivors) so even my Bubba (who is considered one of the worst killers in the game) will handle them casually in most cases.
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I play both pretty evenly at rank one. Killer is 100% more stressful, and quite frankly it isn’t very close.
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For me it's definetly Killer. Trying to "take care" of 4 survivors at the same time is way more stressful than getting chased by one single killer. Playing survivor can be upsetting sometimes, but in most cases, it is super chill and fun.
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Killer. If survivors have a bit of experience they can kite a killer for 3-4 gens before enough pallets are destroyed and you as the killer, having the "power role" can basically do absolutely nothing about it.
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Rank =/= skill 😂
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I find killer more stressful, what I don't mean as rant here.
It is just... As killer, you have always to search and look for your next victim.
As survivor I feel only "stressed" (imo wrong word somehow for it), if the killer chooses me as his target, but if he hunting someone else, or I can make my generators in peace - aka. the most of the time in a match - I don't feel that much pressed and stressed.
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I think killer is just naturally more stressful, since it's technically a 4v1 and survivors have two health states to go through for only one hook state. That's a lot for the killer to have to deal with, while survivors can split up and do at least 3 gens at once (at least, ideally), which is more than half of their objectives done.
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But what about the immense stress of Ruin skill checks?? /s
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Killer for sure. Solo survivor is a close second, though.
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Well for me it's without a doubt killer
But that doesn't have to do with balance tbh
Killer is constant work between looking chasing and hooking survivors, you never stand still
While survivor when you're on a gen and you don't hear a heartbeat you know you're safe for the moment and when you are on a hook all youcan do is wait
There's just a lot more breathing room
Doesn't really make one side easier or more difficult to play
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You seemed to have taken a lot out of one statement. You got close to what I'm saying but still a bit off.
There is a reason why I didn't mention the killer's experience* in my reply.
* referenced to the level of skill not how they perceived the match.
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I know that survs ruin dislike (at least I assume thanks to the dbd and steam forums), but play some matches as killer and you will sooner or later see what I mean.
But again, I don't mean it on a bad way. Sometimes you like to have action and sometimes you like to have more chilling match. There is nothing bad on the one or other from it.
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Killer easily! Survivors have more maps in their favor.
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Honestly, I find neither "stressful". I play the game to have fun. Even if I have a bad game as killer, I find ways to make it enjoyable for myself. If I got great loopers, I play peek a boo with them or something stupid that will make me laugh. I do not take the game too seriously so I never get "stressed".
2 -
Survivors! They will get your adrenaline going. Plus once you're down the odds of you winning are greatly reduced.
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Killer is more stressful. Trying to juggle four different survivors, three-hook everyone, slow down gen repair, manage my time... it's [BAD WORD]ing ridiculous. Who just came off the hook? How long have they been off the hook? There are three different Megs, which one is my 4 stack? Does this David have Dead Hard? Is this chase going too long? I just downed that guy, where'd he crawl off to? Do they know where my totem is? How much progress has been made on each of these gens? Why is there so much [BAD WORD]ing pitch black bamboo???
Solo survivor can be a miserable experience, what with the random teammates and tunneling/camping killers, but it's not stressful, just annoying. There's a difference. A lot of times as survivor there's a lull where I'm just relaxing on a gen or something.
If there's a lull as killer, it's because I can't find anyone. Usually happens when survivors refuse to touch gens for a while. And the lull isn't relaxing, it's just boring, and it's still kinda stressful because the game's at a standstill: if I'm not interacting with a survivor then I'm not progressing the game in my direction, unlike a survivor M1ing on a generator.
And getting points as a killer requires interacting with survivors, whereas survivors can still earn a bunch of points even if they never see the killer. An inexperienced killer against four really-good-at-stealthing survivors could end up with a long match during which they earn next to nothing. Barely seeing survivors during a match can be frustrating, and it's not like you can analyze it and be like "Oh, I zigged when I should've zagged," it's just that you need more experience to know what corners to search or where they might be Urban Evading; the only thing you learn from that experience is that you suck.
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Survivor can be stressful, certainly, but I think on average Killer is more stressful.
I just don't feel like I have to pay attention as much when I play Survivor.
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Easily killer. You are constantly chasing and having to apply pressure and chase four different survivors.
As a survivor you have much more downtime because you’re not always in a chase with the killer.
However, some killers are more stress to play than others. Playing Leatherface is going to be MUCH more stressful than playing as Spirit. I’m rarely stressed when playing Spirit. That’s my “stress-free” killer.
With killer you have four different players to face. With survivor you only have one, unless your teammates are terrible.
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I'd say that on a whole. Killer is more stressful because there aren't down times. However, peak stress is definitely survivor.
Chases are more stressful as survivor than killer. You're at a disadvantage but you're expected to extend the chase as long as possible to give your team the time to pop generators.
Also, being put into situations where you know you're walking into a trap is stressful. Basically any basement save or any save when playing against hag or trapper.
I don't think stressful is bad, but it definitely can be overwhelming some games. Which is what causes many people to become tilted.
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Solo survivor... especially when you have incompetent teammates
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Lmao I can relate to the bamboo part.
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Killer, as matchmaking favors survivors strongly.
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For me I play killer to have my bbq stack and get my bp so I feel more stressed playing survivor
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Survivor is relaxing. Even during chases.
Killer is far more stressful. With killer, you can't screw up, and if you do, you will likely not recover unless survivors also screw up multiple times. There's no room for error. With survivor, you can make mistakes and recover from them almost infinitely.
2 -
Definetly Killer... you have to keep an eye out for every generator and every survivor and then to kill them all which can get very problematic escpacially for such rounds where you get a SFW group that bullies you with flashlights and so on.
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I said /s
I play killer so I know what you mean
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Easily Killer.
Like the vast majority of others have said, managing 4 Survivors at once is ridiculous, especially if they're well coordinated.
Sure, with Solo Queue Survivor, you have questionable teammates (like the Dwight that pulled me off the basement hook... three feet away from the Huntress), but you have so much more room for error. Not much stress, just boredom for most of the match.
I have no friends, so I can't comment on how SWF is, but I'd imagine it's even less stressful.
1 -
Solo survivor for me. If i'm frustrated as killer it's mainly because of how bad I played or what I could have done better. I however cannot control 3 other animals on my team that play poorly or do really strange things.
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100% Killer.
Even getting tunnel/chased as a Survivor doesn't stress me out.
I just find it WAY more stressful to be the 1 vs. the 4 instead of one of the 4 vs the 1.
1 -
Killer by a looooong shot, even solo survivor is a walk in a park, the only part which sucks is dc other than that nothing is stressful on survivor side.
1 -
I used to think killer was more stressful. I've done a 180 though.
Survivor queues are terribly long. So if the match is terrible, you get mori'd super early, get no points. It's a big bummer. Also as killer a mistake can hurt you but at the end of the day it's your mistake. In survivor sometimes it's the other survivors that hurt you. Maybe they run the killer to you. Maybe they boom a gen. Maybe they just play like turds and body block or try to sell you out. Maybe they suicide on 1st hook or DC.
Their actions whether malicious or not can really put a damper on the game. And if you're playing solo you won't get another crack for about 5 minutes. Playing SWF, you gotta wait until the end of the match and then wait at least 10 minutes for the next one.
As killer, if I have a bad match I know I'm going to still get more bp than an average survivor around (usually) and I know I can immediately find another lobby. No waiting, just another crack at more bp and redemption.
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While survivor can certainly be frustrating when you have potato teammates you can do nothing to fix, I would say playing killer is far more stressful because of how much work you need to put in for so little payoff. Survivors have many perks that can make your life harder/ make you have to play so much harder, if you make a mistake micro or macro-wise it can cost you the game. Literally, if you swing too late at a pallet and miss a hit you could have downed a survivor on, you lose pressure on the game for at least 20 or 30 more seconds, which can lead to a gen or two popping... etc. etc. Given how the game is balanced, you need to squeeze every second you can out of survivors to have a chance at winning.
What's worse is when you make a mistake you know cost you the game, you have to play the rest of it out for points to recoup your addons, and deal with 1 or 2 hothead survivors teabagging you good-bye at the gates because they're "better" than you.
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Waiting on matches is not "stress".
As example, while I wait, I watch videos on YouTube, or writing here in the forums :) and as killer can it be enough to make 1 mistake and you will lose.
As survivor you can multiple times miss a skillcheck by a gen, or while you are healing someone and it doesn't matter at all. You should only change your position then, but you don't lose the game (well... as long as not run then in the killer of course).
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