DBD needs an Operation Health.
I want us all to have an in-depth discussion on what changes need to come to DBD. Not only in terms of balance, but gameplay, performance, community, everything. Not as Killer or Survivor mains but simply as players of the game. Even if you don't want to read this massive wall of text, please leave your feedback for Behaviour and discuss with your fellow players so we can at least try to get something done about the state of the game's health.
For those that don't know, Operation Health was an update Rainbow Six Siege had back in 2017 where Ubisoft sat down, looked at the state of the game, and addressed a whole boat load of problems the game was having at that point. In addition, Ubisoft has since changed how they look at the game's balance and health. During Operation Health, Ubisoft established three pillars of how they would be fixing the game:
- Technological Improvements
- Fixing matchmaking to be smoother, fixing anything that relied on the server (voice comms), and improving the quality and integrity of their servers.
- Deployment Process
- Changing how they roll out updates so that nothing broken can hit the live version of the game and also making sure their system is ready to rollback the game to a previous version in case something is too broken
- Bug Fix Sprints
- Fixing long standing and the most reported bugs that were in the game for far too long as well as hit box fixes
Behaviour needs to do this with Dead by Daylight if they want to continue having an active, healthy video game. They need to address not only problems in the game's balance but also problems with the game functionally. Sound, server, balance, and general gameplay issues all need to be solved. In recent months we have seen the negative effects that come from Behaviour ignoring the major issues in the game, especially with the Ruin nerf. It pushed so many of the lower tier Killers out of viability completely and has lead to so many people just giving up on trying to enjoy the Killer role. We now have 5 - 15 minute queue times for Survivors meanwhile Killer queue takes 5 - 15 seconds. The Killer-to-Survivor ratio is out of whack and we can see it. Even if you only play one side of the game, whether it be Killer or Survivor, you need to understand that we all need people on the other side so we can play our side of the game. We can see the health of the game is not doing great. Even if player counts remain the same, we can obviously see those players are playing much less Killer than usual.
Because of all this, I want to propose a basic list with which we can build upon and address to Behaviour what exactly we want to happen to improve the health of Dead by Daylight. Think of ideas not only about balance but also about the game's health as a whole. Give your input on how the community handles itself or how the game runs on the devices you can play it on.
Note, this list is just a basis of my own ideas. I want others' inputs and ideas on how to improve the health of the game for everyone, not just their own side.
Balance
- Rework the over-abundance of perks and abilities that hands players free wins.
- These perks lead to the person on the receiving end having their game ruined because something gave their opponent a free win. Additionally, people who use these free win abilities and perks will never learn how to play without it and go through their whole time playing without learning how to play the game without it.
- Example: People who have only ever used Borrowed Time will never learn how to properly pressure generators or make good safe unhooks.
- These perks lead to the person on the receiving end having their game ruined because something gave their opponent a free win. Additionally, people who use these free win abilities and perks will never learn how to play without it and go through their whole time playing without learning how to play the game without it.
- Rework the over-abundance of perks, items, add-ons, and Killers that have no viability in the game.
- The gameplay of Dead by Daylight, especially at the higher ranks of play, has become extremely stale. The meta dictates that all survivors use BT, DS, DH, and Unbreakable while making Killers run one of four Killers, Pop, BBQ, and NOED. This makes the game stale for both the people playing these metas and going against them. Give people a reason to run perks like No One Left Behind, Autodidact, Knock Out, and Hangman's Trick.
- Completely rework hook destruction and to some extent how body blocking hooks works.
- While the newest patch aims to look at toolboxes as a whole and I applaud Behaviour on how they addressed generators, they've now created a new problem with hook destruction being too fast with the right kit.
Bugs/Gameplay Health
- Work to fix exploits faster.
- I know this sounds like I'm just screaming at developers without knowing what I'm talking about, but hear me out. When the basement bug, a bug that literally crippled the game for survivors if exploited, was discovered and brought to Behaviour's attention they stated it would be upwards of one week for this bug to be fixed. A whole week of people abusing a bug can debilitate a game because nobody wants to play against it. At the same time over 3 months ago the hook exploit (hook tech) was discovered and it still has yet to be fixed despite being abused actively in higher ranks of play.
- If you play Siege, imagine if they didn't fix the Deployable Shield bug for three whole months.
- I know this sounds like I'm just screaming at developers without knowing what I'm talking about, but hear me out. When the basement bug, a bug that literally crippled the game for survivors if exploited, was discovered and brought to Behaviour's attention they stated it would be upwards of one week for this bug to be fixed. A whole week of people abusing a bug can debilitate a game because nobody wants to play against it. At the same time over 3 months ago the hook exploit (hook tech) was discovered and it still has yet to be fixed despite being abused actively in higher ranks of play.
- Fix hitboxes/hit registration.
- Ever since dedicated servers were rolled out over a year ago people have been dreading the game on both sides. Survivors are somehow not getting their Dead Hards and Killers are having to deal with some of the most unbelievably scuffed grab bugs ever. Hit detection is massively important in every game.
- At this point a good number of us want peer-to-peer back. That's how bad it's gotten.
- Ever since dedicated servers were rolled out over a year ago people have been dreading the game on both sides. Survivors are somehow not getting their Dead Hards and Killers are having to deal with some of the most unbelievably scuffed grab bugs ever. Hit detection is massively important in every game.
- Improve game performance and optimization.
- Dead by Daylight is not a graphically stunning game. It doesn't look like hot garbage on max settings, but it's definitely not something that should require a really nice PC even on mid settings.
- Fix the servers.
- Spring-boarding off the last point, servers need to be fixed. Hit detection, player collision, grabs, Dead Hard, and hatchets are just a few of the things screwed over by the dedicated servers.
- Console performance has been trash since launch. Playing Dead by Daylight on the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro still gets near constant stutters, frame dips, and freezes. If you have ever played Killer on console, you know exactly what I mean when I mention frame rate and Bloodlust.
- The Switch can run DOOM (2016) at a higher frame rate and with higher graphical fidelity than DBD. Just let that sink in.
Community Health
- Acknowledge and address the excessive toxicity.
- Behaviour, for the most part, likes to ignore how toxic their community is. It is extremely difficult to get a ban for harassing other players verbally in the game and when you do it is at first a temporary 24h ban. This needs to change. If your community knows it's hard to get banned for vitriolic language, hate speech, threats, etc., they will do it within the bounds they know they can.
- In no game should people be able to drop hard racial or sexual slurs and see just a temp mute or ban. Simply making people aware that they can get in trouble for these things will prevent them from engaging in this harassing behavior.
- Behaviour, for the most part, likes to ignore how toxic their community is. It is extremely difficult to get a ban for harassing other players verbally in the game and when you do it is at first a temporary 24h ban. This needs to change. If your community knows it's hard to get banned for vitriolic language, hate speech, threats, etc., they will do it within the bounds they know they can.
- Warn and temporarily mute people who have consistent bad behavior in-game and in post-game chat.
- I do not think anyone should be getting permanently banned or muted for tea bagging, saying "gg ez," or talking ######### in post-game. I do however think Behaviour needs to push people away from this rude, harassing, toxic, and/or childish behavior. Players that are consistently being reported for toxic behavior, whether in-game or post-game, need to see some sort of push back so they can learn that it's not good to be toxic all the time.
- In Grand Theft Auto V if you constantly go around killing other players you will be visible for all other players and they will be rewarded for killing you. If this isn't enough to get you to stop, the game also will start to throw you into lobbies with all the other players that are toxic and make your character wear a dunce cap. This naturally leads to people not wanting to be toxic because then they have to deal with servers literally built to be filled with toxic players and cheaters.
- I do not think anyone should be getting permanently banned or muted for tea bagging, saying "gg ez," or talking ######### in post-game. I do however think Behaviour needs to push people away from this rude, harassing, toxic, and/or childish behavior. Players that are consistently being reported for toxic behavior, whether in-game or post-game, need to see some sort of push back so they can learn that it's not good to be toxic all the time.
- Fix gameplay issues that allow players to bully each other.
- Sandbagging, hook destruction crews, Killer bullying, instant Ebony Mori, tunneling, camping, these all need to be fixed in some way. I do not know exactly how to fix it personally, but I hope we as a community can brainstorm how to solve these issues in the game. Simply telling players to not do them sadly will not work.
This list is incomplete and I hope that this community can discuss and bring new ideas forward to improve the game for everyone, whether it be themselves or their opponents, their friends or the toxic enemies. I know most of us just want to have a fun time playing a good game, but we need to discuss how to fix the game's glaring issues. Thank you all for your time reading this massive post.
Comments
-
I've been thinking about for quite some time too.
Queue times is an easy one, killers need an enhanced reward system to bring back the killer playerbase.
And yes, the exhausting amount of new bugs each patch.
3 -
I agree entirely with the community health section
I think people who are reported for using racial/sexual slurs should be banned from talking in the chat permanently. It's an idea of punishment like another that could punish toxicity. Maybe it could also escalate like the disconnection penalties, and in the end you are banned forever from talking in the chat, and people will see some kind of "muted" emblem to signify it.
For the console optimization thing, I think they have a separated team for it (if i'm right), so it's possible they are less to work on console stuff than pc stuff (because pc is majoritary in the community etc). I hope it eventually comes for console players.
And they work actively on getting rid of glitches, and now have a live team that will probably help for that. Of course, some glitches stay known but hey it's the case with a lot of games.
Reworking Moris and keys are necessary to make the game fair and not end prematurely.
Also Hangman's trick is getting reworked next chapter and is gonna be very strong if they didnt nerf it
Honestly, I think you mainly have a lot of good ideas, and I would appreciate a lot if they decided to sacrifice an upcoming dlc to clean a bigger part of the game than Mid-chapters do.
2 -
"Fix gameplay issues that allow players to bully each other.
- Sandbagging, hook destruction crews, Killer bullying, instant Ebony Mori, tunneling, camping, these all need to be fixed in some way. I do not know exactly how to fix it personally, but I hope we as a community can brainstorm how to solve these issues in the game. Simply telling players to not do them sadly will not work."
So I'm going to nitpick this portion a bit. Some stuff is valid and is already reportable like Sandbagging. But why is the Mori being attacked? Or the hook destruction crews? And tf is killer bullying?
Hook Destruction Crew - A "Crew" that is designed to get rid of hooks either immediately when a killer downs a survivor and is heading towards one or just goes around to get rid of hooks to not have to worry so much about getting hooked in a particular area. Both reasons that are pretty valid if not over the top sometimes, depending on context. There are perks that combat this as well, Franklin's Demise being one of them. You also got Iron Grasp and Agitation. It's on you as the killer to make a sound strategy and outsmart the Survivor. Plus they're already attempting to fix this with the next update.
Ebony Mori - A rare offering that allows you to kill any survivor after at least one hook. So that requires a killer to at least have some decent skill. Typically used for rituals since you have some that require you to kill people by your own hand with a specific killer like Legion since he's the most common one for me. What's the problem with it? You don't like the idea of being killed in a pretty cool fashion? Or that the killer has the option to not give what you think is your obligated 3 hooks?
Tunneling and Camping - I'm just going to link these 2 together since it's basically the same thing since it's a crappy tactic that no one likes. Tunneling is based on context right? What if the survivor that was unhooked decides to stay in the area for whatever reason when you come back? You obviously see/hear the survivor, are you just going to ignore that person out of some hidden rule book for killers? No, you would down that survivor and you would either A.) Slug them or B.) hook them again because clearly they don't know how to survive. Camping is interpreted differently. You have your 'proxy camping' which I guess is just when the killer is relatively in the area and hasn't left yet for a number reasons. Maybe the survivors have Gen locked themselves and the killer hooked a survivor within his patrol route. Maybe as he hooked someone, he saw someone else still in the area or skulking around. You also have your face camping which is essentially where a killer just sits in front of you, typically bubba, and waits until you die. Also typically done when the gates are powered and the killer wants a 1k out of it.
Both the tunneling and camping is easy to counter. Survivors have perks such BT, DS, Unbreakable etc. And let's not lie to ourselves, those are the Meta perks being run these days at high levels from what I've seen on PC. If someone is hardcore camping you, that's at least 2 mins of time that the other 3 survivors could be using to pop gens. The killer will be lucky to get a 2k unless the survivors aren't smart. But know, I've seen firsthand survivors just wasting time, staying in the area, clicking their flashlights at the killer or causing needles noises notifcations with fast vaulting or something to get the killer to chase them which usually doesn't work. If a killer is tunneling someone, why isn't the person who unhooked that survivor not taking protection hits or body blocking? Again, no killer is obligated to hook you and then run to the other side of the map so that someone can unhook you, heal you, and then potentially escape.
I appreciate the criticisms and notices I really do. But it's just biased man. It's apart of the game and survivors never want to be on the bad end of the stick when it happens to them so they complain. This is coming from a survivor main by the way. It's annoying because both sides want to complain about perks or strategies that was used to beat them in some random match.
1 -
If you used a key as a survivor, it's not prematurely. It means the game has run it's course. That means you either activated all the gens needed for it to spawn, or you're the sole survivor.
1 -
Even with all those very strong perks, they don't solve the issue. If a killer REALLY wantst to tunnel you, they couldn't care less if you had Decisive Strike or Borrowed Time.
You're indeed NOT under an obligation to run to the other side of the map, but it's just way better for you to target someone else.
An overwhelming majority of these tunnellers and face-campers are actually in the lower ranks. Tunnellers tend to be a bit higher in ranks, but still. Players in those ranks don't know how to rush gens against a camper.
So, how is it biased to simply point out that two garbage strategies ruin the game for at least 4/5 players each match?
0 -
Tunneling and camping is again based on context. Now I play rank 1 as survivor and killer so you're right, this camping and tunneling thing is not common. But when it is, it usually has a reasoning behind it. As I said before, if someone is unhooked in front of you, logically you're going to slug that person who just got unhooked. I as the killer am not going to let him go away or let them starting healing or repairing gens in front of me. And depending on the situation with the game, it probably isn't better to target someone else.
It may be a garbage strategy in some games. But the killer succeeds either way with at least 1k. Sometimes it's better to tunnel than it is not to based on whatever perks and strategy you're using. It just typically ruins the game for 1 survivor, not 4 people
0 -
"Fix gameplay issues that allow players to bully each other.
- Sandbagging, hook destruction crews, Killer bullying, instant Ebony Mori, tunneling, camping, these all need to be fixed in some way. I do not know exactly how to fix it personally, but I hope we as a community can brainstorm how to solve these issues in the game. Simply telling players to not do them sadly will not work."
So I'm going to nitpick this portion a bit. Some stuff is valid and is already reportable like Sandbagging. But why is the Mori being attacked? Or the hook destruction crews? And tf is killer bullying?
Hook Destruction Crew - A "Crew" that is designed to get rid of hooks either immediately when a killer downs a survivor and is heading towards one or just goes around to get rid of hooks to not have to worry so much about getting hooked in a particular area. Both reasons that are pretty valid if not over the top sometimes, depending on context. There are perks that combat this as well, Franklin's Demise being one of them. You also got Iron Grasp and Agitation. It's on you as the killer to make a sound strategy and outsmart the Survivor. Plus they're already attempting to fix this with the next update.
Ebony Mori - A rare offering that allows you to kill any survivor after at least one hook. So that requires a killer to at least have some decent skill. Typically used for rituals since you have some that require you to kill people by your own hand with a specific killer like Legion since he's the most common one for me. What's the problem with it? You don't like the idea of being killed in a pretty cool fashion? Or that the killer has the option to not give what you think is your obligated 3 hooks?
Tunneling and Camping - I'm just going to link these 2 together since it's basically the same thing since it's a crappy tactic that no one likes. Tunneling is based on context right? What if the survivor that was unhooked decides to stay in the area for whatever reason when you come back? You obviously see/hear the survivor, are you just going to ignore that person out of some hidden rule book for killers? No, you would down that survivor and you would either A.) Slug them or B.) hook them again because clearly they don't know how to survive. Camping is interpreted differently. You have your 'proxy camping' which I guess is just when the killer is relatively in the area and hasn't left yet for a number reasons. Maybe the survivors have Gen locked themselves and the killer hooked a survivor within his patrol route. Maybe as he hooked someone, he saw someone else still in the area or skulking around. You also have your face camping which is essentially where a killer just sits in front of you, typically bubba, and waits until you die. Also typically done when the gates are powered and the killer wants a 1k out of it.
Both the tunneling and camping is easy to counter. Survivors have perks such BT, DS, Unbreakable etc. And let's not lie to ourselves, those are the Meta perks being run these days at high levels from what I've seen on PC. If someone is hardcore camping you, that's at least 2 mins of time that the other 3 survivors could be using to pop gens. The killer will be lucky to get a 2k unless the survivors aren't smart. But know, I've seen firsthand survivors just wasting time, staying in the area, clicking their flashlights at the killer or causing needles noises notifcations with fast vaulting or something to get the killer to chase them which usually doesn't work. If a killer is tunneling someone, which why isn't the person who unhooked that survivor not taking protection hits? Again, no killer is obligated to hook you and then run to the other side of the map so that someone can unhook you, heal you, and then potentially escape.
I appreciate the criticisms and notices I really do. But it's just biased man. It's apart of the game and survivors never want to be on the bad end of the stick when it happens to them so they complain. This is coming from a survivor main by the way. It's annoying because both sides want to complain about perks or strategies that was used to beat them in some random match.
0 -
I normally just target the idiot who unhooked them in that situation. It's not the other guy's fault that situation happened unless they're on comms, which I can't determine.
As for losing rank, I generally don't care. I pretty much play for Archives these days.
0 -
It's not about winning or losing rank. Hell it's damn near impossible NOT to rank up. And you're right, it's not the guy who is currently hooked that is the one at fault. But if I was a killer, I'm not obligated to help him in anyway. Hell my version of helping is slugging him so he has a chance to be brought back up by a mate while I chase the other guy. And at that point, it's not my fault as the killer for tunneling, it's his teammates fault for putting him in that situation.
But again, that's a specific scenario.
2 -
While the whole idea of an Operation Health is a great idea and completely essential if they want this game to last another 5 years, the developers have said in the past that they won't do it. They aren't willing to sacrifice skipping a DLC for game health. People's DLC/Cosmetic/Rift money is more important than game health. My guess is they will continue to ignore the big issues or slowly patch them, then eventually see the consequences of doing that.
2 -
I disagree using a key while others are alive and all gens aren't done yet is prematurely, because the objective isn't complete, meaning your leaving early, just like ebony moris kill survivors when only being hooked once is ending it prematurely, now as for the post's question I actually agree with everything you said. I think chapters can wait for overall game health.
0
