Why Slugging Works
An unrecovered slug applies more pressure than a hook. Getting someone off the floor takes more healing time than an unhooking time. And time is a killers friend. That's 2 people not on gens for longer.
A recovered slug applies the same pressure as a hook. Touching someone to pick them up takes just about the same time as unhooking. Same time off gens.
Slugging doesn't require you to pick up, carry at reduced speed, hook, take the chance of a blind/pallet/wiggle. And instead you can carry on to pressure the next person.
A freshly healed slug is brought to the killers attention via their portrait icon changing. So now the killer knows roughly where two survivors are. Neither of which has BT or DS.
All of this adds up to more pressure than hooks (at least at first). A solid mix of slugging and hooks will apply the most pressure over long term.
All slugging= nobody dies
All hooking= dealing with BT, DS, Well make it, flashlights, pallets, etc. More time consuming, slower start.
Slugging -> hooking allows you to get more pressure on the survivors quicker than if you were hooking off the bat. While taking less risk in the process. Once momentum is gained, hooking will apply better long term pressure.
Comments
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I think like most things in this game, it’s a tactic that sometimes works. It’s not a definite win. If the survivor has Unbreakable, they will stand up faster and without the aid of others. Also some teammates refuse to pick you up until they’ve finished the generator they’re on. So if that’s the case, you’ve not only lost a hook, you’ve lost a generator. It also depends on how competent the team is at chases, as you don’t know how many gens will pop whilst you’re trying to get that first down. Like I said in another thread, it’s a very situational tactic. Not something I’d recommend always doing.
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100% agree. It is situational and you have to read the survivors skill and act accordingly.
Slugging a great runner is detrimentally handicapping yourself.
And them finishing a gen is fine! they would have done the same to a hook as they would to a slug, that's just optimal survivor play. The difference is slugging gave the killer more time to potentially find and interrupt that gen than if he had taken the time to pick up and hook.
But you are right. Situational. As with most killer decisions.
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While slugging definite gives you an advantage in time saved to move on to something else instead of hooking, it also gives you the disadvantage of being less likely to take survivors out of the game. Bleedout progress is much slower than hook progress and doesn't have stages. I wouldn't say you know where the slug got picked up from since slugs are actually mobile instead of fixed locations like hooks. You have a general area maybe. The invalidation of BT and DS are definite advantages though.
However, it looks like you're suggesting a combination of slugging at hooking. Are you suggested slugging if you know where another survivor is after a down, which I would say is the obvious path of efficiency? Are you suggesting slugging and looking around until you believe the slug is at 99% and then hooking if you don't find anything? That I could understand, but I'm not completely convinced it's more efficient. What I never really got was the 4 man slug. As long as survivors don't just race to anybody that's downed, that seems less efficient to me.
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As mentioned above. It's all situational. Yes a combination is best. I'd say slug at the beginning to gain momentum as it's a more efficient way to get people injured and keep them off gens longer. Generally.
The 4man slug only really happens for me if I down someone and spot someone else within mere SECONDS. Usually the fault of the survivors for being too gutsy.
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I can definitely see how slugging at the beginning of the game would help slow down gens, but like you also said, it's very situational. If a survivor recognizes the slug, they'll continue doing objectives until they're sure the person is mostly recovered. Or sometimes survivor teammates just suck and won't even care (I've died on first hook because three teammates decided genhopping was more important).
I'd say the only time it always works is if no one's running unbreakable and all survivors fall to the altruism trap.
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Most survivors fall into the altruism trap. Which is why it works so often. But people complain about it. From a strategy standpoint its a solid idea. Of course not always but. Often.
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Oh I totally know it. My friends and I will lose a game completely and at the end just be like "man, we were too altruistic" aha.
I've always seen slugging as a good strategy for the last two. Heavily reduces chances of the last survivor finding the hatch.
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If there are 2 left and the hatch is on the map I'll slug to find it. Then I hook em and head to the hatch. If they get off. Game on. If they die. BOOONNNNGGGGG
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I would somewhat agree with that. I look at slugging as a high risk for high reward. It can pay off big time, but it can also backfire and cause you to lose everything. With a hook, even if the people on the hook get rescued, they're a third closer to death. If I slug someone and there happens to be another survivor nearby to pick them right back up, that 30 second to a minute long chase can be completely undone in ~16 seconds. In the same situation but with hooking, sure they'd get them back up even faster, but at least they'd be one step closer to dying.
Anywho, I'm right there with you. Too much of either will backfire. It's best to mix it up and be a little unpredictable.
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