Getting good?
As a Survivor main who plays poorly, I'm often told "just get better". I don't mind, because I DO need to get better, but I'm not sure how.
I've got a little over 1000 hours in the game (nearly all Survivor), and have been playing for about 1.5 years. If I'm not better by now, it's just not going to happen without some additional catalyst.
I think part of my problem is playing "politely", so hopefully the Killer can have a nice time too. I don't usually bring in DS, a way to heal myself, an exhaustion perk, or items. I also play either solo or 2-person SWF.
It's easy to take me out early because I can't loop and can't heal. I get tunneled A LOT, mori'd, camped, etc. and have no means to combat it. I don't care about escaping, I just hope to earn 15k-20k(ish).
I know what safe tiles are and what safe pallets are, but never know how to recognize a safe pallet while running. I also don't know how to run the safe tiles. Finally, I have a lot of trouble prioritizing the right actions at the right times.
What I've learned, I've learned by watching streamers, then trying to practice what I see. Once I'm in a match, it's a jumble of things I need to do and remember, but can't sort them out.
Tl;dr: Watching & doing are best. Does anyone have suggestions to improve looping and staying alive longer in solo queue matches for someone who can't seem to learn?
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Tbh OP, a LOT of survivors need to "git gud", way too many are simply carried by DS, BT, and especially DH.
Looping etc, idk yeah you have to learn that a bit more, and being just aware of the map and tile sets, there are plenty of vids on the web showing you how to loop those and what to watch out for.
(personally I would recommend Scott Jund)
As for being camped or tunneled, eh, who cares, if a killer does not want to actually play the game, just die and move on to a match where the killer does, same goes vice versa (although in the killers shoes you have to AFK and hope survivors just do their objectives.)
Post edited by ZoneDymo on3 -
I don't mind being insta-downed, slugged, camped, tunneled, or moried, in general. I'd just like to live a bit longer in my matches so I'm not getting killed under 8k so often. It happens about 3 in every 5 matches, lately.
I'll try looking up specific videos, rather than just watching general streams--- that's a good idea!
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Awfully nice of you to be polite. I don’t believe that you should handicap yourself in any form no matter the criticisms you might’ve read from killers if you want to compete better.
You seem to know your weaknesses. Work on looping by watching videos on how to run tiles and mind gaming from talented streamers (I recommend Truetalent, Puppers, Ayrun, and Fungoose on YouTube if you haven’t seen them already).
Also, highly recommend DS and Borrowed Time as base kit.
Bring an item if you want to be able to heal you goofball. There’s all kinds of perks, too.
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“I don't usually bring in DS, a way to heal myself, an exhaustion perk, or items.”
I don’t understand this, DS and such were added to combat camping, tunneling etc so not using them is accepting the risk.
as to getting good, I just watched a lot of Zubat and learned through him how to better loop and play so when I see someone waste a pallet I cry inside now
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Start using all the perks available to you. Nothing about them is impolite. Killers are not doing the same for you. You want to be polite? Don't flashlight them when it's unnecessary and don't teabag at palettes or the exit gate. Otherwise, you do you.
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Sure, it's accepting the risk, which is why I hope to improve without using them.
I don't mind supplementing skill with strong perks, but I don't want to rely on the perks at the expense of developing better skills, either. Hopefully that makes better sense. :)
I've been writing down the suggestions so far, thank you all!
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I'd focus on where you are playing poorly, but you already know that.
Killer main here, but I'll try to help you out perk-wise. I bring Kindred, Iron Will, and Spine Chill a lot.
Kindred helps the whole team and yourself, really a great perk when you play solo.
Iron Will makes it easier to play while injured; is a soft counter to several killer abilities and can get you a win in a chase is played right. Also you can hide to avoid chases, since you aren't too great in them.
Spine Chill is real nice for a few reasons. You get a slight repair boost and blah blah blah, BUT where it can shine in the slight increase of vault speeds while in a chase. Very nice. Knowing if the killer is coming for you is cool as well.
Post edited by Go_Go_Roboto on1 -
Well DS is annoying for the killer because good Killers van still het hit by IT even they dont tunnel. But running exhaustion perk is not toxic, so is a med kit. And exhaustion perks Will also help you to learn loops, like lithe and dead hard. The only big toxic thing survivors can do is a key. DS is annoying but if you are getting tunneled a lot I suggest you use it.
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Cool! I've used a variety of perks, including DS, and they sure do keep me in the game a little longer, so I'll rotate those in again. Hopefully I can learn to loop better too from some focused video tutorials
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I let the skill check pass if I've had a chance to work on a gen, heal, go through a chest, do a totem, etc.
I only use DS if they're downing me off the hook and throwing me right back on again. If they leave for someone else then find me 50 seconds later (or whatever), I don't use it
Also, thank you for the suggestion!
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Tl;dr: Watching & doing are best. Does anyone have suggestions to improve looping and staying alive longer in solo queue matches for someone who can't seem to learn?
My suggestion for looping is to hug the walls and remember to look in front of you. Bumping into objects can be a death sentence for killers that has range like Huntress and Deathslinger of killers that has one-downs like Billy or Leatherface. Also remember to spam the spacebar when the killer is closing in and you almost reached the pallet. Sometimes you'll get a pseudo-vacuum that sucks you to the other side of the pallet and not get hit.
As for staying alive in solo queue, I suggest when you're just starting out to bring perks like Decisive Strike and Borrowed Time as @Steel_Eyed suggested. They are powerful and in the meta for a reason. They allow you to get back on your feet if you happen to find yourself in an unfavourable situation as a survivor, though I don't recommend holding onto both for very long. They can force you to develop some really nasty habits.
For example, when I started playing Survivor more often, I would most often play as Laurie because she had Decisive Strike. I would get into horrible habits of going for suicide hook dives with DS and Borrowed Time to try and save a teammate that is hooked while I stunned the killer. I don't need to tell you how bad this is. There is a significantly high chance you would end up back on the hook even after proccing DS especially if you are injured. And you would start doing this often even when you had neither of those perks equipped.
Breaking away from this habit was rather hard, but I managed to do it and I will say in recent weeks it has been the best days of my life playing as a Survivor. It still feels challenging but it doesn't feel hopeless. Heck, I look forward to Spirit and Freddy mains because they tend to bring me the most fun games I've ever played.
Running a Spirit for 3 gens is always going to be a satisfying personal victory for me.
Another tip for staying alive in Solo Queue is to genuinely be stealthy, but you don't have to make your build surrounded by it. All it takes it some map awareness and the Alert perk. Whenever the killer breaks a pallet or generator, you will be notified of their aura from either nearby or far across the map and you will be able to know when it's safe to work on a generator or when it's possibly better to move and hide.
Above all else, just keep playing and watching some Youtube compilations. Even if you aren't studying it intentively, you will be able to catch some tricks and techniques and subconsciously add them to your own gameplay and little by little, get better at the game as a result of it.
I hope you the best of luck! Solo Survivor is no joke. And I appreciate you coming in here and ask for advice rather than make boogeyman to protect their pride like some people I know. You'll probably get far in this game the more you try. Good luck, and I hope to see you in the Fog someday.
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To identify a safe structure is pretty simple. The longer the loop, the safer. This is based on how impactful could be the killer changing direction in which he is running the loop.
For example the classic pallet near the window of foundry the killer can stand in the middle of the opposite side of the pallet, run side to side to bait a double vault, and then he could run around and lunge before the third vault animation ends. Also keep in mind that this pallet is safer before droping it because it could give you an easy path to another structure.
Bigger structures are safer, like jungle gyms. That because you have access to a window (usually), they are big and they have long corners. Corners are safe elements because you can stand in the joint of the two walls and watch the killer coming with the 3rd person camera.
So as you run into a loop you start doing a check list, the more checks the safer the structure is:
- Is it long enough to avoid vault baits?
- Has corners to extend the loop if the killer try to mind game wrong?
- Has windows?
- Has another pallet or structure near?
- Both sides of the pallet have an escape rute?
- Acceptable wall height? (Depends on the killer, high walls against huntress to avoid hatchets or low against legion to avoid mind games)
There are more questions that you can add, but with these I think you can identify most of them pretty easily.
Another way to improve is progress from looping to chaining structures. You loop less on each structure but use more structures going from one to another to move the killer around the map as he is chasing you. Pallets should be dropped to cancel bloodlust but you can cancel without it (baiting a huntress hatchet for example), so learning to extend pallets as much as possible is the goal.
You can improve in baits and techs too, faking a vault or a fall can give you a free 10% of a gen easily. Also forcing killers to break safe pallets can be useful (bait your escape and then return to the structure for another loop until the killer breaks it), if the killer don't break the pallet should be because he thinks it's unsafe, you have to prove him wrong.
Streamers usually explain some of these points during streams multiple times, all the time. I don't know if you have some problems understanding part of it, so any doubt i would be glad to try to answer. I have less hours played than you tho, the difference is a ton.
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If looping is not for you, try playing a more immersive character and run perks like spine chill, iron will, and urban evasion. If spine chill goes off, evade off a safe distance and wait for the killer to leave. None of these fall into your impolite category.
I would also recommend Kindred, if you're solo surviving, as it will ensure you don't waste time trying to save someone who is being face camped. It also helps your teammates make more efficient decisions without comms.
You should definitely be using palettes, as they are one of the only ways to elongate chases, but use them effectively. If you're nearing a palette but the killer hits you before you pull it - don't pull it. Especially if it is unsafe (IE: the debri on either side of the palette is small enough that you cannot loop it or jump the palette without getting hit). It slows you down. Use your speed boost to get to the next window/palette. This gives you or your teammate a palette option later.
You can also use your speed boost to get to a point where you can line of sight the killer. Example: run into a playground where traditionally a survivor would go to the palette - but instead, walk through the open side and double back around a wall while the killer enters the playground. They will typically assume you're camping the palette or ran that direction. You run off the opposite direction. Iron will helps a lot with this misdirection.
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This is a terrific answer, thanks! The steamer Uncharted__ is particularly good at explaining exactly what he does and why. However, he does it as he's playing, so it's quick and I lose track of the visual component (like, he might be running and by the time my brain processes the explanation, the pallet or loop is gone from the screen)
I will probably print this little guide out and put it near my monitor so I can read it between matches (I know, OK Boomer!) :)
Also, having fewer hours doesn't mean you don't know your stuff. Some people are just better at the game than others, and that's a wonderful thing
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It is a fact that there are players that play by the "bible rule book" the other side have. I have seen both and after asking they usually respond on the line of "I don't need to try that hard to have fun". It is a good strategy if your goal is to avoid as much toxicity as possible.
If you prefer to win it's ok to use any resource that you can. You will eventually win playing with extra rules tho. You can win without perks and addons, it's just more difficult.
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shame on people who promoted stealthy play style. The reason why people can’t loop even after spending hours on DBD is because they spent their whole time hiding from the killer and playing the game wrong . There is a massive difference between a player who spends 100 hour looping VS a player who spends 100 hours hiding in a bush.
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There's a difference between playing stealthy and being a liability to your team.
You can be stealthy and still pop gens left and right.
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