Hex Perk Updates
I'm sure anyone playing Killer, especially those at higher ranks, will agree that by and large, Hex Perks are useless.
Obviously some are still useable, but that boils down to just Hex: Ruin and Hex: Devour Hope. The others only see use in meme builds on Killers that are being played at low level and lack any other better options to fill their perk slots, so a Hex: Perk is (only marginally) better than nothing, and the reason for this is because a Hex can go down within 30 seconds of game start.
The option I recommend is that any Hex Perk that gains tokens (Third Seal, Lullaby, etc...) should continue to give the Killer the value of those tokens even after the Perk is destroyed, but destroying the Hex would make it impossible for the Killer to gain any more tokens. This would obviously necessitate a change to a few of the Hexes, Devour Hope being the most clear example.
Making this change would mean that taking a Hex would be a more appealing prospect for Killers, who largely avoid the token hexes because they're so unreliable, especially when there are many other more useful perks. Giving Hexes persistent value in a match, even if that value is limited, would go a long way towards making them better. This also incentivizes the Survivors to track down the totems, giving them a
I'll give the modifications to the various Hex Perks I think should change below here:
Hex: Devour Hope
1: +2% Haste 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor, duration of 10 seconds.
2: +4% Haste 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor, duration of 10 seconds.
3: +6% Haste 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor, duration of 10 seconds.
4: +8% Haste 10 seconds after hooking a Survivor, duration of 10 seconds.
5: All Survivors suffer from the Exposed status effect
This gets rid of the Mori effect of Devour Hope while buffing the Haste effect. The Exposed status seems powerful, but bear in mind that the Killer has to be far from the hook to get a token, and it's incredibly rare for DH to get all the way to 5 tokens even in its current state. Furthermore, exposed doesn't even mean a lost game since DH does still require hooks, and I've played games (on both sides) where the Killer doesn't even get 5 hooks, much less 5 hooks that give them a tokens.
Hex: Huntress Lullaby
This Hex can remain the same. This is actually incredibly well balanced for this change, and it would make Huntress Lullaby a viable perk, finally.
Hex: The Third Seal
Down a survivor into Dying state with a basic attack applies the Blindness status effect.
This change is to balance the power of Blindness. It's a decently strong Status, so afflicting match-long blindness on hit would be too easy. This change forces the Killer to actually commit and win a chase. It also encourages other Survivors to help try and distract the Killer or take Protection hits to keep someone from getting downed and, thus, Blinded.
Hex: Thrill of the Hunt
For each chase won (chases are won on hitting a survivor) gain a token, up to five tokens.
- For every Token, increase Blood Point Gains (same as BBQ & Chili) by 10% and slow Cleansing speed by 5%.
- For every Token, increase the speed at which you gain Bloodlust levels by 5%.
As you can see, I've removed the notification effect of Thrill. This makes Totems in general more vulnerable and demands more of the Killer's attention if they want to defend them. It exchanges that by rewarding a Killer for playing their role and winning chases.
Doing this would also open new avenues for other Hex perks, and make those perks more viable in the future. I know there will be a lot of backlash from these suggestions as is usually the case anytime a Killer buff is suggested, but I really do think this is needed. Hex perks just aren't very good except in specific cases, and making perks like Third Seal that are only marginally decent in the first place into something that you will lose if the Survivors find the totem feels like a bad idea.
To Survivors who may disagree with these changes: Bear in mind that none of these changes will matter if you spawn on top of the totem, which happens pretty often. These power balances are irrelevant if the totem is destroyed in the first few seconds of the game, and that's fine with me. Hex perks are a gamble, and they give the Killer an additional point that they are forced to protect if they want to benefit from them. I just think that Killers should be rewarded for protecting them is all.
Cheers.
Comments
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I don't think Devour Hope should retain its stacks after being cleansed, or really be changed at all. It is a high risk, high power perk (theoretically, the strongest killer perk in the game if it stays up). I think it is fine as it currently is.
Personally, I want for hexes to gain lingering effects which only activate after the totem is cleansed. These would ideally be weaker than what the actual Hex did when lit, but don't leave the killer with nothing if totems are lost early from bad luck.
For example, if Ruin was destroyed, gens would no longer auto regress, but any missed skillcheck could cause twice the progression penalty.
Or Third Seal: It loses its super-blinding power when cleansed, but could inflict 5-10 seconds of Oblivious on a survivor hit with a basic attack.
I do agree that Huntress Lullaby should retain its own tokens after being destroyed, but I think every gen that the survivors repair should remove one of the tokens. It also shouldn't light a totem until the killer has one stack AND the perk has cursed a survivor (also making it preventable).
Most hexes just need to stop being All-or-Nothing perks, especially given how average most of their abilities are. They should offer a decent-to-powerful ability while lit and should have some kind of functional, but mediocre-to-average ability that remains when the Hex is gone. Exceptions would be the 'Trap Totems' (Retribution and Haunted Grounds), which probably don't need any changes.
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The change to Devour Hope is only relevant if they implement this change in its entirety. I agree that as it is Devour Hope would be far too powerful, but having to get maximum stacks before the totem is cleansed is incredibly hard to do unless the team you're going up against is a bunch of potatoes which, let's be honest, you probably didn't need the Hex Totem to 4k that team anyway.
If a Killer is up against a practiced and capable team, they are extremely likely to lose that totem within the first five minutes. The odds of a totem lasting the whole game is borderline astronomical, especially now Inner Strength exists as a meta perk that encourages solo players to hunt down totems for free healing charges.
The whole reason I proposed the persistent effects post-cleansing is because chances are, the Killer is only going to have a few tokens on it by the time it falls, if they have any tokens at all, since, as we all know, a totem can go down instantly. It's not about the power of the totem, it's about the fact that Hex perks, right now, punish more than they reward. There needs to be a balance.
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