Why isn't The plague considered a bottom-tiered killer?

madradfox

I have recently been looking over killer tier threads while waiting for matches, and one thing I cannot seem to figure out is why The Plague is not considered a bottom tier killer. I don't know if I would place her at the very bottom with the Cannibal, but seeing her ranked higher than the Pig/Legion baffles me.

Every single one of the Plague's powers has a double-ended timer that takes her away from applying pressure to the map.

Her main powered-up ability is the Corrupted Purge.

1. However, it requires her to ingest it from a used fountain,
2. There is one corrupted fountain at the start, but every subsequent corrupted fountain has to be created by a survivor
3. Every new corruption comes at a price of an instant heal for the survivor who makes it
4. The Corrupted Purge lasts only 60 seconds.
5. The Corrupted Purge does not infect either survivors or objects

The lesser power is the Vile Purge. In my opinion, this power is actually stronger than the Corrupted Purge:

1. It counters Iron Will.
2. Combined with Black Incense, can turn into a strong aura revealing add-on.
3. At maximum, it causes Broken, inducing vomiting and preventing healing,
4. Can cause second-hand infections when unhooking etc.

but the Vile Purge has tremendous limitations....

• Its range is only 13 meters.
• Takes 1.6s to charge.
• Does not prevent interaction with pallets, windows etc. like the Doctor
• It takes multiple purge hits for the full effect (Injured State, Broken, vomitting)
• No matter how many vile purge hits the Plague makes, it cannot put a survivor down without a direct hit
• Survivors are able to both disinfect and heal themselves using one of the many aura-visible pools on the map

Finally, (and this is the ultimate problem with the Plague's powers)

• Whether she has Vile Purge or Corrupted Purge, neither spray will harm you if you stand behind any tall object. No other killer seems to be this affected by something as simple as stopping behind a tree.

If its only Vile Purge, thats already 4s wasted, if the Plague insists on infecting multiple times (to ensure broken,vomitting etc) then it will be +4s for every subsequent VP hit. Even if I ultimately happen to go down, with the times it takes to pick up and hook a survivor, it will be a huge benefit to my team as stretching a chase for anything longer than 50% of a solo gen repair time is a success (especially if multiple gens are being worked on).

Also, cleansing at a fountain is a good move every single time, regardless of circumstances. I still don't understand why some people are divided on this issue. It's an incredibly rewarding diversion, and the power it grants has a short timer, doesn't come with Exposed, doesn't infect, can be dodged, ultimately becoming little more than a ranged hit ability.

Is there something about the Plague's powers that I am missing? This killer seems to only ever be really effective on Haddonfield in those narrow corridors created by the hedges.

Mat_Sella

Vile Purge has high range, aim up

You can partially charge Vile Purge, often times early game, its best to get someone sick and continue to find other survivors

Vile Purge may not prevent interactions, but the interactions spread Vile Purge, which both can get other people sick and gives off information

You don't have to charge it multiple times on one person, usually a good enough Purge on someone should reach broken by the time you reach them (assuming they were in a safe area)

Yeah, Vile Purge can't down people, but being broken, coughing, and basically glowing green should be good enough when you know you also have Corrupt Purge and none of their healing perks will work

They can disinfect themselves sure, but as long as the 4 survivors aren't all doing so at the same time, people will continue to be forced to re-infect themselves

If you stop behind a tree she'll just go around it if she's close enough, otherwise, Michael, Ghostface, Deathslinger, Demo and Huntress all face the same issues with trees on distant survivors

NuclearBurrito

Assuming they aren't cleansing vile purge basically reads "after a few minutes, all Survivors are broken and extra easy to track". Which is already an ok effect. Not so much on it's own, but it has enough perk synergies to make it work.

Now, if they DO cleanse then vile purge now reads that each time you hit someone, they give you a use of corrupt purge.

And let me tell you, there is nothing "only" about 60 seconds when you have corrupt purge. Grab infectious fright and you can easily get at least 2 downs in quick succession. If you're lucky enough to be near the whole team you can down all 4 of them on the spot, even if they are healthy. It's a relatively fast, AOE damaging ranged attack with a very wide range and it can be arc'ed.

Because of how potentially dangerous even a single use of corrupt can be, especially if everyone is broken, the existence of a starting fountain pressures everyone to cleanse giving her more usage of her power giving her insane snowball potential.

For example, that 1.6 second charge time? That's her MAX charge time, which she doesn't need to use. She can very easily get a hit in with less than a second of charging. You want to hide behind a tree? Ok sure but she can move at full speed while she's using her power, so she can easily strafe around the tree and hit you anyways, and besides, Huntress and Deathslinger have the same issue and we don't call THEM bad for it (well maybe deathslinger, but definitely not Huntress)

GHERBEARRULES

But...she...is...a...bottom...tier...killer.