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Pig Add-on Pass Ideas
Hey, it's me again with another post. This time around, I want to take a look at one of my favorite killers, Pig. Just a heads up, this post is going to be a long one, because there are some things I want to make clear, namely that I think Pig's power is mostly fine, and that it's primarily her add-ons that need to be updated. I made a post like this for Legion as well; you can check it out here:
https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/188978/legion-add-on-pass-rework-ideas
So talking about Pig. She's in a weird place right now. Some players say she's bad, some say she's decent, others say she's actually kind of strong. In my opinion, she hovers somewhere between mid-tier and low-tier. There are days where she shines and days where she's just like "welp, guess I just suck". Now why is there such a wide range of opinions about her viability? My theory about this has two parts.
1) Pig is a rather misunderstood killer and not many people know how she's meant to be played. To provide a personal example, I used to think Clown was not a very good killer at all. That was before I realized that I, much like a lot of players who are new to Clown, was using his power incorrectly. Instead of throwing the Afterpiece Tonic bottles at Survivors like you instinctively would for most projectiles in video games, you throw them in front of where Survivors are running, forcing them to either run through the entire gas cloud and maximizing the slowdown or to run away from the gas cloud and allow Clown to catch up. In a similar way, players often think that Pig is supposed to aim to make her RBTs lethal or that her Ambush Dash isn't very useful at loops. The truth of this is twofold; RBTs are meant to stall the game, not as a source of sacrifices, and her Ambush Dash is actually rather scary at many loops, and is simply a matter of being unpredictable in how you use the dash (although yes, it is often a matter of 50/50 mindgames). In this sense, her power at basekit is actually pretty decent, and the source of frustration for many Pig players is in her lackluster add-ons.
2) The RBT portion of her power is RNG dependent, which means there will be times where her traps are almost ineffective, but also times where the game comes to a halt because all the Survivors are trying to get their RBT off. There are days where the RNG is simply not on my side, though my experiences have mostly been middle ground. The good news is, even if you put a RBT on a Survivor and they get it off on their first Jigsaw Box search, technically speaking the RBT has still accomplished its intended purpose, which is to lure Survivors away from their objective, allowing Pig to pressure Survivors that don't have RBTs. Since getting RBTs off quickly are a real possibility, you learn as a Pig player that you shouldn't rely on them, and that it's up to you and your other abilities (Stealth and Ambush Dash) to make Survivors feel the pain. By thinking this way, you eventually become better as a Pig player and as a Killer in general. Scorpionz has made guide videos that better illustrate Pig's potential far better than I ever could, so I highly recommend you watch his Youtube guides.
So let's get to the part of Pig's kit that I feel really needs changing: her add-ons. Like with my Legion post, I'll be giving my proposed changes, along with my thought process and reasoning for changing them.
Pig Add-on Changes
Workshop Grease - Decrease the time between the Skill Check warning sound and Jigsaw Box Skill Checks
This new effect for Workshop Grease is similar to Huntress Lullaby. The current Workshop Grease is almost detrimental to Pig, as more Skill Checks means more opportunities to get Great Skill Checks, further reducing the time spent searching Jigsaw Boxes. This new Workshop Grease will ensure the Jigsaw Box Skill Checks are at least more difficult to hit. Razor Wires will be reworked in a similar way.
Shattered Syringe - (In addition to the current effect) Increases Crouch movement speed by 10%
I actually think Shattered Syringe is alright, as it allows for more risky Ambush Dash plays and makes misses less punishing. The addition of Crouch movement speed is so that there is a positive effect even if you somehow never miss an Ambush Dash.
John's Medical File - No changes
Combat Straps - No changes
Video Tape - No changes
Utility Blades - Healthy Survivors that remove a Reverse Bear Trap become Injured. Injured Survivors that remove a Reverse Bear Trap suffer from the Mangled Status Effect for 60 seconds
Hemorrhage is simply not a very useful effect, and even if it were, inflicting it on a Survivor with a RBT is counterproductive. These reworked Utility Blades will make Survivors have to deal with being injured for a little while longer after removing their RBT.
Razor Wires - Jigsaw Box Skill Checks become Difficult Skill Checks
These reworked Razor Wires make Jigsaw Box Skill Checks the size of a Decisive Strike Skill Check, instead of increasing the chances of a Skill Check, which can often be detrimental.
Last Will - No changes
Face Mask - No changes
Slow-Release Toxin - Hitting Survivors with an Ambush Dash attack applies the Exhausted Status Effect for 15 seconds
Inflicting debuffs on a Survivor with a RBT is often counterproductive, since you will be prioritizing Survivors that don't have one. As such, many of the add-ons that inflict debuffs upon placing RBTs on Survivors will be reworked in this manner. It also aims to provide more add-ons that give the Ambush Dash more capabilities.
Rusty Attachments - Hitting Survivors with an Ambush Dash attack applies the Mangled Status Effect for 90 seconds
Jigsaw's Annotated Plan - No changes
Interlocking Razor - No changes
Bag of Gears - No changes
Tampered Timer - Reverse Bear Traps are now automatically active upon setting them
This one might be a bit controversial, but in my opinion the current Tampered Timer is very feast or famine, in the sense that a RBT might not activate on a Survivor, effectively making the add-on worthless, but it can also reduce the death timer enough that in combination with add-ons like Crate of Gears, Survivors often don't have enough time to search all the Jigsaw Boxes and may get sacrificed without any chance of escaping, making it potentially unfun to play against. This reworked Tampered Timer keeps the death timer at 2 minutes and 30 seconds, while still retaining the original purpose of the add-on, which is making RBTs more threatening.
Jigsaw's Sketch - No changes
Crate of Gears - No changes
Amanda's Secret - (In addition to the current effects) Putting a Survivor into the Dying State with an Ambush Dash attack reveals the Auras of all Survivors within 32 meters of The Pig for 4 seconds.
The current Amanda's Secret has a niche purpose in allowing Pig to target a Survivor that has recently removed a RBT, though I feel the effect is not good enough to be a Very Rare add-on. The added effect of revealing nearby survivors after a successful down with an Ambush Dash rewards Pig with information she can then use to snowball.
Rules Set No. 2 - Renamed to Iridescent Tape. A Survivor starts the Trial with a Reverse Bear Trap. Reverse Bear Trap death timers are reduced by 10 seconds each time a generator is completed
Some players think Rules Set No. 2 should be basekit, while others say the add-on does more harm than good. Whether the add-on is good or not, I personally don't think the effect is very interesting, nor is the effect itself worthy of being an Ultra Rare add-on. This reimagined Rules Set No. 2, now named Iridescent Tape, creates an immediate threat in the form of a RBT already on a Survivor. In addition to this, RBT death timers are reduced by a few seconds when a generator is completed, either before or after activation. It's probably not enough to make RBT sacrifices happen all the time, but it should be enough of a threat that Survivors will think twice before continuing to work on generators.
Amanda's Letter - When crouched, Auras of Survivors within 12 meters are revealed to The Pig. After standing up from Crouch, The Pig's TR and Red Stain will remain suppressed for 6 seconds
I actually think the effect of Amanda's Letter is rather good, but not so good that it warrants such hefty downsides, so I've simply removed them. I've also added another effect inspired by Wraith's add-on "The Ghost - Soot". Having your TR and Red Stain remain suppressed after standing up allows Pig to be stealthier and potentially go for grabs off of generators, or to catch Survivors off guard in general.
With that, that wraps up all my proposed Pig Add-on changes. Please leave your thoughts and criticisms. Thank you for sticking with me!