Pop Isn't A Good Choice On Most Killers
Pop Goes to Weasel is a tool to trade in chase pressure for gen pressure (more about this below), so unless the killer has a tool to catch up and get hits swiftly or unless the killer has enough pressure to not even let a single survivor work on a generator, using Pop may lose you more generator progress than it gives.
For people who aren't familiar with it, the way Pop works is you need to hook a survivor, find a generator, spend 2 seconds kicking it and that generator will regress for 25% instantly, which is equal to 20 seconds worth of survivor time.
So here is the problem, most of the time the generator you will find after hooking a survivor will be one that is being worked on (or it should be). By going through a 2 second animation to Pop the generator before starting the chase with the survivor(s), you are giving them at least 8 meters of distance (4m/s for 2 seconds) no matter what. A 115% killer takes 13-14 seconds to catch up 8 meters, additionally looping will most likely take longer too since they would be able to find a safer loop than they would have without that distance. If 1 other survivor is working on a generator while the chase is happening (which is a better case scenario), that is nearly all of the Pop's effect lost (2 seconds of kicking + 13 seconds of time wasted catching up + a fews seconds extra a better loop could waste). If that time loss gives survivors enough extra time to unhook/heal and start doing gens (a worse case scenario) before you get the down then you will be wasting much more generator progress (3 survivors doing gens for only 7 seconds is around equal to a Pop, 2 of which already wasted kicking the generator), than you gained with the perk. It doesn't matter if the survivor starts running before you arrive or not, it doesn't matter if you hit the survivor before or after kicking the gen, you will always give them 2 seconds and 8 meters EXTRA, so this will most likely be the case.
This is the case for killers like Nightmare too, he can get to generators very fast but that doesn't change the fact that he is losing 8 meters of distance no matter what. Billy/Nurse/Spirit/Wraith/Blight etc can catch up to survivors much faster and are better choices for using Pop. Otherwise slowdown perks like Sloppy/Ruin that don't require any time or distance to be wasted are better with most other killers. This doesn't count the use of other tools, combining Pop with slowdown effects for Thana/Dying/Freddy's addons etc could make it more strong.
As a final note, I am not calling Pop weak, but it is definitely not as strong as most people make it out to be. Best case scenario for a single Pop is slowing the game for 20 seconds while even just injuring a survivor and letting them heal can slow the game for up to 32 seconds (16 seconds of 2 people are wasted) even without a slowdown like Sloppy.
Comments
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You're operating under the belief that every survivor is an absolute machine of perfect play, and discounting how important certain generators are. You can chain hooks and repeatedly beat down the same generator that could be high value due to an exposed location, and it will force survivors to reinvest in the risk of repairing it.
Unless you're getting absolutely crushed by map RNG and getting looped because you're focusing on an extremely good survivor with a build not suited for handling it, it's an incredible perk. It biggest drawback is when survivors never tap a generator you hit, so it stays at 60-70% progress, and you can't use it again. Unfortunately, you can't simply hold it, but you can still hit other generators--the value of its regression never goes under a certain threshold.
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I didn't assume they are playing perfectly, 13 seconds = 8 meters only requires the survivor to hold W and nothing else until you catch up and they get to a loop.
You are correct about the high value location generators, but unless multiple survivors are going for that single generator that won't be the case. That only works if you are managing to prevent all of them from doing gens by protecting that gen, which is what I meant in my first paragraph by "or unless the killer has enough pressure to not even let a single survivor work on a generator".
Yes, Pop can work very well with builds that compliment it, but as a standalone slowdown perk it can do more harm than good against survivors who can manage their time and are not potatoes at looping.
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100% agree.I used to run Pop all the time because it did sound pretty good but when you really think about it then it can kinda screw you over more then it helps.
It feels a bit like the self care version for killers.Many killers don't know when to use that perk and when not.
Which is why i only use corrupt intervention,BBQ and chase perks or ruin + undying.
Kicking gens is just never really useful even with pop it's still not really good.
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I only use pop on wraith and killers that I don't have corrupt or ruin/undying on. The other killers that benefit from pop like nurse and Billy don't even need slowdown perks in the first place, it's kind of overkill.
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Then you slap it on Freddy.
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Why not instead use that opportunity to patrol gens again instead of going after the person who had a head start?
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Pop is gold on Freddy.
I run pop fairly often, but you also need tinkerer. Most of the time survivors will lure you away from other survivors sitting on gens. When you manage to hook them fast enough you can go back and down the gen, or secure a 3 gen with it. When you have to rely on chase perks due to your playstyle/killer, then pop might not be the best choice.
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Agreed, Pop is often times not exactly efficient. As Killer you will NEVER get the net gain of 20 seconds since walking to the gen, then kicking it and moving onward from there all cost time, too. If you want to use it there are scenarios where you´d have to abandon pressure to get use out of it.
I think people sleep on Surge a little, it has replaced pop on some of my Killers (those that fall hard into the "M1" category) since it provides information and saves you the time to walk to and then kick the gen. A shame it has such a CD though, totally unjustified imo.
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Going over all slowdown Perks, i'll show why i use PGTW over any other...
- Blood Warden: Late game only, not my preference.
- Corrupt Intervention: Early game only, not my preference.
- Coulrophobia: I'm mostly Wraith, i generally avoid Terror Radius stuff.
- Dead Man's Switch: If they stop repairing, that's usually because there's a reason to not be repairing anymore, like going to save someone, or run away from you, so denying their ability to repair that Generator probably means little. Also, it only works on Obsession hooking, so if they're dead and there's no way to switch Obsessions, that's it. (Additionally, not a big fan of Obsession Perks.)
- Dying Light: Obsession needs to be alive.
- Hex: Huntress Lullaby: Dependant on Hex location, also dependant on Survivor's skill.
- Hex: Ruin: Dependant on Hex location.
- Overcharge: Nice for gen-tappers, but otherwise it's dependant on Survivor's skill. (I'm not skilled at Survivor at all, but last match that had Overcharge, i hit all occurrences of Overcharge's Skill Check, including the first surprising one.)
- Remember Me: Late game only, not my preference.
- Sloppy Butcher: Got an Add-on that does just that, but it's also not much of an increase. (It adds like 3.2 seconds.)
- Surge: Kinda cool, but you're not gonna get anything if you down someone away from Generators or near untouched Generators. (Also, personally wish there wasn't a cooldown, but oh well.)
- Thanatophobia: Just not my style to get everyone Injured, i like going for one until they're hooked.
- Thrilling Tremors: Almost not even a slowdown Perk, but because it can block those that someone left immediately after seeing me down a Survivor, i'll count it just in case. Anyway: Meh, all they have to do is repair for a millisecond longer while i'm picking someone up, then it won't be blocked at all and i'm on a long cooldown.
- Unnerving Presence: Dependant on the Survivor's skill, also Terror Radius Perk, so nah.
Pop Goes The Weasel was my choice before the Hex: Ruin change & before its own buff, it suits my playstyle too well, since i always want the Survivors on a hook.
And it's (up to) 20 seconds gone in just 1 kick, don't mind if i do.
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The OP's post is also operating under the belief that the killer is playing extremely optimally and the stars are all aligning for them... That or the killer is hacking lol. Even Freddy takes time to teleport to a gen and he can't be sure that the gen wont be finished by the time he gets there or that the gen is even worth popping.
As for your post it also assumes that the killer is playing optimally and that they can make it back to that important gen without it finishing and without sacrificing time or other opportunities. It's also not always a great idea to be doing that cuz while you're only focusing on that 1 gen there's probably 2 other gens being worked on. Assuming that 1 person is on the hook, you've scared one person away from the gen you're kicking and the other 2 are steadily chipping away at 2 other gens.
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