Mid-level plateau and demoralization
So, I encounter SWF groups and when I stick around and play and (of course) do terribly because they're coordinating intel via voice chat, in the end game lobby they go "lulz too ez". When I can tell they're SWF and quit they go "lulz rage quit loser". If I can tell in the lobby I disconnect which has been exceptionally painful given killer queues are upwards of five minutes now. When I don't tunnel them or camp them, they teabag me at pallets, and if I do play toxic as a result they complain about that. The complaints about camping are there in defiance of any intel I have- if Whispers or BBQ indicates they're within 40 meters and most likely on the way to unhook I get called a "f--king facecamper" even though I'm running around, checking all the corners, taking down all thrown pallets, and reloading whatever I need to for abilities. Flashlight flicking or gesturing at me is also a pr-ck move. I encountered all these behaviors at lower ranks but it's been dialed up to 11 now that I'm mid-to-high tier (encountering 1-3 red ranked survivors in every match).
I really do my best to not be a toxic killer- as I said, I don't facecamp (though if you want to call what I described proxy camping that's fine, I guess...), I only tunnel if the recently unhooked is the only person I see when I loop back to the hook (which undercuts any claims I'm a camper anyway). And with so many SWFs at higher ranks, there could be two gens done by the time I encounter anyone for any meaningful amount of time.
I don't care about getting 4 kills. I'll totally eat it on kills to not play with a bunch of toxic survivors and give them a fun and thrilling game. But the way these folks play it really does make me want to quit. Do a lot of people hit this plateau as killer? I'm not angry, but I am despondent.
This feels like a split between the recent mid-tier players and the red ranks who maintain the red ranks because they've been playing for 1000+ hours. I only have 100ish and while I think I've done well (between rank 8 and 7) if it keeps up like this I doubt I'll want to stay. It definitely feels like Behavior is maintaining two tiers of play, and now breaking into high tier from low tier is basically impossible.
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Unfortunately you'll see this kind of antagonistic behavior ten fold in the high ranks. Its rampant. The only advice I could give is try and ignore it. They want to trigger you. Get you to make mistakes. The really toxic ones will want you to chase them so the others can do gens.
You need a thick skin as a red rank killer otherwise this sort of behavior will drive you nuts.
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This kind of BM and toxicity are basically core parts of DBD. If you want to keep playing Killer and enjoy it, you will not only have to work on improving your skill constantly but also on finding ways to deal with BM. There is no way around it since it´s so prevalent.
Dwight_Fairfield is right, having a thicc skin is neccessary to being able to play Killer.
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Thank you for the reassurance I'm not crazy, and the supportive words. The thing is I expect a higher level of play at higher ranks, obviously. I just don't play this game to be the target of a 4- person psyop designed to break my soul.
Again, not angry. Despondent.
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I understand, and so does anyone who plays killer. We get your frustration. Heck we've all been there at one point I'd say. I know I have. With higher levels of play you get bigger egos and therefore more toxicity. I play both sides, but I play more survivor than killer, and I know for a fact survivors are far more toxic. Of course you can and do get toxic killers, it swings both ways, but more often than not survivors bring the toxicity first.
So many times I've seen killers play fair, lose the match, and my team mates will sit at the gate tea bagging, clicky clicking, fast vaulting the nearest pallet over and over at the killer. Its really disheartening.
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If someone's dumb enough to pretend they don't have a massive advantage, if they genuinely believe they earned anything the game gave them, then what do you care? They're clearly too stupid to have a rational exchange, and they clearly need the petty victory because no-ones giving them much-needed attention IRL.
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I care because I want to provide fun, and the collaborative effort of a fun game is being undercut by angry angry people.
As I said I don't need to kill anyone, but I do want some thrilling chases, a fair number of hooks spread across the survivors, and, following that, a close shave of an escape. Kills should be the result of misplays or good plays by the killer, not a knife fight in a grimy alley with biting.
Five minutes of stealth gens (with diligent patrolling) followed by "lol fukken loser git gud" didnt provide a good time to anyone.
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Try taking a break and playing survivor or a different game. Then go back to killer.
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You'll never get better at all if you only tunnel and camp people you suspect of being SWF.
I can't tell you the amount of times I've had a player who is "so sure" in end-game chat that we're SWFers when I know I'm at least solo.
Also, still not sure why everyone is so sensitive about T-Bagging & Flashlight flicking, it has zero effect on the game and you need to move past it.
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If it’s any consolation, although most top tier SWF teams are bloody hard work, they’re usually also the most predictable survivors to go against, and that CAN be used against them.
Observe and take note of recurring behaviours across suspected SWF. For example: when I highly suspect SWF I usually slug more aggressively because there is almost ALWAYS a team mate that can be found close by either waiting for a flashlight save, or to follow me to a hook.
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Just turn your emotions off- say, "brain, end emotions.exe", and POOF, you'll be a killer robot.
...what do you mean you can't turn your emotions off? Oh, right...because you're human, and that's okay.
Hang in there, man. I made a frustration rant the other day covering pretty much these same issues. Also, don't be afraid to play a little dirty to get a point across- things like an early-game mori tend to let survs know you're not messing around, and puts them on edge.
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I keep trying to dig my emotions out with a salad fork but my pre-frontal cortex keeps getting in the way. 😄
In all seriousness, appreciate your backup. And counter-playing toxicity with more toxicity doesn't make me feel great. I think it's the fact that I can't retroactively gear up a Mori for a team that was already sh-tty to play against. At that point I'm just taking it out on the subsequent team. I don't feel good about that.
I don't know. Behavior seems to be of the "gear the game to survivors" mindset, which makes sense from a raw numbers perspective. You need four times as many survivors as any one killer. But that makes killers service providers in some ways, and if we're dispensing murder-based customer service, then Behavior needs to up their game to cut down on survivor toxicity.
That's not to say that killers aren't toxic, of course, but (going by Dwight's earlier comment) it seems much more endemic in survivors.
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Thanks for that insight. Solid advice. Though that'll probably land me on their sh-t list for slugging or camping but hey that'll happen no matter what, right? 😝
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If killers are murder-providers...toxic survs are Karens. That explains everything.
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Are you a clown main?
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We've cracked the code! 😯
Though frankly I'm smugly self-satisfied with the whole "murder-based customer service" thing. 😝
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I love playing Clown but I'm still figuring the game out. I've also enjoyed Myers, Doctor, Legion, and Freddy.
Why do you ask, out of curiosity?
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Correct. Unless you’re slugging and then just staring at them on the floor for no good reason, then slugging isn’t against the rules.
Many killers refuse to acknowledge that it’s actually a very necessary pressure tactic against higher ranks.
Do whatever it takes to keep Survivors occupied or incapacitated, and off of gens.
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I don't think this behavior is something that is attached to a rank or a role. You could say that you probably see it in more experienced players because they understand the game, whereas someone who is brand new is going to try to "play the game" rather than get cocky with emotes and item usage.
Everyone has their reason for doing whatever they do, regardless of whether it is actual gameplay or just insignificant as emoting to get something out of you. They do not care that you played "fair", they do not care that you dc. In my opinion, it is not up to you to try and dissect their behavior during the match. That is too exhausting and I would rather have fun than put myself in that situation. Don't let their bad sportsmanship get a reaction out of you, especially because it often will lead to you making mistakes.
Just my 2 cents.
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You´re so right. When I´d flip you the finger and spit ever so slitghtly in front of your feet it wouldn´t affect you either, right? Only the most pathetic snowflakes would feel anything about that.
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lmao, ok buddy.
Learn the difference between video games and real life. If you can't see the difference between someone spitting at you in real life and someone spamming CTRL on their keyboard to make their character go up and down you're always going to be offended and upset.
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Maybe it's a regional thing, but at least where I'm at (Western US, dunno how well they segment regions) this kind of thing falls WAY off at higher ranks. The green and weaker purple ranks seemed to be where I found the most salt. Red ranks is pretty much just gg by both sides no matter the outcome, with maybe some light sympathy if a match went poorly for one side.
It's not some Utopia, of course, some guy was playing like a dingus earlier and kept ending up wherever I was, and wasn't very good at looping, so he died first. He waited until the match was over to complain that I had tunneled him "because I didn't like Trump" (dude's name had Trump in it, but I hardly notice these things as I'm, you know, playing the game) and then he proceeded to go on like a 10 minute long rant until the chat server died about how California was killing Arizona and how Arizona wants to go to war with California, it was the most batshit crazy nonsense I'd ever seen, and at first I thought he was just doing it to meme before election time, but the way he kept going and going and going makes me think he may have been a little unhinged.
That said, I found it amazingly entertaining!
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As someone from that state, allow me to say us desert-dwellers would disown am angry little man such as that. There's a difference between wanting a fun game and losing one's sh-t about it. I just want to have some fun. 😄
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It's the essential same sentiment. I'm trying to have fun and someone who teabags at the pallet is calling you a sh-t player. It's not pleasant to play against.
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Clown is often regarded as the worst killer in the game you can still get a 4k with him but it's a lot harder. Your icon was clown.
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Nothing in DBD can really offend me. Compared to what can happen at work, this is all fluff and candy to me. I understand though what OP is describing since it´s the ingame equivalent of my example.
Thanks to your sage advice I will from now on really put effort into learning what the difference between real life and video games is. I didn´t know there was one before!
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No, being t-bagged is not the equivalent to being spat at, that's ridiculous.
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They are correct use their heightned auteristic gameplay against them. You'd be surprised how easily they can be induced to throw themselves and even the game to save a bud. Playing both sides and being in a group i know it is very painful to leave anyone behind, which often is a weakness.
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With the tools available in-game, it´s as close as you can get. The intent and message are the same.
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You didn't read what I said, friend.
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Except not really, I could happily t-bag people all day in video games, wouldn't dare spit on or at anyone irl.
This is such a warped view of things, I guess a killer standing in front of you hitting you on the hook is basically them murdering you irl too.
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I am so sorry this happened :(!! I hate when I get a swf team because a lot of the time, they leave me on the hook to rush generators and then provoke the killer. Not all the time, of course, I'm sure I've had some fantastic teammates in a SWF, but I hate seeing someone on my team bullying other players or the killer. I don't have post game chat, but if I did, I would have stood up for you. If someone accidentally 'camps' (which you definitely didn't do, bless your soul lol <3) and explain it in chat and still bet harassed, I don't know how I would react. I also use whispers when I play killer, and I definitely look like a lost puppy following them :)!! Good luck in your next matches and I hope they're more fun than this one!
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Appreciate the sentiment, thank you. It'd just be nice to not have a game focused on try harding every now and then, y'know?
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I reckon you don´t spit at people irl because you lack the balls to do so, so you happily do it in a videogame. Classic keyboard warrior.
And yes, someone hitting me on the hook in DBD is definately the same as getting killed. It´s not BM, it´s actually murdering me. Come on you can´t be that stupid.
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Imagine saying someone lacks balls to spit on someone, imagine thinking you're a big man because you'd spit on someone, lmao.
Nope dude, it's definitely basically the same, it's the closest comparison obviously, if tbagging someone across a pallet is the same as assaulting someone irl, hitting them with a machete is basically murder.
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Imagine putting words into someones mouth they never said.
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Ok, buddy.
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The best is when you are facing that kind of SWF and you're on wreckers Haven for the 20th time in one day. I sure would like to see the other maps for a change.
Granted I don't have discordance or some of the other killer perks yet (on the grind for it), there have been games today where I literally hit a few of them and they are f*cking gone hahah. Lithe and GONE lol. Spawning in the good loops for them too lol, it can be very demoralizing, believe I know. Through my frustrations I realized something beautiful: laughter.
Ya know when sh*ts bad irl and you just have to laugh? Same thing. Once you identify what kind of scenario you're in, work with yourself and give yourself credit. Laugh it off and try to focus on one aspect to help get yourself better. Lately, mind games is a tricky situation, takes alot of practice and experience.
What I have started to do, and it's actually helping my sanity against these toxic groups and 'try hards', I focus on one survivor who's the next Berry Sanders and make that my goal of the game: down em. because lord knows I am not going to get to the other side of Wreckers Haven in the time it will take to bring this f*cking big booty Jane to justice and on that hook.
Also another piece of advice, ranks are kind of deceiving, in the respects of it being meaningful. Past games have taught us and molded us to understand that rank comes with prestige, glory, some kind of end season reward and goodies. All you are getting at the end of a season is a chunk of BPs, that's it. So don't let it demoralize you, it was getting to me and I was getting worked up because of it but I realized that the best killers, have thousands of hours, everything unlocked and have grown past seeing red.
Keep ya chin up :)
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I've become numb to that stuff.... Which is not good
Like "Wow, you spent that time typing a message I won't even react to"
They spend all that time typing that stuff so don't give it the time to read it
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Your icon was clown so I wondered if you might be a clown main and it's harder to get kills with clown. Sorry if I sent the wrong message.
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Funnily, the toxicity gets less if you play toxic. Tunnel, camp, and mori, and they wont be as toxic as they are when they are winning.
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I would hope that you wouldn't teabag someone in real life either.
Unless they consent.
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Consent is key. 😄
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I like to think of the survivors I play against as a helping tool toward getting better. I don't care about them teabagging or clicking, I'm playing the game to accomplish a personal goal, which is getting better at a certain killer. More often than not, their behavior is mere projection. It's nothing personal against you, it's just them being bad sports.
As harsh as it sounds, at the end of the day they're just random nobodies on the internet to you. So why care?
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Since this behavior is prevalent in the game's, "Brand Ambassadors," I can only assume this antagonism is the intended result of the game's gameplay loop.
The Us. vs. Them that so many players fall into is also intended, the their of victory, the shame of defeat, the BMing, all just as planned.
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