Suggestions for Core Game Changes and some Perks (Be warned, this is long)

Z_Xelle

Disclaimer: We need to remember that implementing any change will more than likely cause new issues to arise. That being said, it is up to us, and our responsibility, to address those problems and then discuss them accordingly. This post was also originally a word document that I had worked on for a stream, so there may be lacking context in some regards.

Although there are a multitude of directions the game can take, addressing base problems of the game can lead to a more stable foundation. THEN, we can make specific changes towards more impactful things.

All of these are debatable, however, should at least be considered as a starting point.

Out of game changes

-Level 1 Killers and Survivors should start with 3, or 4, perk slots.

-------To help newer players, the 4th perk slot could be a freebie of a generic information perk such as Premonition or Spine Chill for Survivors, and Whispers for Killer. (This kinda opens up the discussion on whether we should retain Perk levels, but either way, with the current system in place, it punishes players who want to try new things. (Imagine trying to learn a new killer in Red Ranks. This is ultimately to help everyone, regardless of play time and rank.)

-Add-ons and offerings should be allowed to be sold, even if for half or 1/3rd of the price. This can then offer more insight as to what people run (especially Add-ons for Killers), as well as assist new or veteran players in the grinding process (especially if there are things they don't plan on ever using). (With how much grinding the game has, this may be a way to alleviate this.)

-There needs to be different ranks for each Killer (example, your Trapper could be Rank 1, but your Wraith could be Rank 5). This way, players are encouraged to try out new killers without needing to worry about completely being stomped/losing due to inexperience (especially in instances when using lower level Killers). There can potentially be increased speed in ranking up based on the ranks of your other Killers.

-For Survivor with Friends, there needs to be a pre-game, or post-game indicator of if they exist in your match. This way, Killer players can learn on behavioral patterns, and conversely, Solo players can know if they have SWF in their team and also learn on behavioral patterns. (This should be self-explanatory. And although SWF bring up a whole new slew of balance issues, that is going to be saved for another discussion.)

-Offerings that are considered "Secret" should not be shown on the offering screen. (Considering how few offerings there are that are labeled as "secret", it's not very difficult to figure out which offering it is.)

-If a Tome Challenge requires the use of certain Survivors, Killers, or Perks, they should be "rented" to the player for that challenge only. (This is mainly focused towards newer players, but currently, new players are punished for not only for not having enough shards to buy Survivors and Killers, but also for not immediately buying the chapters along with the game (and with how many chapters there currently are, it adds up). To sum it up: if the challenge is active, that Killer/Survivor/Perk is unlocked, once that challenge is deselected, then they are gone.)

-There should be a sub-menu that lists all current maps, and statistics about said maps (this ties into gen repair times mentioned in the General section).

General in-game changes

-Generators should, at base, take longer to complete. (As of now, 1 person currently equals 80 seconds) Personally, I recommend 120 seconds (moving to 100 for 2 Survivors, 80 for 3, 60 for 4). However, it can be debated that larger/smaller maps should have increased or reduced repair times. (Although there are CLEARLY some maps that are too large, having a variance on generator repair time can open the doors to maps of varying sizes. That being said, the minimal repair time should be 80 seconds, but only on the smallest map(s) (Coal Tower and maybe Hawkins comes to mind)).

-Kicking/Damaging a generator should regress at the same speed that it is repaired by a single survivor (if the gen is repaired at 1 c/s, then it needs to regress at 1 c/s). (As of right now, kicking a generator without a perk is a waste of time. With how slowly it currently regresses, it's arguably detrimental to spend the time to vanilla kick a gen. With this change, it actually encourages damaging a generator. It should be noted however, that some perks, like Hex: Ruin, might need to be adjusted, but not by much. But even then, that's a different discussion altogether).

-Keys and Mori's should only work after all generators are completed. (Further explanations in the following sections).

--------Closing the Hatch should will still force end-game collapse.

-The Hatch can be seen once the game begins, but cannot be interacted with until all gens are completed. (This ties into Key and Mori change suggestions; spoiler alert, I suppose).

In-game Survivor changes

It should be noted that these are only base changes, and that there are perks that should also be reconsidered in functionality.

-Borrowed Time, or a reduced version of it, needs to be a base-line action. This is to prevent immediate re-hooking due to someone else's mistake. (To elaborate, there are cases where someone else's actions can be your own undoing. This may ultimately be to help newer players, but can also help with anti-tunneling. With this addition, players can more confidently rescue someone without fear of screwing over teammates).

-When opening Exit Gates, it should regress back to 80, or 90%. and/or, it should take longer to open entirely (60 seconds if there is no regression). and/or, can be changed depending on: Distance between Exit Gates, Map Size, or Current location of the Killer (increasing if further away).

------Addendum to Exit gates: there should be four levers at each gate, reducing the time it takes to open said gate if multiple people are working on the door. Or, the time to open can be reduced based on number of remaining Survivors. 

-If 60 seconds is the new base, then it should be...

(The first number represents number of survivors opening gate with 4 people alive; the second number represents the total amount of time the Exit Gates take in order to be opened.)

-60 seconds for 1 survivor with 4 alive, 15 seconds for 1 survivor with 3 dead.

-45 seconds for 2 survivors with 4 alive, 30 seconds for 2 survivors with 2 dead.

-30 seconds for 3 survivors with 4 alive, 45 seconds with 3 survivors with 1 dead.

-15 seconds for 4 survivors with 4 alive, 60 seconds with 4 survivors with 0 dead.

-After the match, there should be a phrase or word that determines if the Survivor has De-Pipped, Black-Pipped, Single, or Double-Pipped. 

(Forgotten Sacrifice, Common Sacrifice, Hardy Sacrifice, Rebellious Sacrifice if killed. 

Deserter, Lucky Escape, Clean Escape, Flawless Escape if escaped from the trial.) (This is honestly just optional, and the names can be replaced with something else, but it might be a nice touch nonetheless, especially considering you can still rank/de-rank regardless of getting killed or escaping).

-Keys should only be functional after all gens are completed. Furthermore, an animation and action of unlocking the hatch should be implemented (5, 10, or 15 seconds minimum). Once the hatch is open, as always, anyone can escape through. (This may be controversial, but hear me out. Although Keys and Moris do bring a lot of issues to the game, I believe there is still a healthy way to have them in the game. This is so that games cannot be ended prematurely, and rewards Survivors for doing what they need to. If everything on here were to be implemented at once, then Keys would allow for a third option for escaping at the end. Although this may ultimately be a nerf to keys, it should lead to more healthy gameplay, especially considering changes to hatch that were mentioned earlier).

-Keys should no longer be found in chests. Or, broken keys can be found (without black-lock opening add-ons), and turn into full keys once the match is over. (Self-explanatory, although, could potentially lead to an influx of keys).

-Keys should be secret offerings. Broken keys should be items. (This way, Keys and Moris can officially be on the same level, and then can be balanced accordingly).

In-game Killer changes

It should be noted that these are only base changes, and that there are perks that should also be reconsidered in functionality. Although there are many Killer changes that should happen, it may be best to fix the base mechanics before making any specific changes towards killers.

-Monstrous Shrine, or a reduced version of it, needs to be a base-line action. There should be more reward to hooking Survivors in the basement. (As of right now, Monstrous Shrine is really only useful for basement-centric builds, with some exceptions. With this change, however, it would make staying near the basement more of a threat to Survivors).

-Mori's should only be functional after all gens are completed, but should no longer be used on someone who has Hook Phase 2 available. (It can be debated on if they can be allowed to be used on Survivors who are on their death hook before the generators are completed. However, this is another change in order to prevent the match from being ended prematurely).

-Hex perks should not light up if they are not currently being used. (For example, Hex: Third Seal not being lit-up if you have yet to hit a Survivor; Hex: Devour/Huntress' Lullaby should not be lit-up if you have yet to obtain a stack on them). (Self-explanatory, however, this is mostly to prevent instances of perks being destroyed before they are even used or useful. Yes, Hexes are suppose to be high risk/high reward, however, it makes little sense for them to be openly seen before doing anything).

Perk Changes

These are optional to go along base changes, however, it could be a start as to modernizing certain perks to today's standards, and/or, simply adjusting power-level and viability.

-Hex: Undying should swap secondary effects with Hex: Thrill of the Hunt, causing Undying to give a notification when Survivors work on totems and Thrill to reveal auras. (This is ultimately to reduce the power of Undying and hopefully make Thrill more desirable, even as an information perk).

-Premonition should reveal the Killer's aura (even stealth/undetectable Killers) for up to 3, 4, or 5 seconds when activated (cooldown remains intact), Spine Chill should not work on Undetectable Killers and should not give stat increases. (As of writing this, Premonition doesn't really have a use (unless someone has found one), as it is simply out-classed by other perks. By allowing this change, it brings a new kind of utility. As far as Spine Chill, it currently goes against everything that certain Killers are meant to do: look at Survivors (Myers and Ghost Face come to mind). Although there IS counterplay to Spine Chill (moonwalking), it still destroys some killers more than others. (There are other perks that have this problem, but that is another discussion)).

-Decisive Strike can remain at 1 minute, however, should deactivate upon: Healing others, touching a Generator, touching a Totem, interacting with Lockers, opening Exit Gates, or opening the Hatch. It will NOT be deactivated upon: Opening Exit Gates if you're the last Survivor, Opening Hatch if you're the last Survivor, or being healed by a teammate or healing yourself. (DS can still be an anti-tunnel perk, however, there is little justifiable reason why a Survivor should be able to progress the state of the game while also remaining effectively untouchable. As for the actions that don't deactivate DS, it can allow DS be used as a "last chance" to escape.)

-Object of Obsession should only work if both the Survivor and the Killer are looking directly at each other. (Although OoO is notorious, this may be the best way to make it a healthy perk. With this change, it allows the Killer to deny the effects of OoO, as well as open the doors to counterplay opportunities (moonwalking, looking off to the side, etc)).

TLDR: There is no TLDR, please read at your leisure.