Some things that I've noticed about flashlights.
Well, not exactly flashlights.
After going against an all rank 1 4man with three flashlights (two purple, one event exclusive), a purple toolbox, and two Twitch streamers, who gave me a lot of insight on the current state of the game, I've learned some very important things about flashlights.
- If the survivor really wants to, there is nothing the killer can do to not get blinded during the pickup animation. Break animation can potentially be negotiated, but is absolutely not worth it.
- It is impossible to tell which way you're looking while blinded.
- The blind effect persists long enough for a survivor to be picked up from off the ground, so that you see the animation finish just as you can see again.
- You can be blinded by a survivor who isn't even onscreen.
- If you have a purple toolbox with the right add-ons and build, you can sabotage like, three hooks before the killer can even carry a survivor to one.
- Not completing the final generator, and instead 99ing all three remaining, is considerably more effective than 99ing the exit gates if you know what you're doing.
- Clown is evidently physically incapable of pushing Feng out of the way, as her stance is too strong, even in a full sprint with her lungs full of bleach and chloroform, to be altered by a professional athlete/ serial murderer with a significant weight advantage.
- If the survivors are coordinated enough (read, in a group of more than one), there is literally nothing you can do to stop them from escaping right in front of you, regardless of what killer you're playing as.
- Evidently 4man SWF is such a stressful, difficult experience that, even against a rank 11, you really have to earn every single victory, and should be congratulated for the monumental amount of effort you put in.
But you probably already knew all of that.
I'm not very happy right now, if you couldn't tell. As in, "almost agreeing with a Lord Tony post" unhappy.
Sorry for wasting your time, fellow forum members. I just needed to vent a bit. Carry on with your business as usual.
EDIT: I wanted to respond to some of the advice I was given here.
"Listen for footsteps." The survivors knew what they were doing. The chase music drowned them out during a chase, and they crouched while moving once the chase was over.
"Just face the wall during pickups." Now why didn't I try that before? Maybe it was because the blind cone is way wider than the FoV, so when I literally had my face clipping into a wall they could still blind me. Or maybe it was that whenever I downed a survivor they would crawl out into a dead zone with the minimum possible walls.
"Just run Franklin's." I didn't have Franklin's unlocked on that killer.
"Just run Lightborn." I've wanted to get Lightborn for a long time, but I still don't have it unlocked. I bought the game after Hillbilly was nerfed into the ground, so I almost never play him.
"Just run Starstruck." Don't have it. As far as I know it hasn't appeared in the Shrine, and there is no way in hell that I'm buying Trickster.
"Just defend generators if they were being 99ed." How helpful. They were all on opposite corners of the map. And I wasn't playing a mobility killer.
"SWF tend to be altruistic. Just camp them." I did that. The only thing I could do to keep any progress whatsoever was to literally stand on top of a slugged survivor looking straight down. Barely helped.
"Just turn your camera away when they try to blind you." Oh, really now? Why didn't I just do that? I was just looking in one direction for the whole match! If only I wasn't such an absolute newb! Just... how was that even theoretically going to be helpful?
"Points 7 and 8 are complete garbage and have no meaning." Literally just bodyblocking. If survivors bodyblock for their injured friend when the gates are open, there is literally no chance of you downing any of them unless you play Oni (don't have him) or Hillbilly (basically garbage unless you have an obscene amount of experience), and even then odds are you'll only get one.
"Flick around just before you pick the survivor up." I might do this at some point in the future. It wouldn't have helped in this case, but is actually good advice. The reason I say it wouldn't have worked is because one of the two standing flashlight user would hide and then run over whenever I started the animation, never coming out until it actually starts.
Comments
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Most of the time I'm blinded, it's from an offscreen survivor. And I'm assuming the playing as SWF thing is sarcasm because it's the easiest way to win in this game, even more than playing Nurse.
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Yeah, I was being sarcastic.
Nurse takes skill, and can't just make 12 consecutive misplays within thirty seconds without any consequences whatsoever.
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I get blinded from the most BS angles. I remember once getting blinded during a pickup, and I was like "HOW THE HELL DID THEY GET THAT BLIND?" Like they might've blinded my right eye, but no way they hit my left.
Though there is ONE thing a killer can do to avoid a blind: Run Lightborn.
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Run Starstruck. Really scares survivors away, I love that perk. No one tries to be a hero, or none of that. No bodyblocking, or flashlight saves.
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- Lightborn and looking at walls works out great.
- When blinded, you don't have your head forcibly turned. You're looking in the exact same direction you were right before getting blinded.
- You're allowed to turn away from the light.
- Flashlights fire a beam that travels a distance and at an angle. Survivors can be hit by hatchets even if the huntress isn't on their screen.
- Toolboxes don't have anything to do with flashlights. You also walk faster than the survivors trying to sabo. You point can only be valid if all 3 other survivors are trying to sabo.
- As the killer, you can regress the generators and even attack the survivors trying to 99 them. There are also perks to help with this as well such as Surge and Oppression.
- Fanfiction at it's finest.
- Every killer has an ability called the "basic attack" that counters this.
- Most SWF groups aren't as sweaty as people think. Most are overly altruistic, which you can use against them easily.
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Yep if there is more than 1 flashy in the lobby I run Lightborn with a side of Franklin's.
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I look at walls
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I do that too unless there are no walls to look at. Also depending on the flashlight and addons don't think certain objects will save you either.
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Most of the time there are plenty of walls.
Another option is to bait out the flashlight. Act like you're going in for the grab, then flick 180 and pick them up. It gets me some funny results.
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How is it possible to make that many misplays with any killer in that amount of time? And are you of the mindset that Freddy deserves to get nerfed for being OP and too easy to use, but excuse Nurse's OPness because "she takes skill so she deserves it"? How about we just fix things that are OP regardless?
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I really do not understand why killers don't just close their eyes if they're being blinded.
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Body is 1 character too short.
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Ah the rank 11 struggle. Keep keeping at it if you enjoy the game, I rarely play killer so I’m normally green / purple but it’s normally fairly easy at that rank if you know what you’re doing. No, a 4 man SWF does not guarantee a 4 man escape, not even close, that’s some salty killer propaganda lol.
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Honestly whenever I see flashlights in a lobby I am relieved, toolboxes and medkits are much scarier. If you’re worried I would just bring infectious fright and you will always know who is nearby. Survivors that are desperate for a blind aren’t on gens or doing totems, honestly they might as well be on your side since they’re not concerned about furthering their own objectives.
Overall just try to keep aware of your surroundings and listen for footsteps behind you during chase and swing your camera every once in awhile to see if a would-be flashlighter is ready to get the save.
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I had a match where there was just one flashlight and I got blinded several times lol now I just bring lightborn whenever I see a flashlight.
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