Simplifying perk descriptions

Trwth

Hi. I'm a writer just as I am a game designer (aspiring, at least). I doubt I'm the only one whose noticed that BHVR has a habit of explaining things really... strangely, sometimes. Or tend to overcomplicate an otherwise simple description. I'm here to alleviate that, for fun! Because even the slightest grammar imperfections irk my very soul. On with the things!

Some of these will be trimming the fat, while others will be small changes to better convey the perk's function to newer players (as all the numbers and statistical complexes may be intimidating to look at). None of the perk's effects have changed (even if they need them).

Reasoning behind things

Static Values

For the sake of simplicity, all perks that cause you to break into a sprint will flat-out say so instead of saying "sprint at 150% of your normal running speed" just because it's much easier to understand, and also because all related perks have the same value, so there should not be any confusion from the player's perspective.

This is also true forperks like Deliverance and We'll Make It since the perk value is always 100% across all tiers. To make the perk's effects clear, it's easier to say its effect using emboldened words to not intimidate newer players (I actually thought We'll Make It doubled your movement speed when I first read it; how wrong I was).

Examples:

Deliverance

After safely unhooking an ally, you are guaranteed to unhook yourself during the first hook stage.

Unhooking yourself via Deliverance causes you to become Broken for 100/80/60 seconds.

Flip-Flop

You have an uncanny ability to escape the inevitable.

When downed, half of your recovery progression is converted to wiggle progression once you're picked up by the Killer, up to a maximum of 40%/45%/50% wiggle progression.

Adrenaline

You are fuelled by an overwhelming amount of energy when on the verge of escaping.

When the exit gates are powered, ignoring Exhaustion, you heal one health state, wake up, and break into a sprint for 5 seconds.

Adrenaline causes Exhaustion for 60/50/40 seconds.

Adrenaline will be on hold if you are being carried or on a hook.

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Stating the Obvious

This goes for cooldowns, perks deactivating, and other little details that don't really need to be highlighted in the text. People know what cooldowns are and how they work, so there's no need to tell the player every single condition that needs to be met in order for the perk to work properly.

This especially goes for Inner Strength and Second Wind. Being Broken means you can't heal, so there's no need to remind the player that in the perk's description.

There's also a lot of "(blank) activates" and "(blank) deactivates." Only if you need to specify the conditions of the perk deactivating must you include it in the description, which you usually don't.

Examples:

Inner Strength

You look inward and trust your instincts when you feel lost and alone.

Each time you cleanse any totem, Inner Strength becomes available to use once.

While injured, hide in a locker for 10/9/8 seconds to heal yourself back to full health.

Trail of Torment

You guide your victims along a path of pain and punishment.

After kicking a generator, its aura is revealed in yellow to all Survivors and you become Undetectable.

Trail of Torment's effect ends when a Survivor takes damage or the highlighted generator's regression is interrupted.

Trail of Torment has a cooldown of 80/70/60 seconds.

Repressed Alliance

You're accustomed to being hunted by malicious forces, and you've learned to use it to your advantage.

After repairing generators for 80/70/60 seconds, Repressed Alliance becomes available.

Press the Active Ability button while repairing a generator to call upon the Entity to block it for 30 seconds. The auras of generators you block are revealed to you and your team in white.

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Lack of Conjunction (trimming the fat)

This one's the most prominent grammatical flaw I've noticed in the perk's descriptions, which is the biggest reason why I did this in the first place. A lot of different perks' effects can be listed in three sentences or less without leaving out any important details. For the People is a big one. Its description takes up a quarter of the screen when its effect is pretty straightforward.

There's also perks that have outdated information, or pieces of info that don't need to be mentioned. Just some extra fat that can be remedied easily.

Examples:

For the People

You risk life and injury for others.

Only when at full health, press the Active Ability button while healing an ally (without a med-kit) to instantly heal them one health state... at the cost of injuring yourself, becoming Broken for 110/100/90 seconds, and becoming the obsession.

• Decreases your chances of becoming the Killer's obsession when the trial begins.

Mettle of Man

Evil always has a way to find you.

After taking 3 Protection Hits, you gain Endurance for as long as you are injured.

After losing Endurance and then healing to full health, your aura is revealed to the Killer when they're outside of a 12/14/16 meter range.

Mettle of Man can be activated again after getting downed.

Overcharge

You are fuelled by your hate for progress.

Kick a generator to overcharge it. When a Survivor attempts to repair an overcharged generator, they are immediately faced with a difficult skill check that results in an additional 3%/4%/5% regression penalty if they fail it.

Knock Out

The trauma caused by your brutal attacks makes crying for help painfully difficult.

Downing a Survivor with a basic attack causes the following effects:

• Their aura is hidden from Survivors outside of 32/24/16-meter range.
• For the next 15 seconds, they're afflicted with Blindness and crawl 50% slower.

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Shorter Description = Room for Visual Enhancements

I envision that perk descriptions can be improved upon to show statistics visually instead of being a wall of text. Not that they look bad, but I think it would be pretty sweet to have cooldowns, obsession or hex statuses highlighted at the bottom of the perk's info box. Just an idea.

Welcome to the end. I must stress that this is merely a small critique from a writer and not to bash on BHVR for not explaining their game the most efficiently. And this is also most CERTAINLY NOT something they should prioritize.

But hey, BHVR, if you like what you see, hit me up.

Quick note: I did a lot more perks than you can see, but I didn't include them because it would be way too much. I have them archived and I'll post them soon if you are interested.