Killer Vs. Survivor: Explain the Rift Between the Sides
I've been both playing and viewing others play Dead by Daylight for years and yet every time something tends to happen that either strengthens the "killer" or "survivor" sides it tends to have one side voice concerns about being treated unfairly. I myself don't have a sword in this fight for either side but I can understand at certain points where it feels as those changes are being made recently that don't take both sides into account. For example, the coming update is having some voice opinions of once more showing favoritism to the survivors. I would say that when it comes to the most recent update so far based on the information shown that both sides are correct in a way. Most "survivor mains" will argue that the Spirit is getting a nerf that is a long time coming (which I also agree with) while buffing the Trapper as well. I ask a question to both sides.
For survivors, could you honestly say that the killer had 0 counter play as opposed to counters that were either difficult to execute, not satisfying, or just not something that you had access too, like perks? Also take into account that killers keep getting cranked out with only a handful of add-ons that actually matter or would be used, and that can vary depending on which killer?
For killers, could you say that the changes would be a nerf itself without actually testing it or has this been done to the Spirit before (I am not sure if it has myself)? Could you honestly say that the killer is weakened but isn't dead (similar to Nurse)?
TL:DR
Can someone give other examples, either by killer changes or survivor changes or buffs or nerfs that would help address why this rift exists?
Comments
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Nobody likes their favorite toy being nerfed. People complained when Undying was changed, they complained when DS was changed, they complained when Freddy was changed, they complained when Ruin was changed. People like to come here to complain, it doesn't mean that the changes aren't good for a healthier game as a whole.
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I think the rift exists for several reason...
With regards to an outcry whenever changes are made, I think it mostly has to do with the natural disparity between nerfing/buffing Killers vs nerfing/buffing survivors.
Virtually any change made to survivors & their perks effects ALL survivors across the board. Whereas, any change made to killers & their perks is only going to effect one specific killer, or the small few who actually use said perk to some success.
Thus, whenever a QoL patch takes place, the Killers feel like not enough was done, because only a few Killers were addressed. Whilst the Survivors feel like their whole world was turned upside down.
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By design we are not playing the same game. Killer and Survivor don't have the same toolset, game approach, win condition, or even the same underlying reasons to play.
When anything changes in the game one side is going to have a different response to it. The playerbase is also vast and varied in skill, game knowledge, and balance. Killers tend to focus on the competitive aspects of the game more heavily as you're the solo power role and as much as people hate to admit it when you play killer the only thing to care about is wins and losses. Changes that benefit killers often translate into perceived mechanical hurdles that may not have a direct consistent counter.
Survivors tend to focus on what feels better or more fun to deal with in regards to them. Now there are a lot of competitive survivors, but it is the easier roll to learn and you have overall less stress due to the option of teaming up with friends. Changes that benefit survivors often are just a flat negative to the killer's gameplay experience as it either involves taking away an advantageous tool or flattening out the general difficulty a killer can impose on survivors
This game's also been out 5 years and generally speaking it is more common for new killers to ship with a lot more limitations or gates on their power than in the past. Most major QoL changes tend to be more helpful to survivors than killers due to how the game has changed in terms of under the hood things like switching from p2p to dedicated server. I'm not going to say there is blatant bias or even unconscious bias because I don't feel that's the case most of the time. It's just that system changes will usually always be more beneficial to the side that doesn't require a ton of individual work. Every killer is fairly unique and takes more work and considerations. Killer changes are often more impactful, but only in relation to that specific killer.
Then there is the fact that as a collective we are probably have too much reliance on one side facilitating the other side's fun. DBD isn't a terribly interactive game in terms of what you're asked to do other than interact with your opposition. Playing Killer is fun until every game turns into a mental strain and survivor quits being fun after you've started rushing gens by default or gotten really good at running the killer. A lot of the excitement bleeds off, but at least one side has teammates to goof around with sometimes.
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A very interesting take on it. I do think that it does happen to killers as well considering the perks also get affected and are also run through all killers as well. What I would warn against is BHVR not showing to take both sides into consideration. For example, the Spirit change, while deserved gives a bit too much information to the survivor IMO at present. Directional audio is fine but visual as well but not addressing what could be done to utilize the downside of the power (the player's sight) was a bad move on their part. It seemingly tips the balance from one extreme to the other when I believe that it should have been more of a rework than just these simple changes.
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Agree 100%.
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That is a refreshing perspective to have.
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Possibly. I'll wait till I see what the "dust" looks like before finalizing my own opinion. But I expect to agree with you.
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They also said infinites were balanced and took skill 😐️
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I think a lot of the mess is skewed by SWF. My feelings on playing Killer and Solo Queue Survivor are pretty similar.
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