Visit the Kill Switch Master List for more information on these and other current known issues: https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/kb/articles/299-kill-switch-master-list
We encourage you to be as honest as possible in letting us know how you feel about the game. The information and answers provided are anonymous, not shared with any third-party, and will not be used for purposes other than survey analysis.
Access the survey HERE!
Are boon mechanics broken or unfair?
Boons: Can be ignited infinite amounts of times, as boon totem simply turns into dull when snuffed out. Literally one perk slot out of survivor pool of 16 per trial can affect the whole team. Each boon effect is very powerful right now. ShadowStep is my favourite, but people tend to underrate it. Circle of Healing is simply strong, but Exponential is simply broken at the moment. It's equivalent perk - Unbreakable - is one of the strongest in game, have been meta since day one of it's release and is responsible for majority of comebacks in the entire game. Having one perk slot give even stronger Unbreakable to the entire team is... I'm sorry, but if you say it's balanced in any way, I can't take you seriously.
The whole 16 vs 4 perk slots is highlighted by the boons and is especially bad in case of Exponential.
How to bring boons back into the fold?
There are two very simple solutions:
- Each survivor can bless a totem only finite amounts of time. Base amount is 2 and each boon equipped increases it's by one. So with just one boon you can bless totem three times, but with all three boons you can do it five times per trial (So your boon based build is not useless with just bad luck). It checks out theme-wise as well as most witches in fantasy use some kind of rare ingredients in their spells... so survivor simply runs out of them.
- Totem breaks after being snuffed out for the third time. This would make for interesting dynamic with Hex:Pentimento
Edit: If you select "Other" please explain your reasoning...
Are boon mechanics broken or unfair? 62 votes
8 votes
10 votes
8 votes
19 votes
17 votes
Comments
-
Other
Boon mechanics are basically fine, all that's needed is to make them not go through multiple floors and to maybe look at making snuffing very slightly more impactful. Also reworking totem spawns, depends on if you count that as a boon mechanic.
Infinite reblessing is fine, Circle of Healing is the problem. Even as they are right now, if you take CoH out of the equation, having infinitely available Shadow Step and Exponential with some time investment is perfectly reasonable because one of those is strong but balanced and the other one is honestly kind of garbage- Shadow Step and Exponential respectively, there.
The infinite reblessing isn't a balance problem, it's the core design. Everything else should be balanced around that.
2 -
No, keep them as they are
Totems are fine as they are.
As for your comment on the newest boon Exponential being broken, I completely disagree. It's very under powered considering that you need a lot of criteria to be met. You need to be in its range when you get downed, the killer to NOT pick you up immediately, and for the killer to not know the boon is there. If any one of these conditions aren't met, exponential is useless to you.
As for boons being broken in general, I disagree with that as well. Survivors only typically know where 1 or 2 dull totem locations are in the map per trial, so they're gonna keep casting the boons on the same ones. This can also work as a catch 22 in the killer's favor, as he'll know where to apply pressure on map.
0 -
Other
COH shouldn't have self healing. Other than that, they're fine.
1 -
No, keep them as they are
The general way Boons work is fine. The only Boon that's actually probably overpowered at the moment is Circle of Healing, so that could use a healing speed decrease. But Shadowstep and Exponential are probably ok as is, and even if it turned out that one or the other needs adjustment they can just have their speeds or radius of effect adjusted to balance it out.
0 -
Other
Range should be dropped 4 meters to 20 meters.
The totem's sound should be audible within the entire AoE or it's aura visible to the killer within it.
You should be able to use pentimento on boon totems and not just destroyed ones, however it should be changed to be possible to bless a rekindled totem instead of just cleanse.
0 -
No, keep them as they are
Boons are fine, generally, they just need to stop Circle of Healing stacking with medkits.
0 -
Other
The only change I would make to all Boons is make it so that it only works on the floor it's on (for instance, the spreading from second floors on Midwich, The Game, and RPD).
As for direct nerfs, I would lower CoH's healing speed bonus to 80%. Healing speed should also be capped to not make CoH broken.
0 -
Other
Killers should be given the option to either break or snuff the totem, Booning should have a cooldown of some kind, and Survivors should not be able to move Boons after placing them.
You chose a bad spot? Tough, get better.
0 -
Other
I think boons are fine, but I would tone down COH.
0 -
Other
Snuffing should just break the totem. Survivors have 5 totems to bless throughout a match and would require them to be smarter about when and where they bless.
I don't like either suggestion of limited uses or having to snuff the same totem multiple times before it breaks.
This would solve the unfairness that boons currently have where killers have no real answer to them besides tunneling the survivor out of the match.
CoH likely will still need to be nerfed, but that's an individual power problem on the perk rather than a core issue with boons.
0 -
Yes, survivors should be able to bless a totem only certain amount of times
As a killer main they don't really bother me that much save for the silly healing speed, which should be capped.
0 -
Yes, survivors should be able to bless a totem only certain amount of times
always sucks when you have an swf all with boons continuously running to them for heals, no scratch marks or the unbreakable, which all can be applied on one totem btw. But if 1 or 2 solos bring boons its not as useful, also considering you need to find a totem before you bless it.
0 -
Other
Broken and unfair (the 2 are not mutually exclusive). Snuffing a boon should break the totem. That is the easiest fix.
0 -
Other
Boons are too strong and easy to abuse, especially CoH
They should work with à token system where to recover à boon token after placing it you gotta do something tied to it (for exemple: heal another survivor to recover à token of CoH)
And they shouldnt just break the hex under it, but "block it" which would create à situation where the surv choses to either boon the hex but the killer can get it back, or destroy the hex but the killer cant get it back at the loss of the totem
0 -
Other
Boons are strong and easy to abuse, if you only know 2 totem spawns per map, maybe look harder? They arent hard to miss or find out, or even to learn
The new boon is weak for à solo, but very strong in swf where, if you play with à flashlight and get downed in the open, the killer will have to lose time to get the other surv that can lead you to get up, or he risks the flashy save
Over all Boon are too strong for SWF and weak for solos but CoH is very strong for everyone and easy to abuse
0 -
Other
Your options are bad. They should break after 1 totem snuff that’s it. Taking multiple snuffs does nothing, the game is over by that point to matter at all.
0 -
Yes, survivors should be able to bless a totem only certain amount of times and it should break after being snuffed out too many times
Dude, you have an infinite resource of healing from the ground up. the problem with boons is they are an infinite resource. That's literally it. An infinite resource.
My solution is to make it so there's a ban system. The killer can select 2 maps to ban, and the killer can also pick where their hexes spawn, so they are in more control over the game. this would be awesome.
Also, they should make all big maps smaller.
Remove house of pain, or nerf it. Rework Haddonfield, Remove lots of pallets from "The Game" gideon meat packing.
Thats all they should do
0 -
Other
The problem with boons is not that they are an infinite resource, the problem is that Circle Of Healing is too strong to be an infinite resource. Shadow Step and Exponential are fine, those being infinitely relightable is nowhere near as much of a problem.
I say again, the infinite resource part is the design of the mechanic, there should at least be an attempt to balance the perks themselves around it before throwing it out.
0 -
Yes, totem should break after being snuffed out too many times
The main reason I say they should break is because that it would make hex:pentimento an actually good perk
0 -
Other
When people talk about Boon: totems, I've realized more often than not they're really only addressing Circle of Healing specifically, rather than the actual strength of Boon totems as a whole. Circle of Healing is undoubtedly the strongest and the least balanced, but the other boons that exist so far like Shadow Step or Exponential are reasonably balanced out between the effects they provide and the time investment required to set them up beforehand.
As far as the idea of snuffing out boon totems permanently goes, there are FAR many more interesting ways to balance out both Circle of Healing, and Boon totems as a whole, rather than treating them exactly like their Hex: Counterparts. Because they aren't at all like they're hex: counterparts and a few distinct differences separate their balancing philosophy- it's exactly like comparing Hillbilly to Leatherface "because they both have chainsaws!" and stubbornly INSISTING this superficial similarity means they should be treated as identical when they're clearly not.
Here are a list of interesting changes that could apply to either boons as a whole, or to circle of healing specifically.
Range reduction.
- The most obvious and straightforward solution, a large part of the issue regarding boon totems (but specifically and especially Circle of Healing) is that their effects cover far too sizable an area of the map, especially when multiple survivors are running Boon totems you can essentially blanket nearly every active zone of the map. A capability which directly contrasts the original "small safe haven" idea that boons were originally created around. This has less to do with the issue of covering vertical space as well, which is more of a strategic quirk, and more to do with the sheer radius that Boons remain active in. Reducing their range from 24m to 16m (perhaps even 12 meters if the devs are feeling bold) and would go a long way in solving these issues.
- This may be relative to individual perks. Perks like Circle of Healing are far too strong with such increased range, but perks like Shadow Step or Boon: Exponential rely almost exclusively on greater ranges to be of any use.
Totem/Perk Cooldown.
- Because Boon totems are limited by their range and setup time, they are granted the exchange of replenish-ability- this is a core component of their balance. That being boons can be reset an infinite number of times, but always at the expense of time which could have been spent accomplishing objectives like generators or saving hooked teammates. However managing expenditures in time is made easier when a single survivor can immediately re-bless a dull totem after it has been snuffed out by a killer. This is especially difficult for a killer who may need to take balance the time of cleansing multiple Boon Totems placed by multiple survivors. Providing a cooldown to boon totems will limit their active use during a match, and can be done by either a traditional cooldown system placed on the perk itself which sets it on cooldown after the associated blessed totem has been cleansed (IE 90 second cooldown). Or instead, by preventing a specific totem that has recently been blessed from being blessed again for a slightly shorter duration- that affects all survivors in the trial (IE 60 second cooldown). For example if one survivor had their totem cleansed, that same survivor or any other survivor would not be able to bless that exact same totem again themselves.
More distinct audio cue.
- Boon totems were originally created around the idea of providing a temporary breathing space for survivors- as opposed to a Hex's constant map-wide pressure. To facilitate this, "soft chimes" were added to not only allow killers awareness of a Boon being active, but the general space in which they were active as well. However, due to the complexity of certain maps, as well as vertical space also being a factor- the soft chimes that exist are often not distinct enough for a killer to be able to quickly and efficiently be able to pinpoint exactly where they are, forcing a killer to waste precious seconds to find it. Increasing the volume, predominance, and clarity of direction, of the chimes amongst the other sounds in Dead by Daylight would give killers a subtle edge and an easier time finding boons and snuffing them out.
- Separately, this may however have to do with audio occlusion bugs & issues which DBD has historically suffered from many times in the past, and less any deliberate confusing audio shenanigans on the part of the developers themselves.
Aura reveal.
- To supplement this idea of temporary safe havens, and to more easily deal with instances of "permanent boons" (where a boon is set up in an inactive area of the map without generators that a killer could / would not go searching through without sacrificing time or pressure) there is also the idea of revealing boon totems auras. After a certain amount of time has expired (90 seconds, 120 seconds, etc.) a Boon that has been attached to a totem for that duration of time will periodically have its aura revealed to the killer. This will provide killers with pinpoint accurate visual information as to the areas survivors continue to return to throughout the match and thus erasing the killers pressure. Thus giving killers the option to move directly to the totem as quickly and efficiently as possible to snuff it out.
Distance extinguish.
- In addition to the previous idea, it may be of interest to explore the option of being able to snuff out blessed totems from a distance. This would allow killers to not waste as much time crossing great sections of the map, and stay in active zones to apply pressure while also removing a safe haven area. This would likely operate on the same duration condition as the former proposal- after a certain amount of time has expired- a killer will be able to cleanse a blessed totem from further and further ranges. After 60 seconds -16m after 80 seconds - 24m, after 110 seconds - 32m, and so on and so forth. Number values are of course subject to change.
Healing speed reduction / removal.
- This is a Circle of Healing specific idea, and it's not a novel one- the strength of providing infinite self heals is strong enough without making those heals faster. Reducing the healing speed bonus from 100% down to 75%, 50%, or perhaps even removing it entirely would go a long way in taming the strength of Circle of Healing. Only allowing survivors to heal themselves in a regular time of 16 seconds and reduce the time efficiency of healing that circle of healing so easily provides.
- Reducing the heal speed of healing others may be subject to separate balancing (IE: Remove self heal speed bonus, but keep healing others at increase of 50% or 20%).
Increased time to bless totems.
- It is what it is. Little explanation necessary here, for a change that is relatively boring- just increase the amount of time it takes to bless a totem by a few seconds. Making blessing a totem a greater commitment for each individual survivor.
- A more interesting and thoughtful way to implement this change may be to increase the amount of time it takes to bless a totem every time the action is repeated. Say when you Bless a totem you gain a token, with each token the amount of time it takes to bless another totem is increased by 2 seconds, up to a maximum of X tokens. Values subject to change.
The idea for balancing boon totems to keep them in line is not to eliminate them completely from a match, but to allow killers more frequent and easier opportunities to cleanse blessed totems such that Boons have a greater amount of counterplay available to knowledgable killers who can adapt to them.
2 - The most obvious and straightforward solution, a large part of the issue regarding boon totems (but specifically and especially Circle of Healing) is that their effects cover far too sizable an area of the map, especially when multiple survivors are running Boon totems you can essentially blanket nearly every active zone of the map. A capability which directly contrasts the original "small safe haven" idea that boons were originally created around. This has less to do with the issue of covering vertical space as well, which is more of a strategic quirk, and more to do with the sheer radius that Boons remain active in. Reducing their range from 24m to 16m (perhaps even 12 meters if the devs are feeling bold) and would go a long way in solving these issues.
-
Other
Thoughtful and reasonable suggestions, it's nice to see some nuance and thought put into this topic!
I do think that at minimum, the audio cue for killers should be louder at longer ranges, so they can be more easily understood to be in the general area straight away. Additionally, I think totem spawn points should be revisited, as totems up on catwalks and such may be a little too much investment to ask of a killer- but in general I think totem spawn points need an overhaul, so that's not boon-specific.
1 -
Other
Just Circle of healing is busted, the others are completely fine.
0 -
Yes, survivors should be able to bless a totem only certain amount of times
@Leonardo1ita Personally I find the other two boon effects much more game impactful, but these are just playstyle preferences I guess.
As I see it boon perks are fine, the boon mechanics are broken
0 -
Other
Shadowstep doesn't cover blood pools, and exponential has such a small range to be effective. Trust me, Circle of healing is the strongest, there's a reason some tournaments ban it
0 -
Other
Each totem should come with a penalty to insure that stacking Circle + Exponential + Shadowstep on maps with Lery's or especially Midwich aren't as effective.
Shadowstep - While within the radius, the Killer's TR is 8m smaller to you
Circle of Healing - The totems range decreases from 24 to 12m.
Exponential - Crawling speed within the range is 15% slower.
Boons should also be able to be broken with attacks, including both melees and special attacks, such as Hatchets, Shreds, or Tentacle Strikes. They also probably shouldn't affect separate stories, because that's insane on Midwich or Game.
0 -
Yes, survivors should be able to bless a totem only certain amount of times and it should break after being snuffed out too many times
It needs to be reworked as it is right now it is broken especially COH
0 -
Other
It is so BS that survivors can bless a totem over and over again. It takes a high risk high reward mechanic from killer and makes it totally braindead on the survivor's side.
The totem should break on the first time it gets snuffed out and that's it.
0