Scourge Hooks - Great, creative idea, but execution is poor

Ssajbambusa

I love the idea behind these perks, but there is one core issue with them: They spawn randomly. Killer can literally get no use out of these perks, just because game decided so. Sabo is other story (actually cool interaction).

Second problem is... both Scourge Hook perks killers have avaible now are not that strong anyway!

Basement hooks should be Scourge Hooks by default as this is meant to be 'the worst possible place to be hooked in' thematically. Gameplay wise it's good too as basement is not so easy to get someone hooked at unless the missplay terribly.

Trial should start with 0 Scourge Hooks and simply hooking survivor on a normal hook should turn it into Scourge one, so rng is not as impactful. If you say it's op, limit the max amount of Scourge Hooks from 4 to 3, but I don't think it's necessary.

If the above is unacceptable for some reason, simply buff the perks so they are high risk, high reward, just like hexes are (Let's be honest, most are medium reward, high risk, but you get the point).

Viamont

Personally i tink that when you use a scourge hook perk, by default all the basement ones become that type of hooks, Then up on the map 3/4 hooks are randomly turned to the same kind, that way the basement becomes a baseline to use and the upper ones as a back up. Most maps have from 8 to 14 hooks, having 4 of those doesnt sound particular bad to me

ShadowNurseZFX

https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/298242/scourge-hooks-great-creative-idea-but-execution-is-poor

dude pain resonance is so goated

Labrac

I think they should have a minimum distance between them. Right now you can have two or even three Scourge Hooks right next to each other, which usually means a great part of the map has none of them. Basement hooks should also be Scourged like you said.

Faulds

That's a pretty neat idea for sure.

sizzlingmario4

I don't agree that pain resonance isn't strong - I think it's going to be at least borderline meta. Gift of pain is weak though and should be buffed directly.

I do think they could change the rng a bit on them to make it where you can't have 4 on one side of the map and zero on the other side (as an example).

Another idea is taking the map size into account, eg. maps like Dead Dawg and Coal Tower could get away with only having 3, while Mother's Dwelling and RPD could have 5.

Ssajbambusa

@sizzlingmario4 While I agree with idea of different amounts of SHs per different map... let's be honest, bhvr aint doing this :).

jesterkind

I respectfully disagree on this one. Gift Of Pain is really mediocre, there's no denying that, but Pain Resonance is a genuinely very good perk, it's not bad at all.

As for the RNG aspect, I think tweaking that directly is a better call. Have it be more of a guaranteed spread, so you don't end up with all four on one side of the map, and I think it'll be a lot better than changing how the hooks spawn or how many there are.

Regarding basement hooks, I'd sooner see that be a rework for Monstrous Shrine to make it more of a support perk for Scourge Hooks as more of them are added down the line. Technically speaking the two we have are already slowdown and tracking, so with a few more options, theoretically a full Scourge build is possible. What I'd sooner see for Scourge Hooks as a base mechanic is having them respawn after killing someone on them, on a timer, since there are only four on the map and it's not feasible to expect the killer to simply go for another one to avoid losing that effect.

ReverseVelocity

I disagree, Gift of Pain is underwhelming, but Pain Resonance is an amazing regression perk that could honestly match up to Pop goes the Weasel in effectiveness, considering it automatically applies 15% regression to where it matters most, regardless of distance.

Ssajbambusa

@ReverseVelocity It saves time as you don't need to kick gen, yes... given the rng doesn't screw you over.