How to Balance Decisive Strike (fair to killer and survivor)

Dreamnomad

At the start of the match, if a survivor has decisive strike there will be 3 components randomly placed on the map that only that player can interact with. The survivor will be able to see the auras of the items. The items are a piece of scrap metal, duct tape, and a file. Once all three items are collected the survivor can spend 30 seconds combining the components. The first 15 seconds will be the survivor wrapping one end of the metal with duct tape. This action will have the audible sound of duct tape being used which the killer can hear if nearby. The second 15 seconds will be the survivor filing one edge of the scrap metal. This action will also have a distinct audible noise that the killer can hear if nearby.

Once the shiv is completed then the survivor can perform the decisive strike action if carried by the killer. Decisive Strike will no longer have any interaction with being the obsession. However, the killer will be able able to see a shiv icon on the user interface to know if a survivor has the Decisive Strike option. If a survivor with Decisive Strike available is being carried by the killer, the killer will not be able to hook that survivor until the skill check is complete. The skill check will no longer be difficult to complete.

So what does this mean for both the killer and survivor? If a survivor wants to run decisive strike they will need to run around the map collecting components for about a minute and then spend another 30 seconds combining components. This slows the game down and gives the killer a chance to do chases early game without being gen rushed too hard. If the killer catches a survivor before they have completed the shiv they won't be able to use the ability. All of this amounts to higher risk for the survivor. As such they also have a higher reward. The survivor doesn't have to worry about a difficult skill check to perform the action and they don't have to worry about being "dribbled" to the hook.

In the end, everyone gets something they want and the game is better balanced. Also, the survivor will gain bloodpoints for each item collected (around 250 seems fair) and another bloodpoint reward for completing the shiv (around 500). So all that time spent making the perk usable isn't wasted in terms of bloodpoints earned.

mcNuggets

Too much work for a simple perk.
Decisive Strike would be the most complex perk of the game.

Dreamnomad

@mcNuggets said:
Too much work for a simple perk.
Decisive Strike would be the most complex perk of the game.

Yes, it would take some work to implement. The system itself is pretty simple though. Collect 3 objects, combine them, then complete easy skill check to escape killer's grasp once per trial. This is what the perk's text would look like:

Decisive Strike - At the beginning of the trial 3 objects will be randomly placed which you can see as auras. Collect the 3 objects then combine them into a shiv. Once per trial, you can perform an easy skill check if carried by the killer to escape the killer's grasp and stun the killer for 3/3.5/4 seconds.

SnakeSound222

This seems like a buff to DS. The Survivor can see the auras of the components, so they can just run to them at the start of the match and get their DS ready in a few seconds. The skill check is also now easy to hit and the Killer can’t hook the Survivor until they attempt the skill check, meaning that this perk gives a free escape for just running around for a few seconds. 

Dreamnomad

@SnakeSound222 said:
This seems like a buff to DS. The Survivor can see the auras of the components, so they can just run to them at the start of the match and get their DS ready in a few seconds. The skill check is also now easy to hit and the Killer can’t hook the Survivor until they attempt the skill check, meaning that this perk gives a free escape for just running around for a few seconds. 

"A few seconds"? That is not a few seconds. If the survivor is brazenly running around collecting components there is a high probability that the killer will find them and hook them before they even have a chance to build the item. If they are being even halfway intelligent about collecting the components then it would take around a minute. Then another 30 seconds to build the item. In that same amount of time they could have completed a generator. And if play testing proves that it isn't giving the killer enough time then the build time could be extended.

The question you should ask yourself as a killer is "would it take me more time to chase down a survivor after they use decisive strike then it does for them to build the shiv?" Unless you are awful as a killer then the answer is no. Making this a net positive play for you as the killer in terms of time management.

KingB

Seems a bit over-complicated, the best rework would be what they had planned. Get rid of the drop but stun the killer in place for X seconds while filling X% of the wiggle bar. Map it to the secondary action button, keep the obsession mechanic aspect, and allow the survivor to instantly start wiggling.This way there is counterplay, requires skill to use, and gets rid of the get out of jail free mechanic that everyone hates.