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Dark Devotion — A Nerf Disguised As A Buff
There's a new developer update, which means new things to complain about!
I'm personally fine with most of the changes. The base kit Killer buffs are nice, and so is the Survivors' built-in Borrowed Time. Others have already made posts about the base kit changes and the nerfed meta perks, which isn't what I'm here to talk about. Instead, I'll be focusing on just one of the "buffed" perks — Dark Devotion.
In case you don't know what this perk does:
This is absolutely one of my favourite perks. The combined stealth/confusion aspects of the perk are incredibly fun, and can lead to some great jumpscares. The perk description is a bit confusing, as it omits a few things.
The Undetectable status effect only lasts for those 20/25/30 seconds. This timer also functions as the perk's cooldown — if you hit the Obsession again while Dark Devotion is active, the effect will not be renewed. If there are 2 seconds left on the effect when you down the Obsession, you will not get it again.
I was super excited when I saw the list of perks being changed, hoping that this awesome perk would get a nice buff, even something small like a few extra seconds of duration. Sadly, the developer update gave me the complete opposite.
Sounds like a buff, right? If you don't use this perk (and let's be honest, barely anyone does) it seems to be a good change. The perk can now be used on Killers with Special Attacks. Hillbilly, Huntress, Blight, Legion — I'd assume it even works on Trapper's traps and Plague's infection. However, this "inclusivity" is not a good thing.
The most efficient use of this perk, in my opinion, is to slug the Obsession. You down them, and immediately go looking for another Survivor, using your Undetectable status to get a free hit, or even a grab. During this time, other Survivors will likely be too scared to heal the downed Obsession (unless they're a SWF, which counters this perk pretty hard), as they can hear the fake Terror Radius any time they get close.
This strategy is most effective on Killers with a Special Attack. You use Shred/Vile Purge/Ambush Dash/Feral Frenzy/whatever to get the Obsession injured without activating Dark Devotion, and then down them with a Basic Attack. You can then use your stealth to make some fun plays, as stated above.
With the proposed perk change, this strategy will become redundant.
You injure the Obsession, and Dark Devotion activates. Let's say the chase lasts for 20 more seconds, and you manage to down them. Adding your attack cooldown, you have maybe about 7 seconds left of the effect... which is completely useless, and will give no value whatsoever.
Your other choice is to injure the Obsession, and purposefully make the chase last 30+ seconds. This is a huge waste of time for the Killer, and avoiding hitting the Survivor may give them the chance to reach another loop, prolonging the chase more than you'd like.
All in all, this is a really bad change. So, what can be done about it? I have 3 suggestions of varying quality.
- Just... don't go through with the change. This is the most boring alternative, and certainly not the best way to deal with it, but I'd rather have them leave it alone than ruin the perk.
- Have Dark Devotion only activate upon downing the Obsession. This would make the perk work on Killers like Hillbilly and Cannibal, and generally work very well with my way of using the perk. However, there are people who prefer to use Dark Devotion for a more hit-and-run type of playstyle, and this alternative would make the perk useless to them. Therefore, this isn't such a good alternative either.
- This one is hat I believe to be the best suggestion — have the perk activate when the Obsession loses a health state, as is proposed, but REMOVE THE COOLDOWN. This would allow hit-and-run playstyles to work, while also not forcing you to prolong chases for slugging usage. It would make it viable on both Basic Attack AND Special Attack Killers. I can't see any flaws with this suggestion, but if you find something I've overlooked, please do tell me.
At the end of the day, I'm just some person on the forums, but with BHVR's new trend of Actually Somewhat Listening To Players, I can only hope that my feedback may be listened to — for the sake of myself and the total of 4 other people who use this perk.
Comments
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This is why the duration should be buffed to 60s. this gives time for the down+ a jump scare
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I actually use Dark Devotion combined with Dying Light quite a bit and for me this is a buff that will allow me to use that combo on killers I normally wouldn’t. For instance the way it works now Bubba can chainsaw the Obsession and be Undetectable while slugging them. Or Victor can land on the Obsession’s head and Charlotte will be Undetectable for the duration (since Victor counts as a special attack of hers). Basically anybody that is doing hit and run on or slugging the Obsession benefits if they’re a killer with a special attack.
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I think you're mistaking a nerf for 'fails to complement the specific way you use the perk'
It's more versatile now; therefore, buff.
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While I do think some added duration would be nice, 60 seconds is a bit too long, as it is an entire hook state. If you down the Obsession right by a hook, and immediately pick them up and hook them, Dark Devotion will last maybe about 50 seconds after they're hooked. In solo queue, this would stop Survivors from rescuing, possibly making the hooked Obsession hit 2nd stage for no reason. I think 45 seconds would be a nice compromise — or, alternatively, 60 seconds, but deactivated when the Obsession is hooked.
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Let me be clear, I am very aware that the perk is now better for a few specific Killers. I just wish this didn't come at the expense of its current usage. That's why I think my 3rd suggestion is perfect — it allows more Killers to get usage out of the perk, while still keeping it strong on the Killers that currently benefit from it.
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I certainly wouldn't mind losing the cooldown!
A killer I've found a ton of value with DD on is Deathslinger - since even the obsession tends to get a lot more confused trying to evade a followup redeemer shot when it sounds like the heartbeat is right on their tail. I suspect killers who have an easier time changing targets, like Deathslinger, will probably benefit more than others with this perk even in its buffed state.
An especially goofy way to apply it now will be with Trapper, since obsession stepping on a trap will activate it.
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It’s not at the expense of how I use it though was my point.
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I am quite interested in the possible usage on Trapper and Plague, though it would be very situational. I also wonder how it would work with For The People, since it both changes the Obsession and injured them.
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Wish I could say the same </3
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agreed, lose the cooldown. what is it for exactly? to prevent weird Nemesis/Furtive Chase combos with DD? let the perk breathe. XD
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Just BHVR perk design, I guess. There are a bunch of perks that I feel have unnecessary cooldowns; Blood Echo, Dragon's Grip, Hysteria, Make Your Choice, and Oppression being some of them.
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