A better NOED change
With the release of the newest developer update, we are finally able to get a glimpse of the changes to those 39 perks that were promised during the anniversary update. Among those perks resides NOED, a perk that has been a nuisance to survivors for a long time, mostly because it feels cheap and unfair, where you get punished with insta-downs regardless of the amount of totems you cleansed.
Naturally when I saw that NOED was going to be changed, I was hoping the devs would remove the annoying aspect of it. So it shouldn't come as a surprise when I say that I am disappointed that they are basically doubling down on the perk and just instead adding an in-built aura reveal to it.
For those who don't know, this is how NOED is being changed:
So as you see, it simply makes it so, after 30 seconds of activation, you will be able to see its aura from 24m meters away, slowly from 4m.
This isn't that huge of a deal when there are plenty of survivors around, say all 4 still alive, since it does make it easier to cleanse post-activation, but it does nothing if there are only 2 or even 1 survivor alive, since at that point it basically guarantees 1 or even 2 kills, which is unfair.
Instead I propose a better change to NOED. One that makes the perk still good end-game, but that still rewards players for cleansing totems of any amount.
One of the glaring issues with NOED is that you are punished regardless of how many totems you cleanse. Unless you cleanse all 5 totems, the perk still activates and gives killers free insta-downs. And if you are the only survivor contributing to cleansing totems, it feels really bad, because not all totem spots are easily visible (which is good, but not for NOED).
So I propose this change: NOED now has an effect depending on how many totems are left, similar to Hex: Pentimento.
Once active NOED receives:
- 5 totems: All survivors are exposed
- 4 totems: Gate progression speed is reduced by 20%
- 3 totems: Killers have a 5% haste effect
- 2 totems: Killers break pallets and walls 20% faster
- 1 totem: Killers cooldown for successful basic attacks is reduced by 10%
- These effects all stack, so at 5 totems you will have all of those effects.
- Once all generators are powered, all totems are blocked by the entity for 30/45/60s
These effects have been ordered in such a way that the most desirable effect is at the top, but I tried to make sure that the effects were still nice regardless of how many totems are left. Numbers also can obviously be changed later for balance purposes, but you get the idea.
With this change to NOED it will make so survivors no longer feel punished for not managing to cleanse all totems, whilst keeping NOED a good end-game perk that provides some tangible benefits.
Looking forward to hearing your feedback on this and devs, if you are reading this, I hope you change NOED to be something like this. I want you to understand that NOED is simply not healthy for the game in its current state. To feel like, just because you managed to cleanse only 4/5 totems, you are still punished just leaves people with a sour taste in their mouths. Totems are a side-objective and should remain so, but you should still feel like you made an impact on the game by removing any number of them. Nobody likes cheap kills and this is the point of such a change, to make NOED feel less cheap and more like an actual punishment for people who do not cleanse totems at all.
So devs, if you do implement a change like this, remember, NOED's exposed effect should always be the reward for 5 totems being up. It should be a punishment for not cleansing any totems by the end of the game. It's the reason the totems are blocked, it's to seal in the effects you have once the generator is completed and prevent survivors who didn't cleanse any totem from just doing one right at the end to remove the exposed.
Comments
-
I do like a perk with stacking (or in this case, regressing) effects, but this design sounds like a lot more people would escape death, which probably doesn't line up with the perk's motto.
1 -
Well, turns out that nobody escaping death isn't exactly a good mechanic for a game where one side has to try escape and the other sides job to kill. Because it makes kills feel cheap and simply a result from one single perk than your own skill. And in an online game, skill should be the thing that makes an impact.
Just because the perk's name is "No One Escapes Death" doesn't mean you have to make it in game actually guarantee you that nobody escapes death. Many perks are named something and their action doesn't exactly have something to do with the name.
0 -
One thought I've seen regarding this new change is that a survivor team wanting to control NOED risk would only need to think about breaking dull totems that are in areas that would be severely disadvantageous were NOED to spawn there - like right by a hook or near the basement.
The issue that NOED formerly had where it could spawn on the most difficult-to-find totems should be largely eliminated if not become a potential advantage, as survivors will be more likely to find the hexed totem in a more out-of-the-way location where they wont be interrupted during the cleansing.
I think it's a pretty smart change, and it also presents an acknowledgement from the devs that the current effects are entirely welcome, by their estimation.
0 -
I don't know man, I think it's keeping a perk annoying for no reason and then just slapping a "here is NOED!" to the totems aura as if people will give a damn suddenly. Plus won't help if the killer hooks you next to the totem. The game should first be fun and NOED is simply not fun, it needs to be reworked in a way that actually makes it less frustrating to go against. It just feels cheap!!!!
0 -
It's just not a fair and fun perk, getting killed by it feels cheap, especially if you actually bothered cleansing totems. Do you think people will suddenly bother looking for the totem now that they can see the aura? No, they will still just leave. And it won't help if the killer hooks you near the totem making it impossible to cleanse it.
The game should be fun and this perk makes the game unfun and most importantly unfair.
1 -
As much as I hate NOED being used as a crutch perk, I'd add a simple addon (even without this "seen at 4 meters" and "seen after 30 seconds") - just notify everyone about exposed status immediately after last gen is popped, like any other perk/addon/skill do.
0 -
Requiring all 5 totems to remain the entire match for exposed to proc? No thanks. "Wonder if the killer has NOED.. oh wait, who cares, I just cleansed a dull totem"
0 -
That is why there are other effects just as strong depending on how many totems are left. Just cleansing one totem and calling it a day won't help you, because the other effects stacked make it strong, but this way it also means it is less bullshit where you still get exposed even if you cleanse totems. Lets stop with the killer bias and get rid of undeserved kills.
0 -
Yeah except no one cares about those other effects. The main reason people use current NOED is for the instadown, not for the tiny speed boost it gives. No one will give a damn about kicking pallets faster once all gens are done, pallets should be mostly all gone by now. You gave the best 2 effects the least likely chance of making it to the end.
If you're going to give suggestions for the perk at least make it enticing. There's literally no way the match ends with 0 totem destroyed. At least one or two are going to be gone, making it pointless to bring that perk when you could bring literally anything else more useful.
0 -
Saw the totem count and already can say no. Shouldn't even have been touched.
0 -
I like this change. Being powered up in end-game with an end-game build is really nice. And since the exposed part of it can be at least more accessibly counters while still buffing the killer is pretty sweet. A bit off topic but they should probably buff Fire Up a bit as well since that perk also should be buffing the killer as gens get done but it does not do it very well.
0 -
True, Fire Up should be 8% per gen >:3
0 -
Two solo games.
First (all gens are done for 4-16)
Second
Look what an unfair and OP perk! He let the killer kill one whole survivor! Everyone knows that animators should not kill even one survivor. Absolutely dishonest perk.
0
