Freddy Rework

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TLDR? Check the bottom.

I want to start this off by saying this is going to be a long read. I do want to make a YouTube video to try and shorten it. When/If I do I'll link it at the bottom.

[INTRO]

There are several Types of killers. There are teleporting killers. High Mobility killers. Even ones I consider secondary or Alt objective (obj) killers. Obviously they tend to blur these lines and mix and match. For example, the hag would be, at basekit, a trapping and teleporting killer. Freddy is no different.

Freddy is a trapper, teleporting (tp), hindering, alt obj, stealth, and world event killer (Freddy's powers). I will explain all of these and why I put them where I did. What they represent and how he might be stronger and weaker than other killers in the same catagory. I also want to recommend some ideas for an actual rework for Krueger.

[Type: TRAPPER]

I'm going to start with Fred's main ability at loops. His trapping. Fred has two traps. Snares and Pallets. Snares are these pools of blood that when survivors run through, they scream and become hindered for a moment. Pallets (equip through addons) can be placed to make survivors attempt a stun but fail because the pallet is fake.

Comparing this ability to other trapper killers like trapper and hag, it has some strengths. Unlike other trap killers you don't have to stop in place to do an animation. You also can place them far quicker. Fred also doesn't need prep time, unlike the other trappers. Most Freds I've met will at least use his power in a chase rather than ahead of time. Similar to Hag, after he has used all of his traps he can begin to recycle them. The screams can also be nice information.

On the flip side, however, their traps do significantly more for them. Trapper gets an immediate injury and even can get a grab from the trap. Hag teleports directly to hers. Now it is important to note that it comes naturally that their abilities do more because they don't have a bunch of other things going for them. Keep this in mind as we go and keep comparing to other killers. Anyways, The Nightmare's snares only Hinder survivors for a moment. They can also only be used when the survivor is in the dream world or is asleep. Otherwise, they are useless. The pallets can make survivors more confident than they should be and allow for a hit, but that's if they fall for it. They can see if there was a pallet before they fell asleep and memorize it. Which is nice yet easy counterplay.

[Type: TELEPORTING]

Another ability that Krueger has is teleporting. He can teleport directly to Generators. Doing this shoots blood from the gen and with the exception of an add-on, survivors can see a projection of Freddy climbing his way from the blood next to the Gen. Putting aside the fact that this is probably the most brutal and badass looking teleport, it has some things really going for it.

In my opinion, this has always been one of Freddy's biggest selling points. He can apply immediate pressure on a Gen from a distance away. Whether you just won or lost a chase, you can go to where you need to be. This puts his teleport ahead of other killers such as Sadako or Dredge who can only teleport near gen and in rare cases (due to rng) not even that. Krueger is also the only killer who can fake a teleport. Allowing him to mind game the ability through his projection. Leading survivors to push into Fred unknowingly.

Now to talk about his BIGGEST drawback. You CAN NOT teleport to a generator that is completed. This means as the match progresses and Gens are finished, Fred gets weaker. Until the last Gen is done and then the power becomes entirely obsolete. All the gens are done, meaning you lose out on one of the nightmare's biggest selling powers. Literally, no other killer gets a drawback like this, let alone a teleporting killer. In fact, the cooldown for other tp killers is significantly shorter. Only really being comparable to the Demogorgon who still has a shorter cooldown.

[Type: HINDERING]

I know this was talked about earlier seeing as it has to do with his snares. But I want to compare it to the only other Hinder killer.

Clown being the only Hinder killer, can help us put his traps into a better perspective. On the upside, survivors might not notice the red pool and in turn have Freddy catch up. Clown's ability has some dodge potential but that's about it. It also can stay in place for the whole match.

Otherwise, Clown puts The Nightmare to shame. His clouds have far more spread and can even be placed further. Clown can do what Freddy can do at loops but far better. Throw the bottle ahead, behind, or just at some window and suddenly Clown has an advantage over the chase and over Fred. I know Clown might not be the best comparison but it is something to keep in mind.

[Type: ALT OBJ]

So what I mean by Alt OBJ is a killer who creates some other thing to interact with in the match besides heal, gens, and totems. This includes the Pig's boxes, Pinhead's Puzzle Box, and Krueger's Alarm Clocks. The Alarm Clocks wake survivors up from Dream State or sleep. This also grants a short immunity to being hit back into Dream State.

The Clocks can provide a bit of a distraction from the actual objective. This is very comparable to all other Alt OBJs in this sense.

However, survivors really shouldn't/don't waste the time. Unless it's right there, it's usually ignored. There are also three other ways to wake up. A survivor who is awake can wake another survivor, you can just miss a skill check, or you can get hooked. Survivors that do put in the time to wake up are put at an advantage. None of Freddy's traps can be used on a survivor who is awake. Essentially making Freddy an M1 killer with a teleport that can't even be used after the last Gen is finished. So alarm clocks just give a Fourth way to wake up and make Fred weaker.

[Type: STEALTH]

This one is very passive and tbh hardly noticeable. When survivors are awake Freddy is invisible from a distance. When survivors are asleep Freddy has no terror Radius.

You can get closer to survivors who have a clear line of sight on you when they are awake. But not by much really.

You still have a terror radius and when survivors are asleep you can't even hide it. You also still have a red stain and I'm pretty sure you can still have your aura revealed to survivors who can't physically see you. This is wicked weak when you compare it to Sadako whose ability is similar. But she can actually get on top of survivors with no terror radius or red stain before revealing herself.

[Type: WORLD EVENT]

World Event killers usually tie into Alt OBJ killers. Pinheads World event would be the summoning chains. Another world event that is more comparable would be Dredge's Nightfall. Freddy's World Event would be the Dream State. By either hitting a survivor or passively letting time pass, survivors fall asleep. When this happens Freddy gets stronger. His Terror Radius is also replaced by a lullaby.

When this happens, Freddy gets the ability to use traps and he even builds his teleporting faster per survivor. The Lullaby makes it harder to pinpoint which direction he might be coming from. Also, survivors who are asleep can be seen easier. This is especially useful when a survivor is trying to hide in a bush. This is very comparable to Nightfall which also makes it easier to see survivors but at the cost of seeing the map harder. Which Freddy has the advantage of. Freddy sees the map as brighter than all other Killers because he is always in Dream State.

The drawbacks would be how easy it is to get out of Dream State. There are only two ways to go into sleep but 4 ways to get out. You also can't use terror radius perks. The radius is replaced by a lullaby. Which alerts survivors but doesn't give you the same benefits. Huntress also has a Lullaby but that is because she can do damage from a distance with her Hatchets. Freddy can not. Freddy is the only killer with a Lullaby who isn't ranged. The Lullaby was actually the reason Borrowed Time was changed to 4.7.0. Nightmares used to be able to tunnel survivors if the survivor who got the save was in Dream State. Obviously, I'm not saying bring that back, but it's a good example of perks changing because of Freddy, while he hasn't. I know I said this before, but it bears repeating, that you cannot use your traps on survivors who are awake. This is a huge downside.

[REWORK RECOMMENDATIONS]

There are a lot of ways you could go about it. You could even just buff the times but honestly, I think we're past that at this point. I know I personally have a LOT of ideas. But, I want to give an overall idea right here.

You could make it so Freddy can teleport to Gens that are completed. I think this would be the closest to a buff that the devs would actually do as it takes the least amount of effect. Especially compared to my other ideas. You could even make it so Freddy can tp to something else, like his snares.

Another big idea that I think the Devs would go would be making Dream State feel like a bigger threat. Whether that be through making more traps, making the traps do more, or even making Dream state more disorienting/harder to track Freddy. Even making Lullaby have the power of certain perks through add-ons. Or even just making the Lullaby background music and giving Freddy his terror Radius back. Maybe even reducing it to help build that threat in Dream State.

My last suggestion is going to be the least likely, but my personal favorite. Make something more similar to Nightfall. Make Dream State be constant. Maybe only getting out through being hooked or finding a clock, but have an overall bar that builds. This could be Fear, seeing as that's how the movie Freddy gets stronger. When you fill the bar maybe Freddy breaks things quicker, teleports quicker, etc. The traps could do damage or put survivors into broken. Maybe Freddy's snares are replaced with a ranged attack. This could be his arms extending outward to the survivors like in the first movie. Plus it could be a funny homage to survivors who complain about his M1 range.

[CONCLUSION/TTDR]

Freddy has a lot of powers, but they are all very weak. He is the only killer that gets weaker as the game goes on and his Snares aren't strong enough to be completely countered by waking up one of the 4 ways you can. His lullaby over the terror radius is cool but it's an unnecessary nerf. His strongest ability (teleporting) he loses after the last gen. A buff to teleporting could be cool but it's really not enough. Buffing his Dream State via more/stronger traps or by giving him his terror radius effects back when survivors are asleep could be nice too and is probably the best way to go. It'd be kinda cool to see maybe some sort of fear mechanic that buffs him too but hey I'll take what I can get at this point.