Are keys a dead item?

Does anybody use keys?

I feel like since hatch can spawn only for 1 survivor, keys are simply rejected. Aura reading abilities are not worth using, I prefer brown medkit than key. Also its energy drains so fast

Comments

  • Chocolate_Cosmos
    Chocolate_Cosmos Member Posts: 5,735

    They are not worthless but they are now like the last stand item that you will probably don't need.

    Still better than how hatch and keys worked before this rework. I like it how it is now.

  • C3Tooth
    C3Tooth Member Posts: 8,266

    Yes, I suggested this before

    This was my ideas of rework all items, where items are nerfed, but free and have only Brown version. Pretty much items are survivors' powers that everyone always bring in one every match.

  • Neprašheart
    Neprašheart Member Posts: 439

    Ehh.. That's not really a rework, is it?

    All I see is one added add-on to the list of all the add-ons that we already have in-game, and that's it.

  • C3Tooth
    C3Tooth Member Posts: 8,266
    edited August 2022

    The idea is to reduce the gaps between a survivor team that doesnt bring anything vs another that bring 4 Ranger/Syringe or 4 Commo toolbox/Charge. Into Half health state medkit vs 2 health states one

    Remove useless addon, just keep the meaningful one. Because items are free, they requires addon to actually work (which you can buy in bloodweb, and since items & useless addon are removed in bloodweb, you can get these addon more frequently)

    You can check them here, there are some text mistakes, you can ignore.

    • For Medkit example, they will have these variations:

    Free medkit: heal half health state, only good to fast heal your teammate

    Medkit + Brown charge: heal yourself once

    Medkit + double charge: heal twice

    Medkit + charge + fast heal

    The best possible combination of a Medkit is 1 heal + Syringe. No more thing such as Ranger + 16 charge + Syringe

  • Seraphor
    Seraphor Member Posts: 9,368
    edited August 2022

    They should just combine Maps and Keys. No idea why we have two items types that do the same thing. The Hatch interaction is the only difference.

    Instead of keys themselves, it should be a Keyring. you then make the add ons include Keys (openning the hatch) and a range of charms and crystals for aura reading and modification. Give them the ability to track other things like Maps do, this makes them more useful besides opening the Hatch. Then you can phase out Maps.

  • dugman
    dugman Member Posts: 9,713

    As a killer I’m a little surprised more survivors don’t use keys with add-ons for aura reading. Auras are generally useful both in and out of chase. In chase for instance you can’t get mindgamed if you can see the killer’s aura, and out of chase you can see either where everybody else is (which seems particularly handy in solo queue.)

    A key without auras is definitely less useful though. It’s a high risk, high reward item in that occasionally it gets you an easy escape worth at least 7000 bloodponts but most of the time gives you nothing.

    Personally I’d love to see keys and maps be merged into a single item that both shows auras and allows for the opening of a hatch. Neither item sees much use on its own compared to tools, medkits and flashlights, but together they might be more popular.

  • Seraphor
    Seraphor Member Posts: 9,368

    I agree. It would be a decent compromise to the 'basekit Kindred' requests, and much more accessible and affordable than using up a perk slot.

  • Nun_So_Vile
    Nun_So_Vile Member Posts: 2,404
    edited August 2022

    I wouldn't say they are dead either. They have their use fo getting information via aura reading when stacked with the right add-ons, as others have said. Outside of that their use is situational. I always wish I had one when i'm last survivor but then when I do bring one it never gets used.

  • Pepsidot
    Pepsidot Member Posts: 1,662

    Skeleton key + Addon to see killer aura + 10 sec addon is very, very good. You can also use Streetwise to make it last longer. You could also have Built To Last but it's kinda overkill, especially if you can't escape the chase.

  • Zeidoktor
    Zeidoktor Member Posts: 2,065

    An idea I had, albeit not directly linked to keys themselves, was add a feature to Clairvoyance where (a) it works while carrying a key and (b) benefits from any aura reading addons on that key.

    I was mostly thinking of a way to buff/play with Clairvoyance, but it could be a way to make keys a bit more worthwhile, too.

  • Khelendrose2020
    Khelendrose2020 Member Posts: 207

    Keys are near useless. I think they should gain the ability to open chests faster without using charges. At least that adds a small bonus if you are running a Plunder build.

  • Nathan13
    Nathan13 Member Posts: 6,706

    I almost wish keys were deleted or reworked into something else.

  • sulaiman
    sulaiman Member Posts: 3,219

    Keys make you a target. A lot of killers will hard tunnel you if you have a key. Then, a lot of killers will hard tunnel you anyway, so i dont know if its worth it or not.

  • MrDardon
    MrDardon Member Posts: 4,026
    edited August 2022

    I sometimes use them if I want to replace an info Perk with another Perk, so I use a Key which shows me Survivor's Auras. Or there is this meme use of keys where you can see the Killer through walls for a long time.

    Use a Skeleton Key with Prayer Beads and Blood Amber, combined with BtL and Streetwise and just hold the key activated while being chased by the Killer, it removes all mindgame potential from them as you can see them through walls as long as your key has charges in it.

    Not sure how the priorities work, but a Skeleton Key has a 30 second use. Streetwise adds 25 % which adds 7.5 seconds making it 37.5 seconds. Blood Amber halfs that time by 50 %, making your key last for a total of 18.75 seconds, if Streetwise is prioritized. And then you recharge it 3 times with BtL.

    Edit: Priorities here don't matter, in both cases you end up with a total duration of 18.75 seconds.

  • Harold_Shipman
    Harold_Shipman Member Posts: 737

    Chests should have awesome items but only be unlockable with keys or perks.

  • dugman
    dugman Member Posts: 9,713
    edited August 2022

    I know way back when before keys and moris were changed and keys could let multiple people escape early they made you a target, are there still killers who care enough about keys to bother? I know I've never cared enough to go out of my way to target someone who has one. 🤷‍♂️

  • sulaiman
    sulaiman Member Posts: 3,219

    Yes they still do. even if they slug for the 4k anyway, they still prefer to go for the one with the key first, at least thats my observation. Even had a killer switch target to me after i found a key in a chest.

  • AnchorTea
    AnchorTea Member Posts: 1,021

    In my last 25 killer games I had two matches where two survivors had key escapes. Did not see it coming at all.

    Also:

    This isn't a bad idea!

  • SuzuKR
    SuzuKR Member Posts: 3,910

    Blood Amber is still busted design because it kills mindgaming, and needs its minimum range upped to 8m so it’s unusable in chase.

  • youshisu
    youshisu Member Posts: 84

    imagine that in basement would be special chestbox locked with green or purple item :D

  • Sonzaishinai
    Sonzaishinai Member Posts: 7,976

    They are actually pretty usefull for soloq.

    Hatch doesn't change mmr so you can use it to nullify a match with bad teammates

  • sulaiman
    sulaiman Member Posts: 3,219

    How do you do that? in my games, killers usually slug for the 4k if only 2 survivors left. I cant use a key on the ground

  • Laluzi
    Laluzi Member Posts: 6,129

    Keys themselves are basically worthless unless you play for hatch. There's a couple of good addons that are valuable additions to a build, but the base item is not worth bringing over literally anything else (except maybe maps, because with the death of Ruin, hexes are pretty rare.)

  • Rydog
    Rydog Member Posts: 3,275

    I have not seen a single key use (in terms of unlocking a kicked hatch) since the hatch's spawn logic was changed. I think it's better off this way.

  • Wewantjason
    Wewantjason Member Posts: 288

    haven't used a key since they reworked key/hatch

    It was TOO good before

    Now I'd take a brown medkit over a key EVERY game. Only good for rift challenges, or that one dumb meme build demi did recently.

  • Sonzaishinai
    Sonzaishinai Member Posts: 7,976

    not that hard to hide for 4 minutes if you have the entire map available

    Boring... but not hard

  • INoLuv
    INoLuv Member Posts: 464

    keys are worth it like left behind. Keys are not weak.

  • Devil_hit11
    Devil_hit11 Member Posts: 8,693
    edited August 2022

    i think blood amber should become an iri add-on for keys and it should show aura within 16 meters of the killer automatically if holding a key. the aura reading add-on for the survivor should also be automatic for showing all the other survivors. the channeling aspect of keys is pretty outdated design for keys.

  • KateMain86
    KateMain86 Member Posts: 2,374

    They're dead to me. I'm of the opinion the hatch and key change is one of the worst things done to the game. They were a lot of fun before even though killers often singled out the key survivor. Now I hardly if ever use them. They just seem completely pointless and serve only as a backup plan for the last survivor in a worst case scenario which usually doesn't end well for them anyway in my experience.

  • Taxman232
    Taxman232 Member Posts: 139

    Yes. There is no point running them since the hatch rework and I do not see them outside of the extremely rare occasion of an aura reading streamer.

  • Cybil
    Cybil Member Posts: 1,163

    May as well let all keys open the hatch. Just change how the time it takes to unlock it depending on the rarity and add-ons. Keys should also come with guaranteed add-ons when found in chests.

  • AGM
    AGM Member Posts: 806

    Keys could really use a base secondary function imo. Being able to use them to open the hatch is cool but you're in that situation so rarely with a key unless you bring one every single game.

    Broken Key needs a buff. Prayer Rope and Eroded Token should really get a new effect since there are add-ons that strictly outclass them. And Weaved Ring and Milky Glass are a bit useless these days considering how little value keys have, so I'd give them new effects as well.

    Idea: Being able to use a key to "lock" a generator at the cost of X key charges for 15 seconds as a kind of budget Repressed Alliance would be kind of cool.

  • Yippiekiyah
    Yippiekiyah Member Posts: 487

    Keys with Left Behind are pretty much a free escape in your the last survivor.

  • Seraphor
    Seraphor Member Posts: 9,368

    The main issue I have is that outside of the hatch, keys and maps effectively do the same thing. They're both aura reading items. Maps also don't see much use these days because they were predominantly used via SWF to find the hatch, so the person with the key could open it.

    Which is why I built this concept:


  • kizuati
    kizuati Member Posts: 1,386

    I'll continue to stand by the idea that we should bring back hatch spawning before the last person dies,but only on the final gen completion.

  • Seraphor
    Seraphor Member Posts: 9,368

    Only if it takes as long to open as an exit gate, and the killer can see it's aura.

    Being available as a third exit is fine, but it being a 'free' escape while the killer is occupied in patrolling exit gates is pretty cheap.

  • kizuati
    kizuati Member Posts: 1,386

    I think it's still kinda fine. You could make the opening interaction more difficult,but like,you can prepare for a Survivor trying to escape in the end-game + if they're bringing a key,it's not a toolbox and it's not 16 green medkits.

    it's a win for me as killer lol

  • Seraphor
    Seraphor Member Posts: 9,368

    I feel that would just lead to tunnelling out anyone with a key again.

  • NerfedFreddy
    NerfedFreddy Member Posts: 394

    Survivors only have two items - medkits and flashlights, everything else is worthless

  • kizuati
    kizuati Member Posts: 1,386

    i think you've never realized how powerful a good toolbox is

  • jesterkind
    jesterkind Member Posts: 7,765

    Toolboxes are extremely useful, it's mostly Maps and Keys that have extremely niche uses.

  • youshisu
    youshisu Member Posts: 84

    i sometimes take toolboxes, just to use it on first gen and dump as soon I find chest...

  • zarr
    zarr Member Posts: 983

    Blood Amber is good but not as good as people make it out either. You need a Skeleton Key for it, and even with that plus Prayer Beads you only get 22.5 seconds of aura reading, needing to spend perk slots on Built To Last and/or Streetwise if you want to get more consistent value out of it throughout a round. And then channelling the key takes around 2 seconds, time you regularly do not have in chases, not only because you can't be channelling or using it during interactions, but also because the killer can already have successfully mindgamed you before you get to see their aura. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely good, and great in certain situations on certain tiles against certain killers, but for an ultra rare item with a very rare add-on and a limited-time use, it's supposed to be impactful. And it's really the only impactful thing keys got going for themselves anymore. Seeing the aura of other survivors is not awful, but since you have to channel and use up the key for it, it's not very impactful at all. If their auras would be shown constantly like with the Wedding Ring, that would make keys much more relevant.

    That said, Left Behind + Skeleton/Dull Key is something you can always throw on in solo queue because you can already expect your team to frequently get demolished, and with this combination you can often at least still play for an escape if you care about that.

  • Maxx_Calin
    Maxx_Calin Member Posts: 86

    I don't use keys cause unless u are an really good at finding the hatch on any map in the game. They are pointless to use, the game won't even let me hear the noise that plays when I'm near the hatch. I've had friends watch me run past it without knowing it's there cause the hatch sound won't play when I'm near it. Would be nice if the game made it so that keys could automatically open the exit gate. That way people who have trouble finding the hatch in matches. Still would have a reason to use keys but that will never happen.

  • AliceNull
    AliceNull Member Posts: 23

    Im very glad they were changed, old keys were atrocious game design, but quite honestly I think they need some kind of baseline aura reading to compensate. Getting a green key out of a chest is entirely useless without any kind of addons, and I feel like where they are with a little bit of extra base function would be fairly healthy for the game.