I finally understand the "old DBD was better" mindset.
Don't get me wrong - balance-wise, the game's in a significantly better spot than it was, say, 3 or 4 years ago. It's the core gameplay that's the problem. I don't know when or how it happened, but it's gotten so much worse than it used to be.
On both sides, I find myself (and the other players in the match) getting stuck on seemingly invisible obstacles. It's most noticeable on corners. A killer could moonwalk along a perfectly straight wall and get stuck on the end of it, or a survivor could hug a loop tightly (as they should) and get stuck on it somewhere. This happens in the majority of games. I don't remember it being anywhere near as egregious as it is right now.
On the killer side, I find myself swinging through pallets, ending up right at the end of the lunge (all the way through the pallet), only to have it slammed on me from the same side I'm on with the survivor able to freely vault back having taken no damage. This is alarmingly consistent. You used to be able to swing through and hit the survivor with the correct timing, but now it feels like they might as well be invincible. It's not a ping issue - my ping is usually around 40-60ms and I make sure to check when it happens.
I remember a time when survivors could fast vault windows from any angle. I also remember the medium vault being added when a survivor isn't running straight at a window. I've seen no end of survivors fast vault from such angles that the game never used to allow. I tried it myself, and you can consistently get the fast vault from around a 60-70 degree angle. That is ludicrously unfair. I'm confident it never used to be this generous to the survivors.
Speaking of windows, hits during the vault animation are wildly inconsistent. Sometimes, a killer can hit when the survivor is all the way through, and other times, they can miss when the vault has just started. This one is most likely a latency issue, but it's anyone's guess as to whether or not the hit will land mid-vault.
Auto-aim costs killers more hits than it helps them get. I think virtually every killer main here has had many, many instances where they've gone to swing at a survivor but been thrown into a doorway or pallet. Two survivors in front of you? It's a coin flip.
Then there's "skill-based matchmaking". I have never felt like I'm facing opponents of similar skill levels to me. It's stomp or get stomped, or occasionally get screwed over by the aforementioned gameplay issues. I've never had a match where I think "wow, that could have gone either way". Most matches are "that was too easy" or "that guy sucks but got lucky" or "they were way out of my league". To consistently do well, you have to bring your strongest builds and play ruthlessly... and it is SO exhausting. What happened to the (mostly) chill party game we had a few years ago? Now it's sweat or suffer - or both. I don't want "easy" games - I want to have fun. Isn't that the point of playing videogames? If you want competitive matchmaking, why not make it a separate mode? Give players incentives (such as unique cosmetics) and have set rules with less reliance on map RNG. The sweats can grind for their bragging rights while the rest of us chill and try to have fun. It's not complicated. "But what about the sweats going to the casual mode and stomping?". So what? At least a proper competitive mode would give players something fresh if they want it, which would result in a much-needed break every now and then for the casual lot.
The biggest complaints on these forums are camping and tunneling? I don't blame anyone who does it if they're not only fighting 4 survivors but also the game itself. I get it. A lot of the game feels bullshit and it's made worse by how miserable your opponent(s) can make your experience. The game genuinely feels like a chore to play sometimes.
I want to enjoy this game, but it feels like it's gradually getting worse, regardless of balance changes or new content. I don't know if there's something wrong at Behaviour, but it seems like either they're struggling to meet deadlines or just plain incompetent (or both). Maybe I'm a little burned out, too (though if I can take a break and come back only to hate the experience, I doubt that's the case).
Anyway, rant over. Imma go play some FFXIV or something.