The Pallet Problem - Mulling it over
Problem:
For the Basic Killer, all Pallets spawning at Trial start cause significantly bloated initial chase times, effectively snowballing Survivor generator repair each second the Killer doesn't achieve the first down due to a lack of any Altruism Loop (All Survivors start Healthy).
(Definition - Altruism Loop: Survivor A is Hooked/Dying, Survivor B goes for Rescue, Survivor C is being chased, 1/4 Survivors can be repairing at this time instead of 3/4)
Suggestion:
Reduce the potential time it takes for the Basic Killer to get a down at Trial start by reducing initial Pallet spawns, with Pallets favoring isolated spawns.
Resulting Problem:
This substantially increased amount of deadzones cripples Survivors capability to maintain chase across the entire Trial and during the Altruism Loop, however the start of the Trial should be the area addressed.
Suggestion:
Allow Survivors to build Pallets in predefined areas, likely utilizing the Pallet spawns that are otherwise reduced.
Bonus:
This adds a secondary objective that extends match time without simply increasing generator times.
Problem:
The reduced initial pallet spawns makes the initial chase much more volatile and subject to RNG for Survivors unable to locate a loopable resource.
Suggestion:
Reduce RNG by allowing Survivors to spot Pallets at a distance via visual clues on loops where necessary.
A Pallet that can be setup should have generic parts placed around the Loop, visually indicating from multiple sightlines that the Pallet is not up, but can be setup
A Pallet that has been destroyed, or has not spawned, should have the loop slightly damaged in some way, to indicate there is no Pallet.
Bonus:
This also raises the information gap for Solo vs. SWF with regards to Pallet status in loops.