Xeno: Keep Tail, Buff Turret setup with Station Lockdown
Surprisingly, after a more objective look at Xeno as a low level player, I have determined that the tail attack is IMO fine.
It is unquestionably strong with its long hit box, Xeno movement speed, and fast wind up, but unlike Nemmy Tentacle, it can't hit terrain and still be dragged, so it requires precision to use effectively. The fact it can be turned off completely with turrets means it must stay strong.
The turret operation and strength is also fine... but where I think the issue lies, is turrets are dangerous to acquire, and setup is painfully long. This allows Xeno to tunnel hard and use its tunnels to camp a player easily, especially against soloQ, where without organised team help, the solo player cannot get a turret set up to have some counterplay. I propose using a Control Station Lockdown to help survivors get turrets out after they, or another survivor have been hooked (and also help vs. Xeno's global 3 gen).
Proposed Changes
- When the Xeno enters a Tunnel, the Control Station locks down that entry point for 45 seconds, or until 2 other tunnel entry ways have been locked by the network.
- Once the second entrance is locked, the system will try to hold 3 doors closed, but after 10 seconds loses power to first one.
- Locked entrances have a yellow alert light to indicate they ste locked.
- Trying to come out of a locked entry point takes 4s to break through. (Give us a cool Alien frustration scream and slam into it before a second attack busts through)
- To compensate... turrets now always break when the Xeno attacks, even when broken... cause why doesn’t this happen already?
Intended Effects
- Keep the Xeno's strength in chase and the threat of its power untouched.
- Leave Xeno's that are patrolling their gens and pursuing new survivors mostly unaffected.
- Reduces the ease and effectiveness of tunnel camping and tunneling.
- Give survivors actual windows of safety to grab and put turrets down if they pay attention. Also assist in setting up to cover their wounded teammates.
- Make it so the effects of turrets actually stick to Xeno. If you hop back in tunnel for your power, you have to go elsewhere or take the long breakthrough animation.
- Xeno doesn't get screwed by attacking a turret too early after leaving a tunnel, so overall we are all ACTUALLY playing around turrets on both sides.
- Maximum of 2 entrances locked at any one time keeps Xeno's permanent 3 gen doable, but not as free as it currently is.
Longman explanation
When you can actually set up and play around turrets, the Xeno is fine, and then when you get caught by the tail, it's fair because you had a reasonable shot at countering them by forcing them to take on the turret, or going around... As such the Xeno is strong for good players, and fun for good survivors...
However... low level survivors get frustrated with this killer right now because unless you're good at dodging, your only counter is turrets... and without turrets the Xeno can easily tunnel players who are not so good at dodging out of the game... and even if you can dodge, it's totally reliant on the Xeno's aim.
Xeno can hop in and out of tunnels to charge their tail with impunity, and given the quick time to charge the power vs. the long time to set up turrets, unfortunately a lot of low level Xenos will use this fact to tunnel and camp a hooked survivor hard.
As soon as they have a player on hook, they kill any nearby turrets and hop back into the tunnels. Whether camping in the tunnels or not, most low MMR Xeno's once that player is pulled off hook, go straight through the tunnels to the noise notification and gun for the survivor who just came off hook.
Wounded, with no turrets nearby, and against the Xeno with its very strong tail attack, the survivor now basically has to try to loop a 4.6m/s killer, with a 4.8m ranged attack, without using pallets or windows... Needless to say it goes badly most of the time, and this I feel is why Xeno is getting the knee jerk backlash... I know I got mad AF at it....
By locking entrances that the Xeno enters (NOT ON EXIT), you allow any rescuing survivors to be reasonably safe setting up a new turret before going for the unhook, which in turn naturally reduces the immediate tunnel power of the Xeno.
The Xeno can still tunnel by going elsewhere by foot and then coming back through ofc, but by locking entrances, the hooked survivor will see where the Xeno goes, and can head that way themselves to be reasonably sure that the tunnel there is locked. Astute survivors are also encouraged to take the chance to grab a turret from the locked tunnel while they are safer, passively increasing the potential turrets avaiable for solo survivors. Knowing an entrance is locked and safer to grab a turret would be a great assist to low level and solo Q players
...and I don't think high level players and SWFs really gain much more than comms already gives them...
Do tell me if I'm wrong!