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the only problem with distortion is...
its stacks are very abundant. it either needs;
something "revolutionary" done like making it recharge within a chase or doing a gen only with a buff to time it takes for a token
or just to get a slight nerf to its current version like a 5-10 seconds extra for a token and it doesn't charge in chase anymore just like stake out and diversion (pebble).
otherwise it was never an issue and it still isn't, in my opinion at least. rat/selfish gameplay should NEVER, EVER be encouraged like it even is in game's description on steam (i think) and with s- stuff like hatch, but those need much more than nerfing perks that enhance stealthy gameplay, which is valid.
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Distortion is fine, killers have way too many perks and add ons to see auras, distortion helps counter that just like lightborn counters flashlights, and lightborn don't even need tokens.
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I recently had a match in which I used Lethal Pursuer, Nowhere To Hide, Floods Of Rage and BBQ. Against 3 survivors with Distortion. I got very quick downs and could always hook them on a scourge hook, so everything went pretty well. But I did not manage to burn through their stacks. And this must be the most aura vision a killer can have. Every time Floods Of Rage activates, that burns 2 stacks on every survivor.
I don't really want to complain about Distortion but it is definitely quite strong and should not be underestimated. Maybe it's time for me to use UW for a change.
Flashlights aren't a vital part of the game. Information on the other hand is. Also, it's a big difference when the killer gives up one of their 4 perk slots to counter 1 or 2 flashlights compared to survivors using some of their 16 perk slots for distortion, which then have the potential to counter multiple perks and addons the killer uses.
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Real talk if you play killer and Distortion lives in your head rent free cuz you need something to blame on your losses just run Gearhead it unironically chews through Distortion stacks extremely fast.
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it's far from that.
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Its a weird one because Killers who don't run any Aura perks don't get affected by at all and makes Survivors have only 3 perks to run with. Maybe more Killers should stick to gen regress and other perks because Aura perks seems out of Meta at the moment.
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distortion is in a balanced place right now. you start with stacks, you have to be in the killers radius to regain them which prevents ratting in a corner. killers have such an arsenal of aura perks these days, distortion is the only valid reliable perk to combat it. if a killer is reliant on aura perks to track and make a kill, that sounds like a skill issue with game sense and map awareness. playing a healthy balance of both sides will help you gain better map awareness from the surv’s perspective and you won’t be so reliant on auras. you’ll develop a good hunch.
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Distortion is an ALL-IN perk, similiar to Adrenaline.
You can either get full value of it if the killer is running aura reading perks, or get 0 value if they run 4 slowdown perks e.g.
You are acting as if everyone who uses it are rats and selfish, which has nothing to do with the perk. If someone wants to be a rat, they would be regardless.
This is a classic overreacting situation.
Post edited by Gabe_Soma on26 -
i tried to explain how it doesn't necessarily reflect any playstyle like ratting, in the last paragraph. i agree.
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this is soooo valid. i frequently rotate between shadow step and distortion and probably 60% of the time i get no use out of distortion because the killer wasn’t running any aura perks. its either super clutch, or has no value at all.
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hiding within terror radius isn't any harder than hiding outside of it, let's be honest. distortion isn't op or anything, but it recharges a bit too fast, making it impossible to burn through stacks unless you specifically go for perks/add ons for it. if it's intended to counter auras completely, then it should be balanced around that like reduced aura block time and no hiding scratch marks idk. and for some unknown reason it recharging in chase unlike similar terror radius perks like stake out and pebble has always bugged me out, kind of takes away killers' counterplay option.
if a killer is reliant on aura perks to track and make a kill, that sounds like a skill issue with game sense and map awareness.
oh and i agree with that lmao i'm a shameless nwth abuser and finding people with that always feel super cheap, hence why i can't really complain about the strength of distortion. only poor innocent bbq only peeps are getting unfair treatment from the perk.
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it lives in my head rent free because I end up with 9 hooks 3 kills and a survivor I haven't seen the whole match too often
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that part about it recharging during a chase is actually a great point. i feel like recharging within a killers radius is fine, but it shouldn’t recharge during chase. that’s tilted.
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Lol no
30 seconds to get a token is a lot
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I mean one survivor perk to counter an entire type of killer perks even when running multiple is too much. Only consistent way I've seen people burn through stacks is spamming c21 in chase which is an absurd requirement.
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Having it activate/charge only in chase makes it redundant. If you're bringing an aura reading build, then making a survivor get into a chase before they can benefit from their aura blocking perk means the killer gets their cake and gets to eat it too. No need to find survivors the old fashioned way when they have to just come to you. It would kill the perk.
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I agree, it was buffed from 4 stacks to endless state if killer brings only 1 aura perk. It's quite strange to me that you can waste all stacks only when killer has 3-4 aura perks or addons, especially on a small maps. I think 40-45 seconds in TR for token recharge will be fair.
Post edited by fussy on0 -
ofc chase time only recharging would require a serious buff to regen time i'd say halving it. 10-15 seconds of chase time and 30 seconds of gen repair for a token.
making a survivor get into a chase before they can benefit from their aura blocking perk
doesn't it initially have 3 tokens?
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As someone who runs 3 aura perks on a regular basis I generally expect not to see someone for the whole match when I notice they're running distortion. Its very rare that I actually eat all charges & see an aura, which means in it's current state it's effectively just a perk that blocks all auras for the whole game and it really shouldn't be doing that.
I personally don't really find it OP, because it generally just means I focus on whoever doesn't have it, which is probably more annoying for the other survivors in the team.
I've always thought it should have a longer charge time or some different requirements due to it pretty much lasting the whole game even with 3 aura related perks.
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People are missing the biggest factor
If the killer has no aura reading perks, Distortion is useless
This conversation is only up because killer players want the game to hold their hands and show where the survivor's are everytime, combined with the fact that a lot of aura reading perks are being released/buffed
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i think distortion became a big topic again because of friends til the end. tbh i rarely saw distortion until recently and i think killer mains are having a fit that survs have a counter to their new favorite mid perk.
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Distortion is fine. Sacrificing a perk slot to deny aura reading that itself can be countered isn't really an issue. Rat gamers are a separate problem that won't be solved by nerfing distortion - the only change that would make is being able to see them at the start if you run LP. After that, they will just hide in a locker.
There are many, many things that counter or hinder it, including but not limited to:
- Stealth - no TR = no tokens. Good luck getting tokens against sadako, wraith, etc... Even killers like SM and freddy have powers that provide undetectable/hide TR that will make token regen slower. And killers with smaller TR like Huntress that only use ranged attacks will not be giving you stacks outside of chase often. Not to mention stealth perks/add-ons, like scratched mirror, if you could regen stacks against that maybe distortion would be a problem but you can't.
- Aura spam - spamming aura perks depletes stacks fast, but if you want them to never have any stacks, just run a spammable aura add-on, most killers (doc, clown, chucky, blight, wraith, oni, etc) have one that can be activated many times in quick succession.
- Other methods of detection - screaming perks (Infectious, Ultimate Weapon) completely bypass aura. And UW is one of the strongest perks in the game right now on high mobility killers when paired with DMS. You also have killer instinct for tracking, as well as other basekit killer powers for tracking (doc illusions, alien footsteps, nemesis zombies, crow swarms, etc)
In terms of "rat gameplay", all aura reading can be countered by going in a locker anyways except for Lethal Pursuer, which I already mentioned. Distortion doesn't really encourage it, rats want to stay in lockers anyway as they counter aura AND screaming. If you nerf distortion it doesn't do anything to discourage or punish a rat playstyle with the exception being using LP, and that only works if there's ONE rat and you manage to find and chase them at the beginning.
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I'm an avid Distortion enjoyer but I do think it recharges too easily. Being in the killer's terror radius isn't that tough, especially on smaller or multi-level maps, and unlike Stake Out it also charges while you're in chase as well.
What this essentially means is that you almost never run out of stacks, even if the killer is running multiple aura-reading perks, and that kinda defeats the purpose of even having stacks. In 90% of my games with Distortion, it's basically just perma-immunity to aura reading.
Outside of a small handful of killer addons and maybe one or two perks that can give constant aura-reading in certain situations, a killer simply can't burn through Distortion stacks faster than they recharge.
This is of course partially evened out by having plenty of games where Distortion does absolutely nothing, but I still think they need to slow down the recharge so it doesn't just make aura reading useless for killer.
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Survivor perks are in pretty good state if you guys complain so much about Distortion.
Like I don't get how so many Distortion topics yet so few Buckle Up + For the Peple (the real bullshit combo).
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Nurses calling does the job better
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LOL killers complaining about something new imagine that.
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there is a distortion/stealth gameplay controversy going on currently, and here is my take on the topic. i made (i think) and commented on multiple topics regarding ftp buckle up already.
that is ALL i'm trying to say, thank you. it might as well have no tokens at this point. i understand counterpicks, calm spirit doesn't even have stacks, but then it would need rebalancing with that in consideration like 7 seconds of aura block and no hidden scratch marks on proc so a very very few aura reading perks can still bypass distortion and the killer would need to pay extra attention while using those perks.
tokens serve no purpose because they are almost infinite unless killer wants to deliberately combat distortion with, as people said above, gearhead c21 etc.
edit: such a change would fix its uneven effectiveness against different aura reading also. while some perks/add ons can easily destroy distortion, some full aura reading builds struggle to go through tokens.
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This. So many distortion posts now. People think with enough threads, BHVR will come to the rescue. Distortion is fine and not even the strongest anti-aura perk. OP really likes creating these doomsday perk posts, geez.
And @NerfDHalready
There is no Distortion controversy going on. There's a handful of killers complaining. The amount of information -YOU- are distorting is absurd and I'd ask you stop. Really not healthy for new players coming in.
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bruh how is this a doomsday post? i literally say the real issue is rat playstyle and nerfing stealth perks won't solve it, the only issue with distortion is it recharges too fast.
There is no Distortion controversy going on.
okay dude.
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Nerf Distortion.
The meme is real.
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"People think with enough threads, BHVR will come to the rescue"
Considering BHVR has, in fact, been caving to these sorts of complaints, I would imagine its only emboldened folks to complain more.
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Sure. No need for me to go into this further, as I dislike how you can just beat absolutely nothing to death. There is no issue with Distortion, especially since your complaint about it is just the recharge.
Unfortunately, you're right. And its obvious when a band of brothers begin creating said hype trains. This is still complaining about survivors being able to do anything about the killer. Complaints of hiding. Of running. Of looping. Its just dribble from fragile, insecure ego's. It is entertaining, regardless of my position lol
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Which anti aura perks do survivors have that is better at hiding aura then distortion?
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I am in your camp and don't think that Distortion is an unhealthy perk per se, but that its often impossible to burn through its stacks. One game I was matched against a 4 SWF group of all Claudettes with Distortion and stealth builds who send me to Dead Dogs Saloon and later claimed that their game plan was to just fool around and see if I would DC out of sheer frustation. For whatever reason I had chosen Pig with Amandas Letter add-on and thus had pretty much constant aura reading, and it still took close to 15min to see the first glimps of any aura. Because their game plan meant that they never touched a gen, I had no easy paths to patrol and often had to linger in out of the way locations, hoping that I somehow burned through 3 stacks of someone hiding there.
The tactical part of this kept me entertained, but only because I knew what was going on and that I had an actual chance to counter their build. It still took an extraordinary amount of time to move the game along and each hook and eventual kill was a slow burning slog through some muddy fields after a stormy, foggy night.
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none of them. there are only 4 aura blocking perks currently, distortion otr shadow step and sole survivor. personally though i find shadow step to be much more of an annoyance and tunnel out users without a second thought, if i can figure who.
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Seeing as killer aura builds can chew through distortion like it's nothing, it's pretty funny to see people complain about it.
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I would be fine for toning down Distortion if we can also dial back the insane power creep in killer tracking perks from the last couple years.
Ultimate Weapon, Darkness Revealed, and Nowhere to Hide, and Floods of Rage all need their aura length or cooldown/requirements adjusted.
Also some slight buffs to survivor perks like Poised and Dance With Me would be nice to meet Distortion somewhere in the middle.
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Maybe a perk like Distortion could have some dynamic recharge rate? If a killer got a veritable aura reading build, yes they can easily burn through the stacks, but if all they brought was BBQ, they might as well play with 3 perks.
With Dynamic I mean, if you got only one aura reading perk, maybe Distortion shouldn't recharge at all or only slowly, while at 4 aura reading perks, things move along much faster. This would be a slight nerf to Distortions effectiveness, but would come with the added benefit of getting some info on the killers build and aura reading capabilities.
On the other hand: this is such a niche problem, maybe we should focus on something else.
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Then there is me, burning through every distortion in the game in a single nightfall as dredge with the lavalier microphone.
I remember when killer tracking perks were things like whispers and took skill to use. Or at least a somewhat limiting requirement like getting a hook and they are far away for BBQ. Now it's "open a locker and get wallhacks on everyone" or "kick a gen and get wallhacks on everyone" or "use your ability and get wallhacks on everyone"
Screw that, I like being able to hide in this hide and seek game
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On the other hand: this is such a niche problem, maybe we should focus on something else.
yup. never a high priority, just wanted to speak my mind on the current hot topic. distortion is not perfectly fine, but definitely not a broken perk of any sort. i couldn't care less if it stays the way it is, they need to resolve ratting issue and that's independent from stealth perks' strength/state.
Maybe a perk like Distortion could have some dynamic recharge rate? If a killer got a veritable aura reading build, yes they can easily burn through the stacks, but if all they brought was BBQ, they might as well play with 3 perks.
i'd be all for it if they removed stacks altogether and reduced the aura block time so only a few select strong aura reading perks can get value. you still get notified, and can play around them with lockers. this maybe could fix, again, its uneven effectiveness against different aura reading sources to some degree. spammable aura reads can eat stacks with ease but perks like bbq and floods can't.
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Or how about this: Distortion changes the aura reading into a single survivor notification for the killer, maybe even scattered 2d6m from the actual spot. This way killers would only get a general idea where you are and a snapshot, but no idea if your are loitering or moving or in what direction you are moving, with the caveat that Distortion players don't get total immunity in some matches, and get burned to the ground in the next.
I know that people HATE Ultimate Weapon, but I am still in the camp that people exaggerate its tracking effects. The perk gives you a snap shot where everyone is, but no further info. If you move into that direction you got a good chance to start some chase, but very often that survivor has moved away or went into hiding and thats a way more healthy effect then many people give it credit. Slight off-topic: if UW had a bit of increased range, but didn't linger around the killer for 30s and disabled in a 1v1 situation, I think it would be the perfectly fair tracking tool.
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i didn't fully understand the suggestion but it probably would make aura reading a scream basically, idk.
i understand why UW needs nerfs, screams aren't as reliable as auras sure but just knowing whereabouts of a person is most of the time a huge info and having it linger 30 seconds is just funny to me. my go to change would be making it an instant trigger at a locker so every killer gets the same value, with 45 seconds cd.
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The issue with Distortion:
- people are pairing it with Calm Spirit to completely avoid everything
- started a very boring playstyle of hide and seek (when you get a whole team of Distortion + Calm Spirit)
- survivors who run Distortion/Calm Spirit have terrible pathing and always sandbags their teammates
- survivors who run Distortion/Calm Spirit never touch gens, and never interact with killers or their teammates
I just wanna see it gone, tbh. Just like STBFL. I used to think Distortion was good if you got tired of getting tunneled but the current playstyle behind it is just disgusting & unengaging for both sides.
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This is my take on Healthy perk design.
Sole Survivor. At the start of the game, it does absolutely nothing. If the killer has aura perks, they'll get full value.
Now if the killer does alright and someone is sacrificed, now the perk begins to start working. And even with 1 survivor gone, 24m is quite a large radius to deny aura reading. SS is a guaranteed aura denial, unlike Distortion. Anti-snowball perk supremo!
Distortion is great right from the start, whether the killer has Lethal or not. You get info, info, info.
So while SS seems like a 'crap on your team' perk, it can be quite a bit more useful imo. It just does it better than Distortion imo.
To note, Distortion is a MUCH better info perk than aura denial imo.
I like to use SS + OoO to get chases early. If things get out of hand, OoO falls off when they are near and I have loads of fun/edge of my seat moments.
I feel perks to counter perks is perfectly fine and probably by design. There's no reason distortion can't protect from BBQ or Floods.
What are the 'few select strong aura reading perks'? I'm curious as to your thoughts :)
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I run distortion on literally all of my builds. It's incredibly useful. Not only does it protect you, but it feeds you information on what the killer is running. One person alone with distortion can warn their swf that lethal pursuer is in play, for example. Out of all the countless hours I've played as survivor, I'd say maybe 1 out of 10 matches do I ever actually run out of tokens without even trying to restock them, and when I do, I just can stay in the TR to restock fast.
It's a guaranteed value perk for free with 100% uptime in most cases. If the killer is running aura reading perks, you can provide information as to exactly what aura reading perks are running to your team (or just to you if solo queue, but face it, the game is designed around the expectation of swf). If the killer is NOT running aura reading perks, then that's still useful information to feed to your team. You'll know if BBQ is in play. You'll know at the beginning if it's safe to hop on a gen immediately or not vs lethal pursuer. You'll know if its safe to hide nearby a gen if it gets kicked. You'll know if the killer is reading your auras at loops when you vault. You'll know if it's safe to continuing to heal someone off to the side of the killer comes into the general area. All of those situations can literally prevent a down from happening which is HUGE. Otherwise, you'd have to learn the hard way for EACH aura reading method, and that hard way can end up costing you the match.
The perk may hide your aura as its primary purpose, but the information it provides is incredibly useful whether or not the killer is bringing auras reads. Both knowing what the killer is OR IS NOT running can prevent hooks from happening.
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My only real problem with distortion is when I'm playing a killer where reading close range auras can help a lot. Like if I'm playing trickster (I haven't since his update) I like to run aura reading like I'm All Ears for better tracking. He probably doesn't need it anymore due to no recoil, but still. I've seen other people do similar things, like Phead running All Ears to hit rites, and with huntress running nowhere to hide.
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long duration was what i meant by "strong".
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I think distortions effect is fine, but the token conditions need changing. This is FAR from a nerf, which is the thing I don't get why ppl are so against. Currently distortion is tied to the killer terror radius. Tying distortion to contribution rather than TR rewards players who are contributing while also giving survivors equal token charge against killers of ANY TR. This way your not struggling with tokens against a stealth killer/build.
If the killer on the other side of the map eats your token with BBQ... You wouldn't have to go cross the map and enter their TR to get that token back. Things like healing teammates, doing gens, opening exit gates, ect can fill the meter to get tokens.
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A survivor perk that I rarely see to go against, not a lot of people use is suddenly a problem.🙄🙄
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thats still a win smh
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Their teammates got smushed and I didn't have fun winning a free 3v1
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