Please change Windows of Opportunity

Windows of Opportunity (commonly referred to as 'Windows') is a perk that allows the Survivor who runs it to see the aura of windows and pallets within 32 meters of themself. This can be used smartly, to scout the map or to know what pallets have been dropped by teammates.

However, a lot of times it makes the game frustating for both Killers and Teammates. This is because quite a few players are overreliant on the perk. They play chase by running to a pallet, dropping it and then just running to the next one, not really knowing how to run loops or keep chase without it.

For Killers this can be boring because the early chases are boring and long, and when the pallets are used up, the later chases are boring and short, because the Windows of Opportunity user is now easy to catch without pallets to run to.

In addition to that, a lot of times it is detrimental to your teammates. When I play survivor I had quite a few matches where fellow Survivors used Windows of Opportunity in the above mentioned way and used up a lot of pallets too early, making survival in chase not just harder for themself, but also for me and our fellow Teammates as we couldn't use them either.

In addition to that, it is by far the most used perk in the game and I am not a big fan of meta stagnation, where everyone runs the same perks.

My suggestions for the rework are either to make the radius smaller, give it a cooldown after dropping a pallet (and maybe increase the radius in exchange) or change it so you can only see dropped pallets, instead of both standing and dropped pallets (and maybe increase the radius in exchange).

Comments

  • Flawless_
    Flawless_ Member Posts: 323
    edited April 7

    Windows does not remove any pallets so your teammates can still drop every pallet with or without it. You are advocating for punishing solo q players who can’t rely on teammates to keep track of dropped pallets. As a killer, that’s one less Adren/UB/Buckle Up to worry about and a perk slot that does nothing to advance the game so it’s actually a fair trade.

    You should probably try to get your MMR up so you’re not paired with terrible teammates who don’t know how to loop. That’s an easier solution than requesting a change so that YOU can get better games.

    Post edited by Flawless_ on
  • KatsuhxP
    KatsuhxP Member Posts: 871

    You're talking about new players that don't know how to loop. I personally just use it as support to know where a palette is already dropped or gone and on which side they stand, so I just know how to loop it without the factor of rng. I don't think it's a problem as killer ether, I never thought I lost because of windows (I play around 70% killer and 30% survivor).

    I agree, I like survivors with chase related perks more than with progression or second-chance

  • VibranToucan
    VibranToucan Member Posts: 70

    This brings up another poitn I forgot to mention. You said that people who use it "don't know how to loop". And I agree. But the issue is that this perk disincentives learning to loop.

    Because if you run a Killer through half the map by dropping every pallet you see and then you loose the game, most people won't realize that this use of Windows of Opportunity and pallets caused them to lose later in the game, they'll just think about the more direct thing it did, that it helped them run the Killer for so long.

    Also, while me highering my MMR would help me not play with/face these people, others still would. It is a fundamental issue that makes games more difficult for every Survivor on that level, not just for me.

  • TieBreaker
    TieBreaker Member Posts: 973

    There's like over fifty maps now. That number is going to keep growing. WoO is going to become more necesssary as time passes.

    Nerfing the only perk that can keep super babies alive is an awful idea. It's also a nerf that will harm solo queue players whilst barely impacting SWF.

    If the game requires you to play for thousands of hours to learn everything, then that's a failing of the game, not the players. A perk like WoO needs to exist and be good in a game like this.

    I fully understand why killers hate this perk. Quicker downs means easier wins. But the benefits of your survivor teammates having the perk, heavily outweighs the negatives.

  • KatsuhxP
    KatsuhxP Member Posts: 871

    But just because a certain group of people don't know how to use it effective it doesn't mean it should be changed. Learning how to use perks, items and offerings as well as looping and decision-making is a big part of the gameplay-loop. Of course that does mean that some games are weird or lost because of this, but I don't think we should make everything as easy to use as possible or nerf it to the ground because of this.

  • SuperCop
    SuperCop Applicant Posts: 137

    Windows does not need a nerf.

  • Neaxolotl
    Neaxolotl Member Posts: 1,477

    I'd even say make this basekit, ultimately that just reduces gap between best and worst players so making game more consistent

  • UndeddJester
    UndeddJester Member Posts: 3,254
    edited April 7

    To be fair... the OP is not wrong. If you play WoO while learning, you won't learn any of the maps or how to get better at looping them, because your pathing becomes autopilot, so you never actually develop any of your pathing or looping skills.

    I had to ban myself from running it, because it severely hinders my ability to assimilate and learn the structure of maps. It's annoying, cause when onboardimg a new player, I want to tell them to use WoO to help them be somewhat effective at making windows and pallets while in chase and experience tne fun part of DBD... but I also know this hurts them in the long run…

    I would want it nerfed, not because it's OP, but because it actively hurts you from getting better at the game. It's the satnav of DBD, you never learn where you're going, cause you just rely on and follow the satnav.

    I would prefer it even if it had a just had a flat 32m range, and a 10/9/8s cooldown after taking a rushed action or dropping a pallet, just so you actually have to briefly remember the layout of the tile/map in order to use it.

  • UndeddJester
    UndeddJester Member Posts: 3,254

    I would be vehemently against this for the same reason as above. WoO makes players bad at the game, and I absolutely don't want to have this perk in my loadout because of the bad habits it gives me.

  • KatsuhxP
    KatsuhxP Member Posts: 871

    Why wouldn't you able to learn structures with it? I admit that I know every map anyways because I play killer more than survivor, but I can tell pretty good which palette aura is related to which structure in the map and therefore I know how to loop it from there. Of course that means you still have to think for that to work like that. I don't say there aren't any players that just autopilot it, but that's on them using it wrong and not the perks fault.

  • UndeddJester
    UndeddJester Member Posts: 3,254
    edited April 7

    That's the thing, you already know the maps.

    If you don't know the maps, using WoO highlights all the windows and pallets, and basically sets your route automatically. You don't have to learn the maps, because the perk does the work for you.

    I call it a satnav perk because its the same effect as a satnav when driving. If you drive somewhere without a satnav, and instead have to learn the route via landmarks, you can drive somewhere maybe once or twice, and you know the route.

    If you use a satnav, you can drive the route 100 times and still not know tne route, because you never learn any landmarks or environmental cues, so the moment you don't have the satnav, you don't know where you're going.

    Windows of Opportunity has exactly the same effect.

    For higher levels players, WoO tells them pallet states and structure spawns. For low level players, it's a satnav, and it makes them worse at the game, and that is from my own low level player perspective.

    So I want to nerf it so high level players can still use it how they would normally use it, but low level players can't use it as an auto path tool, it doesn't just light the way, they have to remember and recall the information WoO revealed to them after they take a pallet/window, which will ACTUALLY help learn the maps, and benefit them in the long run.

    With this change I would start recommending WoO to néw players, as opposed to how it is now, where I recommend it only so they don't get immediately crushed at loops and can see the fun of DBD, at which point I tell to ditch it ASAP.

  • KatsuhxP
    KatsuhxP Member Posts: 871

    Well I guess it depents on the person how they want to use it. I'd say it's the same with the flanell-addon of nurse, you could use it permanently without ever learning the muscle-memory because you don't chain it together in your head. But you could chain it together and look actively for ways to learn the muscle-memory as well. You just have to want it.

  • Neaxolotl
    Neaxolotl Member Posts: 1,477
  • TieBreaker
    TieBreaker Member Posts: 973

    As someone who has been driving for over a decade, your description of how someone uses a satnav is very strange to me. You make it sound like people don't use their brains when they drive as long as they have a satnav to hand. You still learn the route, learn landmarks. You're still processing information, still learning the environment. WoO is no different.

    As far as people reaching their highest potential in this game… does it matter? I'd rather new players have all the tools they needed to have enough fun that they actually stick around, even if they never reach the skill level of someone like Ayrun.

  • BlightedDolphin
    BlightedDolphin Member Posts: 1,863

    Depends on the person honestly. I use GPS to get everywhere and it hasn't helped me learn the routes in the slightest haha.

    I don't agree that WoO needs a nerf though, but I can see their point.

  • kaoraku
    kaoraku Member Posts: 249

    Yeah. Survivors should get another 4-5 things as basekit. Maybe they should even get some new perkslots hm? Survivors already got perk effect as mechanic. They don't need any more. You want advantage, sacrifice a perkslot for it.

  • Neaxolotl
    Neaxolotl Member Posts: 1,477

    This advantage is something that can be done with skills still, I really loves removing skill gap

  • UndeddJester
    UndeddJester Member Posts: 3,254

    Does it matter if you don't need to learn maps anyway

    That's all well and good for players who don't want to develop their skill… but what about the players who do? What if I want the satisfaction of learning to analyze the map around me and take stock of available pallets and windows as I move through the map? It's the same thing as Dark Souls as a game, you never really level up to the point you can smash your way through the game, your actual strength in those games comes from your own devleopment of your skills.

    If you make WoO basekit, you're forcing that change upon me as well, and it is extremely hard to ignore something available to you freely; it's easy to become lazy and not bother to develop your skill at something if you don't need to. In it's current form, it's a choice the player can make to make their playstyle lazier or not.

    That's not to say the game being more casual friendly is necessarily a bad thing. If a player doesn't want to develop their skills they shouldn't have to, but that mundane playstyle also affects players they are against as well. E.g. using claymore mines and camping in a corner in CoD is effective, but it's lame and unfun for other players… and the DBD equivalent of that is running pallet to pallet and just throwing them back to back. It works… but it's lame…. so there are benefits for the game overall by limiting this type of play.

    My nerf is indeed a hit for players who don't want to develop their skills and just want to hold W pallet to pallet true enough, but it's not a huge nerf that completely kills the perk and that more casual playstyle. The perk pretty much remains the same, but you need to pay a little more attention. A player might have to actually loop for 8s or so and win an exchange before they can resume holding W blindly. Asking a player for a little engagement with the game is not a bad thing to my mind.

  • Emeal
    Emeal Member Posts: 5,113

    Windows of Opportunity is a nice perk that you can run and do well in the game with without having to learn too much.
    It would be unwise for bHVR to nerf this perk too much as it pretty much holds up alot of casual players imo