My Suggestion For a Skull Merchant Rework
It's the hot topic lately, and here's yet another opinion from a killer main who hasn't played Skull Merchant!
I haven't ever touched SM because her power, to me, is so boring. If survivors know how to counter her power effectively, she's an M1 killer. If they don't, she's a mostly passive but oppressively dull killer to go against.
So here's my suggestion: ACTIVE DRONES
DRONES
The Skull Merchant has 3 different drone types. In order to deploy a drone, the Skull Merchant must swap to her Drone Controller (similar to Singularity swapping to cameras). Deploying a drone puts it onto the map, and it remains on the map until it is recalled or destroyed. While controlling a drone, the Skull Merchant becomes Cloaked, becoming invisible and gaining Undetectable. This effect lingers briefly after the Skull Merchant resumes control of the killer.
Hover Drone: This drone is a small hover drone that can fly, allowing it to bypass vaults and pallets. It has infrared vision, outlining Survivors in a brighter color. While controlling the Hover Drone, the Skull Merchant can fire a Tracker Bug that marks the Survivor with Killer Instinct for a short time. This drone is vulnerable to Flashlights and Flashbangs, which will cause its connection to be interrupted for a short time and return the player control to the Skull Merchant. While Inactive this drone constantly emits a sweeping sensor ping in a small area around it. Survivors that are scanned by the ping will cause a loud noise notification unique to the Skull Merchant.
Hunter Drone: This drone is a small drone armed with deadly torture implements. While controlling it, the drone moves quickly and can pass through vaults more quickly (think like a spider drone with blades that can crawl fast). The drone can attack and Injure survivors, much the same as a killer. The drone can be stunned by dropped pallets, causing its connection to be interrupted for a short time and returning the player control to the Skull Merchant. While Inactive this drone will autonomously patrol a small area around its last position (very small, basically back and forth movement). If a survivor comes within its detection range, it will lunge at them and injure them, or inflict Deep Wounds if they are already injured. The drone then returns to its patrol area.
Hacker Drone: This drone is a small bug that can be deployed on a generator. Upon attaching to a generator, it will begin to regress as if the Skull Merchant had damaged it. The next survivor to attempt repairing the generator must succeed at a difficult skill check to remove the drone. If they fail, it sounds an alarm, and the generator continues to regress. While Inactive this drone will emit a small area of disruption, causing survivors to be unable to use items while in its radius.
While Inactive survivors can approach any drone and complete an action to disable them. Any drone that is disabled or is blinded/stunned/removed by survivors returns to the Skull Merchant and goes on cooldown. The Skull Merchant can only control 1 drone at a time, but can swap between drones without returning control to the Skull Merchant. The Skull Merchant can also recall drones manually, putting them on a brief cooldown.
I know it's long, but please. Let me know what you think!