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When's the skull Merchant getting buffed then?

Obviously using killrates is a bad idea when it comes to balancing. But since she was nerfed because "70% is too high" when is she going to be buffed now that she's at 57%?

Isn't your target 62% for all killers?

Comments

  • Skillfulstone
    Skillfulstone Member Posts: 784

    It's already been established that this "nerf" is just a way to "clip her wings" without actually killswitching her until her 2025 rework.

    By effectively removing SM from the game, the complaints also go away (for example, who complains about Freddy now?) which will make the feedback section lighter instantly XD

    When she gets her next rework, which will likely include substantial buffs, we'll see where she truly stands and if 3rd time's the charm.

  • Leachy_Jr
    Leachy_Jr Member Posts: 2,207

    That has been established nowhere, only by the community.

    They could just, ya know, balance her well.

  • Skillfulstone
    Skillfulstone Member Posts: 784

    It's very tricky to make SM's power balanced yet useful and engaging since the very core of her power (puts a stationary drone anywhere that creates a large danger zone) is made to zone and create lose-lose situations/force to hold W, which is boring and has effectively no real counterplay outside of a full SWF and "just hold w".

    While it hasn't been "officially" said, during a stream one of the devs wrote in chat (and a Reddit post) that SM's changes were just until her rework in 2025 and that they were working on it. It implies that the severity of the nerfs was intentional, a band-aid of sorts, until her rework. And honestly it's understandable even if it's not good.

    While her exceptionally high killrate is part of the reason why she got nuked (she was so much worse in PTB, borderline M1 Killer) everyone knows it's more of why she has a high killrate and how unhealthy she was, the game was almost unplayable since almost every games someone would instantly give up (even more than normal) and would further inflate her killrate which messed up any sort of accurate stats.

    The thing that worries me with this is that this sets a precedent: if you want something gone from the game, give up/dc enough times and eventually it's gonna get destroyed, no need to look for a healthy solution, just refuse to play and it'll go away eventually.

  • GrimReaperJr1232
    GrimReaperJr1232 Member Posts: 1,703

    No, it was established by a dev statement on reddit outright stating her nerfs are in place as a temp measure until she gets a proper rework.

  • ObsidianButterfly
    ObsidianButterfly Member Posts: 105

    BHVR's track record for reworks the last few years has been terrible. They ripped out her spine, left her as the, objectively, worst killer in the game, and there isn't even any guarantee her rework will come any time soon (they said next year, but they cannot be trusted). And even IF it shows up, who's to say it won't end up the same as Twins: in the garbage bin?

  • jesterkind
    jesterkind Member Posts: 7,797

    For the record, while I don't disagree with everything in your post, your reasoning in the first paragraph is objectively wrong. Her power as it stood prior to this set of changes absolutely had counterplay that allowed you to play tiles with a drone in play, because her drones were intentionally designed to no longer simply be danger areas that forced holding W due to the scan lines working the way they do.

    That's part of what frustrates me so much, personally. She was 95% of the way to the finish line, her previous rework did wonders to give her an interactive and fundamentally healthily designed power, but we're stuck here instead due to a combination of incessant and irrational hate, and BHVR's annoying decision to just kill her until the next rework.

  • Devil_hit11
    Devil_hit11 Member Posts: 8,756
    edited October 21

    apparently sometime next year, The earliest said state is June as they remark that it will not be in first half of the year. In the mean time, enjoy other killers.

    Post edited by Devil_hit11 on
  • Leachy_Jr
    Leachy_Jr Member Posts: 2,207

    Is there a link to that reddit post I can get, thanks.

    She should not be left in a state this terrible, thats what I'm complaining about. She's unfun to play and easily the worst killer in the game. She could be fun if whoever is balancing her was actually good at their job and understood what makes a killer fun or unfun.

  • Leachy_Jr
    Leachy_Jr Member Posts: 2,207

    Gonna be funny when BHVR ends up realising that people give up because its skull merchant and nothing to do with her power. Meaning theyre gonna have to constantly waste resources reworking her for a 4th and 5th time.

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 11,170

    Hello, friend! Good to see you again.

    As far as we know, Skull Merchant is set for changes after the first half of 2025. So after the anniversary, at best. At worst, we can expect another Freddy or Twins situation.

    The thing that worries me with this is that this sets a precedent: if you want something gone from the game, give up/dc enough times and eventually it's gonna get destroyed, no need to look for a healthy solution, just refuse to play and it'll go away eventually.

    Unfortunately, this doesn't sets a precedent, it merely reinforces something that was already here. Because the same thing happened to Freddy when he first released.

    The only difference is that SM took months. Freddy took a week.

    Nope, you didn't read that wrong.

    Nerfed in one week.

  • Iron_Cutlass
    Iron_Cutlass Member Posts: 3,247

    I think they are going to put her on the shelf until they can release a full-on power rework, I really hate to say it since it will make a lot of people upset, but I think it is the expected outcome.

  • Leachy_Jr
    Leachy_Jr Member Posts: 2,207

    Haiii :3

    Yeah I don't mind much if she's terrible its just right now she's extremely clunky and unfun to play. These changes do nothing to make her "more fun to verse" but literally only serve to lessen her playrate which is already in the bottom 10 I think.

    I'm advocating for her unfun changes (radar ms penalty, fast vault immunity, etc) to be reverted and maybe a few buffs so she isn't the worst killer in the game.

    Many SM mains are essentially gonna go a year without a killer if something doesn't get reverted, which is incredibly selfish of the developer(s) behind these changes to completely neglect us.

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 11,170

    Many SM mains are essentially gonna go a year without a killer if something doesn't get reverted

    At the very, very least, my friend, it is one year. Freddy mains have been waiting for over three. Or five, for those like me, who played Freddy before the first rework.

    It doesn't make the situation better, I know. But it isn't the worst we've ever seen, at least not yet.

    And I'll say, I think they should revert most if not all of her recent nerfs. It is clear at this point that petty DCs will happen either way, so might as well leave her playable until the rework.

  • Devil_hit11
    Devil_hit11 Member Posts: 8,756

    i hope that rework is reverting her nerf to be honest. She was in a good spot previously from killer gameplay stand-point. now i need to go without a trapping killer for like 6 months. sucks but oh well. if d/c don't really let it up than killer that play skull merchant are simply going have to accept that like a 1/3 of their games are go next games. it's alright but a little bit of waste time sink. i can't imagine d/c happening after 6 months. surely they'll bother to play few matches vs the killer. i don't know.

  • Leachy_Jr
    Leachy_Jr Member Posts: 2,207

    Everyone I main turns to dust. First it was Freddy getting reworked, then it was Slinger, then it was Knight, now it's Merchant.

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 11,170

    Tragedies, my dear friend, all of them.

    Though, I'll say I am still having fun with the Knight. Out of the killers you've mentioned he seems to have received more acceptable changes . But I'm no expert, I only started playing Knight because Freddy was excluded from the first Lights Out event.

  • Leachy_Jr
    Leachy_Jr Member Posts: 2,207

    I'm one of the few Knight players who didn't like his update

    Knight was about adapting the guard you have to your situation, not choosing the best guard for the situation. He's still fun but like he's not fun enough for me to be playing, esp since call to arms is borderline essential now, replacing old map.

    I'm glad other people can find him fun tho, I know a lot of other knight players/mains love the changes.

  • Orthane
    Orthane Member Posts: 434

    The funny thing is her 70% KR wasn't because she was strong, she was B+ at best, it was because people refused to play against her. Now that she's essentially a free win for Survivors they no longer give up.

  • doobiedo
    doobiedo Member Posts: 307

    Whats wrong with slinger. Slinger is fine when I play him. Quickscope was way too powerful if thats what youre complaining about

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 11,170

    Knight was about adapting the guard you have to your situation, not choosing the best guard for the situation.

    With this one I agree completely, my friend. There was much more to the Knight instead of simply spawning a guard on every loop.

    I just think he feels a bit better than other killers who got changes, such as Freddy, Deathslinger and Skull Merchant.

  • ObsidianButterfly
    ObsidianButterfly Member Posts: 105

    "Down the line"

    Meaning it could be YEARS. They said a year in other posts, but…

    do you ACTUALLY believe/have faith in them? Because I sure don't. They have failed pretty much every rework they have tried in the past few years.