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Springtrap, Freddy And (Lack Of) Unique Powers: Different Killers, Similar Problem
Greetings, friends of the Fog! I hope this discussion finds you doing well.
So, now that most of us had a chance to either play the PTB or watch other people playing it, I think it is clear that Springtrap's power has an aspect that not everyone enjoyed: the axe. And one of the reasons why some players, myself included, is because of how extremely similar it is to a killer we already have.
Sure, others may have disliked because of its lack of a proper connection to the franchise, which is absolutely valid, but that was one of the complaints. And I think they are perfectly justified.
And this, I believe, highlights a massive problem with current DBD, which is the lack of unique abilities. How strangely and uncomfortably similar many killers are to each other, blurring the lines that should never be blurred: the lines which make each killer who they are.
For instance, let's think for a second about the killer roster I saw when I first played DBD, which was December of 2018: all killers were unique. No one had a recycled power. And that is how it should be.
But that isn't how it currently is. The same powers get recycled over and over again, until we basically don't have killers who are truly different from one another. But worse still, are the killers who actually were unique, but tragically got changed to lose what made them who they were. And no one, no one, is a better example than my favorite killer, Freddy Krueger.
Freddy started as the most unique killer DBD has ever seen, with a power to pull survivors into another world, which had never been done before and it still hasn't been done again. And the weaknesses of his power, which I pointed out many times, could easily be fixed while keeping his identity perfectly intact. However, his first rework, in my opinion the worst change ever done to DBD, shattered his uniqueness to replace it with abilities that, at their core, other killers already had.
And if that wasn't enough, the second rework merely altered which powers were to be recycled and given to Freddy.
The FNAF chapter should have ended this trend of recycled powers, and it could have. The doors and the security office are somewhat similar to Xeno's tunnels, yes, but the interaction survivors have with it and the surveillance being made available to survivors, when it was previously restricted to killers through Singularity, are good additions. But the axe? It is just Huntress, another ranged attack when we already have enough of those.
Overall, the FNAF chapter isn't garbage or anything of the sorts, but it could have been better.
And I think it is important to have this discussion to promote a direction for the game to go which promotes uniqueness, and moves away from having the same powers over and over again.
What do you think? Please share your thoughts, every opinion is welcome here!
-Signed by GeneralV, the Old Freddy main.
Comments
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His axe isn't really that similar to Huntress's though. It had a much different throwing arc and range, it has a cooldown instead of a reload so he can't zone survivors as easily, it allows his unique insta-grab, he uses it to disable the cameras and doors for macroplay, and it has add-ons that turn it into more of a utility tool than a projectile weapon.
I think he's fine because he plays differently, even if it is superficially similar.
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Its still an axe….that throws…
I think they did pretty well, I just would have preferred a different power than his axe personally. Although I feel the chapter will be successful.
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Yeah, it's an axe that throws. You got me, it's exactly the same thing, Springtrap is a Huntress reskin and all that stuff I just explained doesn't exist.
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While I do agree that there are some different details, I personally do not think Springtrap should have received a recycled power. If at all, then stealth, because it is different enough across each killer who has it to be truly unique.
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I agree 100%.
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Well said, General! Honestly, this is one of the biggest issues pushing me away from DbD right now. I'm just not excited for any new killer because I know Behavior is not going to innovate or try to design a creative power at all.
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Thank you, my dear friend! I know the chapter isn't even out yet, but I think this discussion is truly important, for more than just FNAF.
And yes, I can understand how demotivating it is. I took another break from DBD since January precisely because of how disappointing Freddy's changes were, and this very aspect of sticking to a recycled power instead of giving him his unique, original power back was the primary reason.
I was excited for FNAF, but now I am not sure if I will get the chapter. Probably not, considering I don't like ranged killers.
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It just aggravates me because I know the devs are capable of more, but they just don't want to try anything new nowadays. Whether because of community push-back or potential bugs/glitches, I don't know. Are we ever going to get a killer that flies, or climbs on walls, or inhabits their own area of the map (like the Halloween event), or who disguises themselves as a survivor, or applies buffs/debuffs, or just something that actually pushes the envelope a little? I know all those concepts may not be the strongest, but I feel like strength should almost always come secondary to fun/creativity.
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Probably more to do with the limitations of the game than anything else
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Thanks friend :)
That is… very possible and disappointing at the same time, my friend.
Though, while it would explain Springtrap, it wouldn't explain Freddy.
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I don't think there were limitations. For example. Skull Merchants Drones. The Scan Lines were a new design created. They rolled over to the same lines Alien's Flame Turrets use.
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Yeah, when hearing them talk about possibly wanting to intentionally miss with the axe, and then seeing Otz test to see if the axe had a recall mechanic (as in, you could chuck it over a wall/obstacle to setup a recall in a straightaway, possibly hitting multiple survivors if the recall didn't stick whereas the throw does) I was like: That could be dope as I'ma trickshot like the Ghost of Sparta.
But no.
If they wanted trickshots they could have also tried to introduce some kind of bounce mechanic on Terrain, I know Trickster has that through an addon (and it's just more anti-loop, so probably not the greatest survivor experience), but it would make the base projectile more diverse.
As far as addons go though it does look like they'll be interesting to fiddle with.
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The reclaiming mechanic is similar to mk1 shao Kahn . It nice but the axe should have been something else.
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Fair enough, friend, that is a good point.
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I get that but what I mean is that Otz was expecting something along the lines of: The recall would make the axe another projectile that homes in to the Killer from the prior point of impact, which in terms of ranged Killer abilities in DBD would have been novel. (A on-call "Boomerang" where stage one is throwing it, and stage 2 is calling it back).
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what do you think of this,
my ideal abilities of springtrap is he can summon phantoms which has different effects to the survivors pov. He will just be like freedy kreuger( who can summon, teleport and a left click killer) but he will have a skill option just like vecna. I know this sound like a combination of most killers but the only thing that it will be unique is his interaction towards the survivors . Because his main abilities purpose is to disrupt the pov of all of the survivors which is explained in the link below. Please share your thoughts about my opinion.
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That's true regarding Freddy, but even then I don't feel like they did anything too groundbreaking with him (i wasnt around for his original iteration though). He has a ranged attack, he can mess with pallets (which Doctor can also do with his illusions), and his dream world is probably comparable to Dredge's Nightfall in terms of simply altering the environment. But they made it uniquely Freddy. My only exposure to FNAF is through my kids, but from what I've seen there's nothing about Springtrap that is particularly unique. He traverses the Pizzaria and survival depends on being observant.
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Well, my friend, Freddy will likely remain a mystery when it comes to why he has not reverted to his original iteration when it could have been easily fixed without changing his identity.
Springtrap, meanwhile, will probably get stuck with his wasted potential, because it could have been so much better.
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I feel like strength should almost always come secondary to fun/creativity.
I certainly agree, friend!
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You wrote it perfectly. That‘s my issue with all the recent killers. I want unique killers, not old ones with a diffrent skin and the older power being changed slightly.
There is still enough room for unique ideas and I don‘t get why behavior goes this route. At least I can understand that this one can also be blamed on Scot. Houndmaster on the other hand is just a pinhead/slinger remix. Vecna‘s power is 50+% recycled old killers. Dracula is just Wesker, spirit and Pyrmid head. Kaneki is the only killer who was kinda unique and I think that is also the reason why so many people played him. Sure he is a dash killer, which kinda is like blight, but he is way diffrent to all the other killers we have.
Hopefully behavior changes directions and comes up with new ideas in the future. Recycling old powers shouldn‘t be the way. The same goes about unique powers, they shouldn‘t get altered to be a reskin of old powers. It‘s really a shame they removed old Freddy.
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I will admit, the axe was a weird choice to me... I don’t recall it ever being in any of the games... admittedly I haven't seen them all, as I hate the series from FNAF3 onwards and watching them was painful so I never made it all the way through... but I've never seen anything in the official content about an axe... apparently it's a fairly widely known fan made thing?
However, regarding the axe, it could have been literally anything... could have detached and threw his hand even... which would also make sense for the killer instinct nearby, since it'd be a part of Springtrap, and would obviously make the grab far more sensible since it's 2 parts of Springtrap working together.. rather than a random seemingly enchanted axe.
Course it'd still be the same gameplay loop as Huntress... but at least the comparison wouldn't be quite so glaring...
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Precisely, my friend.
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