Survivor Perk Suggestions and Feedback [LONG Post]

OnryosTapeRentals

I'd say most of us can agree that a lot of the perks in the game are lacklustre, which leads to the same handful of perks appearing in almost every match. If DbD is your main game, like it is for me, this can get stale pretty quickly. Personally, I try to alleviate that by giving unique builds to all of my surviors and killers, but as more chapters release, it's becoming increasingly difficult to come up with new builds that are actually viable. Most perks that come out these days are too weak or too niche, and simply end up as Bloodweb filler. And that's on top of the huge pool of older perks that are already waiting to be buffed or reworked.

DbD has accrued so many perks at this point, and it's really sad that so many of them sit unused. There's a lot of great ideas behind most perks, they just need some polishing so I'm going to go through and list all of the perks I think need changes, the reason(s) why they need changes, and some suggestions on how they could be improved.

I did something similar to this over a year ago now, but the game has changed quite a lot since then and naturally so have some of my suggestions. This time around I'd also like to focus on keeping the "feel" of the perks for the few out there who like them, as opposed to reworking them to suit my tastes (as I did previously).

Survivor General Perks

I'll start with the general survivor perks:

• Dark Sense: Not a great perk, but also not completely terrible. Previously, I suggested reverting the changes it got in 6.1.0, to make it map-wide again, but now that we have Eyes of Belmont we'd just end up with two perks competing to do the same job. Instead, I think it can stay as is but give the duration a slight buff.

Tweak: Increased the duration from 10 seconds to 12.

• Lightweight: Doesn't need any direct changes per se, but a couple of updates back the effect of this perk became notably weaker and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it is bugged, or a side-effect of changes to Scratch Marks, but it should be looked and made consistent with how it used to be.

Bug fix: Fixed an issue causing Lightweight's effect to be weaker than intended.

• Premonition: This is inspired by that old Tome challenge that gets you to point at the Killer after Premonition goes off. This is sort of a jokey suggestion but thought it might see more use if it had a secondary effect.

Update: Pointing in the Killer's direction after Premonition triggers reveals the Killer's aura to Survivors within 8 meters of you for 2 seconds.

• Basically this allows you to share the info you get with nearby teammates at the cost of having to interrupt what you're doing to point. I know people worry about aura reading getting out of hand (given how strong OoO used to be), but it already has a cooldown, I've kept the numbers very conservative, and stealth Killers already have a built-in counter to auras via Undetectable. Plus, it can always be reverted if it turns out to be too much — I think it would be better to try and fail to improve these perks than to do nothing with them.

• Slippery Meat: This is a terrible perk that you should basically never run. The only time this gets any use is in 4-man SWFs who can stack luck effects to guarantee the unhook. Admittedly, it's rare this happens but I don't think it is very healthy design regardless. Buffing the numbers still wouldn't make it worthwhile in solo queue either so I think it might just be a better idea to rework this perk entirely. I'm going to borrow an idea from UnddedJeser for this one and pivot the perk into an anti-camping perk:

Rework: Extends the range of the anti-facecamping mechanic by 6 meters.

• Yes, I understand that the AFC mechanic is designed to combat facecamping, but we have a wealth of killers in the game at this point whose powers allow them to achieve the same results as facecamping without actually having to stand directly in the survivor's face. This allows the likes of Leatherface, Huntress, Trickster, etc. to plant themselves just outside of the AFC range but still deny the unhook. The AFC mechanic is already very lenient, and the number I've gone with here is small so I don't think there's any risk that this would punish Killers who aren't hard camping.

• Small Game: Simply outclassed by Counterforce, Detective's Hunch, and Sharpened Flint. All of the newer Totem-hunting perks provide bonus effects in addition to helping you locate Totems. For Small Game to be a viable pick, it also needs to do something more. I suggest stealing an effect from Calm Spirit:

Update: Cleansing and blessing Totems is silent.

• This effect fits better thematically with Small Game than it does Calm Spirit, and I also think we could safely have this effect here without warranting a downside like Calm Spirit has.

• Spine Chill: Wow this perk really fell off after its rework, and understandably so. The new version doesn't do anything useful. As a stealth Killer player, I understand why this perk was reworked, but they really overdid it. It is now both harder to activate, given that it requires direct LoS, and the effects when it does activate are much weaker since it no longer enhances vault speed. And the vault speed bonus was basically the only useful one… I'd say Spine Chill could safely get that effect back. The bonus is only 6% and you lose it every time there's something in the way of you and the Killer anyways, which happens very often during chases!

Update: Increases vault speed by 6% when active.

• This is Not Happening: This perk is really held back by the requirement to be injured because, even while injured, the effect it provides is only intermittent — contrasted to the continuous benefit Resilience provides. I think TiNH should have an effect while healthy too, although a much smaller one to prevent crazy stacking with Hyperfocus.

Update: Increases the Great Skill Check success zone by 5% while healthy, and 30% while injured.

• This way it is guaranteed to do at least something in the match, but the real benefit is still reserved for when you're injured.

Survivor Unique Perks

So that's the generic perks out the way, now onto character's perks:

• Aftercare: Remove the penalty for being hooked, You already have to run around and save/heal to activate this perk in the first place. It really sucks to finally get the perk up and running only to have it completely reset — which can happen twice per match. Currently, it's much easier to just use something like Bond or Empathy which are way more passive.

Update: Aftercare no longer resets on being hooked.

• Apocalyptic Ingenuity: This perk wastes too much time. Fragile pallets are too weak to justify having to find a chest, search it, find another chest, search it, find a broken pallet location, and then spend time rebuilding it. The chest requirement also puts a cap on how many times this can be used per game, which it really doesn't need given how easily outplayed the pallets are. I think this needs changed to have a more sensible activation requirement, in line with the likes of Flashbang, Blast Mine, Chemical Trap, and Mirrored Illusion (which are all much stronger effects for doing less in my opinion):

Rework: Activates after repairing 40% worth of a generator.

• I know some people are going to immediately worry that there'll be fragile pallets everywhere with this change, but I don't think it will be an issue. Placing a pallet every time the perk activated would be a huge time sink. You'd need to come off the generator, run to a pallet location, rebuild it, run back, and then repeat the process once the generator reaches 80%, and so on.

• Better Than New: Currently this perk only affects a narrow selection of actions. Make it affect more actions, similar to perks like Leader, and it could be good.

Update: Survivors you finish healing cleanse, bless, open gates, sabotage, heal, unhook, and unlock 16% faster until they receive damage.

• Boon: Illumination: Unlike the other Boons, Illumination's effect is so weak that it is never worth running on its own, and so I think it might be worthwhile to lean into the idea of this being a support perk for other Boons. The 10% increased blessing/cleansing speed isn't meaningful, so I suggest swapping it out for a new effect:

Update: Expands the radius of your Boon Totem by 6 meters.

• Calm Spirit: Personally, I think they could just revert this perk to its pre-6.1.0 version. The added silent cleansing/unlocking is niche and outside of the original scope of the perk. It also needlessly tips the perk over into needing a drawback due to it having three stealth effects combined. The old two effects of avoiding crows and suppressing screaming are adequate, having a third niche effect at the cost of a drawback is not worth it.

Update: No longer affects Chests and Totems.

• Come and Get Me!: Doesn't need the unhook activation requirement. The drawback to this perk is already that you have to group up to use it, which is inherently inefficient, and it causes you to scream and reveal your aura. Swap the unhook condition for a standard cooldown.

Update: No longer requires an unhook to activate; can be used once every 60 seconds.

• Cut Loose: A niche perk that is very hard to get value out of due to its short duration. The duration needs at least doubled:

Tweak: Activates for 12 seconds after performing a Rushed Vault.

• Deadline: Remove the random Skill Check location part of the perk, the fact you have to be injured to use it is enough.

Update: No longer causes Skill Checks to appear in random locations.

• Diversion: A funny meme perk but it doesn't do enough to justify a slot. Give it a secondary effect:

Update: Suppresses your scratch marks for 5 seconds after throwing the pebble.

• Fast Track: Sounds good on paper, but is outclassed by other generator perks and doesn't remotely offset the time wasted by your teammates getting hooked, as well as hook-related slowdown perks like Pain Resonance or Pop. Buffing the numbers is liable to getting out of hand though so I suggest keeping the amount of repair progress it grants the same, but switching it to remove those from the generator's maximum charge requirement (similar to Brand New Parts) instead of granting regular repair progress.

Update: When hitting a Great Skill Check, permanently remove 1% per Token from the maximum number of charges required to repair the generator.

• Friendly Competition: This is one of those perks that is doomed to be bad due to its design. The numbers are impossible to buff due to the risk of things getting out of hand when stacked or used by coordinated teams. I think this perk needs a full rework:

Rework: If you are the Survivor with the most total time spent repairing, gain a 6% bonus to repair speed.

• There, now its usable without need to worry about stacking.

• Hardened: This perk doesn't need as hefty of an activation requirement. Either keep the Chest search or the Totem as the condition, but not both.

Update: Activates after cleansing or blessing a Totem.

• Invocation: Treacherous Crows: This perk has a bunch of issues holding it back:
  • Firstly, being injured and Broken for the whole game is too big a cost for this perk. That's a reasonable trade off for Weaving Spiders, but not Treacherous Crows. If Invocations are ever to be a viable perk type, they need to have different, and perk-appropriate downsides.
  • Secondly, the requirements to be in the Killer's Terror Radius AND have the Killer startle a crow is too specific. If you're in the Killer's TR, you probably already know where they are, and if you're being chased then you'll be the one startling crows and not the Killer. There's just too much that needs to align for this perk to work.
  • Switch the perk to inflict Exhausted instead of Broken, and have it activate when Survivors startle crows instead of the Killer.

Rework: Once the Invocation is complete, permanently suffer from the Exhausted effect. When a Survivor startles a crow, reveal the Killer's aura to all survivors for 2 seconds.

• Leader: Simple change — have it affect blessing speed too.

Update: Added blessing to the list of interactions affected by Leader.

• Left Behind: I don't really like this perk. It relies on your entire team dying, which is something you're ideally going to avoid happening, but even when it does happen there is no guarantee that you'll be the last survivor. That is, unless you're intentionally letting your team die. Still, there are a number of challenges and achievements tied to Hatch, so I don't want to touch that effect, but I do think this perk could do with a secondary effect to give it us in an average game (and not just a lost one).

Update: Once per game, allows you to rummage through a Chest for a Dull Key.

• I think that synergises nicely with the Hatch aspect of the perk, and also allows it to slot nicely into chest builds.

• Low Profile: Some stealth to help come back from a dire situation is a nice idea, but completely trumped by aura reading (which is very common). Also you'll probably need more than stealth to help make a play if the rest of your team are currently dying. I'd add the ability for the perk to supress your aura and throw in a little Haste:

Update: Suppresses your Scratch Marks, Pools of Blood, Grunts of Pain, and aura while active. While active, gain 3% Haste.

• Open-Handed: Not a bad perk, but it doesn't do anything on its own. I'm okay with perks serving a support or synergistic role with other perks, but I do think they should provide at least some value on their own. I'd add some aura reading built into the perk so it is at least usable on its own:

Update: Reveals your aura to other Survivors within a 20-meter range.

• This basically functions as a reverse Bond now.

• Parental Guidance: A simple one — increase the duration, it's currently too short given how infrequently this activates.

Tweak: Increased the duration to 14 seconds.

• Reactive Healing: Unlike other healing perks, Reactive Healing cannot heal you on its own. You need a teammate, Med-Kit, or another perk to finish off the heal. Therefore, I think the amount of heal this perk gives you when it triggers could be upped a little.

Tweak: Increased the heal progress granted by Reactive Healing to 60% of missing healing progression.

• Red Herring: Having this perk tied to generators holds it back. You want to draw the Killer away from your objectives, not towards. A little rework is in order:

Rework: When entering a Locker, Red Herring creates a Loud Noise Notification for the Killer at the furthest Locker from you. The affected Locker is highlighted in yellow to you for 15 seconds. Red Herring has a 15-second cooldown.

• Rookie Spirit: This perk is outcompeted by Deja Vu, which provides information on high priority generators, a repair speed bonus, AND doesn't come with any activation requirement. Rookie Spirit needs to lose its activation condition, as well as offer a secondary effect if it wants to compete with Deja Vu:

Update: Rookie Spirit is active from the start of the Trial. Reveals the aura of regressing generators to you. Generators stop regressing after you repair them for 1% progress (as opposed to the usual 5%).

• Self-Preservation: Not a bad effect, I just think it needs to be easier to activate and last a little longer.

Tweak: Increased the range at which the perk activates to 32 meters and the duration of the perk to 20 seconds.

• Sole Survivor: Not a fan of this for the same reason as Left Behind — the only way to get consistent value from this perk is to let your teammates die. I think it should gain its Tokens when your teammates are hooked for the first time instead.

Update: Gains a Token each time a Survivor other than yourself is hooked for the first time (instead of sacrificed or killed).

• It's less thematic now, but I think that's an acceptable trade-off for making it more useable in the average match.

• Teamwork Perks: I think Teamwork perks as a category need to be abolished. Unlike other perk categories (Boons, Invocations, Hexes, and Scourge Hooks), Teamwork perks don't really have anything in common with each other. Their activation requirements are all different and their effects don't operate by any shared mechanic. The only commonality among these perks is that they all require another Survivor to be within a (variable) range of you, which is confusing because many perks in DbD operate in that manner and don't have the "Teamwork" moniker. What makes Throw Down a teamwork perk but Duty of Care not? Why is Power of Two a Teamwork perk but Bloodpact not? "Teamwork" just isn't a useful descriptor of how a perk funcitons in the same way "Boon" is, and I think attempting to standardise them would be more trouble than it is worth (given how varied they are). I'd just axe it. With that being said, I think Power of Two is passable, but the others need buffs.

• Teamwork: Collective Stealth: This effect is so mediocre. For this to be even remotely worth running, it needs to hide your aura in addition to Scratch Marks.

Update: So long as you remain in range of the other Survivor, both of your Scratch Marks and auras are suppressed.

• Teamwork: Toughen Up and Teamwork: Throw Down: I really don't know what to do with these perks. I've tried repeatedly to use these, but they're just bad on a number of levels. Toughen Up is just a more difficult to activate Self-Preservation and Throw Down is kind of pointless because why would you need Endurance when the Killer is already stunned or blinded? I don't see the value in these perks whatsoever and I'm stumped as to how to fix them to be honest.

• Technician: Simple change — remove the additional penalty for missing Skill Checks. This perk exists to help new Survivors out who aren't good at Skill Checks yet but it actually hurts more than it helps due to causing more progress loss.

Update: Removed the additional progression penalty upon failing a Skill Check.

• Up The Ante: The solution to fix this perk is to make Luck a more meaningful status effect. Right now, all it does is affect the probability of unhooking yourself. Attempting escape is only viable as a last resort, even with increased odds, which makes Luck perks and offerings entirely redundant. Luck needs to have some additional small effects in order to be worthwhile. One or two of the following could work:
  • Increases the odds of finding rare items from Chests.
  • A chance to pull items with add-ons from Chests.
  • A chance to suppress the loud noise notification from a failed Skill Check.
  • A chance to suppress the loud noise notification from a rushed action.
  • Increases the odds of favourable outcomes from perks like Dramaturgy or Bardic Inspiration.

• You could even have a little sound cue play to let you know that Luck did something. I think it would be pretty neat.

• Visionary: No other similar perks have a cooldown like Visionary does, I'd just remove it. It also needs a secondary effect in order to compete with Deja Vu.

Update: No longer deactivates when a generator is completed. The repair progress of generators revealed by Visionary is indicated to you by the intensity of their aura.

• Now it helps you make informed choiches about which generators you should pressure.

Conclusion

I was originally going to go through the Killer perks here too but this thread ended up wayyyyy longer than anticipated, so I'll probably do that in a follow-up comment or a separate thread in the near future. This was mostly just something to do while waiting in the 2v8 killer queues, so I've probably made a bunch of formatting issues or forgotten some perks. Regardless, I hope maybe some of these perks could see some improvements so we can get more build diversity in the game.

See y'all in the fog :)