"Special Traversal" should be a thing, like Special Attacks
9.2.0 has been and will likely continue to be controversial, but I just want to focus on one thing at the minute, specifically the last part:
^ I think we can all agree this seems clumsy, right? I don't remember any other time universal mechanics like this have been specifically nerfed only for the games' strongest Killers.
This is kind of an inevitable emergence thanks to a constant tension in the game's balancing, though:
- The best Killers in the game are, broadly speaking, the ones best at traversal
- Quick traversal inherently makes it easier to make use out of timed effects.
Eg. IIRC, BBQ's radius used to be based on the hook location, but is now attached to the Killer as they move. People figured out Nurse could hook someone in the basement, then essentially jump straight onto people thanks to the aura reveal from BBQ. Now, when that Nurse tries the same thing, the aura will vanish as she gets closer to the revealed Survivor.
This 9.2 change is history repeating itself. BHVR don't want high traversal Killers to be abusing this aura read, so they've slapped an asterisk on them. This new universal* mechanic isn't so universal after all, yay.
IMO, to make this kind of thing consistent in future & allow more room for Perks to breathe, Killers should have some abilities tagged as "Special Traversal", for cases where a Perk/effect needs to be weaker if the Killer can teleport/move so fast they might as well teleport.
This adds a more direct, transparent rationale to features like this, and perhaps opens new balancing opportunities, in much the same way Special Attacks often limit the potential of Killers already. As a random example:
Nowhere To Hide
After damaging a generator, the auras of all Survivors within 24 meters of your location are revealed to you for 4/5/6 seconds. (+1 second duration)
Performing a Special Traversal subtracts 2 seconds from Nowhere To Hide's remaining duration.
Whether or not that would specifically be a good balancing change, I don't know, the point is just to demonstrate how this idea could make Perks stronger for the game's weaker Killers, while keeping them under control on the game's best Killers.
I'll close this out with what I specifically think should count as a Special Traversal:
- Hillbilly: Using the Chainsaw
- Nurse: Blinking
- Hag: Phantasm Trap teleporting
- Freddy: Generator teleporting
- Spirit: Phasing
- Demogorgon: Traversing the Upside Down
- Oni: Demon Dash
- Blight: Rush
- Sadako: Teleporting to a TV
- Dredge: Teleporting to a Locker
- Singularity: Slipstream Teleportation
- Xenomorph: Entering the tunnels
- Unknown: Teleporting to a Hallucination
- Vecna: Fly
- Dracula: Teleporting in Bat form
- Ghoul: Kagune Leap
- Springtrap: Entering the Security Office
As you can see, things like Wesker dashes, Wraith using cloak, Houndsense or etc would not count. There's definitely a fine subjective line here to walk on what should and should not classify, but hopefully I've gotten the point across.