2V8: New Classes, Killer Balancing and Various Improvements 🛠️
Following the feedback survey, I’d like to share with the developers and players my ideas for new classes, ways to improve some killers that are too weak in this mode, and a few additional adjustments. A quick Photoshop illustration to showcase the classes:
â—Ź EXPLORER â—Ź
-- SKILLS --
REVEAL SKILL : Reveal unopened chests and items when within a 32 meter range.
TEAM SKILL :
• Survivors within the Explorer's 8 meter search radius unlock chests 25% faster and have the hearing distance for noises from unlocking chests reduced by 12 meters.
• Gain a rummaging ability that charges over 120 seconds. Activate it on a chest that has already been opened to rummage through it for an item, putting this ability on cooldown.
• Guarantees a dull key after opening your first chest.
UNLOCKABLE SKILL : After being caged once, increases the odds of finding an item of higher rarity from chests by 50% and speeds up chest rummaging by 80%
â—Ź ENCHANTER â—Ź
-- SKILLS --
REVEAL SKILL : Reveal the auras of Totems when within a 16-meter range.
TEAM SKILL :
• Survivors within the Enchanter’s 8-meter blessing radius cleanse and bless Totems 25% faster.
• Gain a blessing ability that charges over 60 seconds. Press and hold the ability button near a Dull or Hex Totem to bless it and create a Boon Totem. Soft chimes ring out in a 24-meter radius. Any Survivors within the Boon Totem’s range have their scratch marks hidden to the Killer and gain 3% Haste. This effect lingers for 4 seconds after leaving the Boon Totem's range. This ability can only be used on one Totem at a time.
• When the Enchanter cleanses or blesses a Totem, the Killer’s aura is revealed to all Survivors for 10 seconds
UNLOCKABLE SKILL : After being caged once, The Enchanter gains the ability to see the aura of the Killer as well as all generators and chests within 24 meters, after not moving for 2 seconds and until you start moving.
[Note] : Let me explain why the Boon Totem only hides scratch marks and grants 3% Haste within a 24-meter radius.
To maintain balance in a 2v8 setting, it was important not to add extra healing speed with the Medic class, not to give a power to recover from the dying state, and not to allow hiding the Survivors’ auras, as this would break the Killer-reveal mechanics when a generator is completed or when a Killer hits a generator.
I carefully considered every detail to balance the classes; nothing was left to chance.
â—Ź HEXER â—Ź
-- SKILLS --
TEAM SKILL :
5 Hex Totems will spawn in the trial.
• When any of the five Hex Totems is cleansed or blessed by a survivor, all survivors will suffer different afflictions in a predetermined order.
• Whenever a totem is cleansed or blessed, the remaining hexed totems are blocked by The Entity for 60 seconds.
1 Hex Totem: Survivors who stun or blind you or your teammate are blinded for 1.5 seconds, for a duration of 60 seconds.
2 Hex Totems: All Windows and vault locations are blocked for all Survivors for the next 60 seconds.
3 Hex Totems: Survivors suffer from the Oblivious status effect for 60 seconds.
4 Hex Totems: Survivors suffer a 3% Hindered effect for 60 seconds.
5 Hex Totems: Survivors suffer from the Exposed status effect for 30 seconds.
• Once the exit gates are powered, all totems are permanently blocked by The Entity.
• You and your teammate gain the ability to kill Survivors with your own hands if they have been sent to a Cage of Corruption at least once.
REVEAL SKILL :
• Whenever a totem is cleansed, the auras of Survivors are revealed within a 24-meter radius around the cleansed totem for 15 seconds.
• The auras are only applicable and revealed to the Hexer.
[Note] : The goal of balancing the HEXER class was to make it strong and interesting without surpassing the four existing classes. Among the negative effects on Survivors, I did not include generator regression, healing slowdown, or exhaustion.
Whenever a totem is cleansed or blessed, all remaining hexed totems are blocked for 60 seconds, which spaces out the debuffs applied to Survivors and prevents all totems from being cleansed at the very start of the trial. Survivors must remember the locations of the totems blocked by The Entity.
A quick calculation shows that after cleansing the first totem, it will take 60 seconds Ă— 4, totaling 4 minutes. On average, a trial lasts between 10 and 20 minutes depending on its progression. This may seem short, but keep in mind that Survivors also need to find the totems, unhook and heal teammates, repair generators, and evade Killers.
It was also necessary to include a powerful ability once the exit gates are powered; otherwise, Survivors would tend to avoid cleansing totems throughout the entire trial.
This class is a double-edged sword: it can be strong or weak depending on the choices and behavior of the Survivors...
The Enchanter class is not problematic, as blessing a Hex Totem remains relatively slow. It takes 28 seconds to bless, and with the 25% speed bonus from the Enchanter class, this is reduced to 21 seconds, which is still long enough to give an advantage to the killers. Players will therefore have to make a strategic choice: take the time to bless a Hex Totem to maintain an advantage in the area, or cleanse the totem to save time.
Looking ahead, if Killers like The Hag or the Demogorgon are integrated into a 2v8 mode, they could more easily protect totems… but this also means they won’t focus as much on protecting generators.
Finally, it is always possible to adjust the duration of debuffs or the totem blocking time if the class proves too weak or too strong. I believe a fair balance has been achieved.
IVORY MEMENTO MORI â—Ź 2V8
An additional feature that Killers would appreciate in 2v8 trials.
Currently, most Killers can only perform a MORI on the last Survivor. However, the escape rate is much higher for Survivors in 2v8, and they also have three exit hatches to flee. So far, only Pyramid Head fully benefits from this mechanic, and likely Michael Myers and Sadako will in the future.
That’s why I propose giving Killers the ability to MORI a Survivor who has been placed in a Cage of Corruption twice during the trial. This would allow for two additional MORIs, plus the last Survivor MORI.
Important notes:
• Performing a MORI takes longer than placing a Survivor in a Cage of Corruption.
• Executing a MORI also creates a sense of terror, as the body remains on the ground for the remainder of the trial. This is a crucial element for reinforcing the game’s atmosphere.
KILLER BALANCING â—Ź 2V8
According to feedback from many players and my personal experience, two killers are currently extremely weak in 2v8: The Executioner and The Deathslinger.
Common point:
These two killers have no map control and no special speed status. Their powers are easy to avoid for Survivors with even a minimal amount of experience, and they rely far too much on the second killer accompanying them.
In contrast, a skilled Huntress player can easily injure Survivors at medium and long range. Her reload time is very short, and when she runs out of hatchets, her speed is increased by 4.5%.
The Wraith has no map control either, but his speed while invisible is significantly increased thanks to his innate skill. The strongest class (Fearmonger) gives him an additional 5% speed, for a total of 14%. It’s simply impressive!
The Deathslinger, by comparison, only has 2 upgrades in his innate skill. As a Survivor, I have always managed to escape from him.
The goal of improving The Executioner and The Deathslinger is to strengthen their ability to chase Survivors, compensating for their current weakness.
This can be achieved by simply adding the following two addons to their Innate Skill, with minor adjustments:
Note: the maximum range of his shot is 18 meters.
I would like to point out that The Hillbilly can down Survivors with a single chainsaw hit and can traverse the entire map very easily. The difference is truly night and day.
[NEW] : This effect can only be triggered once every 15 seconds.
A cooldown for breaking a pallet or a wall is better than increasing Punishment of the Damned’s cooldown by 20%, so it doesn’t weigh down his power.
To conclude, I’d like to suggest a few adjustments for THE NEMESIS and THE DARK LORD.
THE NEMESIS: This Killer has a degree of map control thanks to the two zombies that spawn in the trial. Unfortunately, they are most of the time completely useless, and Survivors have plenty of pallets to deal with them. Here is my idea to give him a small additional buff, based on the DEPLETED INK RIBBON add-on:
• Increases zombie movement speed by 25%
• Any zombies destroyed after all generators are repaired will respawn in an exit area.
It’s not much, but it could make the endgame more interesting and fun thanks to the surprise factor.
I think most people would agree.
THE DARK LORD: In his current state, Dracula is a balanced and powerful Killer. I would simply like to give him an add-on to his innate skill to make the endgame more fun and engaging for both Killers and Survivors: ALUCARD'S SHIELD.
2v8 is meant to be FUN, and I think it would be great if Survivors had to dodge pillars of flame. The Survivor escape rate is already high enough, and most of them will still have time to crawl out. This could, on rare occasions, create some interesting endgame comebacks.
What do you think?
Thank you all for taking the time to read my ideas 🙂
I hope this can help the developers improve 2vs8 and make it not only more fun, but also more balanced for the next edition!