Feedback on Vecna (PTB) – Balanced Thoughts From Both Sides

gamershark22

Feedback on Vecna:

With the Stranger Things chapter finally hitting the PTB, I wanted to share some balanced feedback on Vecna after playing both sides and watching community discussions, especially Scott Jund’s recent breakdown of why Vecna isn’t actually overpowered and why we should be cautious about calling for nerfs too early. This Discussion is meant for both killer mains and survivor mains, and I hope it helps the devs and community look at Vecna from a fair, middle ground perspective.

My General Thoughts on Vecna (PTB)

I know its to earlier to put him on the tier list for only the ptb, but for his current state, I'd put him A‑tier average killer. Strong, but not broken. He has a very high skill ceiling, requires prediction, and creates a lot of interactive moments between killer and survivor. That alone already makes him healthier than many killers who rely on zoning or guaranteed hits, or just a very boring play style.

My Tier list for Patch (9.4.0 - PTB)

I completely forgot Nemesis got buff but it might not change that much to where he is currently on the tier list. They basically added 2 more Zombies and increased there speed by 35%

My Balanced Feedback (Killer and Survivor Perspective)

After watching Scott Jund's breakdown and playing both side myself, I think a lot of the early panic around Vecna comes from people not fully understanding how his kit actually works in real chases. People see his 3 second cd on his vine attack as broken and also comparing Nurse is nowhere near, he has low pressure at the start when trying to injure someone. If you miss your vine attack, survivors gain a ton of distance so it being at a low cd makes it less punishing. The vine attack cd creates a constant back and forth where survivors dodge, killers predict, and both sides are having to pay close attention. Which makes it fun on both sides. When I play survivor, dodging the vines feels rewarding. Also, what would be a big problem if it goes through and I feel like the pick rate would lower a lot is if they push the cd to high. It would also prevent skillful interaction since killers will stop taking risk and only use the power for zoning and guaranteed hits. Which removes the fun interaction on both sides. Kind of makes me feel why BHVR made the cd short, to encourage skill shots, not zoning. If they nerf it too hard, Vecna becomes another boring zoning killer.

Clear Counterplay Exists

Vecna’s biggest weakness is simply spacing. Holding W and creating distance shuts him down hard, especially with perks like Overcome.

Vecna’s secondary ability also feels good for zoning. The only minor tweak I’d suggest is making the hit register slightly faster, since sometimes you can place it directly under a survivor and it barely hits. His passive ability is also fine. If anything, the clock could tick a little faster for less slugging, but it’s nowhere near problematic compared to Nurse or other killers who can slug effortlessly.

Survivor Sided Perspective

Survivors especially newer players do deserve a bit of breathing room. The vine attack is dodge able, but the 3 second cooldown can feel overwhelming when you’re still learning spacing and timing. middle ground cd for the vine attack like from 3 to 4-5 seconds keeps the power fun for killers as it still frequent used, more time for survivors to reposition and less overwhelming for new survivors.

Final Thoughts

PTB has barely been out and we tend to overreact on day one. Once we play him more we'll realize he's not like Nurse, has clear counterplay and his gameplay come from high skill celling, not unfair mechanics. Despite a similar killer to Nurse but far more forgiving, Vecna is one of the most fun killers I've seen in this game for a long time. High skill ceiling like Springtrap we've recently got, interactive and enjoyable for both sides. He’s strong, but not oppressive and most of his power comes from prediction and timing. Everything else, secondary ability, passive feels healthy with only minor polish needed.

I hope BHVR keeps Vecna’s playstyle fun while making small adjustments that benefit both sides