Proposal: The Onryō Chase Quality-Of-Life Change: Phased Vaults
It's widely agreed that The Onryo struggles in chase, especially at mid to higher levels of play. While her condemnation system is the most carefully balanced (and revisited) part of her kit, I believe there is room for smaller chase-focused tweaks to bring her more in line with both her killer fantasy and the average killer strength of today, specifically in chase. I also believe this can be done without causing wider balancing issues (specifically for newer players).
With that in mind, I’d like to propose a small QOL change that gives her a little more of an edge in chase, without tipping her power budget in an unhealthy or problematic way.
Proposal: Add a phased vault animation similar in function to old Spirit (Many clips online for reference if you have not seen it before)
When The Onryo would vault, she would briefly vanish at the vault location, then re-appear on the other side after a short delay, surrounded by her signature static effects. From the survivor’s perspective, it would create a window of ambiguity which I believe would add nicely to The Onryo's tricky nature.
I think this change would be great for a few reasons:
- Does not interfere with condemnation
This change does not touch her most sensitive mechanic, preserving her identity while avoiding balancing challenges between new and experienced players.
- More potential for chase skill expression
It would add more mind game potential, and create more room for build potential (looking at you Dark Arrogance and Bamboozle).
- Fits very well from a thematic perspective
The Onryo in chase is built around visual unpredictability and tricky distortions of her image. A brief phase-like vault animation would preserve her killer identity/fantasy and further reinforce it.
Of course, the exact timing and visibility would need tuning by the developers to avoid creating any unhealthy or overly oppressive 50/50 scenarios as it did with spirit back in the day. For the sake of balancing and survivor counterplay, it could also be made so that this vault only occurs when The Onryo is demanifested.
I hope the developers would consider this proposal, and give our favorite ghostly gal some more love.
Thank you very much for your consideration!