Delivering Fun - Rework Suggestions for Perks and Memento Moris
>>>As this is a long post, I wanted to use TL;DR's and Spoiler Tags to help make it more manageable, but unfortunately text inside of a Spoiler Tag is not discernible from its background, so I currently don't have any Spoiler Tag sections. Sorry! If you know how to fix this, please let me know.
FOREWORD
Hello Fellow Fog Dwellers!
This is my first game design-related post I've ever made on here, so I'd like to first say that I LOVE and truly cherish Dead By Daylight and honestly think it has one of the richest game design spaces I've ever encountered in all my ~17 years of gaming. I issue all criticisms of the game in the best way possible, and hope my suggestions to improve upon this already great game are well-received!
The goal of this post is to offer suggestions on how to improve the state of the game by reworking what we already have in the game. I argue that by re-investing in game mechanics like Perks and Memento Moris, the game can become drastically more fun as a result of fresh, varied builds and more nuanced gameplay that changes every match. I'm also going to point out "anti-fun" aspects of these game mechanics that constrict opportunities for fun in the game and how I think they could be improved upon.
I will also come forward and say that I "main" Killer, but I really want to offer suggestions that increase the "fun potential" of Dead By Daylight for ALL players. But I welcome any comments on imbalance as I'm sure there's some biases I carry from having more hours on Killer than Survivor.
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MEMENTO MORIS
I'd like to start this discussion with the Memento Mori Offerings.
While the animations are beautiful and characterize the Killer, I (a seasoned Killer main) believe that Memento Moris are anti-fun. Ideally, Memento Moris should help to achieve the "horror and fear" fantasy that Dead By Daylight can thrive upon, but in their current implementation feel unfair to Survivors and "dirty" or "cheap" as a Killer. This is because Memento Moris are tied to an Offering (with the exception of the Rancor perk, which I will return to later!), and as Offerings, they can appear randomly in a Bloodweb and in a game, and offer little counterplay while having an extremely high potential to "kill the fun" for a Survivor by pre-maturely eliminating them from the game (which is felt especially hard when that Survivor queued with a friend).
While the current Memento Moris do have caveats to them (only working on the last Survivor or on previously hooked Survivors), they don't have engaging counterplay since the only real way to avoid being Mori'd is to avoid being hooked/found by the Killer... which is already the goal of a Survivor. Compare this to perks like BBQ and Chili, which you can alter your playstyle to counter by staying close to the hooked survivor, getting into a locker prior to it triggering, or running Distortion, and Memento Moris clearly are not engaging to play against in their current state. Even further, Memento Moris are confusing to understand as a new player since a Survivor can't know in-game that they're vulnerable to one, unlike the Exposed status effect which notifies the Survivor of the danger they're in. Couple this with the fact that the Killer's loadout is obscured until the end of the game, which is likely MUCH after the Mori'd Survivor gets to the post-game screen, and Memento Moris are an anti-fun aspect of the game.
But I argue that this shouldn't be the case, and that Memento Moris should be the "high reward" for a "high risk" Killer build that, at the same time, create unique gameplay opportunities for Survivors. So, onto my suggestion!
Notify Survivors when they are susceptible to a Memento Mori (like the Exposed status effect).
and...
Remove Memento Mori Offerings completely and exclusively tie them to Perks (or potentially Events!).
Take the Rancor perk for example: Rancor gives the Killer the ability to see Survivors intermittently throughout the game, while also establishing an Obsession who can see the Killer and, come the end-game, is susceptible to being Memento Mori'd. I would argue that this perk is a great example of how Memento Moris can be incorporated into Perk design, as Rancor creates nuanced gameplay for the Killer and Obsession that, under the right conditions, can lead to a Memento Mori. This perk also is highly satisfying when it results in a Memento Mori, as the Killer player can feel rewarded for choosing to include Rancor in their build. Additionally, Rancor helps contribute to the "fear of death" that Memento Moris aim to give to Survivors, as the Obsession can know as soon as a Generator is completed that Rancor is active in the match and, come end-game, that they need to account for their heightened vulnerability to the Killer.
>>>TL;DR Memento Moris should be moved entirely to Perks as they are anti-fun currently.
With this in mind, let's continue to discussing Perk reworks, as some of the changes I propose will present opportunities for Memento Moris!
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PERK REWORKS
To me, Dead By Daylight has an immensely rich design space for Perks and builds on both sides of the game, whether you play Killer or Survivor. While I won't dive into this too much here, I think that Killers have greater depth for Perk design since they have Powers that can facilitate or synergize with certain Perks, and a result of not having any special powers, Survivors are not only more reliant on Perks to create a unique playstyle but also need more impactful and meaningful Perks in order to feel the same depth of gameplay that Killers enjoy. Considering this, we should want Perks that create unique playstyles, and we should want these perks to be viable enough to play with so that there isn't a stagnation in build creativity (and thus match variety) like we currently see in the game with super-prevalent Perks such as BBQ and Chili, Hex: Ruin, and Self Care. Without further ado, let's consider reworks to Perks!
>>>TL;DR Most Perks need to be reworked to be viable and have greater impact for the sake of the game's variety and enjoyment.
I will format perk entries as follows:
Perk Name
-Discussion over Perk
-Change proposed for the Perk
-Result of change
KILLER PERK REWORKS
BBQ and Chili
-A Killer classic. This perk sees as much play as it does because it not only gives the Killer a way of locating Survivors to compensate for time spent catching a Survivor, but it also offers an insane Bloodpoint incentive to being used. I think that this perk is wonderful because not only does it grant a Bloodpoint bonus (we all love Bloodpoints) but it also encourages Killers to not face camp. However, in its current state, it's a bit strong since the Survivor location triggers on every hook, and not just the first, which is the case of the Bloodpoint bonus.
-The change I propose here is to have the reveal of Survivor auras trigger only on the first hook of a Survivor, just like its Bloodpoint bonus. To compensate for this drastic nerf, the range at which Survivors' auras are revealed would be tied to the Killer's Terror Radius instead of its current 40 meter range. This would effectively mean that for a Survivor to avoid being revealed, they would have to brave the Killer's Terror Radius, thus making for a more demanding counterplay when BBQ and Chili does trigger (which, keep in mind, would be less often).
- This change would also buff Distortion (since BBQ and Chili would trigger at most three times against any given Survivor in a game) and would now factor into small-Terror Radius builds and would synergize with Killers who can reduce their Terror Radius. For instance, Pig could quickly crouch after a hook to see nearby Survivors, or Michael Myers at low tiers of his power could easily locate nearby Survivors (while having less payoff from BBQ and Chili at tier III).
Blood Warden
-Currently, the main feature of this perk - its ability to block exit gate escapes - is very difficult to actually trigger and as a result is often irrelevant and not worth running in a build. In an effort to help this perk reach its full potential more often, I think it could work with Memento Moris as well.
-I offer that Blood Warden's exit gate block also triggers upon a Memento Mori being performed.
-This change would align Blood Warden with the high-risk/high-reward playstyle I described in the Memento Mori section of this post, and would give it a home in builds focused on Memento Moris. In doing so, this perk could also be used by the Killer more carefully, as a Memento Mori can be performed on-demand (provided the conditions are met) without the need for a hook. Lastly, this updated version of Blood Warden would have appreciable synergy with Rancor!
Brutal Strength
-This perk is currently very underwhelming as its effect is not only negligible (compared to perks like Hex: Ruin that could be used instead) and because it does not powerfully realize the fantasy of being an unstoppable force in a chase. Instead, I think this perk could return its focus solely to pallets, but be much more focused in that specialty.
-I propose that Brutal Strength now begins with 0/1/2 tokens (based on perk rank), which can be used to break a pallet instantly by hitting it with your weapon (and only playing the hit-an-object animation). Additionally, one token is granted to Brutal Strength each time a Survivor is sacrificed or killed.
-Brutal Strength, with this change, would now let Killers live that "unstoppable" feeling it aims for, and it would become a viable perk in that it gives a significant advantage in chases. To balance this, however, the perk would no longer affect regular pallet break or generator break speeds, and it would have charges so that the Killer has a limited number of uses of the perk and has to be mindful of when to use them. Lastly, the Killer can continue to play with the perk after expending its charges by regaining tokens from eliminating Survivors, giving this perk lasting potential over the course of a match.
Fire Up
-In its current state, this perk feels weak and is really only a stat-boost, which is boring when compared to perks like Franklin's Demise which offer a new dimension to play with. I think that the idea driving the perk is interesting, with the Killer being fueled with frustration at the Survivors' progress. I think the best move here is to keep Fire Up's fantasy but give it a new direction entirely.
-I suggest scraping Fire Up's current implementation entirely, and instead have it grant the Killer 5/10/15 seconds (based on perk rank) of having no attack cooldown once a generator is completed. Think of Fire Up basically working like True Grit, but for a limited time and with generators being the condition for it activating.
-The hope here is that Fire Up will synergize well with generator-focused builds, placing it in harmony with perks like Tinkerer or Bitter Murmur, and will deliver on that fantasy of the Killer's frustration inciting a rampage. I also don't think this perk would be too overpowered as its conditions for working (being near a survivor and having a generator complete) are rare enough that the perk would feel powerful when it works, and would be dormant otherwise.
Hex: Devour Hope + Hex: The Third Seal
-While Hex Perks remain one of the best examples of high-risk, high-reward perks in the game, they can create anti-fun moments for the Killer when they are destroyed before ever even having an impact in the game. While Hex: Ruin, Hex: Thrill of the Hunt, Hex: Haunted Ground, and Hex: Huntress Lullaby all technically are guaranteed to be "in effect" before being dismantled, that is not the case for Hex: Devour Hope nor Hex: The Third Seal.
-I suggest changing Hex: Devour Hope and Hex: The Third Seal such that they only appear once they have been triggered (once a Survivor is unhooked away from the Killer and once the Killer has hit a Survivor, respectively).
-This change ensures the Killer gets at least SOME up-time on these Hexes before they can be lost, which helps to mitigate the anti-fun feeling of having them destroyed before they ever mattered. This also would help create more mystery as to what Perks Killer is running, as Survivors wouldn't be able to find the Hexes right away once the match began. On a slightly less relevant note, this would also help Killers track which Hex totem corresponds to which of their Perks as they could memorize the locations of Hex totems' appearances as they trigger their effects for the first time.
Hex: No One Escapes Death (NOED)
-One of the more highly-used Killer perks, this perk offers insane potential for late-game power in exchange for being useless prior to the Exit Gates being powered. This perk is unnecessarily frustrating for Survivors since it doesn't notify them of its effect until the Killer has hit a Survivor, which isn't fair nor in line with things like Michael Myers's tier-III power, Rancor, or Hex: Haunted Ground, which all notify Survivors that they are Exposed right away. Additionally, I don't feel that the haste effect on this perk offers counterplay, and I think NOED could instead offer mind-game potential.
-I offer that NOED is reworked such that all Survivors are notified immediately of being Exposed upon it spawning, and that instead of the 2%/3%/4% haste effect, NOED causes Exit Gates to emit gradually louder sounds of the Killer's Terror Radius based on how long the Survivor remains near it.
-This rework would ensure more clarity behind the perk's Exposed status effect, and would also create the potential for mind games as Survivors near an Exit Gate would hear the Killer's Terror Radius and would effectively be unable to discern the Killer's actual Terror Radius from NOED.
Hex: Ruin
-Another Killer favorite. This perk, at the time of writing, is used so extensively because it really is the only perk that can buy the Killer time up-front, and it is also one of the only Hexes that guarantees it will be in effect before being destroyed (unlike the Third Seal, for instance). I personally find that this perk is anti-fun because it essentially forces Survivors to hunt for Hexes and can, in some games with Killers like Trapper, create moments where the Killer can fawn over the Hex totem and prevent Survivors from ever dismantling it, all the while making generators nigh impossible to finish.
-I propose that Hex: Ruin instead appears AFTER the first generator is completed, and affects ALL Survivors at all ranks of the perk. Additionally, Hex: Ruin would impose a 1.5%/2%/2.5% (based on perk rank) progress penalty on all skill checks (with Great skill checks having the subtraction start from +5%) for EACH complete generator. Think of Hex: Ruin taking a page from the current version of Fire Up, in this case.
-The idea here is to give Survivors some breathing room early on while also creating more mystery to the presence of Hex: Ruin. Additionally, the Hex: Ruin would not have as much impact in the early-game but would have much more later, creating an interesting and dynamic dilemma for Survivors who, as the game goes on, have to weigh continuing generators against searching for Hex: Ruin's totem. This would also entirely circumvent issues where Survivors find the Hex totem immediately and create "anti-fun" for the Killer who now is effectively playing with one less perk. In all, this change would transfer Hex: Ruin's early game power AND weakness to be spread across the rest of the match.
Monitor And Abuse + Agitation
-Montior And Abuse is currently used as the bread and butter for Terror Radius builds as it is the single most Terror Radius-oriented perk in the game. As such, Monitor And Abuse occupies a vital space in Killer builds, but it can be frustrating in how it manifests in a match due to its values being flat rather than based on percentages. In essence, the use of flat values (+/- 8 meters at max rank) means more to Killers with smaller Terror radii, and means less to Killers with larger Terror radii. The issue here then is that this creates an inconsistency across Killers that can lead to confusion for Survivors (as in the case of a tier-II Michael Myers who gets a 50% in/decrease to his Terror Radius) or can lead to a less-than-expected impact for Killers (as in the case of a tier-III Michael Myers or Feral Frenzied Legion, who have expanded Terror Radii in those states). Likewise, Agitation uses flat values instead of percent-based values, and should be given the same treatment for consistency.
-I suggest changing Monitor And Abuse's Terror Radius Values from +/- 6/7/8 meters to +/- 15/20/25% (based on perk rank) of the Killer's current Terror Radius. (For standard, 32-meter Terror Radius Killers, the max rank of this perk would be no different in practice as 25% of 32 is 8). For Agitation, the values could be changed from +6/8/12 meters to +20%/30%/40%, which would be a very slight (0.8 meter) increase for standard, 32-meter Terror Radius Killers.
-This change would simply make the perk more context-based and flexible in Killer builds, and would help to prevent strange outliers like the halving of a tier-II Michael Myers's Terror Radius.
Monstrous Shrine
-This perk might be one of the least-used perks in the game. For those who don't know, the Monstrous Shrine effectively quickens the hook timer, decreases escape odds, and increases the timer penalty of escape attempts for Survivors hooked in the basement. This perk is highly, HIGHLY situational and in most games is very difficult to pull off, and even more so without a dedicated basement build (using perks like Agitation and Iron Grasp) to carry Survivors to the basement. While one could argue that this perk fosters anti-fun, basement-camping playstyles, I think it does live in a unique space and is worth salvaging. I think that rather than going for a stat-boost, this perk should strive to create special rewards for managing to hook a Survivor in the basement.
-I think Monstrous Shrine could be reworked to highlight the basement to the Killer at all times and apply Blindness to Survivors in the basement (until they leave it). In addition, Survivors who previously were hooked in the basement are susceptible to a Memento Mori.
-The idea here is to remove all stats from the perk (which are boring and encourages facecamping basement-hooked Survivors since the time cost of doing so is lower with the current version) and instead give the Killer immediate information as to where the basement is, remove information for Survivors inside the basement via Blindness, and also grant the Killer a thematic and powerful reward for achieving a basement hook in the form of being able to Memento Mori upon someone who dared escape the jaws of the Entity. And remember that Memento Moris would be exclusive to Perks as discussed in my suggestion above! Additionally, by giving no actual speed increase or penalties to escaping, this rework of Monstrous Shrine gives hook-escape builds for Survivors an extra opportunity to shine.
Remember Me
-While Remember Me does offer a direct way to play with the Obsession gameplay mechanic, its effect (increasing gate opening times) only matters in matches that reach the end game, which are typically games where the added gate opening times won't matter anyway, which means that this perk is sub-par when compared to the more premier Killer perks. To fix this, I think the perk could shift a slight amount of its power away from gate opening times to being a way for the Killer to achieve a Memento Mori (which would be exclusive to Perks, in line with my suggestions in the above section).
-I propose that Remember Me instead grants 1 token for each time the Killer hits the Obsession, upon to a maximum of 5 tokens, and each token increases the time needed to open an Exit Gate by 2/3/4 seconds. Once Remember Me has the maximum amount of tokens, the Killer may perform a Memento Mori upon the Obsession.
-This rework would essentially lessen the gate-opening speed reduction while increasing Remember Me's relevancy before the end-game as it becomes a serious threat to the Obsession (and, in effect, the Survivors as a team) if it reaches its full strength. Additionally, this would allow the Killer to punish Obsessions who are repeatedly healing or who Decisive Struck off the Killer's back, as theoretically a Killer using Remember Me could Memento Mori the Obsession even if they hadn't been hooked, if they had been hit five times over the course of the game. Finally, this potential for a Memento Mori would have clear synergy with my proposed update to Blood Warden (if not stepping on the toes of Rancor a little bit...).
Territorial Imperative
-This perk is another example of a niche, underpowered perk, and lives in the same space as Monstrous Shrine. While I love the idea behind this perk - namely sensing Survivors trespassing on the Entity's front door - it's just too underwhelming for how rarely it might work. To help with this, I propose reworking it into a more reliable, always-triggers design that plays with the scary nature of the basement a little more.
-I suggest removing the minimum distance for the perk to activate, and having Territorial Imperative cause the basement to emit a Terror Radius (matching the Killer's) for 5/10/15 seconds, while keeping the current cooldown period and aura-revealing aspects of the perk.
-The goal here is to make this perk more impactful with mindgames and more reliable by removing the minimum distance the Killer has to be for it to trigger, as it already has a cooldown that prevents it from constantly triggering in the event of that the basement is seeing high thru traffic.
SURVIVOR PERK REWORKS
Deliverance
-I personally think Deliverance is one of the coolest, most interesting Survivor perks we've seen in a long time. However, it is also a high-risk/high-reward perk that has a little too much risk for the reward it offers, since being hooked before priming Deliverance kills the perk for that match and since unhooking and being Broken for 60 seconds is often not enough to give a Survivor a fighting chance against a Killer who can pay attention and notice they've used Deliverance.
-I suggest having Deliverance not inflict Broken and instead inflict a Deep Wound (as if they had Borrowed Time triggered on them) upon the Survivor freeing themselves from the hook, using the same values as Borrowed Time's Deep Wound timer (10/15/20 seconds based on perk rank).
-The idea here is to give the Survivor an extra challenge for using Deliverance, but not the total lockout that Broken gives. By having Deliverance trigger a Deep Wound instead, the Survivor is put on a timer to be downed again if they don't mend themselves, but has no barrier to beginning their healing. An added bonus to not giving Broken is that in situations where the Survivor can free themselves and find another Survivor, they can get healthy within a reasonable amount of time.
Distortion
-This perk is a well-balanced, unique tool in the Survivor arsenal that can feel terrible in situations where you're interacting with another Survivor, which is something that a simply quality of life change could remedy.
-Distortion should, in my opinion, extend to Survivors who you are directly interacting with. For example, if you're healing or being healed (or mended, or woken up), Distortion's activation should also hide the participating Survivors.
-This simple buff would help this perk remain relevant when you're interacting with your team and would reward moments of tight coordination, but wouldn't majorly disrupt the balance of the perk.
Left Behind
-I don't think I've ever seen a Survivor in any of my games run this perk. As it is, it is simply way too niche for the very little payoff it gives. Niche perks need to be rewarding to warrant their likely dormancy during a match, and this is especially true of "last man standing"-style perks since logically those perks can only trigger on ONE survivor in a match, let alone the fact that in many of those cases the perks' effects are irrelevant at the moment they trigger (such as when the last survivor alive happens to be the last one struggling on a hook). For this perk, I think shaping it into the ultimate "I'm getting out of this alive" fantasy is the best call.
-I propose that Left Behind is modified to give +100% generator completion (flat value, regardless of generators remaining or perk rank) and also highlights the hatch within 32/40/48 meters (based on perk rank).
-The idea here is to make generator completion a feasible, and even reliable, option with this perk in situations where the hatch hasn't appeared yet or where the Killer is focusing an open hatch over the remaining generators. The added benefit of seeing where the hatch is located would also help the Survivor move quickly and efficiently throughout the map as they search for their escape, which would create a really powerful moment for the Survivor befitting of the risk associated with this perk. And for both sides, this perk would help decide 1v1 scenarios more quickly, which I think is welcome as they can often drag on without either side intentionally prolonging the game.
Pharmacy
-Although the idea of this perk is interesting, as it quickens and silences chest searches and ties chests to healing, I don't actually think linking a perk to an item is a good idea (as this perk theoretically has cross-match impact since you can take an item found in one match into another) and I don't think that this perk is meaningfully stronger than other healing-related perks. Instead, this perk should really double-down on the "healing chest" concept.
-I suggest removing the clause about finding an Emergency Med-kit from Pharmacy, and instead have chests searched with Pharmacy become a "Pharmacy" for 20/40/60 seconds, allowing Survivors within 10 meters of it to perform a special action with it for 3 seconds to heal one health state. A Pharmacy can only be used once.
-With this rework, the hope is to create a new avenue to healing by creating a "healing station" out of a chest searched with Pharmacy, which would help Survivors support each other or get healing in a pinch. The counterplay on the Killer side of this perk would be that chest spawns are usually in secluded areas where Survivors don't want to be caught, so Killers could identify Pharmacy chests and try to ambush Survivors who try to use it.
Resilience + This Is Not Happening
-These perks, along with No Mither and Dead Hard, are among the few perks that actually reward being in the injured state during a match. However, each of these two perks on their own don't warrant taking an entire perk slot, so I think that they could be absorbed into one perk while the other offers something entirely new!
-I offer that This Is Not Happening grants +5%/7.5%/10% speed to all actions (including Mending!) in addition to granting larger great skill check zones, effectively including a (slightly better) version of the current Resilience perk. Resilience, then, could have room to become entirely reworked; Resilience could now offer increasingly difficult skill checks while its user is on the hook (2 checks in the hanging state, 3 checks in the struggle state) that, if hit, grant +4/6/8% (based on perk rank) to the hook timer.
-By combining the current Resilience and This Is Not Happening, injured-state builds could save space in their builds and feel happier with running the improved This Is Not Happening. Additionally, Resilience could be reworked to be a hook-focused perk like Kindred that, at max rank, could potentially buy up to +40% time on the hook if the user hit all the skill checks. This would not only offer a perk slot in exchange for more response time for user's team to save them, but this perk would counter face-camping a strategy as it would cause the Killer to spend much more time to ensure the Survivor's sacrifice.
Self Care + Botany Knowledge
-Self Care is undoubtedly the single most powerful and prevalent Survivor perk, as statistics given by the Devs have shown. While I know it is extremely contentious to propose nerfs to Self Care, I think it's necessary as its extreme utility edges out so many other perks and creates very, very anti-fun gameplay patterns for the Killer. Self Care is anti-fun for the Killer because it largely removes the risk of approaching the Killer and sustaining hits since the Self Care has unlimited uses and, at 50% healing speed, is actually more efficient than being healed by another Survivor since the cumulative player time spent healing is the same, but Self Care reduces the risk of healing since the user doesn't have to group up with another Survivor and since the other Survivors can instead focus their time elsewhere. I think that Self Care thus deserves a nerf to its usage, but a buff to compensate for that, and that Botany Knowledge should absorb Self Care's clause about Med-Kit efficiency to reduce redundancy.
-I believe that Self Care should be reworked to not include the Med-Kit efficiency clause, and have 1/2/3 charges (based on perk rank) that can be consumed to *initiate* a self-heal at NORMAL speed without a Med-Kit. Botany Knowledge could then be changed to absorb Self Care's Med-Kit efficiency clause, and would offer +20%/35%/50% to healing speed and healing item efficiency when healing OTHER Survivors.
-The goal here is to consolidate the healing item efficiency solely into Botany Knowledge and rework it to focus on healing other Survivors, while also changing Self Care so that it's stronger when it is used but also severely limited in its usage. Self Care would effectively offer full-speed self-heals, but at max rank would only have three charges in a match to compensate, and additionally Self Care would no longer be able to be repeatedly used (as in looping scenarios) as its tokens are consumed upon the start of a self-heal action and are not refunded if the self-heal is interrupted. Botany Knowledge, then, does not need to stack with Self Care any longer and can have a more defined and powerful identity as a perk dedicated towards healing others. And for Killers, this redesign encourages counterplay against Self Care as the Killer could mitigate the impact of Self Care by trying to find and interrupt self-healing Survivors using Self Care.
We're Gonna Live Forever
-This perk, although fun because it rewards the player with additional Bloodpoints, is actually a dead perk in every single game it's in, because it has absolutely no in-game impact. While one might argue that's the cost of the Bloodpoint bonus, I would argue that BBQ and Chili is evidence that a perk can both matter in-game and award extra Bloodpoints. So, We're Gonna Live Forever should follow the same model and offer an in-game reward for triggering it in addition to its existing Bloodpoint bonus.
-I suggest that We're Gonna Live Forever grants its user 1 token when unhooking another Survivor, and that when taking a hit for another Survivor, a token is consumed to grant the user the Endurance status effect for 5 seconds.
-This update to We're Gonna Live Forever would help deliver the "savior" playstyle it describes by rewarding its user for unhooking other Survivors not only with Bloodpoints but with tokens that could be used to endure a hit from the Killer that was meant for a different Survivor. This would also create obvious and powerful synergy with David King's No Mither, which would reinforce the theme of a scrappy, hard-to-kill protector. Additionally, by tying this perk to a token system with a finite amount of opportunities to gain those tokens (as there's only a max of 6 unhooks of other Survivors in a match, and a max of 8 unhooks total), this perk would check itself from being over-used and abused by Survivors.
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CONCLUSION
While I know there's more game mechanics and Perks out there that could use some love, I hope the Memento Mori and Perk updates I've covered here caught your fascination and I hope you agree that they would enrich the game and make playing Dead By Daylight a more nuanced, engaging experience for both Survivors and Killers. I welcome any feedback (be it praise or criticism, or what have you) on anything I've covered here as I believe that only through discussion can we reach the best solutions and make these solutions visible to others and to the Devs.
And if you even read a quarter of what I wrote here, I sincerely appreciate your time; I spent hours working on these concepts and in writing them up, and I hope that my time can eventually translate to in-game hours of enjoyment for others should some of my ideas influence this game we all love!
Thank you again for reading,
FinnishMoose
Comments
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I’m sorry, you might have some super compelling and interesting balance changes here, but I literally cannot read the words even when highlighted.
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Yeah, I just finished some edits to remove the spoiler tag sections since they're pointless as far as I can tell. The post is super huge now (why I wanted to segment it with spoiler tags) but at least it can be read now!
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Delivering fun.. to you or..? Most of these changes aren't fun.
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Can you point out something in particular you have an issue with? I'm open to criticism if it actually can direct my focus somewhere.
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TL;DR
I only read the beginning and than started cross reading it, because I soon realized that all this is just about nerfing killer and pleasing survivor.
Everything killer have and could do is deemed unfair/unfun.
Let alone his view about Noed and Ruin. Just delusional.
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Ok there's a lot to unpack here, so I'm just going to go with the things that stood out most to me with the survivor perk changes.
1) Changing Pharmacy in this way makes no sense when compared to the source material. Quentin wasn't a pharmacist, he was a teen who knew how to find what he needed at a pharmacy to keep himself and Nancy alive against Freddy. Plus the idea you proposed would be very too powerful, if the idea ever went through it would be better as a new perk. Pharmacy as it is now does need a buff, but I personally think that it should allow you to choose an item before you open a chest for a higher chance at getting it. An item wheel would pop up and you'd click the item you want a higher chance at getting. One of Quentin's traits should be that he gets whatever he needs for a certain situations and not just a green medkit. Keep in mind that my idea would NOT guarantee the item you ask for, but it'd be like a more focused Plunderers.
2) I agree with the Distortion idea you proposed, but I also thinks it needs 4 tokens in total; 3 just isn't enough for a single game, plus I just hate seeing an odd number to start out with.
4) Would WGLF still gain the point stacks even if you lose a token? Because if so I like this change.
5) I disagree with the Botany and SC changes, there would literally be no point to running SC, SC is fine as is. It has a lot of outplay and it wastes so much time that it doesn't need a token system, plus the perk only allowing you to activate a heal and not do a semi heal makes it worse than current pharmacy, especially with this huge buff to Botany. While it'd be nice, this Botany buff is just way too OP, a 50% speed increase is insane and the 53% efficiency gained from using current SC and Botany is the benefit you get from running both. Botany is fine as is and SC is fine as is, they currently mesh very well together and make great healing builds, the new SC you proposed would not be used I can guarantee you that. People would just run Pharmacy and Botany instead to get a more use-able perk.
The other survivor perk changes I'm ok with, I just didn't have anything to comment on your ideas for them.
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