Improving the new player experience.
So, it's a free weekend. And once again the stark reality of how newbies get chewed up by this game and turn them off is back in our minds.
In the past, I've always advocated for unlocking all the perk slots at the start and perhaps providing newbies with a special perk of their own. Devs have answered by reducing the requirements for unlocking perk slots and providing new characters with their native perks. A step in the right direction, for sure - but doesn't go far enough. I'd take it further.
Again - UNLOCK ALL THE SLOTS, let these newbies use their perks from the first game so they can at least slot their character perks. Give them that extra leg up so they don't feel like they're immediately thrown to the wolves when the matchmaker inevitably breaks and puts up against somebody fully perked.
And take it a step further, give them a 4th perk free. My suggestions for the 4th perk is as follows
- Relentless for the newbie killer. Killer is arguably much easier to pick up than survivor, so the perk you want to give them shouldn't be one of the more powerful ones. This one has been toted by the devs themselves as perfect for the new killer. However, it never sees use by the newbies as the sheer size of the perk pool coupled with RNG keeps it out of their hands before something better comes along. So why not just hand it to them from the start?
- Kindred for the newbie survivor. It's natural for newbie killers to try and camp and camping is often the biggest turnoff to the new survivor. Therefore, the perk they should get should assist them in helping deal with the issue. Kindred is the perfect choice as it not only feeds them info if the killer is camping, but it tells them if somebody is already going for the rescue or not.
And the final part of my suggestion - ALL THESE PERKS SHOULD BE LEVEL THREE. Frankly, I'd prefer it it if we did away with perk levels completely given the size of our perk pool, but for now I'll settle for giving the newbies a leg up and starting with fully powered perks native to the character of their choosing coupled with the two suggestions above.
You know what's so great about this? If you get a newbie who takes the default characters, Dwight and Trapper, they'll get a set of pretty solid perks to start with the edge going to Dwight which is kinda what we want anyway as newbie killers have it easier overall anyway.
Thank you for your time and consideration.