Clown alteration (buff/rework ideas)
When comparing the gameplay of the killers I think clown stands out as having the least tactical variation. Whereas Demo and Freddy have similarly simple chase powers (freddy can slow with traps, demo can close distence with shred), these are complimented by teleportation. While the bottles are a powerful tool in a meta built around loops, they just aren't enough to make the clown feel like a real threat. Worse than this, barring his stronger addons, there aren't many ways to mix up his playstyle. Overall the clown isn't very exciting to play or to play against.
My idea would be to add something to his kit in a similar fashion to the setup that freddy and demo have. For this I have two ideas:
1. Bottle smash- secondary action immediately smashes a bottle at the clowns feet. No windup or cool down for this- you can carpet bomb an area as you go if you like. The idea for this would be to double down on clowns chase ability, but give him different ways to utilise the power- so in this case, very very quickly shutting down a loop while going around it, or using the gas area to slow a survivor toward the end of a chase/ bait out dead hard. Not super imaginative, but if clown is going to be the 'chase specialist' amongst the killers I think something else is needed to make him scary enough to justify the title.
2. Locker teleport- certain lockers spread around the map are 'clownified' - goofy mascot clown head on top/ yellow and pink stripes/ flashing lights--whatever. Clown can use these lockers to teleport by stepping into one and coming out of another-an action which takes a little while to complete- after doing so disables all such lockers for 1 min (lights off). While the teleport action is underway the lights flash and a tune plays (circus jingle). Though this is more of a rework (this would require add ons to support) I really love the idea of the clown bursting out of a locker - like a clown car. It's a weaker teleport than freddy or demo, but makes the basement a very scary place to be hooked and let's the clown move around the map in unexpected ways.
Any thoughts? Are there any other suggestions floating around for clown?
(Also I could be off base and there are things I'm missing about clown as is- more than happy to hear I'm wrong if this is the case!)
Comments
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I really like the idea of the lockers, but I think the devs want to keep the clown from being super natural. I really love the idea though. Maybe if the Clowns bottles stopped survivors from repairing or make repairing much slower. This could let the Clown manage gens while in a chase.
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idk, ive been to rank 1 as clown more than a few times. ive never really had an issue with him. a flawless character is boring. i personally like how he plays (he is my main after all lol) and i feel like if you play him enough, and actually get good with him, youll realize you dont need to teleport across the map if youre pressuring the map correctly.
as far as the bottles.... i dont see why you would throw it at your feet, really. i use the bottle toss as a distraction, a deterrence, and the obvious slow. its also good to mask your movements at a loop. kinda like a smoke screen. and besides, if you really wanted to throw one at your feet... just kinda... do it.
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I like the idea of teleportifying 3-5 lockers, give him something like Freddy's gen teleportation.
I have always wanted Clown's gas to give the exhaustion effect while the survivor is in the cloud and 2 seconds after.
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the exhaustion is a thing... the solvent jug...
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i like the first idea, this sounds like it could get some play against players who always run the same loop.
the second one though...
it really does not sound like it fits his character. honestly, i doubt he'd even fit in one of those...
honestly, i dont think you can buff his map pressure properly. he isnt really ment to be someone with a good map pressure, though he is supposed to be very strong at chases. so we can safely buff that aspect of him.
i personally thought about adding the Solvent Jug to his basekit, which might actually do well combined with your first idea.
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I think if anything, he should get some kind of stealth improvement.
His lore suggests he likes to be sneaky, but the his gameplay doesnt reflect that at all.
1) "The Clown surveyed its new surrounding and its gaze lit on me. A rictus split its face in two and it nodded at me before returning to the caravan. I suspect that it prefers its victims to be less aware than I, and I thanked the stars for that.'"
2) The Curtain Call trailer featuring him stalking Kate behind a tree
So giving him a stealth/ambush focused secondary ability or passive of some kind would definitely make his gameplay fit his lore better.
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Thanks for the replies all, this thread was a bit of a dud when I wrote it, but glad to see it's resurrected itself :D
This is entirely fair and the kind of feedback I was expecting from clown players! I try to mix up who I'm playing as much as possible and I've found myself overlooking clown- not because I dislike playing him, just that I've never felt his gameplay stands out. The bottle drop thing is an attempt to find another way to use his bottles in a slightly different way. I think there is a distinction in how the two modes would be used there's still a little time taken winding and aiming. I also think that given how basic clown is it would great to find some use for the secondary ability button.
At the same time I can get behind the idea that someone needs to be the designated 'flawless but boring' character--this thread is really just a thought exercise so I can try and come up with a solution to the issues I've personally had regarding the clown.
I'm not sure how widespread the practice of this really is, but a clown getting in and out of a tiny object (usually a car) is a pretty iconic image:
I'm kind of channeling the same thing with the locker idea--it's a bit out there but the image of the clown bursting out of a locker despite being far too big is kind of hilarious to me. Bonus points if he head-ons a hapless Jake who is standing too close to the locker. Still I think you're right about the map pressure thing- I'd rather see clown excel at being a chase god to give him an in-game niche, I just can't think of a very exciting way to achieve this!
Interesting! This is a very different view of the clown to the one I have- I didn't get the impression that he was ever particularly clever in his stalking, just that the travelling circus never stuck around for long enough for him to get caught. Same with the quote--the speaker doesn't make the clown sound particularly subtle :p
Still I'd be curious as to what kind of stealth element you'd like to see on him? :)
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one way that i would be totally fine with clown going is making red heads pin ky finger baseline.
i hit you with a bottle directly (harder than it looks) and i get a free down. billy and bubba get that baseline. why cant clown lol
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"just that the travelling circus never stuck around for long enough for him to get caught"
According to his bio he worked at the circus for at least a decade before he was caught.
As for what exactly I would give him, I dunno. Made even just keep it simple and just reduce his Terror Radius by a few meters.
Though I do think the gas itself just isnt good enough and should be buffed as well.
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I meant as a base kit effect, the current gas is not dangerous enough. I have never seen an experienced survivor take the gas seriously, its something they just tolerate while running the loops.
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