Sorry but without SWF this game would be healthier...

And how would you like to stop swfs from teaming up? Not every multiplayer game has the option to join as team in a match, but you can bet that in every game are swfs thanks to third party programms like teamspeak as example.

Also the wish to play with your friends is just natural in a multiplayer game.

Imo, killers should be balanced after swfs, since they are the possible strongest players in every multiplayer game and so also in dbd.

yes matchmaking can be screwed with SWF who are mixed ranks that I will agree on.

However 2-3 gens can be done in 2mins easily even with all solo players - coms and SWF has nothing to do with this. It doesn't take a in coms tactical squad to figure out how to go through gens and sync your perks/items in pre game lobby chat. Plus the goal as killer isn't to stop the gens being done, its to kill the suvs, so moaning that you lost a couple of gens early on baffles me.

Then blaming camping/tunnelling on SWF who are "gen rushing" - that is a killers decision to play like that, it isn't necessary to slow down gens being done (and if it is SWF would have the opposite effect as the hooked would just use coms to tell the group they are being camped carry on with gens)

SWF is always going to stick around , it would be suicide for BHVR to take it out. I do agreed that solo survs do need bringing up to the same level of info as swf to balance it out for them, just as much as some killers need buffs to give them more gen pressure in the game to keep the game in a healthy state of balance.

But SWF isn't the problem, the problem is the warped mentality that SWF is some toxic horror in the game that continues to spread around the DBD community; usually by killers who don't know how to deal with them, cant handle a loss or refuse to alter the gameplay/loadout to deal with a SWF group. Majority of SWF groups are literally doing just that - surviving with friends, having fun and not taking the game too seriously. Yes there are some ultra serious SWF groups out there, but so what, they force me to be a better player, try out new tactics and yeah I get stomped once in a while - my ego can take it

there probably are more SWF on console due to the nature of coms built in. But even so its 3 people who can talk...so what? It wont affect how good you are at chasing them down and how quickly you can get to a them hook. You've recognised its SWF before so you can adjust loadouts/perks accordingly - you see torches? use LB or Franklins or mad grit to stop them taking hits. Plus you've spotted the one solo player which you can use to your advantage.

There is no way to tell on ps4 anymore. The 3 people you see loaded up could be 3 solos or 2/3 man swf. No way of knowing. I only play solo and have been in lobbies with 1 or 2 others before a killer joins.

False, when the game came out everyone was playing solo and there was a good amount of content being pushed out on both sides of the spectrum it was only after the devs released SWF that things started to get more toxic, the game would 100% still be going without swf, I won't deny that the added feature did pull in more numbers but at the end of the day the game wouldn't have died without those players.

Meh, I disagree. I put my time in solo survivor. Anymore survivor is just too boring. without swf to have some form of entertainment I wouldn't play.

Without solos this game would die

And when all the solo players leave?

It's just not possible to prevent. If you somehow prevent people from using discord, people will just use their phones. People want to play with their friends. Short of killing the game, you cannot prevent it.

The only thing you can do is find ways to buff the solo queue players up to that level and then tweak killer balance to compensate.

Also, don't forget that most SWF are actually playing worse than solos. Most are just talking with friends as they play and the voice chat is more distracting and detrimental than helpful. The elite SWF coordinating on comms to play absolutely optimal is extremely rare.

Honestly removing the entire emblem system and ranking altogether would go a long way to improving the health of the game. It's a casual game and needs to stop pretending to be otherwise.

SwF is mostly casual friends playing with one another. I can do the same lvl of potatoness with or without SwF thank you very much.

….you do realise people can see their team mates names in the game though right? so even if they don't know each other, it wouldn't take two seconds to invite them to discord/steam chat or a console group chat...….not as simple as you think really

yes try reading

If that ever happens, bhvr has hopefull their dc penalties ready, because then the people will dc until they are together. They can stay in contact after all via third party voice programms and immediately tell each other on which map they are, which killer and so on.

Besides... It wouldn't be nice to kill other peoples fun on this way imo. Killers and survs have already to suffer enough under the nerfs, or "reworks" how bhvr is call them.

Making the most killers stronger would be imo the only solution with that everybody can life with.

Well the most common complaint about the swf matchmaking change was how low ranks now have to play in high ranks or in the past high ranks playing with low ranks to Smurf. This shows swf do play with lower ranked friends not just high ranks.

We know with steam achievements that only 7% of all players had the rank 5 achievement before the recent bug. I'd say it's not as many as one may think.

Its already been said that swf is the lifeline keeping this game alive. While ive seen someone mention people would be too impatient to try to queue with their friends, if it took too long to do so, people would just go play another game that WOULD allow them to play with their friends. I know for myself, if it werent for swf, this game would be so boring. Solo survivor is boring and frustrating as my teammates are usually morons. With swf, i have so many hilarious clips saved on my playstation from moments playing with friends that keep the game feeling fresh and a great party game and bonding tool with me and my friends. I may play killer every now and then when im in the mood, but if i only had the option to play killer or solo survivor, I would hardly touch this game and would look for games more engaging. If you notice, games that have longevity are the ones that have online multiplayer capabilities where people can play with their friends. Without it, the game will get stale and ultimately be outclassed by games that grow with the gaming trends.

Also, ive seen posts recommending a casual and ranked mode, which as im sure someone has already stated, would cut the player base in half thus doubling the already century long queue times for both sides (esp survivor). The devs have stated that they want the game to last as long as possible and if their business team is any good, they would recognize that the amount of people who play swf exclusively, plus the people who play both killer AND swf, highly outweigh the small community who only play killer and are willing to leave the game just because of swf. Thats a loss they can afford because for each one that actually "leaves" a new player joins.

If the swf is really hindering your enjoyment of the game, its honestly best you find another game that tailors to your needs. DBD just may not be for you, and thats ok :)

I dont worry about one flashlight. Even if it is a purple one. Most are not skilled enough to use it and are not in a position to use it when i down somebody. In over 100 games only two people have been successfully rescued by the FL. Hardly worth taking a perk for. Most of the time i am ready and most of the time i manage to look up without being affected. Face a wall. Bait the pickup and listen to footsteps or do a quick patrol. In the event they do save ill be ready the second time and waiting for it. They are the ones that usually end up on the hook. They do not get to play again after a FL save.

All my friends (seven people off the top of my head) quit playing because match making made it impossible for us to have any success in a SWF. I still play but not even close to the amount of time I used to. So if you want a lot less people playing this game, sure, remove SWF.

This game wouldn't be healthier, I have met some great people through such, it's not swf that makes the game how it is, it's people and their own choice of game play that some do not like etc.