The term crutch perk is overperforming and needs heavily adressing

The definition of a crutch is something that just makes a certain task easier with some kind of drawback in video game terminology.

The best example of a crutch is the loach n load from team fortress 2 : faster pipes in return for a drastically lower magazine size. Less dps but hitting individual pipes are easier.

Let's look at what are commonly called crutches in dbd and see if they fit this definition. If there's a star next to the perk then there's gonna be a point to be made explaining some stuff :

*Ds - there's no downside to running it, it's a relatively safe perk with a huge reward . the only way it hinders you is by taking up a perk slot after activating it so....I'm not sure. But I don't think it's a crutch, just a very imbalanced perk in terms of risk and reward.

*Noed - no benefit until all the generators are done but then you get insta downs until the totem is cleansed. The trial up until the endgame is made more difficult in return for a huge reward at the endgame. This is sort of a crutch but only for endgame as throughout the rest of the trial it does nothing at all

*Adrenaline - free health state and a speedboost. See noed for a slightly more detailed analysis.

*Unbreakable - See DS, it's a great comeback perk however after its first use it only applies a recovery speed buff , unlike the definition of a crutch this doesn't make any other aspect of survivor gameplay worse .

Dead hard - here's the tricky perk. While on the one hand it does give a safety net for survivors who aren't the best at looping this is also a perk with a higher skill cap - it's ill advised to bring any other exhaustion perk with this as well. If you end up using one you can't use the other so it could technically be classed as a crutch because it hinders the aspect of perk choice but. It's ultimately up to your opinion on it

Bbq and chilli : a handful counters. No hindrance to the killer. It isn't a crutch

(I honestly can't think of more than 2 killer perks for the assumed crutches list. I apologize)

* one time use perks or perks that are inactive for most of the trial affect each individual role separately, a survivor can afford to give up one perk slot whereas for a killer they need to optimize all 4 to have efficient and fun matches. It's simular with add ons. A survivor doesn't need to bring in an item to do well whereas a killer almost always needs add ons to be decent, look at wraith and trapper as examples.

Here are some perks that I'd call actual crutches :

Zanshin tactics - it only shows the aura of pallets and Windows, and then gets put on a cooldown. Making the aspect of pallet locating easier while hindering the killer by taking up a perk slot

Deer stalker - see zanshin tactics but replace the word pallet and window with downed surivors

Windows of oportunity - see zanshin tactics but replace the word killer with survivor

50% of calm spirit - the ability to not alert crows is already build into the crouch function of the game, but not being revealed by scream perks is nice

Iron grasp - mad grit prevents body blocking in a better way and agitation gives you more distance. The only real upside is the reduced struggling affect (the reverse of boil over) and as stated earlier this is a wasted perk slot with a quality of life benefit, it's a crutch sadly.

Tldr : stop using the term crutch like your naming animals in question zoo and try to use it correctly.

don't forget to drink your Yorkshire tea and have a nice day. If not I will find you and I will put a singular soggy teabag through your letterbox