Everybody has a key these days
And it's goddamn annoying. It's got to be one the singlehandedly cheapest way to win. After you've played for any significant amount of time as survivor (if you've picked a main, which most have) you'll be able to stockpile keys pretty easily. Even without the stockpile however, it's so weird how half the time I see a key escape (which is pretty often) turns out they actually didn't bring a key with them, they just happened to find one in a chest.
AKA if you've got dumb luck on your side, then you win. I get that the DBD is host to extreme variability, that's part of the fun, but there shouldn't be something that powerful in the game.
Next to BNP, and Ebony Mori, the key was one of the most powerful tools either side has access to. Unlike the aforementioned, the key has not been nerfed, changed, or updated to match the current meta and pace of the game.
You don't have to worry about Toolbox Nerfs or even killer buffs if you can just jump out through the hatch and win the game:
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/mobile/000/022/138/highresrollsafe.jpg
It is absolutely heart-wrenchingly infuriating to go up against a 4-man SWF squad equipped with toolbox, go 10/10 sweaty and start to pull ahead of the match, only for that SWF squad to cut their losses and make a hatch escape because they had the bright idea if they were losing, they'd just save who they could and leave early without risking what might happen if the match dragged on further.
Proposed solution
I gave this proposed solution when hatch-standoffs were still a thing, before the EGC, but they had shown off the hatch closing mechanic in a PTB. And I'll give the same one again: If a survivor wants to open the hatch they have to go through a hatch opening animation, they kneel down, fit the key into the keyhole of the hatch, and pull it open much like a chest, afterwhich they can jump through.
This animation would also make a distinct audio cue, much like how you can hear a totem being cleansed, or a chest being rustled through, the audio for opening a hatch with a key would be metallic, as the lock mechanisms slowly give way. The animation can only be performed from the front side of the hatch, and it is interruptible, meaning the killer can grab you out of it. Just like the BNP, if the killer grabs you out of the animation the item is destroyed.
The animation itself wouldn't take that long to be completely honest, less than the time it takes to open an exit gate or cleanse a totem, it would be something like 5 seconds. The point is not to nerf the key into obscurity or change it's purpose completely (although to be honest, maybe that's how it should be), it still is a key after all, but to keep it more in line with the direction of balance the rest of the game is approaching.
The point of this change and introducing the animation is so that as a survivor you can't jump out of a closed hatch right in front of the killer's face. This doesn't even make sense, to stand holding a key, and I guess it evaporates in the air and the hatch magically opens? #########?? More than not making sense, it's just straight up throwing shade and disrespect into a killer that may have genuinely deserved the victory.
On top of this, the chance keys can be pulled out of a chest needs to be drastically reduced. I'm unaware if the chances are the same as how the chances to pull a single map are (equal chance for every single variation of a map, regardless of setting) but if it is keys need to be the exception and must be rarer. Pulling a key out of a chest should be the equivalent of a self-unhook, it happens, but very rarely.
TL;DR
-Introduce a 5 second animation to open the hatch (when closed) where the survivor kneels down and fits the key into the lock
-This animation has a metallic audio cue, as the key is fitted inside and the locking mechanism slowly gives way
-This animation can only be performed from the front side of hatch
-This animation is interruptible, meaning you can be grabbed out of it
-Should you be grabbed or hit out of the hatch opening animation, your key will be destroyed (similar to how BNP is destroyed if you fail a skillcheck)
-Chance to pull a key out of a chest has been reduced
Purpose: to force survivors to be more meticulous and strategic about how they approach the hatch when holding a key. Rather than the current "bolt for the hatch and slide in like you were a stick of butter" action. Pushes survivors to be stealthy and less bold around the hatch as the killer is and should always be an intimidating presence, regardless of the perks or items you bring into a match.
Hope a dev or someone official sees this.
Comments
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I think the Key is a fair use. It comes in handy when the last remaining Generators are close together and the Killer is patrolling them really hard. At that point, a Key is a fair usage. I don't like when Survivors use them early on in the match as soon as the Hatch appears, but not enough to complain about it.
If it bothers you that much, use Franklin's Demise. 🤷♂️
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I can't tell you how many times a survivor would be standing on a closed hatch with key in hand waiting and wanting me to see them just jump through faster than a Nurse can blink. An animation for opening with a key would only help balance the game a little more and make it more interesting. Dev's please consider this.
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You're probably seeing a lot of keys because there's a challenge. And yeah, the key hasn't been changed but don't forget the insta heal was nerfed to the point of it no longer being used. Ebony moris are still going strong and are the farthest thing from "ultra rare." Why should insta heals and keys be nerfed but not ebony moris? Or would that be fair to you?
EGC was a huge change that favors the killer.
I rarely see anyone bring in a key at all, much less actually use it to escape. More than anything, I see survivors get lucky and find a key, stop playing, and let their teammates die on their first hook so they can get hatch. The other day I found a key and showed my teammate. He let me die on my first hook and then took the key.
I just prestige my Jane and got her back to level 50. Guess how many keys I have. One purple, one pink. I really don't think survivors care about keys nearly as much as you think we do. Why would you get so tilted by a 4 man SWF that brings a key? If it's so unfair, why let it bother you? Why not just play the game and have fun? No one can control how you feel but you.
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Keys can be annoying and frustrating. I've had escapes playing as killer when I had the pressure up and a three gen strat. Despite this, I hope the devs don't make any changes to keys or the hatch. Maybe making keys a little less common, especially in chests. But enough with the nerfing on both sides. They've now nerfed every survivor item except for keys and I hope it stays that way.
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How am I supposed to do that (run Franklin's) when a key is black and 3 pixels long. Not to mention I hardly pay attention to the lobby nowadays because of queue times, I start my queue, tab out and then wait until I hear the audio cue that signals a trial is starting. So I'm not even there to see if someone brings a key or not.
Franklin's isn't even a guaranteed counter because you know that same SWF is either going to have the same guy going back to look for it at the exact spot he dropped it, or he describes the general area and someone else grab it. In which case I have no idea who's holding it because again, 3 pixels long.
I could care less about Moris since I don't use them (unless I've been having a bad day and want to ######### on survivors extra hard and sweaty). Although I will say Moris nowadays are more for spectacle than for gameplay advantage (for both), everytime a new Killer comes into the fog the first question aside from who it is and what their power is, is what's their mori?
Memento Mori's are very much engrained into the personality of DBD and people enjoy the gruesome spectacles, in the same way that Mortal Kombat is known for its iconic fatalities and brutalities.
So if you have some idea about how to nerf Mori be my guest and post about it, I wouldn't mind, no harm in discussing ideas as long as the important part which is the Spectacle remains. Though I will challenge your point by saying I see less Moris in my survivor games than Keys in my Killer games.
Also, I'm aware of the challenge, and will point out that my notice of an increased use of keys crosses a span of a couple of weeks / months in recent history, far before Tome II and it's later levels were dropped. The only thing the challenge does is prove the relevancy of the topic, and my point that keys are a genuine balance issue in the game.
Post edited by Seiko300 on0
