The Hatch
Yes, I know there are probably hundreds of discussions about being able to close The Hatch, but I just wanted some feedback on my suggestions for it. Before we start, I would like to say I find that the ability to close The Hatch is a fair mechanic, but the way to reopen it is next to impossible as almost any Killer will be able to patrol the last generators with little to no effort and The Survivor will never get a generator done. With this being said, I do have some suggestions as to "balance" it a bit for both sides.
Suggestion Number One: Make it so The Survivor can either complete a generator OR they can try to open The Hatch manually by performing something similar to when a Survivor uses a Brand New Part, except have it similar to Overcharged where there is only a great skill check and it is about the same size as a Decisive Strike skill check. Obviously, if they miss a skill check, The Killer is notified, and the progression is lost.
Suggestion Number Two: Have a one-time-use Skeleton Key spawn somewhere randomly in the map inside a locker OR have a box with a Skeleton Key in it spawn randomly in the map and make opening it similar to searching a Jigsaw Box, but with smaller skill checks. This provides The Survivor a more attainable way of escaping, as well as giving The Killer more to do than just patrol the last generators like dog running in a circle.
Suggestion Number Three: Give The Survivor a speed boost in repair speed OR have the killer receive an Exhaustion status that makes them just as slow as a survivor as to provide more time for repairs.
I know that the topic of The Hatch being able to be closed is being heavily debated by Killers and Survivors, and that there may not be a way of pleasing both sides. I am personally a Killer main as I find relying on myself and my skills alone works better than working with others, but I do play Survivor a considerable amount. With that being said, I believe that closing The Hatch is definitely a good mechanic, but the scale is currently too in favor of the Killer and needs some tweaking. Please tell me how you feel about my suggestions, and if you have any suggestions on how to improve my ideas. Also, if you have any suggestions of your own, please share it down below. Thanks for reading! ~DS61
Comments
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For you suggestion number 1, you can already re-open the hatch by finishing a gen, but then the killer can just close it right back up after.
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@SquirtleSurgeon1 I know you can have The Hatch opened by doing a generator, I was just saying keep that as an option and also give The Survivor the option of performing the manual opening of the hatch.
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@DS61 said:
@SquirtleSurgeon1 I know you can have The Hatch opened by doing a generator, I was just saying keep that as an option and also give The Survivor the option of performing the manual opening of the hatch.oh ok
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I agree with option 2, but I think the key should spawn randomly inside a locker - this would give locker more importance to the game than just a hiding spot. I also think Basement lockers should have a higher chance of having the key spawn in order to make it easier for the killer to find the survivor, but my last suggestion is for them to remove the grab ability from the hatch, because nothing is stopping the killer from closing the hatch and then sitting on top of it waiting for you to come with a key and then having a hatch stand-off again. This way killer finds the hatch > closes the hatch > is forced to go hunting for the survivor instead of camping the hatch.
Maybe once the survivor finds the key his aura is revealed to the killer for a few seconds, forcing him to find the hatch as fast as possible or get caught.
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@Twix said:
I agree with option 2, but I think the key should spawn randomly inside a locker - this would give locker more importance to the game than just a hiding spot. I also think Basement lockers should have a higher chance of having the key spawn in order to make it easier for the killer to find the survivor, but my last suggestion is for them to remove the grab ability from the hatch, because nothing is stopping the killer from closing the hatch and then sitting on top of it waiting for you to come with a key and then having a hatch stand-off again. This way killer finds the hatch > closes the hatch > is forced to go hunting for the survivor instead of camping the hatch.Maybe once the survivor finds the key his aura is revealed to the killer for a few seconds, forcing him to find the hatch as fast as possible or get caught.
@Twix I like your suggestion, especially the showing of the aura when they find the key bit. Kinda like Bitter Murmur but for the key. I feel that the grab ability should be removed as well, especially since you can close The Hatch now. If The Killer can't find The Survivor after finding/closing the hatch AND being shown their location when they find do the key, then The Killer should NOT be getting a free grab.
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I agree the hatch closing is a bit too strong for the killer (and I killer main). Often there is more than one gen left to do, which means the survivor must announce his location to the killer upon completion of the gen. That makes evading a constant patrol of the last gens that much more difficult. The whole thing seems like a pointless exercise, the killer patrolling the last gens until bringing the match to an inevitable and predictable conclusion. The last survivor needs some help- make it a bit more sporting for both killer and survivor.
I think the simplest, best solution is to allow the survivor to perform a cleansing action to open the hatch. Make the cleansing action somewhat as lengthy as opening the exit, giving the killer a pretty good chance of catching the survivor at the hatch. And, of course, if hatch is opened after a closing and for some reason the survivor doesn't escape through it, the killer can close it once again, requiring a new, fresh cleansing action to open.
This simple change would give the killer two tactical objectives and not just one. Killer still needs to patrol the gens, but even after closing the hatch he must keep an eye on the hatch. The survivor can then play mind games with the killer, weighing the risk of working a particular gen against trying to open the hatch, depending on which the killer is patrolling more. By pivoting back and forth between the hatch and the best gen, taking opportunity to work on them where the killer's presence allows, a survivor has the potential to either escape the hatch or finish multiple gens. It would be hard, but it's possible.
As it stands now the killer closing the hatch is too easy and cuts off too completely the survivor's chance of surviving.
EDIT: The hatch shouldn't be closed by the killer, as it is now. When the killer goes to the hatch the killer should be able to put a metal grate over it. This will both allow the sucking sound of the hatch to continue and will alert a survivor that the hatch will require a cleansing action by sight alone (allowing the survivor to better strategize).
So the survivor can still hear the hatch. And if the survivor gives a sneaky peek from a distance and sees the metal grate attached the survivor knows the killer knows where the hatch is and has locked it.
The cleansing action should be about as long as an exit gate and it should accrue progress from each time the survivor interacts, like an exit. (The killer only knows if the hatch/grate is open or closed, the survivor knows how far progressed it is to being opened each time they interact with it, just as with an exit.) Considering how long it takes, most survivors will have to sneak to the hatch several times before being able to complete the cleansing action. However, killers will know survivors do this and will be likely to heavily patrol the area immediately around the hatch.
Again, it would still be hard for the survivor to escape but the survivor would have a sporting chance.
Post edited by SlipperyFunTime on0 -
I say to leave it how it is. The killer got 3 kills and you got a get out of jail free card that you lost because the killer found the hatch first therefore it will be difficult to re-gain your get out of jail free card by either completing a gen or getting lucky by finding a key in an unopened chest or maybe one of your dead teammates dropped a key when they died. I feel like it makes sense to me and having the last survivor have the ability to re-open the hatch will just extend the game and give us a new form of a hatch standoff. I say the hatch is fine how it is on the ptb and I enjoy it as both killer and survivor.
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it does need a bit of tweaking as it is pretty strong atm. it has unnecessarily prolonged my games as killer during the ptb when I did close it. something does need a change.
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@Frockz551 said:
I say to leave it how it is. The killer got 3 kills and you got a get out of jail free card that you lost because the killer found the hatch first therefore it will be difficult to re-gain your get out of jail free card by either completing a gen or getting lucky by finding a key in an unopened chest or maybe one of your dead teammates dropped a key when they died. I feel like it makes sense to me and having the last survivor have the ability to re-open the hatch will just extend the game and give us a new form of a hatch standoff. I say the hatch is fine how it is on the ptb and I enjoy it as both killer and survivor.@Lumi83 said:
it does need a bit of tweaking as it is pretty strong atm. it has unnecessarily prolonged my games as killer during the ptb when I did close it. something does need a change.If you're worried about extending the game you're too late. Having the locked hatch already extends the match, and the too-long match was one of the primary complaints about the prior hatch stand-offs. The unintended consequence of the locked hatch, as Lumi83 noted, is that the last survivor becomes overly cautious, paralyzed by the impossible proposition of finishing the gen/s to escape. So "leave it how it is" in this hatch lock situation is no solution to ending the match faster.
My suggestion of a lengthy cleansing action is much better, as it entices the survivor to be active in hopes of actually escaping. Don't worry, that situation still heavily favors the killer.
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The hatch change is something that was never needed but for whatever reason the devs felt after two years it had to be tweaked. As a survivor, if I see the killer camping the hatch then I just usually let them kill me then and there as the game is not really fun at that point with just two people. Even if they are a tryhard and I I know 100% I could just finish the gens as they'll never leave their post I tend to just let them get me to end the game. As killer, I don't camp the hatch at all if I find it. In fact, I do the opposite and run away from it as like I just said, the game is quite boring at that point and I'd rather just get another match going so I will vacate the premises to hopefully encourage them to take it if they are around.
The entire premise of the hatch was to quickly finish games with two left so I don't see why they are changing this. This is not a balance change, this is just another slap in the face to survivors. The killers are the only ones to benefit from this change, survivors gain NOTHING from it. My only hope is when this is implemented into the actual game after PTB they change the rarity of block lock keys to appear more as it is ridiculous they are doing all of this with no benefit to survivors while the killers get everything with this change.
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Bitter murmur is op now
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