New Objective: Alex's Secret Stash
Hi there! I'd like to do a brief introductory before I went on and gave a detailed description of the new content I'm suggesting. I've played DBD a long time, and one thing that I find is universal is that survivors want something else to do that's meaningful, and that killer's want survivors to do something else instead of working on gens all the time. My suggestion is something that does both. A new side objective for survivors that gives a reward for completing it.
Alex's Secret Stash
Alex's Secret Stash is a new objective on every map that is optional for the survivors to locate and unlock, granting 3 luxury items, many only obtainable by opening this objective.
How to open: Alex's Stash can only be open by -
- First opening all standard chests on the map.
- Finding the chest on the map (it is able to be seen before chests are opened, but cannot be interacted with until all chests are opened).
- Once all chests are opened, each survivor may complete a series (3) of extremely difficult skill checks. (Doctor skill checks back to back to back) Upon completing, you may claim your reward.
- If a survivor fails his skill checks, he is injured one health state and cannot attempt to open the chest again.
- Alex's Secret Stash may be opened a total of 4 times, once by each survivor.
Rewards: Alex's SS offers great rewards for those willing to commit to opening it. Items opened by users with Ace in the Hole each are affected by the perk, for a total of 3 times. Alex's SS also offers unique items unable to be found in the bloodweb or in regular chests.
- Alex's Refined Toolbox: 32 charges, Tremendously increases repair speed, tremendously increases sabotage speed, unlocks sabotage action.
- Alex's Flashlight: 16 seconds of use, slightly decreases flashlight battery consumption, tremendously increases flashlight blind duration.
- Alex's Medkit: 36 charges, tremendously increases the speed that you heal others, moderately decreases consumption rate of healing yourself, unlocks the self-heal action.
(Yes, I'm aware these are simply stronger versions of already existing items, but being locked behind an objective and having them be the best available of existing items makes the objective that more enticing for item collectors, and players who want best in slot).
- Rainbow map
- Purple Flashlight
- Alex's Toolbox
- Engineer's Toolbox
- Skeleton Key
- Ranger's Medkit
- Green Flashlight
Alex is a character depicted in Dead by Daylight as a mysterious characters somehow tied to the existing lore, found only in the description and name of "Alex's Toolbox" ("Most of the tools are identified as 'owned by Alex'.")
My suggestion is to expand on this secret lore and make it so he was an engineer who crafted the finest tools available and stash them away in the eternal nightmare the Entity created, hoping that some lucky souls brave enough would uncover his creations and use them to help escape.
Please leave suggestions and thoughts below.
Comments
-
Im not a survivor main, so I looked at this from a killer perspective. I would be upset that survivors get a new objective and exclusive (powerful items) and I get what? A possible distraction for survivors and another element I have to keep track of. I’m just saying you could expand on it to reward the killer with something too.
As far as the suggested objective of opening all chests before opening a final chest and doing some difficult skill checks...might be the killer in me but I found it to be too easy an objective. Also, survivors might upset each other if they burn to spawn more chests and clash with those trying to quickly finish a chest opening challenge. I’m assuming your saying once every chest is open then any survivor could take a turn to earn their own prize, regardless of whose dead or not.
Personally I think a challenge where a killer could fight back would be more entertaining and suspenseful but a killer could only stop this by babysitting the mystery box lol.
i won’t comment on the prizes cause I’m not too familiar with them. If I took this idea and moulded it into something to my preference. I’d say amp up the difficulty. All totems done and all four survivors need to do their skill checks to unlock. So a killer can fight back by killing a survivor. 4 lights on prize box that lights up as survivors open it, 1 by 1. Sadly by version promotes killer tunneling so it’s no better D:
End of the day, I like any idea that tries to add another much needed element to the game. I’m just not sure I’d choose this idea over some other ones. Nice post though~
2 -
Thank you so much for your input!
My main objective here was to add something to the game in order to slow down the overall speed of the game, while adding something that won't really effect the CORE gameplay of how the match is to play out. The rewards are to match that, they're strong items, but they're not so strong as to effect how a game will play out by any large margarine at all. Thus, I do not think the difficulty should reflect that.
- Missing Skillchecks results in no more attemps for that survivor, and reduce in health state.
- Noise of missing skillcheck giving away location to killer
- Possible "oblivious" status effect while looting/performing skillchecks
Overall I think these are some slight negatives to make it a little more interesting, but again, it's not supposed to be difficult to complete (though look at how often people miss doctor skillchecks/ds). The killer is rewarded in the most VALUABLE asset. Time. While not a LOT of time, it is still overall a decent amount of time investment for each survivor to loot, travel to, perform skillechecks, and loot the chest. While not spectacular in thematic game play for the killer, it is mostly meant to be a time sink in which they have more opportunity to effect the map as survivors pour time into completing this side objective.
1 -
https://deadbydaylight.gamepedia.com/Alex%27s_Toolbox
Alex's Toolbox was named after Alex Lin, a Product Manager at BHVR, who is also the likeness of Jake Park and the voice actor of The Doctor
- In internal plays, Lin often used the Toolbox as his go-to Item, making the name an Easter Egg.
I don't know If they would be willing to put his name in something again rather than just making a new character or just have no name. If they make a new character it shows the entities realm is bigger than we get to see but if you put no name it makes it more mysterious "Did the entity make these or was someone hiding them?"
Plus If it was just called Secret stash people could abbreviate it as SS but with Alex in front of it the abbreviation is A$$
0 -
Interesting idea. Hitting 3 back to back to back overcharge skillchecks won't be easy for a lot of people.
As solo survivor, I'd be annoyed that my teammates are injuring themselves for prizes.
As killer, an injured health state with a noise indication sounds nice. Especially when it has little to do with gens.
Might be a cool addition. But as a solo survivor, it's rare that I feel my team has too much time on their hands. Interesting nonetheless.
2 -
Thanks so much for the input!
As a solo survivor, I can totally agree with the sentiment that I find my teams don't have a lot of free time on their hands, but I would also note that a lot of the times players tend to waste time doing things like follow the killer around, looting chests, doing totems as is. (In a way the last two aren't wasting as much time since you may sometimes benefit from this.
With this objective, at least it will give you the option of benefiting from it with a nice item if you complete it yourself in the event it's available!
0 -
The primary issue with additional objectives is really that killers have no way of working towards their objective without 100% successful quick chases. Gen speeds aren't really too slow, in other words, killers are (not in terms of walkspeed). Survivors are bored with gen repair probably because the current meta makes it too easy. You don't have to care much if the killer shows because wasting their time in a chase is like, the number one thing that helps you.
I am not sure that adding another means for survivors to prolong chases really addresses the underlying issue.
0 -
MAN this is the coolest idea I have ever seen in the forums!
2 -
Ya to add to the high stakes element, it might be neat if instead of 2 standard boxes rng at start, 4 total are spawned (one still being basement).
With one of them having a guaranteed green key haha. Then once all 4 are opened, the secret stash acts like the hatch and reveals itself.
This way it takes longer to open all chests and no one will know where it's even at. Might give struggling killers an extra opportunity to get some momentum.
0 -
Thank you so much for such high praises!
0 -
I would add that a white ward doesn't save you the unique item. That would be too easy. Another addition might be that one character can only hold one item of each of the possible rewards. Meaning that if you have it already in your collection (not in the match), then you cannot find it again in the current match. Also, if you bring one unique item, you cannot find it again in the match (which would in ridiculous cases allow 8 omega toolboxes, 4 is already heavy to deal with). That would make them really "unique" (which is ok because they are pretty good items).
And targeting the fact that others might do the work for you by opening chests and then die while you go for the loot: I would add (or replace) that you have to find a key (maybe 4 of them hanging on random hooks) to open the secret stash. Carrying such a key could increase your chest search speed by 20%. And I don't mean keys as items, more something like the events (the chinese lanterns) or like charms, that blinks slightly on your waist, to make you a tiny little bit easier to spot, when trying to hide in the grass, as long as you carry the key around. And each survivor can carry one of these to get his chance at the stash.
Btw Alex is one of the developers, this is an easter egg. And lorewise I would at least question why Alex hides his tools, meaning to help survivors, in a box that injures them o.O Maybe the tools are produced by another survivor as support, but the entity tries to trap the stash or something.
At least I would laugh my nipples off when I play a trapper with injuring traps, seeing how a survivor gets injured by my trap and then dies to the stash skillcheck :D Regarding the objective, I wouldn't add totems to that, killers don't want totems to be cleansed, if they want to run totem perks. So opening the chests would be the better choice. And the idea is to give the survivors something else to "waste time", a competitive objective would waste killers time as well, not sure if a killer wants that. And killing survivors as "counter" is not really a solution as you already said.
But in general: yes, I would like to see an optional objective for the killer as well, that can consume some time but help you with your objective in another way if used properly. Something like ripping out a special part of the gen, forcing the survivors to find a replacement on the map for that part, or ignore the gen. (although this might just stall the game unnecessarily, but just as a rough first idea)
Just as a side note: that is number two actually. The number one thing to waste killer time would be hiding from the killer :P because when he chases you, he will eventually progress towards his target. When you hide, he's not ;)
0 -
Also just thought about that. It might fix killer tier lists, because you would say something like "Billy gawd no, no time to go for the stash" or "just a Clown? Time to loot"
0 -
Thank you for such a detailed response! I'll do my best to format my responses addressing a few key parts I found interesting.
"Also, if you bring one unique item, you cannot find it again in the match (which would in ridiculous cases allow 8 omega toolboxes, 4 is already heavy to deal with). That would make them really "unique" (which is ok because they are pretty good items)."
I do understand that this may be an issue. Though, I think there may be some trouble in the solutions you presented in terms of coding, but I'm not sure. At the very least we have perks like Franklin's Demise and Overwhelming Presence that would be buffed if you saw survivors bringing in too many items. But it is a good point, I really only think the Toolboxes would be an issue; however, I think the medkit and flashlight being as strong as they are is fine as is relative to how they effect the game.
I would add (or replace) that you have to find a key (maybe 4 of them hanging on random hooks) to open the secret stash.
Interesting idea. I do like this, but perhaps make it more restrictive - Only have one key be able to be found on the map (similar to a totem), and also allow the stash to be unlocked via Purple/skeleton/green keys and have them be consumed on use. This would make green keys actually relevant and would make it so at the very least, one player isn't bringing in a more powerful item.
0 -
Somehow when I saw "Alex's secret stash"...a new toolbox was NOT what came to mind, lol.
1 -
I just wanted to comment a bit on your statement about totems. I understand your viewpoint that killers do not want survivors to do totems but I disagree with it. No Hex totem means no reason for survivors to do totems at all except for some points. So...most ignore and do the objective. The real reason killers use Hex is to distract survivors from gens and actually do the secondary objective. Killers actually want survivors to do totems, I pray every game im in I face a team who tries to get all Totems done. Opening chests rewards the survivors with items to help survivors. Doing totems has no real benefit unless it’s hex or killer happens to be running NOED.
I stand by that bones are better option then chest~. Sorry I couldn’t crop just that part of your convo but my phone wouldn’t let me.
0 -
This guy smokes
0 -
IMO if the requirements to open the stash would be totems + chests, the incentive would have to be more. I could see someone arguing just chests being searched could be too little time investment to unlock the stash itself, but actually finding all the totems in addition would be a LOT of extra time. And more often that not, there's always the pesky outlier totem that's almost impossible to find (barring map + addons/detectives hunch?).
0 -
I like this idea, but I have some thoughts. First, I honestly think that it would make more sense if it was Vigo's Secret Stash, rather than Alex. Vigo has been known to be able to affect the realm of the Entity, and the Engineer's toolbox is Vigo's. I like having it restricted, but I also think some players wouldn't be interested. My suggestion would be to make it so that it has 4 lights on it. Each light is an attempt. A single survivor can make multiple attempts, but can only obtain a single item. Since this new mechanic doesn't benefit the killer in a major way, so that the killer gets a new mechanic to go with it, when the stash lights up, the killer can interact with it to knock out one of the lights. Set it up so that each item that can be in the stash can only spawn once.
I would change the toolbox to be called Vigo's Masterpiece. Can't think of any changes to the other two. As stated before by someone else, the devs may not want to add Alex's name to other items. Maybe the flashlight can be Baker's Flashing or something.
Lastly, these unique items may be too op for survivors to potentially always have, and some add-ons could just make them OP in general. So, I would also add the stipulation that they aren't effected by Ace in the Hole, and that you can't bring them into a new trial. If you escape with one, you get the prize of lore in the flavor text, but it's always greyed out, similar to event offerings no longer available. To indicate that you got one of these special items, they would be the only toolbox, medkit, and flashlight that are iridescent, so you know in the match what you got.
1 -
Something like this can't ever be anything other than a Survivor buff.
Either it's not a strong enough reward to justify the time and it may as well not exist, thus making the game resolve like it already does
Or
It IS a strong enough reward to justify the time. Meaning that by preforming all the steps to open the stash they will be doing better than is possible right now.
Neither outcome is actually an improvement for the game.
0 -
I would argue this is a slight survivor buff, but those metrics would be incredibly hard to analyze (amount of times spent/how that effects the average game, how these items effect other games they're brought into etc) are all really hard to quantify and verify.
But, no matter WHAT, there will always be people who want the BEST items, and people who want to collect, that will actively attempt to get them.
0 -
Thank you so much for your response! I will say that all the suggestions related towards items names/etc I do agree with name changes/etc to fit existing lore. I wrote this up a long time ago and hadn't looked to see if there were any updates (when I originally made it, there was no identification and clarification for Alex).
Let me comment on a few of the suggestions you posted and explain my reasoning behind the idea and you can comment back if you'd like, or if I miss understood something!
I like having it restricted, but I also think some players wouldn't be interested
The great thing about the idea is that passively in the game as it currently is, people typically search through chests. (I don't have the statistics, but I would argue that more often than not at least 2/3 chests are searched/looted. This means that players who don't want to risk getting punished for attempting to reap the rewards, aren't punished for doing so and it doesn't negatively effect them for doing so, while giving other survivors who are interested, to passively be helped by those just searching boxes and not really caring about the Secret Stash.
A single survivor can make multiple attempts, but can only obtain a single item.
The reasoning I would argue against this, is mostly because if survivors fail, they're already suffering a health state, which effects other players as well, and I do think that being able to do this more than once could have a severely negative effect on the team's success as a whole. And two, this reduces the total amount of items that make it out of the game and into circulation as whole, which is ideal.
Since this new mechanic doesn't benefit the killer in a major way, so that the killer gets a new mechanic to go with it, when the stash lights up, the killer can interact with it to knock out one of the lights.
When I originally made this idea and to this day, I do think that as a whole, Killers have enough to manage in the game as is. You have to constantly chase and apply pressure on the map which is a FULL time job. Whereas survivor, is far more relaxing and allows you to do different things, on AVERAGE compared to killer. This idea was mostly meant as a way to buy killers more time in the average game, while giving an incentive for survivors to spend time doing them that doesn't change the game in a MAJOR way.
0 -
this reduces the total amount of items that make it out of the game and into circulation as whole, which is ideal.
The limit would still be 4. It's also why I mentioned making it so that the unique items couldn't be brought in to new trials.
survivors who are interested, to passively be helped by those just searching boxes and not really caring about the Secret Stash.
My thoughts for this were that it would limit the person actively trying for the stash to only one attempt. This would, in turn, only buff swf, as a solo survivor would not be as willing to pursue the stash, further splitting the gap between solo and swf.
Killers have enough to manage in the game as is.
My reasoning here is that, if a survivor misses the check, and you go to investigate the sound notification to find that the survivor is long gone, you have wasted your time investigating something that can greatly benefit survivors with no payoff for their mistake. Allowing them to compound that mistake by removing an attempt gives them incentive to investigate. Also, as another searchable chest, this would provide another opportunity for survivors to gain bonus blood points without a balance for the killer.
0 -
this reduces the total amount of items that make it out of the game and into circulation as whole, which is ideal.
The limit would still be 4. It's also why I mentioned making it so that the unique items couldn't be brought in to new trials.
survivors who are interested, to passively be helped by those just searching boxes and not really caring about the Secret Stash.
My thoughts for this were that it would limit the person actively trying for the stash to only one attempt. This would, in turn, only buff swf, as a solo survivor would not be as willing to pursue the stash, further splitting the gap between solo and swf.
Killers have enough to manage in the game as is.
My reasoning here is that, if a survivor misses the check, and you go to investigate the sound notification to find that the survivor is long gone, you have wasted your time investigating something that can greatly benefit survivors with no payoff for their mistake. Allowing them to compound that mistake by removing an attempt gives them incentive to investigate. Also, as another searchable chest, this would provide another opportunity for survivors to gain bonus blood points without a balance for the killer.
0
