The Hatch

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.

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.

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.

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.