How to fix DBD

Giant Wall of Text Incoming:

In a video ohtz mentioned that the developers are unhappy with the feedback they get. Apparently people complain without offering solutions. So, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and offer solutions for what in my mind DBD should look like.

Ground Up-

First is adding a mandatory secondary objective. Game speeds, particularly at the start of the match, is way to fast. Against good teams that truly understand the game it’s not uncommon for 3 gens to be gone when you get your first down. While this isn’t an unwinnable position for the killer, it certainly puts them at a huge disadvantage.

Each map would be split into 5 Regions, with the center generator being the 5th region and the other 4 occupying equally the rest of the map. Each switch takes 20 seconds to power at base (perks could adjust time either plus or minus) and once the switch is activated the generators in that region are able to be worked on. Power Cables should run from the switches to the generators and connecting all the generators on the map to the end gates (this will alleviate some of the issue with Survivors locating gens while also giving the killer more time at the beginning of the match).

Gen placement across all maps should be standard and not RNG based. Each region should have 1 or 2 gens, never 3 (this will reduce the probability of a 3 gen situation either by accident or on purpose). At the beginning of the match gens are orange for the killer, once they are Activated and can be worked on they change to Red (letting the killer know which Region to worry about). Survivors will also receive a global notification that a Region has been activated (though they won’t know off hand which one). Switches are NOT highlighted for the killer or Survivor and are RNG based (survivors can follow the cables to locate the switch).

This slows the beginning of the game down, offers unique opportunities for strategies that can be employed by both sides and gives room for new perks or new updates to old ones (i.e. Remember Me slowing down activating a switch, Wake up speeding up activating a switch or new perks entirely).

Speed Caps – One of the reasons we have gotten stuck in a specific meta is because the devs are concerned with things stacking together making the gens either too slow or too fast. This can be addressed, while also bringing more consistency to the game, by simply adding Caps to the game. A generator can never be completed quicker than 60 seconds even if all 4 survivors work the same gen using prove thyself and BNP’s. It can also never be slowed more than 100 seconds (stacking thanta, dying light and a bunch of Freddy addons would still never go beyond 100 seconds). This could be even more restricted depending on how the devs and community feel about it making it 70-90. I would be cool with that (encourage it in fact). This eliminates the draw in running all gen slow down perks/add ons or gen speed up perks/items and frees the meta up a little to run more interesting combinations. But more on perks later. This line of logic can also be applied to healing, totem cleansing etc etc.

Chase – This is where people have the most interaction/fun in the game and as such it shouldn’t be changed a whole lot. The blade wipe animation should be reduced though, and the speed up after getting hit should also be slowed down. Hitting a survivor that likes to hold W means spending another 20 seconds catching back up to them. If all 3 survivors are currently working on gens (particularly if they’re on different gens as would quickly become the meta more so than it is now) you’ve already lost a 4th of a gen (x3) just in catching back up after hitting someone. This is why there are so many issues today. Chases have to be much shorter. Cut both the blade wipe animation and the speed up of the survivor in half. This means survivors will have to be much more aware of their environment and where they are being chased into, as dead zones would actually become dead zones.

Map Consistency – Personally I love the RNG aspect of DBD in that not every map every time looks exactly the same. I don’t want to lose that, but there does need to be more consistency. In keeping with that, the number of pallets should always be the same, 10. Each Region (same regions as before with the gens) should have 2 pallets, 1 safe and 1 unsafe. This leaves us with 5 safe pallets on the map and 5 unsafe pallets on the map. It will be more difficult to string the pallets together, but will also make it easier to know when a Region is no longer safe and (if they do it correctly) eliminate dead zones that spawn in that way from the start. Maps should all be the same size/number of tiles. They can of course vary in the middle building, aesthetics and what tiles spawn where, but some maps right now are way to big (I’m looking at you Mothers Dwelling and Rotten Fields), while others may be a bit small (like Dead Dawg). 156 is the average number of tiles right now and that’s a bit big too. Anywhere in the 140’s (Badham’s are all in the 140s for Context) feels about right. To allow some variation in size and shape any where in between 140 and 148 should be fine. No bigger, no smaller. In door maps in size anyway all feel ok to me (though there needs to be stairs in every corner that don’t require kicking a wall on Midwich).

Totem Placement – There’s 5 possible totems. The way this should work is 2 totems should spawn in very easy to find locations out in the open, 2 should spawn in harder to find locations (like next to rubble on a jungle gym), and 1 should be in a hard to find location (like behind a wall in a center pillar on Macmillan, you won’t see it at all if you aren’t looking for it specifically). To keep RNG each map should have 5 easy possibilities, 5 harder possibilities, and 5 hardest possibilities. Each Region of the map (same as the Regions for Switches/Gens/Pallets as mentioned before), should have a totem spawn in a location and have possibilities for each. So when the match starts the game will pick a location for each totem using the above logic. Hex Totems ALWAYs spawn in the hardest locations. So if a Killer runs 4 hex perks, all 4 will spawn in a hardest location. On paper this sounds bad, BUT it also means there are only 5 possible locations per map. The smartest survivors will memorize those locations and Hex Perks will be easier to locate. The survivors who aren’t as smart or don’t want to invest the time in learning the locations will be at a disadvantage, this adds a bit of a skill cap for totem hunting while also eliminating the “oh look a hex totem” situation.

Debris and “Half Walls” – There needs to be a bit more of both. More debris around loops to make looping a little harder on the survivor, and more “half walls” to make it easier for them to quickly hide/block line of sight when getting away from Killer. This would also make it more difficult for High Mobility killers to quickly get across the map. By half walls I just mean a short wall that breaks line of sight in between tiles. You see these littering the outer edges of the map where they’re mostly useless. With less pallets and a shorter blade wipe animation, these half walls will offer some more counter play depending on how the survivor uses them. As an example of debris, on Autohaven you have those very basic loop around the car drop a pallet. Just put a tire of against the side of the car, this will make looping a little harder for survivors that aren’t paying attention increasing the skill cap on looping.

Killer Perks –

I’m not going to go through each and every perk in the game because I’d be here all day and this is already a giant wall of text. I am going to address a few perks, in particular meta perks.

STBFL- Given that we reduced the blade swipe animation and reduced the survivor speed up animation above by half, this perk should also be cut in half. If not changed entirely.

Brutal Strength – Since we reduced the number of pallets, Brutal should only work 3/4s as fast as it does now.

Thanta – Given the slow down caps we no longer have to worry about this stacking, it needs to be a 10% reduction to gen repair speeds per injured survivor.

Pop – Since we added switches, and reduced chase times, this needs to be nerfed. 15% at Tier 3, lasts 30 seconds. We’re also buffing the crap out of Thanta and Dying.

NOED- One insta down per unique hook, also a dull totem is selected at the beginning of the match. If THAT totem is still up then NOED appears (not just any random totem, increases the likely hood that a survivor will accidentally cleanse NOED before end of game).

Enduring – counters all stuns not just pallet stuns (I’m looking at you DS).

Dying Light – 6% at T3 per token, Obsession is neither helped nor hurt by this perk, it doesn’t effect them in any way. Once they are dead perk is disabled (keep in mind gens will never take longer than 90 or 100 seconds).

Fire Up – 6% at T3 per token. Keep in mind we nerfed brutal (so stacked is still reduced) and effects aren’t noticeable until after 3rd gen is done really.

Gear Head – When putting a survivor into the dying state, the nearest Generator being worked on is lit up for 10 seconds. If no gens are being worked on, and a survivor starts working on a gen within that 10 seconds, the gen will highlight for the remainder of the time.

Hex Undying – Same as now except you can only see a survivor if they are cleansing a totem (removes the range aura reading). A hex can only be moved twice (no more cleansing ruin 4 times).

Survivor Perks –

Object of Obsession – Same effect as now except also get the hindered status effect moving at 75% speed.

Adrenaline – Survivors on the hook will be considered in the dying state, adrenaline will no longer fully heal them when coming off hook.

Decisive Strike – Timer is removed entirely. Once the Survivor is fully healed or interacts with anything (i.e. lockers, gens, totems etc etc (obviously this doesn’t include vaulting)) the perk deactivates. Can be used twice. This should really hurt the tunnelers while not effecting killers that don’t tunnel at all.

Borrowed Time- If YOU are unhooked with in 32 meters of the killer BT Activates (no longer reliant on the unhooker running this). People on hooks are never oblivious (nerfs the Freddy gimmick).

Dead Hard – Remove invulnerability from the perk. Essentially just used to get a little distance. Still causes exhaustion.

Small Game – Include number of totems left on the map as a counter.

Mori Offerings – Removed from the game entirely. Yellow mori is now base kit (final survivor can always be mori’d). Think of it as a reward for getting a 4k instead of an offering that makes the game easier.

Key’s – Only allows the person using the Key to escape, no longer discoverable in chests. Hatch only appears after the last gen is done or 1 survivor is left in the match.

Let me know your thoughts.