Moris, Keys, and the Endgame - A Rework Discussion

Moris and Keys. Good lord are these the most cursed items in the game. Just one of those items alone makes one singular player a huge threat to one's game and throws balance out a tenth-story window. With people going back and forth about the balance of these two items, how about we actually think up something to put this problem to rest and move onto the next chapter of the health of DbD. Then, we'll talk about the endgame. More on that later.

Memento Moris

So, the problem with moris is that they're simply way too strong. Following the release of the game in 2016, mori kills could be triggered without hooking anybody. Soon after (insert date here), all moris were nerfed so that they required the victim to be hooked before the kill could be performed, which brought its own problems.

When up against a mori, you're afflicted with a burden in which your entire team is screwed if any of the four are hooked just once with little chance of survival if they don't recover in time. No flashlights or DS will save you; and if the Killer chooses to tunnel you, kiss your trial goodbye and get ready to wait another ten minutes queued for the next match.

The Solution

Fortunately, unlike Keys, Moris are Offerings, thus don't require much to put them in a more... somewhat balanced state. Keep in mind, the purpose of running a Mori is to give the Killer an advantage, not just for show.

Cypress Memento Moris shall remain unchanged. Their kill conditions are perfectly reasonable. Kill the last Survivor. Over and done with.

Ivory and Ebony Memento Moris will have different requirements. It's simple. After all four Survivors have been hooked at least once, then you can start killing people. Ivory is included, so you wanna work for that one kill and choose wisely so that you don't waste it. And while Ebony Moris are still powerful, there will be some counterplay to it at most.

Keys

If you want a rundown of what good Keys are, let's just say this: hold this item, and you can escape for free (unless it's a Broken Key). And you can have FOUR of these bad boys in one match! AND they can be found randomly in chests!

There are just so many frustrations for Killers up against even one Key. You can have spectacular matches, but if the gen count goes anywhere under three gens, you can be denied kills with just the press of a button. One moment you're setting a bear trap, the next the game's over with only half the credit taken. I could go on and on with examples of how busted those mechanics are, but we've got a solution to make.

The Solution

Keys will play a big role in the endgame idea I will explain after this, so remember that.

Anyway, Keys will work much differently to other items. Like moris, you should have to work for that escape in some way. So here's how it'll work:

All Keys start at 0 Charges (except Skeleton Keys). You generate charges by being altruistic. Completing altruistic actions (healing, unhooking, etc) equals +10 Charges. You lose all of your charges when you are hooked by the Killer. Dull and Skeleton Keys will only open the hatch at full charges. Opening the hatch takes 6 seconds, and the Survivor opening the hatch may be grabbed by the Killer during this action. The Survivor does not jump into the hatch automatically upon successfully opening it. The Key transforms into a depleted Broken Key upon opening the hatch. Killers closing the hatch does not start the Endgame Collapse.

Lastly, you can still use the Mind Channel with keys. Just choose whether you wanna spend your charges on that or the hatch.

Broken Key - 15 Max Charges, Does Not Open Hatch, Increases aura-reading range by 8 meters

Dull Key - 30 Max Charges, Opens Hatch at 30 Charges

Skeleton Key - 30 Max Charges, Opens Hatch at 30 Charges, Starts With 30 Charges

The Endgame

It's surprising that no one talks about the endgame that much, but everyone knows how rushed the Endgame Collapse feels. It's cool, yeah, but gameplay-wise, awkward as heck. This part of the discussion will talk about both when there's one Survivor left and when all the gens are done. We'll quickly go through the latter first.

The Dash for the Gates

I don't know about you, but I feel like Killers are way too weak during the endgame. Yes, the Survivors completed the objective. Yes, there's a timer to force them out. Even with those two, without specific perks, the Killer has almost no tools when any uninjured Survivors dash for the gates. No one is entitled to an escape just because the gens were done, so let's add a bit more twists to spice it up a bit.

1. Gate progress passively degrades. No more 99-ing gates. It's a stupid mechanic. So if the switch box has been touched up to 50% and then left, after a few seconds the progress will regress until it's back down to zero again.
2. If the Killer enters beyond the gates, the escape is blocked for all players. So you know how the Entity blocks the Killer from leaving the trial? Well, this effect will also keep Survivors from leaving too to force them out of that area and back into the trial. So when the Survivors hear that heartbeat, t-bagging time is over and they get to choose whether to leave or go back in.

Three Dead, One Remains: Hatch and Keys

Before we get into the important stuff, let's talk about how the hatch works. How it spawns is exactly how it was, except instead for one singular hatch, there will three spawned on the map. Here's how it works for reference (from Wiki), only exception is that the hatch does not open automatically at one Survivor:

Now you're probably wondering, "Why on earth will there be three hatches?" Well, only ONE of those THREE hatches will lead to an escape. The other two are trapped. The Entity is waiting on the other side of these trapped hatches. Upon opening a trapped hatch, the Entity will attack the opener as well as other unfortunate Survivors within range, dealing one health state's worth of damage, closing the hatch and reshuffling the correct one, and destroying the Key used.

There's two ways to discern which one is the correct hatch. The first and easiest method is to use the Black Silk Cord add-on or Left Behind, which will not reveal the auras of the trapped hatches. The second method is to stand on top of the hatch and listen very, very closely. If you faintly hear the sound that hatch normally makes, then that's the right one. If you hear an ominous sound on the other side, turn tail and look elsewhere because that one's a trap.

Three Dead, One Remains: The Hatch Game

When the game reaches this point, it's time for a 1v1. There are two phases to this "hatch game."

Phase One: The first phase begins when the third Survivor is sacrificed and the last one remains. During this time, repairing generators is still an option if you're confident enough, but if that's not attractive enough, there's another way. The hatch doesn't open like it usually does, but it will spawn on the map in a group of three like we just talked about, all closed obviously. As the last Survivor, you must open the hatch. To do this, you must go to every unrepaired generator and pull a secret switch to open and reveal the correct hatch. The amount of switches required is equal to the amount of generators that still needs to be completed. After the switches are pulled, the correct hatch opens and you've gotta make a break for it before the Killer finds it. If you find it, you escape. If they close it, the second and last phase begins.

Phase Two: Crack those knuckles and don those running shoes when the hatch closes, because you're gonna need to hone those chasing skills in this phase. As soon as the hatch is closed, the Endgame Collapse timer begins and the auras of both the Survivor and the Killer are revealed to each other intermittently unless they're in a chase. The Exit Gates are not powered. During this time, the formula is super simple: Have one epic chase and last as long as you (the Survivor) can. Once there's only thirty seconds left on the Endgame timer, all three hatches open and can be escaped into (or closed by the Killer). It's all or nothing, so you better have remembered where they were and formulated a safe pathway there. If you don't make it, that's the end for you. Either the Killer gets you or the Entity does.

Conclusion

Well, good job, you made it. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or found any mistakes or maybe I missed something, feel free to let me know. This is a discussion after all. Let's be as unbiased as possible, okie? ;)

See you in The Fog.