The "Just Stab Them" Problem

There is an old saying in game design that "players will optimize the fun out of anything." DBD is haunted by this specter, and I will outline a couple of examples. What all of these share in common is a good mechanic causing bad problems.

Deathslinger or...

Why should I go for long-range shots when I can just stab them?

Tell me, do you hate being quick scoped? Being shot because the killer had 2.03 seconds of a line of sight on you? Don't blame the slinger, blame the chain. The chain is a genius idea, limiting the Deathslinger and giving him a distinct playstyle from the huntress. Unfortunately, they made one very, very bad mistake when making the chain. They made it always bring the survivor to you at the same speed and over the same amount of time. What this means is that if you go for long-range shots, regardless if you hit them or not, you have a much higher chance of the survivor escaping. If you go for short-range shots, you have an almost guaranteed chance of hitting it.

Solution?

The farther the shot, the more rigid the chain gets. What this means is that the chain drags the survivor faster the farther the shot, while at close range the chain would slowly move the survivor, even giving him the chance to dodge the attack. It would dissuade the quick scope playstyle and instead reward sniping and careful shots.

Hillbilly or...

Why should I go for Curves when I can just stab them?

Oh, Hillbilly, what did they do to you? Insta-chainsaws were dumb but the loss of curving killed this killer for a large number of players. Honestly? I don't blame them. Why play Hillbilly when Oni exists. I tend to see Hillbilly players use their ability for just mobility, which is the best use of it. After all, you can't waste charging your chainsaw unless you wish to overheat. The way they reworked Hillbilly pushes him away from the dangerous, unpredictable lunatic that could hit you from out of nowhere with his chainsaw into what feels like a worse version of bubba with a nice mobility option. Why go for a hard to hit chainsaw when I can just stab them, chase them down, and stab them again?

Solution?

Let's make Hillbilly's chainsaw have to "warm" up. You can either wait a full 5 seconds to get the insta-down instantly or release it earlier but have to wait for it to fill the rest of the meter before insta-downing someone. That would give more reason to use it for curving instead of just using it for mobility.

Twins or...

What have you done!!!

Have you ever committed a murder? No? Well if you want to feel the life drain out of someone, play the Twins. Do you like slugging? Camping? Generally, being a jerk? The Twins were, by the look of it, designed to counter the no heal, do it injured meta. However, instead of looking at the system and asking themselves "Why do survivors play that way?" they just threw in a bunch of mechanics that force you to take a hit, which means that you have to be healthy for it. But if you took a hit, that means you are injured and then get quickly downed. Combine this with their camping abilities and look what you have done. But that is not the worst part of it.

That would be Victor's pounce. It is bad. Very bad. The best way I can describe it is that it is basically a Demogorgon shred but even more predictable. It is so easy to dodge from even a short distance that the only way to land it consistently is to go right next to them. Combine this with the fact that for some reason you can switch to Victor quick enough before someone can kick you when Killer instinct goes off and it just adds up.

The Twins do not reward creativity or different tactics, they reward slugging and camping. You know, the two least fun things in the game.

Solution?

I don't know man. I don't know.