Detailed Survivor Objective Idea for Devs consideration

Awhile back I was musing about a new objective for Survivors to follow that might help with some of the balance issues this game has. Obviously the answer to some issues can't be just something simple like "increase Gen times". I've seen some people suggest something like a breaker, and that was an idea that I played with.

After some time, this is what I came up with. This is obviously not intended as a "solve all" solution, but something that could be added to help with certain problems, or at least an inspiration for such ideas in the future. This is a considerably long and detailed post, so bear with me, and thanks in advance if you read all the way through

Problem: Survivor Objectives are currently too simple. This has caused games to progress too fast, thus creating the so-called “Gen Rush” problem.

Goal: Create new secondary missions to add some complexity to Survivor Objectives, while also keeping in line with the original design of the game. Make sure these new Objectives cannot be controlled too much by the Killer (camping to completely deny Survivor Escape).

New Props: Black Box, Breaker Box.

New Location: Breaker Room

New Item: “Breaker Part” (WIP name)

New Actions: Install Breaker Part (Survivor), Damage Breaker (Killer), Repair Breaker (Survivor), Jury Rig Gate (Survivor).

Brief Summary: Exit Gates will no longer be immediately powered upon completion of repairs on five Generators. The Breaker must be repaired for the Exit Gates to be powered normally. The Survivors must repair the Breaker with the “Breaker Part”, which is located in the Black Box, which spawns hidden somewhere on the Map. If Survivors are unable to repair the Breaker, they can Jury Rig the Exit Switches on the Exit Gates individually once five Generators have been complete. Once the Switches have been Jury Rigged, the Gate is powered and can be unlocked normally, however this method of powering the Gate is much slower than repairing the Breaker.

Other Considerations: End game perks; such as No One Escapes Death, Adrenaline, Hope, etc, will still activate once all Generators have been repaired, regardless of whether the Breaker has been repaired or not.

In-Depth Explanation:

Prop: The Black Box – A black metallic box that holds an assortment of mechanical parts. It houses the “Breaker Part”, and Survivors must find and search it to acquire the part to fix the Breaker. Interacting with the Black Box notifies the Killer.

Purpose – The Black Box is intended to be designed in a way that acquiring the part is both mildly time consuming and dangerous. This is why the “Part” is placed inside its own box rather than inside the generic Chests and why it notifies the Killer. This notification is intended to let the Killer know that progress is being made on the Breaker and allow him to prevent acquirement. The Box's aura is revealed to the Killer so long as it goes unlooted.

Specifics – The Black Box functions almost identically to Chests, except in how it spawns. Rather than spawn in typical “Chest” locations, it has its own unique locations, similar to totems. It can be detected by Plunderer's Instinct, and searching it is increased by Leader or Prove Thyself, however Pharmacy does not affect the Black Box, as it is impossible to attain a Medkit from it. It takes 15 seconds to search the Black Box, slightly longer than the average Chest.

Item: The “Breaker Part” - A piece of equipment required to repair the Breaker. Survivors must carry it to the Breaker to install it. If they are carrying anything else, they must drop it to carry the “Breaker Part”.

Purpose – The “Breaker Part” is intended for Survivors to make a decision over whether they want to part with their item to help the team, while also allowing the Killer to see who has looted the Black Box and chase that person to stop them. Franklin's Demise is also intended to aid Killers in slowing Breaker repairs.

Specifics – The “Breaker Part” cannot be used on anything but the Breaker. If it is dropped, it's aura is revealed to Survivors, but not the Killer.

Location: The Breaker Room – A new location that will typically house the Breaker. It will spawn in one of the Basement's spawn locations. If the Basement has a “fixed spawn” (Haddonfield or The Game), the Breaker Room will not spawn and the Breaker will spawn independently on the Map. One Hook and Chest will spawn inside the Breaker Room, as well as three lockers.

Purpose – The Breaker Room is meant to be almost a lesser Basement. With only one entrance, it is a bad spot to be caught by the Killer.

Specifics – A hook, chest, and three lockers spawn in the Breaker Room. The hook in the Breaker Room can be destroyed, but is intended to allow Killers to hook should Survivors attempt to body block the stairs.

Prop: The Breaker – An electrical device that is required for the Exit Gates to be powered normally. The “Breaker Part” is needed to repair it. Reference image - https://imgur.com/xqUehBO

Purpose – The Breaker is meant to be a slightly more complex “Generator”. It is meant to give Survivors another Objective that is not simply repairing Generators and give more variety to the game overall. It is also meant to give something the Survivors must check and maintain in order to ensure Generators are repaired in tandem with the Breaker being repaired as well.

Specifics – The Breaker's aura is always visible to the Killer. It's aura can be tracked by Survivor's via the Map. The Breaker has a flashing Red Light, which indicates it needs repaired. Occasionally, it will let an electrical “sparking sound” to let Survivors know they are near it (especially on maps where the Breaker Room does not spawn). Once the “Breaker Part” has been installed, the Breaker can be damaged by the Killer, forcing Survivors to repair it again. The Breaker will have smoke emitting from it if it is damaged. Territorial Imperative will show the aura of Survivors who approach the Breaker from 12 meters on a horizontal plane (basically meaning they have to be in front of it, not above it or below it). Once the Breaker is repaired, its flashing red light is replaced by a bright green light.

Action: Install “Breaker Part” - The action Survivors must take to repair the Breaker.

Purpose – Meant to be a divergence from repairing Generators, in that only one Survivor can repair the Breaker.

Specifics – Installing the “Part” takes 20 seconds. Skill Checks have a higher chance of appearing while installing the “Part”. There are no “Good” areas on Installation Skill Checks (similar to Snapping Out of It), therefore they are not affected by Hex: Ruin. However, progress is not saved while installing the “Part”. If it is interrupted for any reason, the process must start over again. Skill checks are affected by perks that would otherwise affect them (This is Not Happening, Unnerving Presence, Hex: Huntress Lullaby, etc), again the exception being only Hex: Ruin.

Action: Damage Breaker – The Killer is able to damage the Breaker by attacking it with M1.

Purpose: Give Killer counterplay to the Breaker being repaired, while also not requiring them to spend time in animation.

Specific – Relatively straightforward, striking the box will revert the Breaker back to an unrepaired stated, in which it's flashing red light will reappear. If the Breaker is repaired by Survivors it cannot be damaged again for 15 seconds, indicated by the green light flashing. Once the green light remains stable, the Killer may damage the Breaker again. If the Breaker and the 5 Generators are repaired at the same time, the Gates will become powered and the Breaker cannot be damaged again.

Action: Repair Breaker – The action Survivors must take if the Killer disables the Breaker.

Purpose – Give Survivors a quick way to restore the Breaker, while still being slower than the Killer's disabling.

Specifics – Survivors must pass a considerably difficult Skill Check to repair the Breaker. Failing the Skill Check alerts the Killer, but also prevents a second attempt for 15 seconds. Skill Check is affected by certain perks (Unnerving, Huntress Lullaby, etc), and the Doctor's Madness.

Action: Jury Rig – If the Breaker is not repaired when all five Generators are, the Survivors have the inefficient option of Jury Rigging the switches of the Exit Gates.

Purpose – To prevent Killers from holding the game hostage by camping the Breaker, while encouraging Survivors to still opt for repairing the Breaker.

Specifics – Five generators must be repaired for the Jury Rigging action to become available. Jury Rigging the Exit Switch takes 100 seconds and can only be performed by one Survivor. Skill Checks appear more frequently during this than repairing Generators. Similar to installing the part, there are no “Good” success areas. Toolboxes can be used to speed up the Jury Rigging, but Brand New Parts cannot be installed. Skill Check failure penalties are doubled and failed skill checks result in a 10 second disable period where the Survivor cannot attempt the Jury Rig action. Jury Rigging is not affected by Remember Me, but is affected by Thanatophobia and Dying Light (as well as specific Killer powers). Once the Switch has been Jury Rigged, the Gate can be unlocked normally, and will still be affected by Remember Me.