http://dbd.game/killswitch
Why most proposed Deathslinger changes wouldn't pan out.
Picking this up from another thread.
There's a myriad of ideas on how to change Deathslinger to make him 'more fun' to go against, but they all have a problem: They'd all make him unplayable.
Let's break things down:
Mobility:
'Grabbling Hook': I've seen this proposed a couple of times but never with an elaboration on how it's supposed to work practically (and not look utterly ridiculous on top of that).
A grabbling hook mechanic does appear logical, seeing that is what his gun technically is, but in practice? How? The chain is 18m. so you'd have a limited range, rendering it useless on maps like Coldwind (which even after the rework is about 80% corn). Also it'd need a clear line of sight which also isn't a given everywhere. There's barely suggestions on how it would work to set it apart from an attack shot. Cause (see wind up below) a survivor could probably not tell if a shot is getting readied for an attack or for mobility, so we still have the faking issue. If there's no difference it would likely only end with unintended 'teleports'.
In short: The grabbling hook idea is not practical, as either it could not be used, could be abused or simply work against the killer player, rendering Deathslinger the only killer who gets a noticeable disadvantage out of their mobility power.
Basespeed: Other's suggested upping his speed. Problem here would be that it'd then require a bigger TR. Which would also mean making the chain longer, which would mean making it more durable. Which would make running M&A even more of a pain in survivor's butts, and not really solve the issue.
Attack:
The issue brought up most commonly is people faking shots and thus making distance because survivors strife instead of sidestepping.
One suggestions was changing the shot to be like Demo's Shred. Some suggestion included having to stand still for a moment, some don't.
Problem: If Demo misses, he still makes distance and can get through pallets. If Deathslinger misses... he needs to reload. Meaning if he were to stand still and misses, the survivor's long gone. Even without standing still, you don't get any distance if you miss. So, a windup like Shred or Pounce would only work to survivors' advantage. Possibly to a degree that puts Deathslinger in the same situation as Trickster: a ranged killer who's power is only worthwhile at melee range.
Even in combination with the aforementioned mobility changes, it wouldn't really pan out.
Therefore:
The remaining suggestions, that might help a bit are:
- Change the aiming sound to be easier recognizable. Unlike Huntress' yell it's s a sound easily drowned into the environmental sounds (same goes for trickster btw)
- Make it clearer how to break the chain when speared.
- Add dynamic map creation to help with mobility (on slinger's end) and chases (on survivor's end)
Comments
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If they make him harder to play by removing his zone-by-existing, he'll get Nurse Syndrome and people will suddenly stop complaining and instead compliment a good Slinger. That, or they'll admit they're hypocrites and/or sheep that just follow the opinion of the masses and don't actually care how difficult a killer with no counterplay is to play.
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as if they'd ever admit to it.
It would be nice to have a weekend where devs would just try the follwing:
- bar him from m&a and stbfl
- change the aiming sound to maybe a sharp whistle (i mean, he is the kind of person to do that mockingly)
- put up a new tip on the loading screen on how to break the chain
and see how it goes.
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All 3 of those changes won't change anything about playing against Deathslinger, just like how the Freddy changes that are being made don't solve any problems people have with that killer.
- idk why barring good perks on him would do anything, that just seems like a dumb idea and limits what people like running on the killer. Synergising perks are fine.
- A new sound won't matter because you don't get any time to physically react and move your character anyway (although spamming ADS to hear a constant whistling sound would be really funny). Wasn't it you and a couple other people who said that you outplay a Deathslinger in a chase with predictions and not reactions? Surely you of all people would know this change would be pointless. It also sounds like a hillbilly roar type of thing where it'll get annoying to listen to constantly for those who play Deathslinger.
- It would be a useful tip if we had any control of the chain to begin with, because for some reason they decided to make survivor movement influence the chain less and less and I have no idea why.
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still try it.
Because here's the thing I found in common on all the complains:
- people mostly complain about slinger when the player's been running M&A (plus stbfl) thus taking away some TR which skews odds.
- A lot of people are not aware of the sound
- a lot of people are clueless as to how to break the chain
Thus removing these factors for a while to see if that is the actual issue, and NOT the quickscoping etc.
Because it won't be any use to either side if they go and fix the parts that aren't broken but appear broken due to a different factor.
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Slinger is unfun bc he provides little reaction time. That is fine in an FPS where you can fight back, but survivors cannot. There is no reaction involved when he can shoot you outside of his TR or when he keeps lifting his gun without penalties.
The powers and add-ons that turn a killer unfun to go against do so by removing a degree of commitment from their actions. Fun example:
- Huntress base kit/Demo without Rat liver: She slows down while winding up the hatchet. While going around a simple loop there is a trade-off: does the survivor continue for another loop or pull down the pallet? Also for the huntress do I M1 and risk a stun or stay back and prepare M2? Whoever gets the best read on the other player wins.
- Pre-nerf Billy without engravings: So much skill expression on both sides here, a good billy would perform amazing curves. Even after being insta-downed as a survivor you felt outplayed and not cheated.
- Bubba: Facing him is exciting, his chainsaw is powerful but demands time to rev up. He can always choose between M1 and extending the chase longer or risking an M2 for a higher pay-off. The survivor also has a team resource management conundrum to solve as Bubba eats pallets for breakfast. Even going down to avoid using a god pallet might be the right choice here.
Unfun example:
- Scalped TopKnot Oni: He can use his power in any structure in the game and catch survivors. There is no previous knowledge involved on which tiles the killer can push their limits. It's almost like playing another killer.
- Stridor Spirit: No comments here.
- Pre-nerf Freddy: He can place traps on the go with no penalties. Chase becomes a matter of dropping pallets early with little to no interaction between killer and survivor.
Now back to Slinger, some points of critique on his base kit and suggestion for change are:
- 0.15sec ADS: This is what provides him no reaction time on survivors, only predictions. I am not sure if or how this element of his gameplay should be removed tho.
- Instant ADS recovery is what allows him to tap M2 and reach a survivor and the main reason why his sound clue is not effective, it starts and stops immediately. IMO, this needs nerfs. Increase his recovery time by IDK 0.5sec while keeping the reduced movement speed. That way he can still no scope if he wishes, but tapping M2 to gain distance becomes ineffective. That way, if he wants to shoot he needs to commit to it.
- A suggested Buff to compensate could be either increasing the number of spears available before needing to reload or drastically reducing the reload time.
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The problem definitely lies in the ADS as @Iagosta noted. In most shooters DS's ADS would feel perfect and buttery smooth, but as is it is too good.
Probably adding an ADS recovery time and making him take some aim in time would fix him. Probably decrease his reload time a bit to compensate for the fact he is now going to be missing 'clean' shots rather than just shots at corners and the like.
That or make it so that his aim in has a 'charge up' like Huntress and if it isn't charged its slightly slower. So it still feels buttery smooth to aim in, preserving that gamefeel element and making it not feel clunky, but you need to hold the shot for a few seconds to land it with 100% accuracy, which gives time to react.
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Please for the love of god can we not start deathslinger threads again. They all go the same way as it always boils down opinions on what people like and don't like versing.
Dynamic map creation is the only reasonable change I see tbh, but that's never gonna happen.
Unless he is objectively broken don't fix him, and he most certainly isn't broken.
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