Is the basement outdated game design?
Honestly the basement is such a bad game concept nowadays. It made sense as a band-aid to the problem of hooks not respawning back in the day but now it doesn't make much sense. Why is there a randomly placed area of the map where there is only 1 way up and down with 4 hooks? The fact that it's random I feel is the most problematic because sometimes you're just running a killer and then get punished because you happened to go down near the basement. I can kind of understand it when it's placed near a really strong tile like the shack but even then it's just giving the killer way too much power for a random spawn.
Comments
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Idk, I still like it. As you alluded to, the basement is almost always located near the strongest tiles in the map, so it adds a bit more risk to them; yes, you might chase for longer, but when you get downed you'll be harder to save. I like that it gives survivors a bit of a risk / reward calculation when choosing where to loop. Plus it's also just creepy and I love it.
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I've always seen the basement as a reward system for the killer. As it only spawns next to what are intended to be strong tiles (shack and main buildings) they're meant to be an incentive for the killer to actually bother chasing at these very strong areas, as if they manage to succeed and down the survivor they'll be rewarded with a very powerful hook area.
I don't think it needs any changes, really.
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Basement is fine. Spawns and tile layout at the biggest issues with the game right now, second to bugs that is.
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it's fine but it should always be in the shack, it's a way to balance it out since shack is such a strong tile to loop.
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I've been trying to find expiration dates on some of these mechanics but nothing is coming up.
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It's not necessarily random. Maps have 1 or 2 basement spawns, that's either a 100% chance or 50% chance of it spawning in a place. I think it's fine.
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Somewhat I’d agree but it more comes down to certain killer powers in the basement such as huntress or hag. These two can make basements saves completely impossible and not worth it at all
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There is no such thing as an "outdated" mechanic. Most things designed in the past work just fine nowadays.
There might be one or two exceptions, but that is about it. Basement is not one of them, it never was and it never will be.
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So light burn is not outdated?
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Of course not. It is a counterplay against Wraith and a little trick against Nurse which should stay in the game.
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It's the killers hangout, the rest of the map is the survivors amusement park more or less. The only thing the basement needs is being a bit more creepy, or a way for the killers to pimp their own basement with bloodstains, bodys etc. No matter if I play killer or survivor I really like the basement. If I could have a sleepover in any map basement is were I would sleep.
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It's not outdated. Actually, it's balanced. You lose pressure by chasing at areas where it'll spawn, but the basement let's you regain that pressure as a reward.
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The basement is not a bandaid at all. It’s fundamental to horror that there needs to be locations around the map that are much more dangerous than other locations. The basement, under most circumstances, is supposed to be the most dangerous location to be near or in.
Its meant to create tension for a survivor either down there “what if the killer comes and checks, or already knows I’m here”, or being chased near the basement “oh god, if I go down I’m being hooked down in the basement.”
Without tension, what’s the point of even playing survivor?
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I don't see the problem of having a single area that is a powerful place to hook someone. Although some basements are a bit too strong.
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It makes sense. Nothing wrong with it. Plus, in many horror stories the killer has a lair. DbD is horror themed, so it fits.
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Counterplay that only specifically applies to very old killers isn't an outdated mechanic when they've specifically gone and removed the ability to sabo Trapper's traps? Lightburn should no longer exist in the current state of the game, it makes no sense. A killer shouldn't have a survivor item be a direct counter to their main power.
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Well my problem is that a lot of the time you just don't see it before you go down in the area and with special builds it can guarantee death for free. Also a lot of the time it's not even in good buildings lol like not every main building is strong, like the building on mother's dwelling.
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Its not random though(in the traditional sense). The same basement location is always in the same locations of a map. Its not like they randomly pop up a stairway in the middle of a cornfield.....
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Would be more fun if being in there too long set off an alarm.
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Most maps the basement spawns in one of 2 locations. And some just 1 location.
Survivors are meant to keep some environmental and spatial awareness about themselves.
If survivors decide to jump on a gen in shack or main building, or lead a chase to one of these without being sure the basement isn’t there first, that’s on the survivor.
Also, there are now offerings that can show a survivor where the basement is right from the start of the match, for risk assessment.
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You still have to keep in mind,
Hooks don't have a chance to spawn in one side of the map where basement is.
So you have basement as a LITERAL Last Resort...
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As I've said, there is no such thing as an "outdated" mechanic. Just because this counterplay only applies to specific killers (which is a very good thing, by the way) it doesn't mean it is "outdated", even if those 2 killers are very old.
Besides, it is not even that powerful and cannot be compared to sabotaging traps. That action denied Trapper of his power for a considerable amount of time. Lightburn denies Wraith and Nurse of their powers for a very short amount of time, and it is very unlikely to make a lot of difference, considering that they are both strong killers.
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Killers being weak to specific items is definitely outdated IMO. It a relic of a design direction the game has not been going in for ages (the concept of a Survivor being otherwise powerless against Killers).
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I believe this is no excuse. It's not like it's impossible for the developer team to create more hooks on the maps. And yes, basement is an outdated mechanic, as well as bloodlust,
Ps: I agree that in exchange it's enough that the hooks are no longer breakable after the survivors are sacrificed.
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That makes them unique, not outdated. This word does not apply here.
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does everyone here forget that there’s leatherfaces who come with basement camping perks aka iron grasp and agitation? You don’t even need to be near the basement, they will carry you there anyway
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No, outdated is definitely the word I would use here.
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So it would seem.
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Yeah, it doesn't really fit DbD any more. I get it, thematically it's cool to have this scary, dangerous place that the killer is all-powerful... But it's never the right play to put someone down there. It exists almost purely for griefing purposes.
Basement needs an overhaul. Something to make it feel dangerous again when the stereotypical free escapes are in play, but without the facecamping.
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I think basement is fine. Besides, it looks fantastic.
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That is a really cool idea to have Killer's be able to customize the basement somehow :D
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Yes I think it's outdated, it needs a completely new redesign down there. I think it should be themed based on the map. Each basement should look completely different.
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Not Outdated just over rated for majority of the cast basement is hard to defend making it just not worth and it also being in strong areas makes it relatively safe if you can get up stairs in time
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Thanks yes I started a thread about this in December also:
https://forum.deadbydaylight.com/en/discussion/211555/i-want-to-pimp-my-basement
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