Visit the Kill Switch Master List for more information on these and other current known issues: https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/kb/articles/299-kill-switch-master-list
We encourage you to be as honest as possible in letting us know how you feel about the game. The information and answers provided are anonymous, not shared with any third-party, and will not be used for purposes other than survey analysis.
Access the survey HERE!
How do non-meta builds make you feel during your matches?
I see lots of discouraged killers and survivors say they can't stand constantly going up against the same handful of perks over and over again. That being the case, as a survivor main, I've been running builds that avoid items, exhaustion, gen progression and super healing, all in hopes that killers might have less of a super sweaty match. I was wondering how you guys feel about your opponents running off-meta loadouts? Do you think it lessens your frustration at all or makes the game more enjoyable for you? Or do you think I'm just putting myself in a disadvantageous position by purposefully avoiding the most useful perks?
I know when I have a match against a killer who camps and tunnels me, I have that urge to slap DS, Unbreakable, Dead Hard, etc, and screw the next killer that tries to touch me, but I don't wanna make anyone's match unpleasant. I get that I can play how I want to, but I'd rather play so everyone has fun, if I can help it. What do y'all think?
Comments
-
Here's my advice:
Mix meta and non meta perks together. That's what I do.
For example, let's say I wanna run a healing build with like bite the bullet, self care, botany - I'll run those 3 perks and I'll throw in some other 'meta' perk to help keep me in the game. Be it an exhaustion perk, DS and so on.
I don't think someone running an autodidact meme build but having DS or UB as their 4th perk is a 'meta' build. In the same vein that when playing killer, you can run meme builds and just put pop or ruin on just to have them.
15 -
Survivors are irritating the killer every second they're on a gen instead of a hook. Annoying them is unavoidable sometimes.
10 -
Oh I wasn't looking for advice, I'm okay running my off-brand Babysitter build, haha. But I like that line of thinking. I imagine it's much more tolerable than a stacked meta build, most definitely.
1 -
Ah fair enough
But yeah, sometimes I'll run full meta if I feel like I'm getting my teeth kicked in by people doing the same. It's a vicious cycle sometimes
I like to mix meta/non meta stuff though because it's fun.
Guilty pleasure of mine is running Agitation on every killer I play, even ones it doesn't make much sense on I just LOVE how the perk feels.
2 -
I rarely run meta. Right now I'm running Camaraderie, Second Wind, Empathy, and Breakdown on Steve.
I think anyone saying they're forced to run certain perks need to calm down and reframe their experience. I play to have fun so my perks reflect that. I don't always have fun every match, but these perks are more fun than just having my ass covered every time.
3 -
I love that line of thinking! The perks are there for a reason, and you CAN make them work for you. I love seeing players like you in my matches
1 -
I wish camaraderie would give teammates an indication that you have it when you get hooked
Like a little radio icon next to your name on the UI or something. It'd be so helpful for solo Qs who wanna use it.
1 -
Definitely. I run BT in my David build, but that build is based on WGLF, paired with BT, Botany Knowledge, and We'll Make It. I guess you could call it meta, but it's mainly a purely altruistic build. All centered around having fun helping others.
Same. I can respect meta perks if they're a part of an intricate build, but they usually seem slapped together haphazardly.
That'd be interesting.
3 -
That sounds like a really interesting build. I might try that out. Can I ask how is Camaraderie?
To op i sorta change my build a lot. I have set a rule for myself to only use at most 1 meta perk. This has made my games more fun and have pushed me to do better in the game. My current build that I will change soon is Iron Will, Premonition, Fixated and Bond.
1 -
I usually mix my builds with 2 meta perks and 2 off meta perks that I enjoy for niche purposes
1 -
I very rarely run meta, because if I did then I'd have "beat" the game a long time ago.
Trying random wonky builds keeps the fun alive for me.
1 -
The only "meta" perk I use (and have since its release) is Borrowed Time. I would say around 90% of my matches are the same build just because it is what I find the most useful for me:
Lithe
Alert
Borrowed Time
Soul Guard/We're Gonna Live Forever/Inner Strength - Depends on my mood and goal when deciding which 4th perk to use.
98% of my survivor games I play solo. I tend to be a more altruistic/chase/totem survivor than a gen focused one.
When I play killer - I don't really care what people run - if it makes their game fun - cool.
0 -
It's pretty good. It isn't infallible, but it does buy you a good amount of time if killer is circling hook and your teammates aren't able to commit to a safe unhook yet. Second hook too, which is a lot of help.
1 -
I actually get really bored of the game running meta, mostly because id prefer a match of skill, with perks helping a little, not just doing the job for me
1 -
When I get good results with a fun build, I feel great. But fun builds usually don't get good results.
1 -
Non-Meta is more personally rewarding in either role. I prefer my gimmicks, because they incorporate new objectives and playstyles - it keeps the game fresh.
2 -
That's my experience with my builds. For example, I love running Blast Mine and Repressed Alliance, but usually killer love running Ruin/Undying/Surge or don't kick gens, which makes the perk useless. Makes it hard to want to run those situational niche perks, but it's fun when I get to use it!
0 -
usually makes me feel sad. As no gen defense leads to gens flying every 5 seconds.
1 -
I don't mind if they use meta or not, it's the same stuff over and over again that bores me.
I'd be just as bored with their choices if they ran bottom-tier-only Perks.
1 -
Survivors have wiggle room to mess around, Killers do not. It is 16 perks vs 4, it's not even a discussion.
1 -
My main builds as Survivor are an anti tunnel build which mixes meta and non (Decisive Strike, Borrowed Time, Babysitter, and Off The Record) or a build with We're Gonna Live Forever and Mettle of Man + two perks for whatever I may be aiming for that day.
On killers I enjoy meme or "stupid" builds like loading Freddy with Terror Radius perks or Plague with Exposed perks. It's always funny being Infectious Fright to work with Freddy.
1 -
That's not really how it works. You don't know what perks your teammates have unless you're in a SWF. I've had a ton of matches where one or two had no perks at all or something like No Mither and Self Care together. It's not fair to treat every survivor as if they're in a squad or something
0 -
I don't necessarily equip perks so others have fun. I just play the game as normal and don't bm. I message gg if I die or escape if I'm on PC and move on to the next game if I'm console. Currently on survivor I have been running healing builds on my Claudette, Ninja builds on Yui with Distortion, Iron Will, and Lucky Break and Aftercare just so I can get a heal when I break away. I find that aura reading perks in solo queue are greatly underestimated. I even get a lot of value out of Rookie Spirit on my Leon.
1 -
I honestly don't care either way. I always assume my opponant is playing the meta till I get evidence that says otherwise.
But either way, I'm playing my game.
0 -
As a survivor I find I don’t really get much out of meme builds, like it can switch up the gameplay, which can be refreshing every now and then, but after a game or two I usually go back to something that compliments my play style. I like trying to make plays, have good chases and try to get two survivors out, my most common and favourite build is WoO, Kindred, Open Handed and an exhaustion perk, and I’ll trade out one of those perks for something else I like every couple of games or so. So ya, I don’t really like full meme or full meta.
0 -
Repressed Alliance is still a great counter to Ruin, gens don't regress when they're blocked.
0 -
It will lessen my frustration if i don't see gens popping every 40 seconds, survivors leading me to building loops, dead hards to pallets, BT, DS and Unbreakable, chases taking more than 30 seconds to finish, hits not validating on pallets and survivors faking a save multiple times on the hook.
0 -
It can be fun but also turn unfun when you're getting brazenly tunneled and have crap perks on lol
1 -
In general, it would be nice if survivors got a heads-up of their teammates' loadouts, so they know when someone's got Plunderer/Ace, hardline self-heal, FTP, Inner Strength, etc.
It'd help shrink the gap between solo and swiffer and make a ton of those non-meta perks more usable outside swiffers.
1 -
Unless its No mither or Speed limiter gamers, I welcome them every time
0 -
You said everything that has to be said, it's a vicious cycle.
I hate to use DS, Unbreakable, BT, ... because I feel it's either too powerful imo or a perk to be able to just... Play the game longer than 2 minutes (hey DS). So I use "Non-Meta" builds (or as you say, a mix of meta and non meta. I don't think Sprint Burst/ Vigil/ Fixated/ Window of Opportunity as a meta build).
Until I face the Blight Sweatlord that is over slugging at 5 gens left with Ruin/Undying, double speed rush add-ons (or another killer, but with the same comportement and kind of build, you know the picture), that doesn't hesitate to immediately tunnel when he (clearly) doesn't have to. And I freakin want to use an over meta build, and roll over the next killer.
A killer who, each time I choose to play meta, plays casually (or else it wouldn't be funny, probabilities are silly), so maybe after the game the killer, after seeing all the meta perks in the lobby, will play merciless with a sweatlord build and gameplay.
A vicious cycle, so.
1 -
By people coming to expect certain builds consistently, a surprise build can and will throw them off-guard. Plus those who have unpredicted builds have that psychological edge by making people waste time or fall into traps.
As someone who randomises his build, I find it does work well. Even the basic perks have given a lot of value. Deja Vu prevents a 3-gen scenario everytime as SoloQ; Lightweight has won me many escapes; Spies From The Shadows is amazingly useful in finding unsuspecting survivors; Slippery Meat has... okay, we'll ignore that one.
But most perks have their uses, and often are far more useful than people suspect them to be. I'm happy when I see these changes endgame.
0 -
As survivor I run perks that I feel totally rely on chance and will not switch any of these beautiful perks out-
Smash Hit
Any Mean Necessary
Autodidact
Blast Mine
I feel like meta perks are that way because they are guarantee to give you value, but I enjoy a bit of randomness, not always getting value but enjoying it when I do :)
0 -
Non meta builds make me feel like a clown since every time i try to play with fair build i usually verse someone using the most broken stuff in the game so yeah...
1 -
I genuinely never notice unless it is something blatant like a locker build, or that one that removes scratch marks after they vault or whatever. I still have fun even if they run full meta. I do not care. Run perks that YOU have fun with.
1 -
For me I run: BT, Detective's Hunch, Kindred and Spine Chill (with a Medkit)
But on other Survivors I run different things but Kindred and Spine Chill remain (for the most part)
1 -
As a killer. I respect the survivor more if they don't use Meta builds.
And as a survivor, I actually don't use a meta build. Sure, I use 2 Meta perks, and those are Sprint Burst and Iron Will. But I often switch Sprint Burst with other Non-Meta perks from time to time.
Do any of you consider Balanced Landing as a Meta perk? Because I don't xd
1 -
Survivor: I only care for DS so I know I'm safe from being tunneled happy to run any perk but no mother.
Killers: upset, honestly I dont like how using no gen defense etc. Or weaker perks etc. Just end up with being harassed and insulted in and after the match when versing good survivors, since mmr I'm not able to risk that as its usually a guarantee to see it now. I use the perks I do to balance at that level, dont feel like I have a choice.
Run meta = might have fun
No meta = toxic & BM from survivors
1 -
Me and my brother did a gen build. We could never be on the same gen and surprisingly, me or my brother we’re getting chased everytime! We also lost a couple of times, so we switched back to meta perks and guess what: we won most of the matches. It’s like the killer knows your using other perks then the meta and want to tunnel you out of the game ASAP 😤
1 -
I have never run the meta build in my life, I crazy builds.
Medic build players are chads (me), genrush builds are useful, Breakout/Sabo builds are hilarious, meme perks like Diversion are worth it just for the comedy.
The only off-meta builds I don't like are stealth builds because those players obviously don't contribute as much.
1