Why YOU should use Aftercare in Solo Que!

Aftercare is once again on the shrine. As a result, I think this post may be relevant again. So, if you've been interested in trying Aftercare, but didn't want to buy Jeff, well perhaps now is your chance! Sorry for not responding to some comments. In truth, I just forgot. I can still respond if those people would want that.

TLDR: RUN AFTERCARE, YA NERD.

Anyways,

I'd like to preface this by saying that this post is entirely based on the premise of playing in solo que. If you mostly play Survivor in a Survive with friends group (SWF) then this post will have little relevance to you (Feel free to continue reading if you'd like though). Furthermore, Aftercare is one of my favourite perks and I am a Jeff main. As such, I am VERY biased here. Nonetheless, I hope this will be a good showcase for why YOU should use Aftercare in solo que.

First, for anyone who might be unfamiliar with how the perk works, let me just pop this in here.

Now, I know what you might be thinking. Yes you could run Bond and you'd get aura reading on Survivors who are close to you, without any prior effort. However, there are two key aspects to Aftercare that can sometimes go unappreciated. Firstly, the aura reading effect is map-wide (unlike Bond which is only 36 meters). Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the survivor affected by Aftercare ALSO sees your aura. This is an extremely powerful effect in solo que and I'll explain why.

Let's make a scenario here, let's say that you'd unhooked and/or healed Meg earlier in the trial. Now, Dwight has just been hooked after hiding in a locker for two minutes and he needs help! Without Aftercare in this scenario, you and the Meg may both go for the save. Only to realise once you both get there just how inefficient it was. Alternatively, neither of you go for the save and Dwight hits second state or even dies! However, if you had Aftercare, then you would've seen that Meg was going for the save. As such, you can commit to your generator, knowing that Dwight will be unhooked safe and sound.

You might say, 'couldn't I just run Kindred to get a similar effect with much less effort?' The answer is technically yes, but there is more nuance to this. Aftercare works indefinitely, until you get hooked (I'll talk about this later). Kindred ONLY works when someone is hooked. As such, it can allow for greater efficiency surrounding hook saves, but that's mostly all it does. Aftercare, on the other hand, allows for greater efficiency in almost any situation. Indeed, I'd argue that Aftercare and Kindred have a decent synergy. If you are uninterested in this part of discussion then skip the next paragraph.

The synergy of Aftercare and Kindred: At first, Kindred and Aftercare may seem a bit contradictory, indeed there is some overlap in their effects. However, I'd argue that they have an effective synergy for solo que. Kindred can make up for the lapse in information at the beginning when you haven't had a chance to engage in anything altruistic. Similarly, as I pointed out earlier, Aftercare is disabled upon you being hooked. With the Aftercare + Kindred combo, this is not as detrimental. Kindred works when you need it to, and Aftercare still does it's job. With this combo, you AND your teammates will be much more informed on what is going on in a match. Kindred can still be useful even if you have everyone on Aftercare as Kindred will still show the Killer's aura. Keep in mind by the way that you can totally run two meta perks alongside Aftercare and Kindred. For example, you could run Aftercare, Kindred, Decisive Strike and Dead Hard which would be a pretty solid build. You've got info galore thanks to Kindred + Aftercare, protection against tunnelling with DS and a bit of chase extension with DH. Overall, not a bad build for solo que.

Essentially, the combo improves efficiency across the board and Kindred aids to lessen Aftercare's weaknesses. There most definitely is some overlap in their effects but I still think that the combo is worth a try.

Something worth noting is that while Aftercare does require altruistic actions to trigger on a Survivor, it can also activate if an altruistic action is done on you. This means that Aftercare can often passively come into effect as you play, rather then it being a perk that requires tons of effort to work.

Now, it may be beneficial to compare the pro's and cons of Bond and Aftercare to give a solid comparison.

Bond's Pros:

1. Works without any prior effort, slap on the perk and it'll do it's job.
2. Can sometimes be a somewhat acceptable alternative to Kindred, provided that you are not the one who has been hooked.
3. Synergises very well with open handed.

Cons:

1. Has a limited range. Needs Open handed to get more substantial aura reading.
2. Aura reading is only for the person using the perk. Doesn't provide any direct benefit for your teammates.
3. Is hard countered by blindness add-ons and perks (That's kind of a non-factor for the most part but it is something to consider).

Aftercare's Pros:

1. When activated, provides value to you AND your teammate(s).
2. Provides map-wide aura reading, which can be incredibly useful to the team.

Cons:

1. At the beginning of a match, provides no immediate benefit.
2. Doesn't lend itself very well to more aggressive, chase oriented playstyles.
3. Similarly to Bond, Aftercare is hard countered by blindness add-ons and perks.

In conclusion, is Aftercare the Super Omega Bestest perk? No. Compared to the meta, it can't really compete. At the end of the day though, restricting oneself to only the meta can cause the game to become stale and uninteresting. Spicing up builds and playstyles is what adds replayability! So, if you have Aftercare unlocked, I implore you to try it for a few games. Who knows, maybe it'll become one of your favourites like it did for me.

If you read down this far then I think you deserve the ancient secrets. Here: Jeff naked.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!