Why 4.6 Slinger would be a terrible idea
I see this idea thrown around a lot. Even Scott Jund's patch made Slinger 4.6 because now, Slinger lacks the quick scope he used to have, complete with the standard 32m TR despite being 4.4.
I'm here to tell you, that would awful. Like, terrible. It would a nightmare.
Mobility
The biggest defense I hear is: "He should be 4.6 so that he has more mobility so he can better apply map pressure."
To be frank, this is not correct. Being 4.4 vs 4.6 is a chase limitation first and foremost so a killer has to rely more on their power to get a hit. The difference between being 4.4 vs 4.6, in terms of raw mobility, is marginal in most cases. The only time being 4.4 hurts is when on massive maps, like Dwelling level of huge and even then, the difference is usually less than 5 meters.
More specifically, you could walk in a straight line for 20 seconds and the difference is just 4m. It's something and may hurt in really clutch games, but for the most part, it's not a huge deal. Not to mention, lack of map pressure is a massive issue on several 4.6 killers such as Clown, Nemesis, Pyramid Head, and so on.
Nemesis
Why am I bringing up an entirely different killer? This is why.
Now, Nemesis has a windup of 0.35 seconds. This is just 0.05 seconds faster than Deathslinger's current 0.4-second windup. Functionally, they are identical.
But Nemesis is 4.6 and Slinger is 4.4. Why?
Nemesis' power is deemed to be so strong and oppressive that he has the dubious honor of being the killer you need to hit survivors three times to down. Everything else such as the pallet break is added to help make the need to hit someone three times worth it.
Slinger? If you're in front of him, you're dead. Window? He can hold up his gun: If you vault, you're dead. If you don't, he can lower it, eat through the cooldown, and you're going to be forced to give him a pallet. At least with Neme, you can out space the 5-6m tentacle, but Slinger doesn't have that problem. Even if you somehow manage to find the angle to break the chain, you're in DW so he can just leave you and get guaranteed slowdown because you need to mend at some point (made worse by the fact his purple mend add-on is even stronger than Legion's for... some reason?).
I'm not saying Slinger would be "OP," but I am saying it would be an absolutely miserable experience that would probably lead to give him nerfed like Freddy and Wraith before him.
Compensation argument
Another argument I hear. "Slinger needs some sort of compensation."
Sure. No really. Sure. I think he could use a few more tweaks since he lost his strongest tool but I don't think being 4.6 is the way to go. There are so many other things you can look at with Slinger such as his chain durability, ADS movement speed add-ons still being bad, his reload feeling awful without add-ons, and whatever his reel speed add-ons are.
He has a lot of things that could be improved that would make his life a lot better. Focus on those aspects of him before suggesting the drastic solution of making him 4.6, something that has only been done to a single killer in DBD's history... and his power had to get gutted because it broke the game.
Now, Cowpokes, go get your gun, reel in some nice bounties that you can nod your head at as you reel them in!
Comments
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Reduce his terror radius to 28 meters
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Apparently they had plans to let him use his gun to grapple onto things for mobility. Honestly not a terrible option atm
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Even 4.6 killers like Clown struggle with mobility and pressure overall so the whole mobility argument lacks either way in my opinion.
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Just give him 4.6, he's garbage rn anyways
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A simple fix would be to reduce his TR back to 24 metres, and then change Monitor and Abuse to work based on percentages rather than flat numbers. So it reduces/increases your TR by 25% instead of 8 metres, which would make Slinger's 24 meter TR a 18 meter TR instead of old Monitor's 16 meter TR.
Doesn't sound like a huge difference, but it means that you can't get sniped from outside Slinger's TR unless he's using gimmick add-ons/undetectable perks. You'd always have at least some time to react, but not the huge window of time you have now to hold W and completely counter him. It'd also keep his "stealth" focus that's clear from his lack of lullaby, to his many stealth add-ons, to his limited range and 4.4m/s.
It would also mean that you don't have to use Monitor every game on new Slinger, otherwise good survivors will run away and make you a powerless 4.4m/s killer. Which I think would be better for everyone.
Also, I'd reduce his ADS time to 0.3 seconds rather than 0.4. Again, doesn't sound like a lot, but it would do wonders to make him feel less clunky while still giving a small window to react.
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After getting used to post nerf Slonger, the only area I would focus on is his terror radius. Monitor and Abuse is practically required on him. You might say his 4.4 m/s doesn’t matter (and before I say this I am not in favor of making him 4.6). But. Hearing him 32 meters out lets survivors know to start pre running. The amount of time it takes to make up that distance is monumental when the killer is only 10 percent faster.
I say reduce his terror radius down. 32meters is for 4.6 killers. Hag and Spirit still have 16 meter terror radius but Slonger got the hammer.
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Blight is 4.6 and a Tier S killer.
Honestly, 4.4 killers shouldn't even exist.
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I find it's better to go bigger with his terror radius now and use Starstruck instead of trying to shrink it with M&A. Agitation and Starstruck on him is pretty fantastic if you haven't tried it yet.
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Deathslinger isn't a 4.6 killer because ranged killers cannot have such speed.
But they really should revert his changes.
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just revert his quickscope and TR nerfs and he'd be perfectly fine.
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As some people in here have commented, Deathslinger needs changes to compensate for what he lost during this "re-balancing". Personally, I always felt he was "fine" prior to his nerf and people were just making a big deal out of him because not many used him. Henceforth, people weren't sure about how to exactly counter him. I say this roughly because I recognise he needed changes, but these were not it.
Alas, I have commented I do believe reducing his terror radius to 28 meters could be an interesting change. I liked the stealth aspect of Deathslinger when compared against other ranged-killers. An alternative could be adding a subtle lullaby like that of Trickster's that slowly blends into his terror radius like a far-off whistle ala Western or the sound of rattle snakes where people are given an audible cue that he is nearby while not being flat-out obvious.
I'm always on the fence about the ADS because... the reason quick-scope was needed was because the ADS mechanic is horrible. My current view would be to decrease the time it takes to enter ADS and increase the time it takes to exit it. Therefore, forcing the player to comit to shots. It'd reward the player for taking risky shots while also punishing them for failing them while not being too overly taxing. In its current state, it needs some serious work because sensibility keeps messing up big time when committing to ADS, add small hitboxes, server latency, etc, to it and it's just a cocktail for disaster and why Deathslinger feels clunky and frustrating to play as.
Other points do include addressing his reload speed and maybe lessening the stun after being unable to land a hit when a Survivor is chained.
I feel the comparison to Nemesis is a tad unfair. Nemesis has his zombies to apply pressure for him. But if we are talking strictly power-based, Nemesis can extend his range by hitting Survivors with his tentacle strike, Deathslinger is fixed and cannot be extended by any means. Additionally, Nemesis can hit Survivors through pallets and vaults, Deathslinger is not guaranteed a hit even if he does spear a Survivor through a vault or a pallet. Finally, failing a spearing as Deathslinger includes both a stun and the reload time.
I've been maining Deathslinger for over a year since I bought him back in December of 2020 during the Winter sale. I enjoyed playing as him because I loved the chaotic aspects he brought where people would constantly run into me due to the small terror radius and his unpredictability. I was able to secure two kills without having to sweat and now, I need to sweat, to get similar results that makes it such an stressing and unfun experience.
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Nemesis can down you over pallets and small loops, deathslinger has the hope he can get round.
0 reason for him to have a huge terror radius tbh, that's all he needs
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That would be the closest to having Batman as killer in DBD
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