RPD West Side Spiral Stair Vault is a Trap
I am all for 50/50 spots. Filler Pallets, Z-Walls and U-Walls all have their uses and can actually be played around, this location however is not a 50/50 its a 0/100 in the killers favor. The only exception being Balanced Landing or Dead Hard both of which have better uses from various different locations near that vault.
Its really strange to me how poorly designed this location is. The only reasonably useful pallet nearby is the one in the locker room which, assuming you took the vault and the killer immediately went down the stairs, you would have to run towards the killer to reach. (yes I know there is a filler pallet in that small room but we all know that pallet is absolute garbage. Which only gives more evidence as to how bad this particular vault is).
In contrast to the opposite side of the map that has a similarly shaped staircase where there is a vault location and a pallet location both in opposite directions from where the killer is approaching.
There are similar stairs on Midwich Elementary School but the main difference is that there are line of sigh blockers and a god pallet rite at the base of the stairs. This allows for slow vault mind games and an emergency pallet if need be.
I don't really know what to do to make this vault better other than maybe reducing the stagger received from landing here by maybe 0.5 seconds so you actually have a chance, but that doesn't really seem like a good option to me. This vault doesn't add anything to the gameplay at all other than giving killers a free hit on new players that don't know any better.
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You are using the vault wrong. You can't use it when killer goes up the staircase (for reasons already mentioned). You can only use this vault if you come from main/library/bathroom to get to bottom a little bit quicker (where main side is worst of these 3 options). Also if you have some extra time (killer is not directly behind you), you can run outside (farthest away from killer) to end up next to almost god pallet - yes this one is far, but killer needs to follow you or you can change directions.
I mean this spot is not the strongest in game, but it's far from useless even without balanced landing (and sure enough, BL helps in this spot a lot and no you can't use it very quickly otherwise even if there are 3 possible drops that are not very far away).
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I would honestly go so far as to say that using that vault from main is a death sentence. Using it from Library is the only 'consistent' way of using it considering that using it from Bathrooms isn't always available (50% of the time you play on that map those bathrooms aren't available). The problem is that you should never naturally be running from library to that hallway unless you are on the West side variant of that map due to the layout of East side variant. Because of that, if you are on the East side variant there are no good realistic options of using that vault, since if you are found in the library odds are its because you are doing the generator in that drop off room and the killer is in the doorway between that drop off room and the library leaving you only the option to drop off or take a hit and run through the killer.
I am not saying its impossible to find yourself in a position where you are running from the library to that vault, but the chances of that are so unlikely that you basically have to force it for the sake of forcing it. Its just extremely out of place as far as vaults go. I can't think of any other high vault locations (that don't have quick drops) off the top of my head where the killer can start behind me and hit me before I recover from the stagger.
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I think you have almost exactly the same situation when comming from the second staircase (on the very east side that is outside - the one connected with main gate via the new outside street). If you vault it from bottom, you die. If you vault it from side (helicopter), you gain very little. If you vault it from art room/waiting room, then you gain a little distance and can chain it with other obstacles. I think this is one of the more fair interactions within this map
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The main difference between the two different staircase vaults is that, for the metal stairs, its not difficult at all to intentionally approach the stairs from a good angle. Its very easy to approach from the helicopter and still vault it as if coming from the hallway due to the way the connection room between the helicopter and those stairs is constructed. Taking that vault immediately after coming up the stairs is still pretty bad but 2/3 of your options to entering that vault are still pretty good, and all 3 of your options for exiting the vault are just better. Also It may be placebo but it feels like I don't get staggered at those stairs nearly as long.
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I am pretty sure all of those are placebo and the outside stairs are only marginally better. You can fast vault both of the stairs even from a side. From side you need to go from the angle otherwise it's mid vault in both cases. Stagger effect AFAIK is the same for all the drops (after some height) in the game.
As for exiting - even outside staircase has 1 bad pallet close-by (if you stay outside and go to main exit) 1 moderatelly far vault (east office) into good pallet semi-far (same way as the inside vault you talked about) and 1 god pallet pretty (the inside room to the very right after entering from outside has at the end god pallet AKA next to closest break room. Same way as for the inside staircase it's the way around into outside that has that almost god pallet).
Overall as I already said - those 2 staircases are functionally very similar.
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maps Obviously have dead Zones on Purpose. both survivers and killers have to have a strong balence. if you know as a surviver were a dead zone is either a natural one or one were all the pallets were used. then you obviously avoid that Area during a chase. its like survivers want cheap easy lazy Loops Handed to them cause they dont want to Work for anything anymore. we want both the Killer AND Surviver to Work Hard. not Give survivers an easy win or the Killer to easy of a Win. its a Game of Skill and Strat not joy riding hunky dorey get out jail free cards
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I only have to agree with this one.
As a sidenote - there are structures that seem totally useless. But then I saw a few very skilled survivors that could loop killer at Z-wall for 15+ seconds. Meaning even "useless stuff" can be somewhat useful in capable hands.
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This wasn't really a discussion about dead zones, as that is a completely different topic.
The difference between a 'Dead Zone' and this particular set of stairs is that you can spot a dead zone from a mile away. These stairs give the illusion of safety which no other vault location in the game does. Additionally RPD in particular is one of those maps where having dead zones is infinitely more troublesome than any other map due to the fact that they cut it in half and opened up a lot of the walls and made a lot of the pallets significantly worse than they used to be. On most maps 'Dead Zones' usually at least have something that you can run around for a little while to buy some time, but on RPD when a you find yourself in a Dead Zone you are literally in a hallway with no where to run other than a strait line.
No one is asking for 'cheap easy lazy loops' to be 'handed to them cause they don't want to work for anything anymore' I am simply asking for the Devs to not put trap resources. I would legitimately rather that vault just completely removed rather than continue to watch new players (or players unfamiliar with the map) take that vault and die as a direct result of doing so. Again there is no other location like that in the entire game.
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i dislike new RPD because of trap resources. for example Chef Office which is office to -> right staircase just across main hall has pallet, but pallet is so unsafe that its practically not worth using.
In the Waiting Room which is room to right just as you exit main hall, they weakened god window and removed the god pallet/safe pallet into 2 unsafe pallets. The pallet next to window is a pallet that induces bloodlust 2-3 to get a hit if the survivor runs in clock-wise rotation to the window If survivor pre-drop the pallet ahead of the killer.. Its not safe pallet but the killer is still forced to break it due to orientation in the loop while other pallet next the window is free hit for all killers. The vault next to the pallet is a trap, so both pallet and window are irrelevant.
If playing RPD East-wing version of the map, you can go outside of waiting room by staircase and exit to right outside which leads to one of exit gates, there are two pallets. The first pallet is playable pallet, but 2nd pallet by exit gate is glued to the wall. Killers that respect pallets can get free hits by forcing a pallet drop. Even if you get stunned. there is no pallet besides first pallet to link into. This pallet would be good in principal if it was not glued to the wall and was more outward. Another trap-resource.
In the Roof section of East wing of the map, the window staircase is somewhat pointless. it barely grants any distance for vaulting it from stagger duration. it would be better if the window was more <----- instead of the middle. Its not trap window but it barely does anything.
I also wish Waiting Room third window and Piano room window had 2 exits on each side and the window was pushed more in the center so that going in these rooms was less of free-hit for a killer. RPD has a lot of trap resources.
Its good that they removed all those god pallets on West side hallways and closed off the library but some of resources of the map could be little better for survivor.
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