The Dev Update: Flawed attempt at "meta mix up"; only a "meta shift"

To start, I want to preface this by saying it is good that BHVR is taking the time to give the game much needed attention, and almost all of the changes within their proposed PTB update are good and healthy.

However, there appears to be a trend developing in these updates that indicates a misunderstanding of the games fundamentals, or a far more dangerous road; challenging anything which becomes popular and therefore meta.

I'm sure many of you remember the first time around that the massive Dev Update shifted the meta. Many more may yet remember the sentiment of BHVR on "Slowdown" perks for killer; that to paraphrase "no killer should feel they have to bring a slowdown perk to win the game".

I for one at the time heavily agreed. Slowdowns are predictable; boring and limit player creativety. And I would still be on board had I not experienced the results first hand since then.

At first, it would appear that this worked, however after the dust had settled the nerfs to survivors comfort zones created new pressure to waste less time on gens. Therefore gen speed perks quickly became "meta" (even though they always were, their prevalence is higher and felt far more with people refusing to waste any unnecessary time), and, right behind them, slowdowns quickly rose to the top of Killers choice. In fact, multiple gen speed perks and multiple gen regression perks quickly became more common that they'd ever been.

Why?

The answer is simple. Time is the only commodity in Dead by Daylight that matters.

Anything that extends chase time, or shortens objective times for survivors, will always be meta.

Anything that extends the game time for Killer, will always be meta.

There is no exception to this principle, and there never will be. It is baked into the games design philosophy at its core, based on the only objective mode in the game: 5 Gen Trial.

As BHVR is now shifting its focus to the remaining gen regression perks since Ruins Ruination and Pops implosion, it's important to note this won't really change anything in the meta, it will just shift it to something else which is already similar, and then in the future this too will be ground to dust. That of course is healing.

At a proposed 24 seconds of healing time, from a killers perspective I can tell you this is amazing. Its also stupidly busted (a full 2 seconds up from the Mangled default status time of 22 seconds in practice but 20 on paper); this is the new gen slowdown, and healing perks will see a resurgence to counter. The problem is this isn't really changing anything, really its just splitting hairs about how you want the game to be slowed down.

But that goes against the original Dev Updates sentiment of "Play How you Want to Play". There really is no difference if I am forced to run sloppy butcher or jolt, I am still coerced into taking one or the other in either of these variants of the game. Equalizing the strength of slowdown should be the goal, not nerfing & buffing on rotation merely to create "novelty" in the name of "die, you dastardly meta".

Furthermore, the real question that should be asked in these dev updates is first "Is the perk over-represented?" if so, "Why?". The next being "Is it overpowered?" and just as importantly, the question above all other questions:

"Is this healthy for the game?"

I find the answer to this final question to be yes on two accounts to which BHVR proposes changes to in their proposed Injury heavy slowdown future:

Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance

Now, don't get me wrong. Call of Brine needed to be nerfed, and I'm glad they proposed excactly what I would have suggested; dropping it to a 125% rate. Overcharge in my opinion should get a small buff to its regression penalty and have its regression rate removed entirely. Condition-less gen regression perks should exist, but should never be more powerful than a condition based slowdown. Enter Scourge Hook: Pain Resonance.

Pain Res, in its current state, is honestly about as healthy as old Pop used to be. It is a patchwork perk which helps to cover Killers who otherwise have no map pressure, and therefore allows them at any MMR, but high MMR especially, to have games which do not last 4 minutes before exit gates are powered. They require positioning, luck, a supplemental perk like Agitation/Iron Grasp or any combination of the three in addition to downing a survivor and then hooking them. The killer is rewarded for punishing survivors mistakes and more importantly, progressing the game. Something the condition-less regression perks (CoB & Overcharge) did not (Knight, Gen Merchant).

Killing Pain res will hurt those aforementioned killers the most but even more importantly force two playstyles to emerge in their stead for those same Killers specifically to compensate. The obvious alternative, of forcing nearly a minute in healing through mend add ons, sloppy or other similar stacking anti-healing perks to compensate, which will feel just as frustrating to know 1 to 2 of your perks are just pre-locked always...or...Scourges Token based system will lead to making sure that the 3rd token consumed is always the death of first hooked survivor. This change will not be healthy for the game.

If people are up in arms about its combination with Dead Mans Switch, (a mostly dead combo but nonetheless fine) make it so the scream & explosion do not push survivors off of gens. Alternatively, tune down the gen regression penalty to somewhere between 10-13% (Down from 16%). A limited use Scourge Hook is not only setting a bad precedent, but is punishing healthy behavior and will reward unhealthy behavior in its stead. Something WILL fill that void. Beware.

Dead Hard

Dead Hards "double nerf" if you will, seems bizarre my own Killer main perspective. My main grievance after 4 ######### years with this insufferable unconquerable god perk were all but corrected (Dead Harding for distance, i-frames, mending status with exhaustion etc). In its current state, I won't say that I like it when someone Dead Hards a hit and extends a chase, but it is far removed from its glory days and is indeed counterable in its current state. Furthermore, more killers than before don't even worry about Dead Hard, at all.

In its current state, the perk keeps the game going, and frankly, feels like fair play in exchange for a proper mental game. Popular or no. Honestly Sprint Burst masters who have arrisen in combination with Vigil have proven to be far more clever and better juicers in general than your average Dead Hard runner.

Which makes it all the stranger to kill this perk at the rise of infinite injury simulator. If anything, personally I was expecting Decisive Strikes stun time to be reverted to normal, considering the tunneling issue are supposedly more prevalent and that with the addition of conspicuous actions, I too find that perk 100% healthy and the stun nerf unnecessary.

Some closing thoughts.

Look I'm not delusional enough to believe my voice here will make any difference on the decisions of the future, in fact I fully expect the complete opposite. Nevertheless, if we accept that Slowdown or Time Savers will always be meta and start asking the question "Is this healthy" along with "is this fun?" more often in these updates, the game will do better as whole. Likewise on that note, I feel that extra attention should be given to all the perks as a whole, but starting specifically with the ones that are flat out bad and making them shine.

Creating fun or interesting but potent options is better (and likely easier) than trying to constantly fight your own shifting meta. The direct example of course being injuries needing to be buffed (and healing conversely nerfed), but in conjunction with total gen regression death and frankly over-tuned heal times, we've just teeter-tottered from one side of the scale to the other and the results will be almost excactly the same.

Injury based slowdown and Gen Regression should feel like side-grades to each other at all times (with cost and benefits to each). Not this cycles edition of whats hot and whats not.