Is Casual Survivor Impossible now?
Hey so I'm just a filthy casual player with only 600-ish hours in the game but I wanted to post my two cents and ask other people. I mostly play survivor and this year has been really rough for solos.
I'm not great,but I used to be able to at least escape half of my games on a good day,but nowadays I barely see my team make it to the endgame. After playing on the new patch yesterday literally every match but one ended at 5-4 generators. This feels rough...
Is this a universal experience or am i just doing something wrong/getting really unlucky? My build is We'll Make It,Lithe,Lightweight,Bond + a medkit or a toolbox for reference.
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I havent had that bad of luck personally and I only play solo when doing survivor.
I use lithe, quick and quiet, prove thyself, and the 4th perk I alternate a bit but use alert a lot. Items I mix up.
I recommend trying out some other perks though. Try prove thyself over we'll make it since its similar while giving more benefits in other areas, quick and quiet or dance with me rather than lightweight since they compliment lithe better, and maybe try something to replace bond. I fond having information on the killer to be good which is why I like alert. You could also try fogwise. If you aren't good with skillchrcks consistently Maybe try spinechill
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I agree, although the devs have added the icons to know what our teammates are doing, it seems a lot of changes have been and are still being made with balancing the game around swf, and therefore a lot of (if not all) updates make things worse for solo q while barely impacting swf. I'm not too bad of a survivor but I don't expect to escape even if I play really well anymore. It's more of a "how long can I live" kind of game now.
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I've been struggling to use any of the recently changed perks personally.. they all seem designed to be used when you have audio with your team......
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Yeah, same applies to new perks, even the new type of perks "Teamwork" are very much useless in solo q and we'll most definitely see more of those in the future... Even if we could see our teammates' loadout pre-game they'd be bad but we don't even get that.
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I have always been perplexed when people throw the "killer is harder" thing out there. Understanding the game to the level of being a good/great survivor probably requires a round 800/1000 hours in game. ive consistently ran into people with 500 or so hours that didnt even know there was 3 speeds in which you can vault a window. Map understanding is by far the hardest thing for a survivor simply because you are going to have to look behind you alot when being in a chase. Tile knowledge is also one of those things that even experienced survivors struggle with. My best advice for you would be to find a group of people in a discord, play in a swf more often then not because you can learn alot of things from others. I know this isnt something everyone will want to do. But this isnt really a game you just pick up and instantly be good at.
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It's been a couple months since I played. As survivor win some lose some still the same.
Killer felt like gens went back to 80 secs. it wasn't as relaxed as the last time I played.
It might had to do with a challenge I had equipped Orange Glyph one. Being slowed down could of played a big part in it.
I don't know, but it's a stupid challenge
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Having 600hrs isint enough time to pin point on what’s really making you have a rough solo queue experience. I can tell you right now that the majority of survivors (85%)especially in high MMR against a smart killer usually don’t do so well because they don’t know how to run jungle gyms, string tiles together properly or run perks that help them waste the killers time effectively in a timely manor. It’s all about split pressure on gens and knowing what you have to work with when the killer starts patrolling and unfortunately most survivors don’t know how to do gens nor loop effectively against a good killer, LIKE NOTHING GETS DONE BUT TIME WASTED IN THE KILLERS FAVOR… simply.
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I'd say this is an universal experience. A while back I sampled random games from Twitch streamers (solo queue) and their average escape rate was ~30%.
Keep in mind these are 10k hour players, presumably high MMR survivors, so don't expect the situation to be better as a casual player... Some of my Steam friends are streamers so I sometimes watch their gameplay and they have even less than 30%, with regular loss streaks of 5-10 games. Out of 10 games they have 2-3 that feel like a normal game, the rest are straight up stomps, or survivor DCing at 5 gens, or the killer is farming.
Some people on this forum claim their solo queue games are fine, I have no idea how this is possible (probably they play 1 game per month). Literally try it yourself, go click on random survivor Twitch channels and you'll struggle to find one that has even a 50% winrate. Especially look at small channels of casual players with 100-1000 hours. It's almost comical how they keep losing over and over, and even after a 10 loss streak the game still gives them a sweaty Nurse.
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killers be watching too much true lol
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Simply losing doesn't mean you had a bad game, just means you lost one. It's entirely possible people saying their games seem fine aren't going by winrate to base their judgement on.
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BHVR is balancing game around SWF now but they are not getting Solos into SWF level. So yeah solo and casual players will have pain in this game now. This game is not for them anymore. BHVR does not care about them.
My suggestion is just play killer. At least you won't be stomped every match. Most of your matches you will chill and have fun.
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Yeah its a tough balance. It would be good to bring up solo players to the same level as swf but it's hard to do that without also buffing swf. I don't really have the answer on how to do that
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If youre getting stomped in solo que, not really anything you can do to make your teammates better. game needs to be balanced around SWFs for the competitive scene. dbd isn't so much of a party game or a casual game so the expectation for that experience could lead to dissatisfaction. if youre having rough games but you aren't doing everything you can be doing (anti tunnel, strong perks, items every game) then youre asking for a rough time when you are playing against someone who is trying to win.
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They're bad at playing killer and it seems hard to them. I win 80% of my killer games and 30-40% as survivor (solo). I will never understand how anyone thinks killer is harder than survivor. Playing solo survivor is the hardest thing anyone will ever do in this game and it's not even close. Every game is people rage quitting either by DCing/hook suiciding or a killer who thinks he's playing a comp match against randoms who have no idea what they're doing.
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That's just sad then...
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I'm not sure High MMR is a meaningful statement. I often get matched with p100/high playtime players either as my teammates or opponents... As far as I understand from all the knowledble ppl in the community the softcap is too low too matter.
Maybe I'm at it already,I have no idea
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I can't say I've noticed my games becoming impossible- and I'd certainly consider myself a casual survivor, insofar as I don't play that role as often as killer and I generally don't care about my winrate or bringing in the most effective possible tools.
I'd definitely recommend experimenting with different builds. Depending on how you approach it, you may even have more fun trying out weird combos than a standard attempt at just winning the match.
(I'd say Kindred is nigh essential for solo survivor, though, probably moreso than Bond. Your mileage may vary, though!)
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My mileage with Kindred is that it occasionally feels nice but doesnt do much. I like Bond though,it helps me run into teammates less when I'm chased.
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I find it incredibly useful for coordinating saves- in multiple matches it's been the difference between someone getting saved and someone progressing to second stage from first hook. Still, Bond is also good, all you really want is some kind of information.
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I feel like I decently enough do this already with the little status icons they added some time ago. Previously I'd probably agree.
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If you're playing with higher tier killers, you can make the case it might be easier, but there's no configuration in which killer is more "chill". You're the 1 in the 4v1, and as such as killer you're always going to be in "go" mode, even if you're facing bad survs, and/or not really trying all that hard.
But generally speaking, I think how you experience DBD is mostly a result of the approach and expectations you bring.
Are you expecting to escape more often than not as a solo queue player? Is meeting that expectation necessary for you to have fun? Is escape your sole win condition? If so, then you're not going to have a great time. At all.
That said, the misery of solo queue is vastly overstated. And really, things aren't bad at all right now, compared to how they have been in the recent past (think the new surv HUD was a revelation). I have well over 1K hours in surv, almost exclusively solo queue (I can count the games I've played in SWF on one hand), and at no point have I ever felt like I got stomped "all the time".
Do I die in streaks or maybe like 9 out of 10 times sometimes? Sure, but there's an ebb and flow. Sometimes I'll escape a bunch of times in a row. DBD is an unbalanced game dependent on a hot mess of variables and ineffective MMR (which is why calling it a comp game is absurd), and as such, your experience is going to be really uneven, unless you play exclusively as part of a SWF, or if you just sweat your metaphorical balls off as a killer every single match.
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It's not impossible; it is incredibly unfun and not worth playing. I'd recommend dropping the game entirely if you don't want to play in an SWF or any specific killer. The developers don't desire solo queue to be viable in any manner beyond fodder to killer win rates.
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Unfortunately, that is pretty much the case. SoloQ is basically a non-supported game mode at this point in time and the only fun you can have playing survivor is a SWF. With the recent HUD change and the player satisfaction survery focusing on giving people more opportunities to SWF, it is evidently clear that the dev team have completely given up on trying to make SoloQ at least the bare minimum of bearable and is instead looking to merge SoloQ and SWFing. Maybe check back in a year or two?
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...Hang on, what would making SoloQ "at least the bare minimum of bearable" even look like if the HUD update doesn't count? That's literally what SoloQ buffs would be, attempts at making sure the information exchange between solo survivors is at least close to the information exchange between those on comms.
Genuinely, what else would you even be looking for?
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Information is great and in the right hands can easily win a game, but having teammates that don't realize the Killer is pretending to leave the hook so somebody rescues and then the first survivor is tunneled out from the match in under two minutes will lead to a loss even if you gave all SoloQ players every single information perk currently in the game. Something has to be done about matchmaking, there's no other way to fix what's going on right now.
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Depends on what do you mean by casual? If you're just playing to have fun and not looking for any specific outcome, that should still be possible.
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Bad teammates are by no means a DBD only problem, so I don't think it's fair to call that the problem with SoloQ. The problem with SoloQ - the one that is unique and that can be fixed - is a lack of information + coordination.
So, with that in mind, it's pretty clear the devs are making some steps towards addressing the problem. That's what the survivor HUD update was.
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It doesnt matter what your mindset is if you're getting destroyed and dont have a chance to play though... That's my issue. I'm OK with losing. Just sometimes I'd like to have my games be something else besides that
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The issue with playing as a survivor in solo queue is that you are only one of four members on your team, making it difficult to carry the rest. It is important for all four players to contribute equally in order to win. However, solo players lack the same level of game sense as SWF players, despite the recent additions of icons.
For instance, if someone is being targeted by the killer and reaches their final hook, you need Empathy or Bond to efficiently locate them and offer aid/body block. SWF players, on the other hand, have the advantage of a free perk slot by simply saying "he's chasing me near the shack, come help". Other team-based games have aura perks like Bond and Visionary as base mechanics. In DBD, you need an entire aura build just to have access to the same information as SWF players, but this leaves you with no anti-tunnelling, chase extension, or anti-camping perks.
There are several features that should be included in the basekit of the game to bridge this gap. SWF players who frequently escape are not necessarily better mechanically; they simply have access to more information about the entire map without sacrificing their Meta perks.
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you should not need to forced to equip a perk to make relevant decision making when playing a match. that in itself kinda ridiculous. The icons do help a little bit, but they really should consider putting a form of global bond base-kit. solo survivor would save a perk slot for something useful and they could rework a bunch of perks in process. anyway I don't think survivor has changed that much in following patch. its still largely same with SWF being stronger with COH change and soloq being weaker as a result of self-care nerf.
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SoloQs don't have to deal with Overcharge and Call of Brine anymore, which were most effective on SoloQs who could not communicate that a strong regression perk was in play and had to be stopped before losing a generator's entire progress.
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Bond and Kindred should both be basekit. It would literally not make a difference to SWF, as they already have this information via comms, it would just make it a bit more convenient for them. But solos would at least get the same information.
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those perks were a problem for SWF as well. to be honest, they were busted beyond belief. hens made video of this. glad that I will never be playing vs that nightmare ever again.
yeah they should be. they gave base-kit BT and to be fair, base-kit BT has saved me countless times though I would rather just equipped the perk over using those perks.
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Good luck coming up with new effects for Bond, Kindred, Empathy, Aftercare, Empathic Connection, Situational Awareness, and Keys.
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If they want their game to survive, i'm sure they'll put some effort in.. The solo queue survivor player base is larger than the SWF playerbase. Today, I have observed that matchmaking incentives seem to be favoring survivors more, even in the evening. It could be a coincidence, but only time will tell.
Plus, BHVR have been creating weak filler perks for a long time now, they'll think of something.
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Today, I have observed that matchmaking incentives seem to be favoring survivors more, even in the evening.
It's Day 1 of a new Rift. People got killer Tome Challenges to do, and they're usually faster than survivor ones.
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You're assuming just like me. It's possible that what you suggested is true, but it's equally plausible that Solo Q is just as bad as 90% of the playerbase claims it to be, and that Solo Q players have switched to playing killer instead because of this new patch. When a new rift is released, survivor mains don't typically switch to playing killer for the challenges. They usually complete survivor challenges first, just as killer mains do with theirs. Players who play both sides equally are a rarity.
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Honestly, even with the Survivor incentive boosted to 100%, I'm just not feeling the urge to play Survivor much these days. It's common knowledge that solo Q has always been challenging, but I must admit, it's been particularly arduous since the latest patch. Hopefully, there will be an improvement soon..
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I disagree. The recent patch has disproportionately affected solo players who are less self-sufficient. SWF players can be altruistic and efficient without sacrificing perks as they have comms and know their teammates. Solo players cannot rely on their teammates without dedicating half their build to healing and aura perks.
The problem now is that solo survivors have to rely on their teammates much more. Using a medkit and healing yourself in 30 seconds (due to the sloppy meta) wouldn't be so bad if your solo teammates actually did gens. Camping is also more viable than ever due to it taking so long to do healing resets. More often than not, that the camped player will just die on hook
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They balance the game so that the kill rate is around 60%, so the survival rate is 40%. That's including SWFs though, for solo queue it's safe to assume the survival rate is likely closer to 30%, and this latest patch that nerfed self-healing considerably is gonna only reduce that further.
Basically if you play solo queue you're looking at only escaping a quarter of your games, if that. It's hard to really enjoy the game when your 'win rate' is so low.
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yeah every member of a 4 person team should be entirely self sufficient and be able to handle every situation by themselves, thats balance
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No one is claiming that medkits weren't overpowered, particularly in a coordinated team. However, solo queue games are rarely coordinated. Medkits and consistent self-healing made solo queue less unbearable since you didn't have to depend on your teammates. It's understandable why medkits were heavily nerfed. Unfortunately, solo survivors weren't given anything in return, such as a baseline empathy or empathic connection.
Solo queue players are impacted since they must now devote half of their build to an aura perk and a healing perk to counter these new healing changes. In contrast, SWF players receive all of this for free without having to sacrifice any of their meta perk slots (anti-tunneling perks, exhaustion perks, etc.).
I reckon BHVR should simply acknowledge that they are balancing the game around killers and SWF. They haven't explicitly stated so, but they haven't refuted it either.
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"Solo queue players are impacted since they must now devote half of their build to an aura perk and a healing perk to counter these new healing changes. In contrast, SWF players receive all of this for free without having to sacrifice any of their meta perk slots (anti-tunneling perks, exhaustion perks, etc.)"
Yeah, as someone who shied away from meta perks and liked to change my builds often, this is what sucks. I feel like I'm forced to bring a healing perk - in my case, as a solo survivor, We'll Make It, because I can't guarantee the team mates I get will be able to play or do anything but hide if injured. I'll also bring Bond often too, if I find it too difficult to track down a heal for myself. I feel like my build is going to stay pretty consistent now, which is disappointing.
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Yeah... For example SWF players can really effectively use CoH and practically be unaffected while are solos are left in the dust again...
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600hrs is not bad.
I almost have 10 times that amount and I also have some problems right now because I need time to adjust to the changes. It was the same a year ago with the big meta shake-up when my build which served me faithfully for 3 years didn't do it anymore. I guess it will change in a few weeks when people have found new ways to deal with it. I already have seen survivors with We'll make it or Resilience & Prove Thyself or Inner Healing and Overzealous. Some rediscovered Iron Will, and some don't care at all. DH has vanished and SB and Lithe are more common I guess. And Adrenaline.
I also have to admit that I only played at late evenings so far in a swf with a newish player after the update which greatly affects the match's outcome.
But I will manage. And you too.
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You could also say that about survivors who always sat on their 2nd Chance Perks, Insta Heals and Infinites back in the day.
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That's only six perks, some of which are incredibly rare to run anyway. Hopefully DbD has more than six possible ideas for perks left or the game is truly coming close to its last days.
But I'll give it a go - assume bond and kindred are base kit (I actually disagree that kindred should be basekit, but I'll play along) and even try and keep to the theme the perks already have.
Bond - extend the range, example: 72 meters
Kindred - extend the range that survivors can see the killer's aura to 32 meters (it probably wouldn't have to be this strong, because even if Kindred was given basekit it wouldn't need the full 16 meters)
Empathy - mangled and hemorrhage are paused for survivors who are within 6 meters of you and for 5 seconds after they leave that radius
Aftercare - after you have healed a survivor, gain a 100% speed bonus to healing that survivor
Empathic Connection - your aura shows up in white to any injured survivor, keep the heal boost
Situational Awareness - start with zero tokens, when another survivor is downed gain a token. If the killer tries to read your aura, consume a token to block aura reading for 10 seconds
As for keys - the ability to read the killer aura is the far more powerful effect, but go ahead and merge keys and maps already
I had a few different ideas for some of them. That's off just a few minutes thinking about it, so I don't think creating new ideas for perks is really an issue.
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I dunno. I might just look for other games now. Killer doesn't interest me,at all as it's way too stressful and survivor experience has gradually been worse me lately. I mostly posted this to see if people had similar experiences.
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Then I'm sorry.
Are you playing solo or with friends? It is a lot easier to deal with the changes in a group.
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I exclusively play in solo and yeah,I'm aware SWF is easier. It's always been the case. I just dont like playing in groups for a variety of reasons. I also dont have a lot of friends that regularly play the game either.
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