A simple request: Allow me the option to opt-out of playing with survivors with friends

Here's my request: As a player, I want the option to play exclusively with other solo match players.

Give me a setting that allows the player the option to match with anyone, or only with solo players. When I create a lobby as a killer, I want to be able to filter out SFW groups of survivors. As a survivor, I want to be able to filter out games that have SFW survivors in them.


As a survivor and as a killer, I enjoy playing your game in general. The thrill of the game and the constant change of environment due to the perk system and individual player skill levels is exciting. However, I do not enjoy playing with groups of players that often choose to play as 'survivors with friends' (SFW). Let me explain why.

As a survivor, I can see why people would want to group together and play seriously as survivors with friends. They can coordinate roles, figure out who is going to do what, and generally communicate better. However, that is not something that a public group can do. Survivors with friends are generally on some voice chat client, and communicating the killer's position and that obviates the need for a some perks that might otherwise be viable. When playing as survivors with friends, I could hear a call-out that the killer is near my teammate without seeing him damaged. An entire chase could occur that I wouldn't know about if I wasn't playing survivors with friends. As a survivor who doesn't often play that way, I see it as a detriment to the perk system, and something that makes it far more difficult for the killer who cannot benefit in the same way.

As a survivor who often doesn't play in a group, I do not get communicate with my teammates and often there is some preference of the survivor with friends group to help themselves before they help me. I've actually even been the target of a nasty group of SFW survivors, one of whom led the killer to me, did the point emote at me, and then ran off as the killer chased me. I fully understand that not all SFW survivors are nasty, crappy people, but I still run into a fair number of them. I've got 120 hours into the game, and that doesn't compare to other players here, but SFW has ruined a fair number of games for me as a survivor ... and as a killer.

As a killer, SFW survivors tend to be the most toxic people that I meet. The game devolves into a flashlight/gen rush match, where one or two of the survivors are dedicated towards making my job difficult, or down right miserable. Fair enough. I'll get looped, gen-rushed, and flashlight to the face with every pallet that I try to break. It's miserable. Sure, it's valid gameplay that I use myself when I play as a survivor. However, the difference is that SFW groups can coordinate that miserable activity, work together to make my life more difficult, and the way that it is accomplished can be one of the most toxic experiences in the entire game.

Here is a prime example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gewbR10ekeo

It's a streamer and friends -- essentially using game mechanics, perks, and skills with a coordination that would not be possible with a random group of people -- to play and win in a way that is so honestly infuriating. I'm not saying that they should be prevented from doing this. Essentially, the developers have made the game in a way to allow people to play how they want, and there are established community rules to prevent the really horrible behavior. If I was that killer though, I'd have quit the game after the first 5-10 minutes because that is not what I play this game for. That game was miserable for the killer. Even a more experienced killer would be frustrated at that game. Some people might like it... good for them. However, I do not.

There are ways to avoid this type of stuff, but it doesn't help anyone. As a player, I can dodge a lobby if I see people who I suspect to be SFW groups. I've come up with my own set of criteria that generally helps me to avoid them -- but it isn't perfect. As a survivor, I just have to deal with it, or leave the game. Both options make me less happy to play the game. As a killer, I can dodge the match, or get infuriated/tilted. Again, both options make me less happy to play the game. The end result of those matches is that generally someone leaves the match incredibly mad ... sometimes it's me -- sometimes it is them.

I firmly believe the game should evolve how it will evolve, and it's your game to change how you want. All I'm asking is as a player, I want the option to play without survivors with friends, regardless of my role. Just consider my request. Maybe it's difficult -- maybe it isn't. I would love the option.

Comments

  • bugrasertel
    bugrasertel Member Posts: 6

    Agreed, +infinite.

  • S0ckenSchuss
    S0ckenSchuss Member Posts: 110
    Hm.. Hard to Do i think. If killer would be able to choose between solo players and pre-mades, of course ever killer will choose solos.its easier for the killer of course.

    So If there would bei that choice IT could only bei made by survs OOOOOOOR the bloodpoint rewards for Killers is about 50-100% higher with pre-mades allowed. So Baby Killers can go the easy way with solos and Pro Killers can choose to accept that challenge with more rewards at the end.


    If there is no difference, the killers would be only choose solos and that ruins the teamplay ability of DBD of course. But i think its possible with more killer rewards for those killers, which are looking for challenge.

    Maybe its possible to add steps.
    Choose solo: 0% extra rewards

    Choose swf lite (max two pre-mades and two solos OR two other pre-mades) : extra reward 25%

    Choose swf medium: (Max three pre-mades and one solo) : extra rewards 50%

    Choise swf Hard (full Group pre-mades of 4)
    Extra rewards 100%


    But i dont think its usable because its Hard enough to find a lobby actually. How long will we wait until the criteria of chosen swf steps fits?

  • weirdkid5
    weirdkid5 Member Posts: 2,144
    They just need to make a Ranked Solo mode and a Casual SWF mode. It's really that easy.
  • jswaro
    jswaro Member Posts: 7

    If there is no difference, the killers would be only choose solos and that ruins the teamplay ability of DBD of course

    That is a possibility. If the option to choose to avoid those encounters is provided, and the game migrates away from SWF, then it is an evolution of the game that the community chooses to take. However, forcing players to play with SWF is just going to make it so that newer killers hate the game and stay survivors, or end up as bitter killers with a chip on their shoulder.

    If there is no difference, the killers would be only choose solos and that ruins the team-play ability of DBD of course

    Perhaps there is some merit in a non-ranked and ranked lobby and SWF can only be done in non-ranked. Even then though, casual killers are stuck with SWF if they don't enjoy ranked.

    I feel like giving people the option to opt-out gives the community the chance to move the game toward one format over another. If people enjoy the SWF experience (killers included), they won't bother opting out of the SWF groups.

    Potentially SWF queues could end up better with this change because they would be filled with more competitive people. My only concern is that the 'SWF queue' would end up with toxic survivors and equally toxic killers... but that is also a side-effect of letting the game community govern itself.

  • jswaro
    jswaro Member Posts: 7

    So Baby Killers can go the easy way with solos and Pro Killers can choose to accept that challenge with more rewards at the end.

    I don't think it is a matter of 'baby' vs 'pro'. At the heart of this issue for me is a choice: "Deal with potentially toxic groups of SWF", or "Choose to avoid those encounters all-together".

    I consider myself to be a pretty decent killer, and hardly baby -- and I know you didn't mean it that way. However, I get home from work and I don't want a flashlight frenzy, sabo squad of body blockers that don't respect the killer because they have a "fool-proof plan" and the voice coordination necessary to pull it off. Again, SWF players can leverage aspects of voice communication that the normal public player cannot.

    To open that discussion of incentivizing queues, perhaps survivors in solo queue get a bonus to blood points, and killers get a bonus in SWF queues...

    But that doesn't fix the 'blood pressure raising' aspect of SWF queues for me. You can't fix an aspect of the game that is utterly broken in terms of immersion. It's like watching Friday the 13th (the game) and watching the survivors literally beat up Jason because having good timing and weapons against a killer will do that.

    But i dont think its usable because its Hard enough to find a lobby actually. How long will we wait until the criteria of swf steps fits?

    I already actively dodge SWF groups if I can tell its SFW in the lobby. It can be pretty easy to tell. What if adding opt-out improves the chances of keeping a lobby active without a killer dodging? It's pretty easy to tell in some cases when it is a SWF group, and then everyone wasted X amount of time in the queue.

  • TheTimeMachine
    TheTimeMachine Member Posts: 229
         Did you know; They originally didn’t add a mode to play with your friends because the Developers wanted to retain that feeling of uncertainty among the survivors. 
         When I play as a survivor, I still wonder each trial: “Can I trust them?”
         I also never blame a teammate if they decide not to save or help me. It’s their decision.
  • Schadenfroh
    Schadenfroh Member Posts: 5

    The Matchmakingsystem of almost any other game balances this issue by giving the players in a group a higher matchmaking ratio. only dbd does not, afaik.
    Simply give survivorgroups a killer who is some levels above them, and its evened out (as long as the rank system is flawless , of course).
    Alternatively, give killers a bonus on points or shards, so they are not that annoyed because they know they get rewareded for these painful rounds.
    Unfortunately, we can't just vote for swf to be removed, because if they did this, a lot of the playerbase would vanish.

  • jswaro
    jswaro Member Posts: 7

    Unfortunately, we can't just vote for swf to be removed, because if they did this, a lot of the playerbase would vanish.

    I'm not voting for SWF to be removed. I'm asking for the ability to queue with other solo players only.

  • FayeZahara
    FayeZahara Member Posts: 965
    They should show them grouped together by the campfire. That way don't bully a random and also know fighting a SWF
  • jswaro
    jswaro Member Posts: 7

    They should show them grouped together by the campfire. That way don't bully a random and also know fighting a SWF

    I'd be okay with that as a compromise, but I think that would encourage lobby dodging which could be frustrating to SWF and to non-SWF