Tunneling and Definitions

Blueberry
Blueberry Member Posts: 13,590
edited July 2023 in General Discussions

Curious what everyone considers "tunneling", drop your definitions below.

I'm sure many others have seen this as well, but it seems to be a vast majority of the population that throw around the word "tunneling" towards a killer if simply the same person gets hooked twice in a row, regardless of any circumstance as to why. Someone getting hooked twice in a row isn't "tunneling" by default to me.

To me tunneling is intentionally going after the same person regardless of anything. IE train body blocks in front of you being ignored, slugged people ignored, throwing the game, sitting there at the hook staring at their body waiting for them to come off or die, ect.

What I don't consider tunneling:

  1. You use the built in anti-tunnel to block for the unhooker
  2. You're playing greedy by healing under the hook but the killer comes back and you get punished for the risk
  3. You just happen to run into the killer a second time in a row. I don't expect the killer to just play dumb and ignore you for no reason.

I personally don't even pay attention to how many hooks people have in games as I generally don't plan to tunnel unless it's forced upon me but it's quite wild to watch back games from others perspectives to see how literally everything is tunneling unless you go 1, 1, 1, 1 rotating around the group. As I don't typically pay attention to hook counts on purpose you will run into times you're killing the weaker links faster than others without it even being intentional. For almost never intentionally trying to tunnel someone out it gets said like 25% of matches at least and that's being generous, it's quite wild.

We can get into the whole "tunneling is fine or not fine" thing in another post. I'm just more wanting to hear what y'all consider tunneling and if that matches up with how much I see it said during and right after matches. So whether this is an actual general thought of people or just a people make excuses in the moment through frustration thing.

Comments

  • Blueberry
    Blueberry Member Posts: 13,590

    That's a well thought out response and seems logical. I agree.

    So essentially if they're playing really bad it's almost always going to be tunneling lol.

  • Blueberry
    Blueberry Member Posts: 13,590

    I see what you’re saying. So would you still call it soft tunneling if someone just happened to get hooked twice in a row if we hypothetically assume it was completely unintentional and that survivor just happened to run into the killer again?

  • Pluto_1
    Pluto_1 Member Posts: 337

    I main killer. To me tunneling is a word that survivors use when their game doesn't last long enough. If you don't want to be tunneled then don't give me the opportunity. 😃

  • oreoslurpee
    oreoslurpee Member Posts: 288

    tunneling is simply, having the killer ONLY focus 1 survivor until their out of the match, and possibly keep on doing it to the other survivors as well. if you unhook somebody infront of the killer, and they go after the unhooked survivor, thats tunneling. if they focus the unhookER instead, then its not tunneling.

  • Blueberry
    Blueberry Member Posts: 13,590
    edited July 2023

    Yeah lol. It’s interesting how much their perspectives can get skewed when they don’t see what else was going on in the match but all they are seeing from their gen is that the same person when down twice and just assume.

    I do agree people vastly underestimate how often you go against really good swf at higher mmr. I think it’s usually the people that don’t play killer as much or think they’re high mmr that say this.

  • Brimp
    Brimp Member Posts: 2,957

    I consider it to be tunneling when you literally ignore people going down for their teammate for only you to keep going after their teammate. Simply because it is derived from "tunnel vision".

  • Pluto_1
    Pluto_1 Member Posts: 337

    In my last game I had many many #s in post game chat with the words "tunnel" and "body block" sprinkled in there. I assume they were complimenting me. 😂

  • Pulsar
    Pulsar Member Posts: 20,775

    Yeah.


    It's like if you see the whole Survivor team around hook, obviously you're gonna stay there. Are you camping? Sure, you totally are, but you've got a reason.

    If a Survivor runs into you and just so happens to be hooked twice, it's still tunneling, but you'd be throwing to NOT hook them.

  • Blueberry
    Blueberry Member Posts: 13,590
    edited July 2023

    By that definition like 90% of matches would be deemed tunneling.

    I feel like also 90% of people wouldn't consider that tunneling. Tunneling typically implies some variation depending on the person of focusing just one person and ignoring others, neither of which would be applicable in that scenario.

    It's your definition though so that's fair and that's what I was asking for.

  • Wylrin
    Wylrin Member Posts: 98

    I'm curious, do you guys think there's any distinction between I guess what you could call "accidental/circumstantial" tunneling and soft tunneling? There are times when I play as the killer and I just happen upon the same guy again and again. Whether it's on the survivor for not being able to hide or just on sheer bad luck for them happening to be literally everywhere I'm going, there are games when I don't even intend to find the same people. They just keep bumping into me.

    My killer playstyle is generally more relaxed in that I tend to go for whoever's most convenient to go for. Number of hooks doesn't matter nearly as much as me just happening to spot someone close or out in the open. So to me, it's kind of weird to associate the term tunnel with just going for the survivor right in front of you, regardless of whether that survivor has been hooked before or not. But maybe the community has just demonized the word tunnel and it's less about intent and more just the results.

    But I don't know. What do you guys think? :)

  • Nebula
    Nebula Member Posts: 1,396

    Tunneling to me is when the killer 3 hooks an individual without more than 1 hook on any other survivor. I know some others only consider it tunneling if you repeatedly only chase the same survivor and ignore everything else, but if you’re at 4 hooks and have somebody dead already, that’s definitely tunneling in my book.

    Not saying this is like egregious or anything or against the “rule book”, play how you want, but don’t be surprised when people get salty about it.

  • Unknown2765
    Unknown2765 Member Posts: 2,403

    The current state of the game (sadly) makes so a lot of killers feel they need to get 1 survivor out of the game as fast as possible. As a former killer main, i understand what this is comming from (i still hate when im the choosen one).

    Im not sure if that really qualifies as tunneling anymore or if thats just normal gameplay, forced by the current gen repair time. (in the past i would have called it tunneling).


    If that keeps going on with the next survivor, i would sure call it tunneling, also if the unhooked survivor goes ouf of their way to body block the killer, they are asking for another hook, and i think they are fair game.

  • Blueberry
    Blueberry Member Posts: 13,590

    Yeah I'd say if no one died till hook 5 then it wasn't tunneling since you got 2 other hooks on different people. Before 5 it's probably tunneling.

  • Pulsar
    Pulsar Member Posts: 20,775

    Yeah, it'd probably be a high percentage of matches.

    Like I said, it's not really your fault if that's the case.

  • feechima
    feechima Member Posts: 914

    Tunneling to me is when you ignore all opportunities to chase or hook other survivors to exclusively take someone out of the game.

    I'll preface this to say I think it is fine end game. You should try to secure a kill by chasing the one on death hook. Nothing else to do.

    I've seen these instances that I would say is tunneling.

    Camping first hook and then trying to down right off hook the same survivor EVEN when the other survivor(s) are injured and/or downed.

    Pretending to patrol and chase but the minute the unhook happens dropping chase to return to hook just to chase an unhooked survivor.

    Actively wasting time looking for the just unhooked survivor while ignoring all others injured or on gens, etc.

    Is this fine to do? Yes. Do what you want.

    Does this feel good to the person you're doing it to? Switch places and find out.

  • mizark3
    mizark3 Member Posts: 2,253

    Tunneling is anytime a Survivor is hit (with the intent to rehook, not merely slug for pressure) post-hook without doing a Conspicuous Action. (Although personally I would alter the in-game CA definition to exclude self healing, but include 16s out of chase after healing being completed on you to healthy, so that once you are fully healed you are fair game again, but accidentally tapping RMB or being picked up from slugged doesn't condemn you to death. The delay after being fully healed is in case of the Killer waiting for healing to intentionally tunnel, but also For the People/Autodidact usage that you have no control over.)

    In an example hooked Survivor A is unhooked, slugged for pressure, and unhooking Survivor B is chased and hooked. Survivor C picks up Survivor A, then Survivor A is redowned and hooked. In this case I consider Survivor A to be tunneled. If the Killer went for Survivor C instead, then Survivor A would not have been tunneled (in the foreseeable future).

    The 'ok' argument for me would be the 'bodyblock for unhooker' or endgame (all gens completed). It still is technically tunneling in those cases, but they asked to be hit and chased in the first camp, and the killer has nothing better to do in the second.

  • DemonDaddy
    DemonDaddy Member Posts: 4,167

    I've come to the conclusion that tunneling just doesn't exist. If I'm playing survivor and in a compromised situation that presents an advantage for the killer, that's it, I'm simply the best opportunity to apply pressure. Straight off the hook, I'm most likely the best opportunity to advance towards a kill.

    Ignoring a prime opportunity is only a disadvantage that good survivors punish.

  • LordGlint
    LordGlint Member Posts: 8,457

    It's weird how the term has changed. Originally it was told to killers with good intentions rather than to shame. Killers getting tunnel vision didn't even have to do with chasing off hook, but rather staying in a chase for an extended amount of time. We've all seen those YouTube videos with click bait titles like "lead killer on 5 gen chase". The killers in those videos should've broke chase and not gotten tunnel vision on what was infront of them.


    Now however, it's the act of disproportionately chasing 1 survivor over their teammates with the intention of removing them from the game ASAP. Unfortunately since survivors don't usually see the entire picture, they might assume they are being tunneled out of the game, when in reality... their teammates are just better at not going down. This can be due to being better at stealth or better at chases.

  • Nomade
    Nomade Unconfirmed, Member Posts: 46
    edited July 2023

    I mean its pretty obvious. Tunneling means you deliberately pick a player and focus on hooking them over and over to remove them from the match as quickly as possible. I do not consider it to be tunneling if the same survivor makes repeated serious mistakes over and over leading to them getting downed repeatedly. If I down and hook you repeatedly because you are returning to the same gen not even 10 seconds after I hook you and leave the area to look for someone else for instance then you deserve to lose the match.

  • Kaitsja
    Kaitsja Member Posts: 1,833

    Tunneling is deliberately targeting the same survivor after they've been unhooked. It isn't tunneling if you've hooked someone else in-between. Likewise it isn't tunneling if they deliberately bodyblock you or try to blind you.

  • Nazzzak
    Nazzzak Member Posts: 5,551
    edited July 2023

    Just tunnel vision on one survivor. There's been a handful of instances over the years where I've been what i consider hard tunnelled, which is what I use to describe when the killer is even walking right past other survivors sitting on gens or doing whatever, just trying to find me. That's how hard their tunnel vision is. But those times have been crazy rare.

  • Xyvielia
    Xyvielia Member Posts: 2,415

    Chasing down a survivor to their hooking. Then proxying near the hook, promptly returning upon unhook, and chasing, downing and doublehooking that same survivor, etc., as though they’re the only one in the match; setting up the 3v1.

    I don’t play that way.

    No Survivor gets hooked consecutively.

    I’ll chase down any others before returning to those immediately, previously hooked; Even if, and especially if, it means getting looped extensively by an experienced player; Just betters my gameplay.

    I know, and do understand that Devs have green lighted Tunneling; It’s a kill rate boosting aid.

    I believe they’re not all for it.

    While it is helpful (easier) to secure a kill for newer players, at more experienced levels it just feels petty and unnecessary.

    I find it to be aggravating as Survivor to be multi-consec-hook tunneled.

    As killer, tunneling (imo, imo) displays weakness in decision making, as a strong case can be made for that the strategy lessens one’s character and attempts to prove lackadaisical concerning one’s skillset.

    I’ve tunneled before and felt overpowered, from a bullying standpoint, and simultaneously, oddly pathetic; Like I could be better at the game w/o such extreme 4K “crutchability.” I’m cool w getting a 2K w/o Tunneling. Feels better. Makes the 3/4K’s more justified and rewarding.

    0/1K’s happen, that’s DBD. I, personally, don’t employ Tunneling as avoidance of that L; I’ll take it and move on.

    …and that’s just me, I’m just not into it. Weird maybz, idk… But if ppl choose to play that way, it’s all good, I have 0 qualms w them.

    I do wonder tho, how Tunneling would be perceived by this community should, one day, the Devs come out to abnegate it from being a healthy, acceptable strat.

  • THE_Crazy_Hyena
    THE_Crazy_Hyena Member Posts: 345

    For me, true tunneling is focusing one person constantly, by proxycamoing the hook (even first state with 5 gens), and then proceed to only go for the unhooked survivor after that. I find this behavior particularly disgusting.

    Happened to me on the final day of the event. Some bastard playing Hag decided to be a complete douche.

  • JustAnotherNewbie
    JustAnotherNewbie Member Posts: 1,941

    To me it's focusing on the survivor you hooked and ignoring the rest. Meaning ignoring the unhooker, dropping the chase you were on as soon as the survivor you hooked gets unhooked. Downing survivors trying to body block and still chasing your target.


    I don't care if it's advantegeous or not, that is tunneling. Focusing on taking out one survivor can be in your detriment or it can lead to a 3-4k. Doesn't matter, the fact that you're focusing on that one survivor means it's tunneling, not whether it's a good or bad decision based on the circumstances.