We have temporarily disabled The Houndmaster (Bone Chill Event queue) and Baermar Uraz's Ugly Sweater Cosmetic (all queues) due to issues affecting gameplay.

Visit the Kill Switch Master List for more information on these and other current known issues: https://forums.bhvr.com/dead-by-daylight/kb/articles/299-kill-switch-master-list
The Dead by Daylight team would like your feedback in a Player Satisfaction survey.

We encourage you to be as honest as possible in letting us know how you feel about the game. The information and answers provided are anonymous, not shared with any third-party, and will not be used for purposes other than survey analysis.

Access the survey HERE!

I played Skull Merchant for 2 days straight and surprised myself

edgarpoop
edgarpoop Member Posts: 8,444
in General Discussions

I decided to really give Skull Merchant an earnest try. I've been very opinionated about her but realized I never put a lot of time into actually playing her myself. And Pinhead is killswitched so I didn't really feel like playing anything else. I figured "know thy enemy", and maybe I'd learn something.

My build has been Corrupt/Brutal/Bamboozle/Coup de Grace. I haven't lost yet, and....I actually enjoy playing her. And I think I've been too harsh on the killer as a whole.

But I don't play a 3 gen forever style, and I think that's the kicker with this killer. I could absolutely load up on 4 slowdowns, play around a 3 gen, and win that way. It would be much easier than playing a chase-oriented style and using drones just to get claw traps to augment tracking+chase. The easiest way to play her is horrendous for game health. And while it is fun to essentially be a rocket M1 killer with haste+Coup de Grace, it takes a ton of micromanaging.

I don't know that she needs a wholesale rework anymore. Making claw traps more prevalent and drones less repetitive might be enough to fix her.

But more important than any of that: play the killers you hate facing. Give them an honest chance and learn them. 3 gen Skull Merchant is still awful, but I genuinely softened my stance on the killer after giving them 20 games or so.

Comments

  • Rulebreaker
    Rulebreaker Member Posts: 2,100

    Its nice to see others finally playing SM different than the typical. Cheers to hoping others learn to play her different as well.

  • Bartlaus
    Bartlaus Member Posts: 1,027

    You hav got the first Vote Up. Im afraid it could be the last :( I wish more people would giv her a try without celebrating this boring hardcore 3 gen playstyle.

  • Pulsar
    Pulsar Member Posts: 20,906

    Considering how intricately you seem to know the game, I am not surprised you've won all your games. Even if we disagree, you've never struck me as someone who doesn't know how to play the game at a very high level, probably higher than me.


    I think, unfortunately for SM mains, she's rather like Bubba. Yes, it is possible to play a different style of SM. Is it viable? If you're a good player, anything is viable. However, her strongest strategy is so easy and intricately tied into her Kit that it is likely impossible to separate the two without gimping the character massively, once again, like Bubba.

  • Xernoton
    Xernoton Member Posts: 5,884

    Yeah, I think I'll pass. I played her like 5 times for archives and I'll happily ignore this killer's existence until her inevitable rework. To me she was neither fun nor interesting. It felt like I could just turn off my brain and play on autopilot and while that might be fun and interesting for some, I was bored to hell.

    Also, I get triggered by the sound of her drones. Don't know why but for some reason this sound alone is enough for me to despise her.

  • Nazzzak
    Nazzzak Member Posts: 5,843

    I give every SM I come across a chance to play the game beyond setting themselves up in one corner of the map. Literally only ONE didn't play the 3 gen game. So yeah, I know she's capable of being used outside of that gameplay. But try convincing the majority of SM players of that. They don't care. I've had many tell me they enjoy long games and survivors should be forced to endure them too.

  • jesterkind
    jesterkind Member Posts: 7,959

    Fully agreed. Skull Merchant has a fun and interesting kit that, with changes, could be one of the most versatile and strategic powers in the game.

    I'm glad you gave her a shot! She's a lot of fun. I'd also recommend playing a hyper-aggressive trap playstyle by chasing survivors into drones you set earlier, and equipping Enduring + Spirit Fury to disrespect pallets. With the right addons (sadly all purples), it's surprisingly effective.