Should Killer feel like the power role? Does Killer feel like the power role?

LOL

Your fact hits so hard it's not even funny. Why can't nemesis push them away?

in my opinion, this killer should be something that sets the rule for the game from which survivors should play, not the other way around, because killers are the main source of content in this game, the more varied and interesting it is, the better, and whether the survivors die in the match or not , the most important thing is the match itself, and not its result, will the survivor be unhappy if he dies in the fight against an interesting killer, in an interesting match? I don't think.

but at the same time, the survivors, of course, must have a way to defeat the killer, but not too strong. All these divine windows should not exist, generators like what determines the phase of the match (such as 5 generators early, 3 mid 0 late game) should be taken under stricter control, as well as the time spent surviving in the match (there should not be an opportunity to ######### in the first hook and the tunnel is also a problem) so yes.

If you perceive dbd as a party game in which people come primarily for emotions - killers should be done as the side of power, with all not even the most balanced decisions.

this is a terribly controversial answer to a controversial question

I think Killer should have more power than survivors and i believe there should be some sort buff killers get if they are struggling based on gens completed to survivors hooked. This could be speed buff until a certain hook criteria is met or information to assist the killer in maintaining pressure. Currently it seems the way to play is to tunnel the first survivor out immediately to maintain control/pressure.

It's hard to really address the issue without raising more issues though or making one side mad about it but for a fun game i would say they need something to make it so the killer is not down and out after some quick generator completions early on.

I'm with you here, I enjoy to die trying than surviving with no effort. Kinda realized it when I'd go against pre-change Sadako and easily escape them with no real issues or pushback because I knew the matchup and played her a ton as well.

Yes, the killer should be the power role.

And that doesn't mean it should be impossible to escape. Remember the quote from No One Left Behind?

"Yeah, no #########.

But I believe we can outsmart and overthrow him if we work together.

Don't be predictable and selfish!"

Thats it, actually. The survivors should feel like they are in a dangerous situation, from which they can escape only if they work together.

And the killer, well:

"This is my world. And you can't ever leave." — Freddy Krueger

"He stops at nothing."

"Shining in the darkest dark, his eyes pierce the night and sting your soul."

"If you do not stop and catch your breath... she will."

"The night assists me and it's endless here." — The Ghost Face

The killer is the danger, the monster lurking in the fog. It is a role which has to feel threatening. And some people will say this feeling will disappear at some point, some will never feel it, but the game should make an effort to provide it to you.

And that goes beyond the killers themselves, obviously. The scenario and overall atmosphere of the game is also extremely important, something current DBD severely lacks. @Atsuka_Anarchy had a good discussion about this topic recently.

Give me Legion on reworked Coldwind and it is nothing special.

Give me Myers on Old Shelter Woods with a lot of fog and now we're talking!

"If the Killer bias of 60% kill rate were to go away, say down to 50% or lower, would DBD still be DBD?"

The killrate only increased to 60% with update 6.1 (2022). I think it's fine at 60% but yeah, the game would still be DBD as the average killrate was like 51% before that (iirc).

At the end of the day, it's a game and a power "fantasy" will only go as far as your skill takes you. If being the power role means that a person who picks up the game today should be able to have the upper hand as killer against survivors who have played the game for alot longer, then it wouldn't bode well for the health and longevity of the game.

Also the argument seems to come down to kills vs escapes. Alot of people play this game without either in mind. Fun is subjective. Some people find kills that are too easy to be boring, and others find escapes that are too easy to be boring. Your question is very black and white and I don't think there is a proper answer besides the kill rate being at a level that keeps killers satisfied and enables survivors a *chance*, despite the differing goals of whatever team mates they've been matched with.

Depends on many factors. It mostly depends on how good the killer is, and even then if it’s a semi-decent 4 man you certainly won’t be the power role in that situation. It all depends on a lot of factors. I win most of my matches until I actually get a decent 4 man, which then quickly reminds me that killer is FAR from the power role at high level.

the 40/60 is 40 for all survivors correct? swfs and lone survivors? We were never clear on that. Regardless, we'd say the killer can be a threat at 50/50, but we'd say not a big enough threat for the killer.

Why would people play the power role if it doesn’t feel like the power role? Or is the Killer being the power role a misconception?

Playing the “antagonist” is one thing.

Playing the “antagonist” that is set up to lose is just being a clown (Not The Clown Killer)

Every killer in a 1v1 situation with players of equal game experience should be way stronger.

This is my opinion. A chase should not go for more than 1 Gen if the killer doesn't make heavy mistakes.

In regards to the current state of killer is this difficult to say. There is a huge variety in power level amou g killers.

Killers like Nurse or Blight are pretty much always the power role in a trial.

Killers like Trapper, Freddy, Billy and others are always behind. In their matches, they are the underdogs fighting the oppressive opponent.

This is how it is right now in my opinion.

Where's piggy?!

What killers?

As Firellius pointed out it is important what we mean by "power role". Some people use to describe the currently dominant faction when it is the faction that dictates most aspects of the game. OP even tried to attribute this term to a concept which is pure nonsense.

Killer absolutely is the power role. They have the power to remove players from the game. This is a pointless discussion.

The second question can't be answered quite that easy.

If you are playing perkless and addonless Wraith, then you're definitely not the power role. Same thing for most killers (maybe except Nurse?). If you use everything at your disposal and you play against a very capable group of survivors (SWF or solo doesn't matter at that point), that also use the strongest stuff, then you will mostly be the power role in so far, that you will be very oppressive, have a small room for mistakes and have a decent chance to win, if you play relentless. Playing nice more often than not results in a loss, though because you limit your own efficiency to the point where the survivors will outpace you.

This however varies from killer to killer. No matter how good you are as a Trapper, you will not outperform a somewhat decent Blight.

I personally would rank killers and survivors like this:

0) Comp SWFs without any limitations (pretty much unbeatable but never happens)

1) Comp Nurses and Blights with normal comp rules

2) Comp SWFs with normal comp rules

3) Comp killers in general

4) Normal public SWFs, that play to win

5) Normal public killers playing to win

6) Casual SWFs

7) Casual killers

8) Casual solos

9) Meming SWFs

10) Meming killers

Sometimes the lower half can switch around a bit depending on the map.

I think that killers should be the power role overall. In a 1v1 game there doesn't need to be a power role but in a 1v4, you have a group that finds strength in numbers against 1 more or less isolated player. That can lead to easy bullying and takes a lot of the fun away from one side, which in turn leads to longer queue times and possibly less fun for the other as well, when the game is in perfect 50/50 balance. With the killer being a bit stronger (significantly enough to make a noticeable difference but not so much, that playing survivor feels like an automatic loss) the game is in a pretty good state for the most part.

A lot of how DBD feels depends on how you approach the game and your mind set. If you go into it expecting to win every match with no trouble at all, then you're in for a rough time. If you go in and just try your best, knowing that a lot of it still comes down to rng and factors outside of your control, then you'll have a much better time and the game becomes "you-sided".

In my opinion, the power role is the one that wants to win the most. Therefore the one bringing the better stuff.

Any killer with a skilled player dedicated to that killer can be the power role. My Trapper is often in full control of the game, and I consider that power. Same could be said for any killer on the roster. Well, except Freddy. Sorry, @GeneralV :P

I dont wanna be that guy but, please get rid of that habit of using "power role" wrong.

"Few but powerful" vs "weak but numerous". Thats why the sole killer is the power role and survivors is the numbers role. Its a design conceptual term, not even related to the balance.

But for the sake of this discussion, I think its better if the game favors the killer a bit.

Edit:

If we take the targeted average killrate of 60% and assume each survivor gets an equal chance to be killed, that would mean all 4 survivors would each have a 40% chance to win. A killer would get a ~48% chance for a win (community consensus that 3k or 4k are a win)

A 50% escape chance means a 50% chance per sirvivor to win while a killer win happens ~31.25% of the time.

The first seems fairer to me.