Does BHVR seem to be moving towards gen blocking as slowdown?
Looking at the discussion around the PTB changes (I'm on PS5, so I couldn't participate), and it seems like the main thing everyone's concerned about, self included, is the 8 "regression events" limit. While it seems like bad news for perks like Eruption, the simultaneous mega-buff to Grim Embrace got me thinking, does it seem like BHVR is looking to use gen blocking instead of regression as slowdown from now on?
Even before this PTB, gen blocking has been becoming more prominent within the killer meta. Corrupt Intervention got a single nerf in the great perk rework a couple years back, but has remained a dominant killer perk, and for good reason. Deadlock has been meta since it came out, and it's never been nerfed. DMS is a highly synergistic perk, working with Pain Res, Ultimate Weapon, Doctor in general, etc. Merciless Storm is incredibly popular, and surprisingly effective. Thrilling Tremors... exists, although I feel like that's more of an info perk. Now, on top of all this, Grim Embrace works 4 times a match.
Coupled with the new limit on regression, it seems like BHVR is shifting their approach to killer slowdown to favor blocking gens instead of kicking them. The large regression like Pop and Pain Res will still be very effective, while perks like Eruption, COB, and Overcharge are going to be hit hardest. While we haven't seen the live patch notes, in its current state, killer slowdown seems like it will solidly favor big regression coupled with gen blocking.
Typically, the gen blocking perks have more passive triggers than gen regression perks (Surge aside) and seem to work a bit more consistently. Sometimes it feels like you Pop a gen and then they finish it 30 seconds later anyway. The survivors have no counter to blocking gens, so you know for sure that time on a blocked gen is time they aren't repairing it. We'll probably only know as time goes on and they release more new killer perks.
With all this in mind, does gen blocking seem like a better approach to slowdown?
Comments
-
I did already kick gens is highly ineffective while block give more time.
2 -
Me too! 😂
Kicking gens is mostly a tremendous waste of time. My builds these days often mix a heavy gen regression perk like Pop or Pain Res with blocking perks like DMS or Deadlock. Most of the "best builds" I come across seem to do this too.
0 -
Yeah, seems like. I was thinking about it the other day. Resilience will probably drop in popularity since being knocked off gens will give survivors time to heal each other. Also doing totems to kill time will probably see totem perks become more popular among survivors, I predict CoH will be alot more popular again.
0 -
I think any reduction in time spend idly hitting random skill checks is a good thing. Nothing worse than a couple Pain Res procs on the same gen you're working on. I think they need to be a bit careful about the stacking of gen blocking if they're moving forward with it. There's nothing else for a survivor to do if they're not in chase outside of healing. It would be extremely dull to have a Grim Embrace block followed by a DMS block followed by a Deadlock block, or any other combo they create going forward. I think one of the big pain points of the game is trial pacing and feeling like you're progressing the game in a meaningful way. 7-10 minutes is the sweet spot.
5 -
People will complain about gen blocking meta and it will get nerfed.
Don’t even need a soothsayer to confirm this
3 -
That reworked Grim embrace will be like a mini eruption if they leave it as is. It's even more effective when paired with dms and pain res.
1 -
I'd argue using multiple perks to create a scenario like old eruption wouldn't be 'mini' at all.
2 -
There should definitely be a move away from stacking multiple heavy regression perks, in favour of more varied slowdown mechanics.
Gen blocking is great because it can be strong, but also can't really stack. A gen that's already blocked doesn't get 'double blocked'.
Then you have Hexes that get survivors cleansing, and things like Mangled/Haemorrhage/Franklins for dealing with items and healing.
The 8 regression event limit is great in that respect, it's almost like a Exhaustion equivalent for regression perks. There's no use bringing Pain Res, Surge, Eruption and Pop all at once because you'll overuse them.
1 -
That's an interesting perspective that I hadn't thought of. I've definitely noticed an uptick in killer "builds" lately that are really just the 3 or 4 best gen regression perks. Spreading slowdown across more effects by creating an "exhaustion" for gen regression will probably contribute to better build diversity. Perk builds have historically been important to keeping the game fresh, so encouraging killers to take perks that aren't just gen regression perks is probably best for overall game health. After all, survivors are able to bring wacky, off-meta builds that still do great because they're part of a team. That keeps survivor fun. I think killer can be made significantly more fun if we are incentivized to try new perk combinations.
1 -
DMS is awful unless paired with pain res or running some specific meme build, and even then its just objectively worse than deadlock. Merciless is completely useless and if you are getting any value out it then you are playing against low skill survivors.
However, you aren't wrong about gen blocking becoming the new way to deal with things.
It is likely though that the new "meta" build will be.
Corrupt Intervention + Grim Embrace + DMS (if they don't nerf the DMS/Grim embrace synergy/deadlock if they do) + flex (probably nowhere to hide or some other tracking perk).
0
