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Skull Merchant and unavoidable hits.

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Comments

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 10,383

    But the same thing goes for every other killer. It isn't exclusive to SM.

  • Nebula
    Nebula Member Posts: 1,396

    Perks not withstanding Nurse is the only other killer I can think of that would get a hit like this after being stunned in this scenario.

  • aurororora
    aurororora Member Posts: 1

    I don't know if it's been covered in here yet, but I wanted to just stop by and say (since I've seen a lot of debate in this thread about why crouching matters).


    If you pay attention to a drone, and the color of its scanners you'll notice one of two things.

    1. When standing, the drone while in its FOV is emitting yellow/orangeish scanners. That means it can see you. It's true that even if it can see you, walking or standing protects you, but the second you sprint in the counter direction of the scan the drone will mark you with 1/3 of the scans necessary to take a health state.
    2. When crouching, the drone while in its FOV is emitting white/clearish scanners. This is an indication to the Skull Merchant that a survivor is IN the FOV of the drone (if they're paying attention), however while the scanners are white it CANNOT scan you, and does not see you. This change was implemented to allow survivors to do generators while inside of the drone FOV without adding charges to your 3 scans.

    I hope that helps! ^^

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 10,383

    No need for the harsh response, mate.

    But either way, the video shows a play made around a dangerous pallet. If the killer was Huntress or Deathslinger, the outcome would most likely be the same.

    Getting a hit on that scenario isn't something that only Skull Merchant can do.

  • mikewelk
    mikewelk Member Posts: 1,669
    edited March 10

    No need for the "hate train" comments either, people's opinions are worth more than that. I mean how do I tell you kindly to watch a clip instead of assuming everything based off of a literal thumbnail whilst you're just blindly defending Skull Merchant?

  • mikewelk
    mikewelk Member Posts: 1,669

    Plague comparisons came out of the blue and now SM defenders are making Plague seem overpowered and way better than Merchant, even claiming Plague has the best power state in the game.

  • mikewelk
    mikewelk Member Posts: 1,669

    Well apparently placing drones strategically takes a ton of skill and survivors just don't understand the thought process.

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 10,383

    But I have not used it to dismiss your post, or anyone else's posts on this thread.

    It is a fact that a "hate train" against Skull Merchant exists, because of her problematic release. The same thing happened with Legion years ago. And because of that, a scenario where multiple killers would have gotten a hit gets far more attention, simply because the killer is Skull Merchant.

    The assumption that I haven't even watched the video is also wrong. I watched it then gave my opinion about it. It is the whole point of this thread, is it not? I am just participating in the discussion you've proposed, so I don't think a harsh response was warranted.

  • jesterkind
    jesterkind Member Posts: 7,607

    Sure? The beam is a weapon, and weapons typically take health states.

  • mikewelk
    mikewelk Member Posts: 1,669

    You're describing everyone's opinion if they don't like Skull Merchant as a simple hate train. You've done it on basically most discussions, stating that with time it'll be fine. You have complete disregard for people's opinions and think it's just a trend of some sort. Sure, some might be on a hate train of some sort, but it's not everyone as you describe it to be.


    You didn't watch the video. You said that going to an extremely unsafe pallet caused her to get hit, these are both false assumptions based on the thumbnail because it wasn't the tile that got her injured, nor was she hit - the drone got her. She actually pallet stunned the killer so any discussion regarding the unsafe tile causing the drone to get her doesn't really work.

  • mikewelk
    mikewelk Member Posts: 1,669

    What's fun about Merchant games if you don't mind me asking?

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 10,383

    I only have 42 comments talking about Skull Merchant, 43 after this one is posted. None of them ever dismisses someone else's opinion as a hate train, nor have I ever accused anyone of being part of said train.

    Same as you, I acknowledge that it does exist. And I do believe it will dissipate with time, because this is being based on the experience we've had with Legion, but the proper feedback will remain. There are no dismissals on my comments, there never have been.

    You didn't watch the video.

    If there are any dismissals in this discussion, here it is. I can record my screen with the video playing in its entirety if you want me to.

    The fact that the tile is unsafe matters because it means different killers could have gotten a hit there. The Skull Merchant eats the stun, but the drone gets Meg. A Huntress, for instance, could have respected the pallet and get Meg while she was locked in the animation. Deathslinger would have just shot her at the spot.

    Meg had already been scanned twice, and we don't know how those scans happened.

    That doesn't mean the killer is perfectly fine as she is, or that she has no need for changes, I just think this video in particular has other aspects that need to be taken into consideration when used as an argument.

  • Reinami
    Reinami Member Posts: 5,431

    But that's where we disagree. Not every thing in the entire game needs to have some complicated mechanical skill. Sometimes, it is ok for things to be simple and require strategic skill. The SM there has tons of things to consider.


    • Can the drone actually scan the survivor in the spot they are in or are there abunch of LOS blockers
    • Do i even have a drone or did i use them all, if i used them all i have to spend time calling one back, and by the time i turn around and do it, the survivor might run away while i'm not paying attention.
    • Again you keep missing the point, you have to scan them 3 times, its not just a passive "guaranteed scan" so you still have to work at it.
    • The survivor has to mess up multiple times to get in this state, why are you ignoring that fact?


    And lastly, with your logic there, there are many killers here that you would see the same way, do you see the same for:

    • Trapper just puts down a trap and doesn't have to aim anything. Its passive
    • Wraith doesn't have to aim anything, he just gets free stealth
    • Myers doesn't have to aim anything, he can just instadown you without needing any mechanical skill
    • Hag doesn't aim anything, she puts down traps and survivors just run into them and she hits them for it, no skill there
    • Bubba doesn't aim anything, he just insta downs you with his saw while running.
    • Pig doesn't aim anything, she just dashes forward quickly.
    • Spirit doesn't aim anything, she just goes invisible and runs really fast no skill there
    • Legion doesn't aim anything you just are injured for free, no skill there.


    I could go on but you get my point, there are many killers in the game where they aren't about some hefty MECHANICAL skill. STRATEGIC skill is still a valid way to have the game work and create interesting killers around. If you want something with heavy mechanical skill you are playing the wrong game. You probably want an FPS or something, probably something like CoD where its about twitch reflexes and aiming rather than something a bit more on the strategic side like said CS2.

  • edgarpoop
    edgarpoop Member Posts: 8,187

    Ok. A passive power that requires little to no input from the player and damages the opponent. It could be a beam, a banana peel, a bowl of ice cream, or anything really. Point being, it requires literally no skilled input from the killer to benefit.

  • WolfyWood
    WolfyWood Member Posts: 445

    Almost 130 responses for such a simple conclusion that SM has bad design.


    We're never making it out of the trenches are we?

  • jesterkind
    jesterkind Member Posts: 7,607

    Well, that's not true. You need to know positioning, timing, and even a little bit of aim.

    I think people kind of get duped into thinking Skull Merchant's drones require no kind of skill because they keep seeing survivors who stalwartly refuse to counter them, and any power looks kind of skill-less if the opponent is just running into it over and over. If you're going against survivors who put literally any effort into avoiding beams - and please note I'm not invoking the mythical "good survivor" here, this doesn't take much skill on the survivor side either - it becomes a lot harder to benefit from the drones in an actually passive way.

    You have to start, y'know, actively using them. Picking the right spots, chasing in the right direction, maybe making use of the active rotation-switch ability.

    They only passively injure with no input from the killer if the survivor lets them in 99% of cases. Otherwise, both killer and survivor are exercising their skill in trying to play around the beams.

  • jesterkind
    jesterkind Member Posts: 7,607

    130 responses in which some people are trying to point out the evidence provided doesn't support the claim being made.

  • WolfyWood
    WolfyWood Member Posts: 445

    Its futile but I'll bite anyways.


    Why does the clip matter when the killer is just poorly designed anyways?


    Like there's so much scrutiny being applied to what is essentially a drop in an endless sea of moments where SM proves she is not well put together.

  • jesterkind
    jesterkind Member Posts: 7,607

    Because that's what this thread is about?

    Counter arguments to any other point about why this killer is poorly designed would be seen in threads where those points are the ones being made.

    This thread is about a specific argument, and that specific argument is wrong.

  • WolfyWood
    WolfyWood Member Posts: 445

    I don't think its wrong, the drones should not injure you under any circumstance, they should simply provide info/boost the killer in chase and that's it. I don't have anything else to add that hasn't been said already however, so I'll see myself out.

    Chalk it up to me having no counterargument. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  • solarjin1
    solarjin1 Member Posts: 1,990

    💐

  • Ayodam
    Ayodam Member Posts: 2,811

    I like figuring out different strategies to overcome her. It’s exhilarating to pull off escapes again her.

  • Bloodwebs
    Bloodwebs Member Posts: 273

    The most liked comment. Yes, would love another rework for her please. Every single sm post people are complaining about her being a killer

  • Alice_pbg
    Alice_pbg Member Posts: 6,556

    wah wah Skull Merchant wah...


    good job trying to mindgame a terrible pallet that almost every killer can get a hit in...

  • Ricardo170373
    Ricardo170373 Member Posts: 683

    Just give up. When i hear her TR i immediately kill my self in the firt opportunitty. I refuse to play against this killer. This killer has a ZERO skill to play as, like that, absolutelly unsafe pallet and, just put a drone, and? Hit... I dont try do nothing against her, i just seat and wait for a hook to kill myself. Im waiting anxsually to a complete rework on her

  • UndeddJester
    UndeddJester Member Posts: 2,890

    Yeah, I'm not a Skull Merchant hater myself, but objectively speaking there are still problems with her kit due to the lack of counter play. 1 of the big issues affecting Meg here is there is no way to remove a stack once she has it, so having 2 at the start of this clip kinda meant she was a done deal no matter what happened....


    I'd be interested in your thoughts on my proposed rework:

    I doubt it'd make her a popular killer, but the hope is to remove some of the more annoying interactions of her kit and at least give Survivors something they could do.

  • Alice_pbg
    Alice_pbg Member Posts: 6,556

    she can keep track of the lines and crouch for a bit to avoid it. she had the distance for it. she can also stand still while it passes, but it's better to crouch there.

    also why try to mindgame this pallet at all here? just a bad idea against a good killer.


    the other 2 stacks were maybe avoidable too. maybe even more easily.


    the killer is using their power, you gotta give something up, be it distance, resources or the hit. it's normal stuff. if trapper or hag had a trap, she would need to go around it. if there were projectiles, she would need to dodge, etc etc...

    you can't always just run forward

  • Phasmamain
    Phasmamain Member Posts: 11,531

    What killer with a chase power can't get a free injure here? Knight, Clown, Plague, Nurse, Blight, Artist and Chucky are all examples of killers who could get free hits at this pallet

    And not to Mention EVERY M1 KILLER WITH EVEN A MOODICUM OF SKILL COULD GET AN EASY HIT HERE

  • Aven_Fallen
    Aven_Fallen Member Posts: 16,045
    edited March 12

    Except that this Skull Merchant was so bad that she did not even get a hit in there. But got a Hit, because she is so poorly designed.

    You can wah wah as much as you like, but this does not change the fact that a bad Killer got a free hit.

  • UndeddJester
    UndeddJester Member Posts: 2,890

    I mean, I get that, but the precision required from the survivor vs. Skull Merchant is very mismatched. I could explain, but I dont have to, you can see the difference in skill required to win this exchange. We can see this Skull Merchant gets completely outplayed, and yet the Meg has to land pinpoint precision actions to get away clean.

    I like playing Skull Merchant, but it does feel very lazy to play her. She has skill expression I'm her kit, but there isn't really a need to use it most of the time, because of the relative difficulty for survivors vs. SM is pretty insane in her favour.

    I posted my rework suggestion to offer some alternative methods of mediating the skill difference, and actually allow good survivors to outplay SM a little more, and make her have to actually work for hits and downs.