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I think it’s time to scrap Lights Out as a concept

It’s not fun. The only reason I’m playing it is to complete the event tome. Plenty of killer powers are not even remotely balanced for this mode like Legion, Ghostface, Dredge and Myers.

I absolutely loved 2v8 and Chaos Shuffle. Even My Little Oni was fun for a few days.

Please stop wasting dev time and resources working on Lights Out.

Comments

  • humanbeing1704
    humanbeing1704 Member Posts: 8,999
    edited September 13

    I feel like they could do a proper side stealth gameplay mode but doing it this way just doesn’t work tbh

  • GonnaBlameTheMovies
    GonnaBlameTheMovies Member Posts: 682
    edited September 13

    This mode is kinda less fun than the first iteration. And it's because none of the issues of last time were fixed while you added one big new one - now SWFs can just abuse the free 20% basekit speed super easily and finish rounds in five seconds which feels terrible as Killer. Endurance and the AFC are actually just fine and I have no issues with them. They're just easily played around and ignored period.

    Survivors get a massive beacon from the Candelabras, so you're better off not using them at all. They do nothing but tell Killer where you are and it's just a liability to use them at all, plus once they are gone they are gone with no guarantee of more except luck, so they're not even that useful and a smart Killer will always just scrap them - leaving you as blind as before in the first iteration. Also you can play around them being broken at all by just dropping them, which means this meant to be limited resource isn't even that limited and the intended way to use them is a liability.

    Fix tracking in this mode. Buff it for Killer like you did for Survivor. Scrap the ability for Candelabras, which are fine enough, to blind the Killer to gen auras - period, it's not needed and it does absolutely nothing if the Killer has ears. It's about as helpful as Blast Mine without any of the actual fun of Blast Mine. Instead, make it so Candelabras highlight OTHER things like vaults or pallets, and make them breakable when they fall on the floor or are put down/dropped, there's NO reason they need to be unbreakable on the ground but breakable on gens, that makes no logical sense. And just entirely get rid of the absolutely dumb unnecessary 20% speed buff to repairs you gave Survivors for no reason; being genrushed while you can't find anyone and fumble in the dark is absolutely zero fun and this change was entirely not needed.

  • SkeletonDance
    SkeletonDance Member Posts: 341

    Yes, please. Never ever this mode again 😣

    I would prefer if the devs would just focus on improving 2v8

  • SkeletonDance
    SkeletonDance Member Posts: 341

    I thought at first that it was a fake with photoshop, but no it's real 😂

  • tjt85
    tjt85 Member Posts: 955

    Would it be possible to disable the Killer Instinct mechanic for this modifier? I think that would help make the experience feel a bit fairer for Survivors (but scrap the gen speed boost to compensate). Otherwise, I don't think there will be much appeal to the mode beyond playing as an info Killer or being in a SWF.

    I know players have complained about Legion the most, but other Killers can be a problem too because they have an info component to their powers (albeit to a lesser extent). Wesker, Demo, Vecna, The Twins, Xeno. Even Dracula, although he can only track blood in Wolf mode and it's maybe not as strong an effect.

    Of course, Legion would be incredibly weak in this mode if they did so, but it might be preferable to giving them the Freddy treatment. Maybe some Killers could even get new powers for the modifier, like giving Legion the ability to down an injured Survivor with their power. That said, it could be a lot of work to implement all these changes and I'm still not sure there would be a game mode worth playing in the end.

  • mecca
    mecca Member Posts: 326

    Its obvious some people like Lights Out and I think it is good they change things like adding the candelabras, giving survivors extended endurance after an unhook. Usually I am very critical of the devs but they deserve credit for keeping the game fresh with different modes. I'm definitely not a programmer but I assume they have these modes saved and they can bring these back throughout the year.

  • Ayodam
    Ayodam Member Posts: 3,122

    Oni, Doctor, and Spirit as well are problematic for similar reasons in this mode.

    I think not every killer can work for every mode and that has to be OK. Several killers shouldn’t appear in this mode as they circumvent the restrictions and spirit of the modifier.

  • Dreamnomad
    Dreamnomad Member Posts: 3,949

    It's always optional. You don't have to play it. Unlike 2v8 that had a distinct effect on normal game mode, you can still get games in a reasonable time period on regular with Lights Out. I think with a few tweaks like letting us bring bloodpoint only offerings would go a long way.

  • tjt85
    tjt85 Member Posts: 955
    edited September 13

    On the plus side, that Yui could've used her flashlight as, well, an actual flashlight (although the Killer would see it a mile away if they were looking).

    That was one of he few things I liked about the mode first time around: using a flashlight at an open exit gate as a kind of bat signal for the other Survivors. I can't do saves, so it's the only successful use I've ever found for the flashlights in this game.

  • Royval
    Royval Member Posts: 733

    we need that og dbd mode asap

  • baharuto48
    baharuto48 Member Posts: 123
    edited September 13

    The devs must hate survivor players.

  • baharuto48
    baharuto48 Member Posts: 123

    OMG. I can't do anything as survivor unless the killer memes. I just want the challenges they locked into this mode.

  • baharuto48
    baharuto48 Member Posts: 123

  • Aven_Fallen
    Aven_Fallen Member Posts: 16,275

    Yeah, also not a big fan of the new Lights Out. I would also agree that Dredge should not be allowed in this mode, I played against them once and it was not pleasant at all. You are basically blind during Nightfall - Nightfall on its own is already very dark, the Lights Out-Mode on its own as well. But both are overkill.

    I will just play as much to complete the Tome, but I guess, if tehy bring Lights Out back afterwards, I will simply not care and dont play it at all. It is just not fun, regardless which side I play.

    However, I have to give them credit. The changes they did were very good, the 20% Repair Speed Increase was overkill, but the rest was totally fine and good. I just think that the general concept of the mode is just too boring.

  • TMCalypso
    TMCalypso Member Posts: 336

    Isn't the dredge thing just a glitch? I don't remember it doing that the first time around. Then again, my memory is quite bad so…

  • Nazzzak
    Nazzzak Member Posts: 5,657

    I'm getting alot of Doctors which is wild since o rarely see them in regular games lol amazingly enough I haven't had a Legion or Dredge yet but have had a couple Myers. I've almost finished the Tome anyway so will be going back to regular mode. This Lights Out is definitely more tolerable than the last but still not my favourite mode.

  • humanbeing1704
    humanbeing1704 Member Posts: 8,999

    after playing a bit more I seriously don’t understand why they disabled hud icons going back to old dead by daylight for a side mode wasnt a good idea

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  • kit_mason
    kit_mason Member Posts: 290

    I genuinely don't think I can make it through the tome, even. 100k bp twice in the killer only, non-drac-owning track feels worse than the three iri unbroken archive.

    at least chaos shuffle's in a week and a half.

  • Royval
    Royval Member Posts: 733
  • RpTheHotrod
    RpTheHotrod Member Posts: 1,929
    edited September 14

    I love the idea of lights out, but I think the visibility distance needs to be doubled (or have holding up a candle cause it to be doubled - it would be cool to have someone designated as a lookout who stands with a candle up high while the others work on the gen). It's bit too claustrophobic and allows killers to get way too much of a jump on someone. At the moment, the optimal play is to just hide until you see someone is being chased, THEN touch gens…the moment the chase icon stops, everyone hides again. Not very engaging.

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 11,281

    And if they aren't, they can choose not to play it.

    Everyone wins.

  • bazarama
    bazarama Member Posts: 261

    Played 2 games and 3k with ghostface zero k with onryo.

    Neither was fun.

    Same map too.

    I like different modes but this just seems a bit off.

    Not for me.

  • Dustin
    Dustin Member Posts: 2,306

    Lights Out seems like a gamemode where they should just tailor one killer and a set of abilities to it similar to how they balanced some killers specifically for 2v8.

    Although I admit it seems like too much work and I kind of agree with everyone they should stop working on it even though I like the gamemode.

  • Aven_Fallen
    Aven_Fallen Member Posts: 16,275

    You can see the HUD somewhat when using a candle. You dont see the Progress, but you see what the Survivor is doing.

    But IMO the worst thing is that you dont have a Recovery Bar. They got rid of all Progress Bars, but I think they should have kept the Recovery Bar. It is janky anyway and sometimes you might not recover, but not having any Feedback is strange, especially since you dont get any Feedback if you are fully recovered. (Yes, I know that you see the "Recover"-option when you are not Recovering, but still…)

  • MrT1412
    MrT1412 Member Posts: 111

    It's just way too dark. I wish they made some custom darker lighting setups for some maps and then just had no TR or scratch marks. It would at least be better than what we have now.

  • brokedownpalace
    brokedownpalace Member Posts: 8,804

    I’m aware it’s optional. This has nothing to do with queue times. My issue is I think the devs are wasting time and resources on this mode, just like they are wasting time and resources on constantly having to rework poorly designed killers. It’s not so easy to just remove a killer, but it is easy to move on from a modifier. They should focus on modes that are unique and interesting, and not modes that just make the game darker and remove certain elements that game balance is reliant on, like terror radius, survivor portrait statuses and scratch marks.

  • Dreamnomad
    Dreamnomad Member Posts: 3,949

    You have a valid point. But you are only one player. Everyone has their own valid perspective. So whether the game mode should be scrapped or not should really be determined by what percentage of players enjoy it compared to how much resources go into maintaining the mode. Personally, I don't see how a huge amount of resources would be required for it. The game mode was already created. So only a few tweaks like the candelabra and a banner, badge, and trinket for rewards along with the event tome page don't seem like that much effort to me. So the real cost of the event should be fairly minor.

    From my perspective, the changes with the candelabra, repair speed and stuff made the game mode infinitely more playable compared to the first iteration. If they just let us use bloodpoint offerings so we would get the same amount of bloodpoints compared to a regular game mode then I'd be fine with it. I just don't like getting half the bloodpoint rewards for my time spent that I usually would get. I genuinely hated the first Lights Out event though. If they had completely scrapped the idea based on that experience, I would agree with your overall point. But this time around, I'm actually having some fun playing both roles. So I'm glad to see them bring it back. I wouldn't mind seeing it return for a week 2 or 3 times a year.

  • Sngfun
    Sngfun Member Posts: 344

    Ghostface and Myers in this mode are very chessy, since you can go spaming the stalk button to check where a survivor could be and once the bar starts going up you get free instadowns because survivors have no way of seeing you past the darkness.

  • Aven_Fallen
    Aven_Fallen Member Posts: 16,275
    edited September 14

    The thing is that those are things which are in the basic game and are balanced around.

    E.g. every Perk that makes Undetectable either has a Cooldown (e.g. Unforeseen), a Tell (Trail of Torment) or a Downside (Insidious). But at the very least you have to do something to make it work. In Lights Out, it is for free.

    Same for Scratchmarks as Survivor. You either have a Cooldown (Dance with Me) or a Timer (Lucky Break).

    And it is not fun in Lights Out when you play Survivor and suddenly a Bubba appears, who would have had either something to do before to be Undetectable OR would have a Terror Radius. But in Lights Out he suddenly is next to you and you are most likely Down at this point, depending where you are. This is not fun.

    And it is equally not fun when you hit a Survivor, have the weapon Cooldown, they vault a Window during that and are basically gone. (Sure, there is Blood and Sound to track, but for Sound you might need to wait for the Chase Music to stop and IMO Blood is REALLY hard to see in Lights Out)

  • Akumakaji
    Akumakaji Member Posts: 5,458

    Artistically, this looks great … gameplay wise …. ehhhhh :D

    I have played a lot of Chucky in this mode and its quite fun. Just entering hideyho at random and have survivors jump at food steps leads to some unexpected generator blow ups, and the smol size can really shine without a red stain and in the dark. But I can count on one hand how often I used the charge attack in the pitch black ^_-

    Hmm … using Legion seems to be a bit strong, I think they should be switched off for this mode, just like Freddy, because they are just not fit for it.

    When playing Killer, I embraced the silly nature of this mode. Its a bit paradoxically: gens can fly so fast that you basically have to push the advantage and get one player out pronto. But once that is done, I try to go for maximum hooks and usually let the last players go.

  • GeneralV
    GeneralV Member Posts: 11,281

    I don't think any killer should be excluded, my friend. I'm not exactly happy rn.

  • baharuto48
    baharuto48 Member Posts: 123

    Myers must be so difficult to use in this mode.

  • edgarpoop
    edgarpoop Member Posts: 8,369
    edited September 14

    Yeah, this just isn't it. Kind of miserable as a survivor when you factor in the lack of matchmaking+lack of HUD. Really don't see the appeal of this mode. Would rather they put dev resources towards 2v8.

    The Rift challenges don't even make sense in the context of the gameplay for this mode. Why would I ever break a pallet during a chase in this mode? You're guaranteed to lose the player you're chasing.

    Post edited by edgarpoop on
  • Laluzi
    Laluzi Member Posts: 6,223

    Yeah, honestly. I'm only playing this because there's limited-time items in the tome. I appreciate the idea for Castlevania, and in theory it's a great idea for DBD, but Lights Out does not work with DBD's gameplay loop and so everyone cheeses it, which causes gameplay to be unfun for everyone. Survivors are encouraged to rush gens or hide because they're wildly disadvantaged and have virtually no protection from the first hit. Killers are encouraged to proxy camp because they have trouble finding anyone and will lose a survivor after a single pallet drop, so not hanging around a hooked survivor is risking letting everyone heal up, making the next down a struggle, and losing some gen pops to an unlucky search - which is a match-losing mistake. Chases are the heart of DBD gameplay and they sort of don't exist here, between the inability to get distance before that first hit and the inability for the killer to pursue the survivor after the hit. And powers are wildly unbalanced because of it, or even have more utility than they're meant to (looking at you, stalk killers and Dredge.)

  • Deathstroke
    Deathstroke Member Posts: 3,516

    I wish they would bring 2vs8 back instead please bring it still back this year.

  • Laluzi
    Laluzi Member Posts: 6,223

    Double edged sword, in my experience. Hard to find people, but they can't see you stalking them if you do it right, and then you're an undetectable insta-down, which is pretty terrifying to verse. But then smart survivors will just hide in weird spots for the entirety of your tier 3, so realistically all you can do is proxy the hook of whoever you popped T3 on.

  • solarjin1
    solarjin1 Member Posts: 2,154
    edited September 15

    i don't think we will. Probably just get the snowman and Halloween event to round the year out and that it. You got shuffle to look forward to at least

  • zarr
    zarr Member Posts: 998

    I don't understand why Legion gets killer instinct on survivors in Lights Out. He doesn't get it on survivors afflicted with Oblivious, and they don't have a heartbeat here either. And I'm saying that as someone that has mostly played Legion in this mode both last and this time around.

    That said, this mode should probably have some other objective. It's very "killer-sided" but that's not necessarily an issue if you change the basic premise of what survivors are supposed to achieve. Maybe just finding event-related items would suffice, with survivors "winning" if they manage to find all the items but being mori'd as soon as they get downed. No gens, making it much more about a hide and seek gameflow where you want to evade the killer or lose them again should they have found you. Getting rid of the tired dynamics of tunnelling/camping/slugging too, that feel worse in an environment where you have no idea where the killer is.

  • Memesis
    Memesis Member Posts: 186

    No! Lights out is just a scary unbalanced take on the base game! It's not meant to be taken ultra seriously, just a fun bit of variety from the devs. We should be encouraging more unique modifier experiences like lights out and my little oni, not less!

  • GentlemanFridge
    GentlemanFridge Member Posts: 5,711

    I have a very strong suspicion that the whole Castlevania theming went beyond visuals.

    Like, this modifier seems a touch too perfect for Drac’s power. Survivors will be looking ahead, so they won’t be able to watch where he’s aiming Hellfire. Are they watching you? They won’t know where they’re going.
    Lose a survivor? Just go wolf form and follow the scent. Wolf can also take out pallets, making for minimal distance lost. And even then, you’ll be able to track survivors afterward.

    And that’s not even mentioning that the already subtle lullaby of bat form got masked by the bats flying overhead as you were trying to do gens. You can’t exactly see the big bat coming until it’s right on you either, so unless you’re right next to a resource it’s a guaranteed hit.