Reiterated Feedback on Freddy’s Rework

After spending significantly more time playing The Nightmare, I’ve gained newfound clarity about his gameplay mechanics and overall effectiveness. With this experience, I want to dive deeper into the implications of his rework and highlight certain problem areas that many have overlooked. While the changes bring some interesting ideas, there are critical design flaws that undermine his strategic depth and thematic appeal. My goal is to shed light on these issues and offer constructive suggestions for improvement.

Dream Snares

Dream Snares are an iconic part of Freddy’s power, but they remain underwhelming in their current form. While they do slow Survivors and serve as chase tools, they lack versatility and are too easily countered by good Survivor pathing.

Suggestions for Balance Adjustments

To make Dream Snares more impactful without becoming oppressive, I propose two alternative paths for balancing:

1. Increase Hindrance Effect:
   • Hindrance increased to 15%, with the duration remaining at 3 seconds.
   • Cooldown increased to 10 seconds to encourage strategic placement instead of spamming.
2. Extend Duration:
   • Hindrance remains at 12%, but the duration is kept the same to 4 seconds.
   • Cooldown increased to 6 seconds to prevent excessive looping with Snares.

Both options aim to make Snares a more meaningful part of Freddy’s kit while reducing their predictability and repetitive usage.

Dream Pallets

The concept behind the updated Dream Pallets seems to miss the mark in terms of mind-gaming Survivors. The current design gives too much information to Survivors, which defeats the original purpose of leading them astray.

• Main Issue: Survivors can now easily identify fake pallets due to their red aura and simply avoid the area. The intended purpose of creating a deceptive, high-risk zone is lost, as Survivors already know they’re in a dead zone.
• Implication: Survivors would never willingly loop in an area filled with fake pallets when they have access to safer zones. This undermines the utility of Dream Pallets as a tool to misdirect and punish poor decision-making.
• Suggestion:
  • Fake pallets should be completely invisible to Awake Survivors and only visible to Sleeping Survivors.
  • Even for Sleeping Survivors, there should be no visual distinction between real and fake pallets until interaction occurs.
• Reasoning: Restoring this level of deception would make Dream Pallets a true psychological tool, forcing Survivors to question their surroundings and increasing the likelihood of misplays.

Range and Detonation

The ability to detonate fake pallets from 24 meters sounds useful but rarely impacts gameplay. Survivors avoid fake pallet zones unless they block critical pathways, which is rare.

• Suggestion: Focus on improving the deception rather than emphasizing range. If Survivors are uncertain whether a pallet is real, they are more likely to interact with fake pallets, increasing the value of the rupture mechanic.

On Behavior’s Design Intentions

The changes to Dream Pallets seem to reflect an intention to encourage looping Freddy within the fake pallet zone. The added stun on Survivors when they use a fake pallet aligns with this idea, as it makes the pallet rupture feature viable when Survivors are looping in the area.

However, this design creates a conflict:

• Why would Survivors choose to loop Freddy in a zone they know is unsafe due to the visible red auras? Survivors already have the information that these pallets are fake, making the area unappealing to loop in from the outset.
• The original purpose of fake pallets was to mislead Survivors into thinking they were safe when they weren’t, but this update removes that dynamic entirely.

Dream Projection (Teleport)

Dream Projection has always been one of Freddy’s defining abilities, but its current state introduces unnecessary complexity and removes a key strategic tool.

Keybind Clunkiness

One of the biggest issues with Dream Projection is that it shares the same keybind as swapping between Dream Snares and Dream Pallets, creating unnecessary complications. Accidentally swapping powers or teleporting when you don’t intend to disrupts Freddy’s flow and adds unnecessary frustration.

• Suggestion: Allow players to separate the keybind for teleporting from the keybind for swapping powers. Freddy already has two functionalities mapped to his power key (use power and swap), and having the option to rebind teleport would alleviate this clunkiness.
• Reasoning: The developers have insisted on limiting killer powers to only two buttons—left control and mouse button 2—but in Freddy’s case, making teleport customizable would improve quality of life without compromising balance.

Cancellation Issues

Previously, Freddy’s Dream Projection could be canceled, allowing him to fake out Survivors during chases or when defending generators. Losing this mechanic has removed an effective mindgame tool from his kit.

• Suggestion: Reintroduce the ability to cancel Dream Projection, as it was an important strategic element that added depth to Freddy’s gameplay.
• Reasoning: Many players have already raised concerns about this change, and I want to emphasize that its removal diminishes Freddy’s ability to control Survivors’ decisions. The option to cancel added an extra layer of mindgames, which is critical for a killer who relies on psychological pressure.

Closing Thoughts

Freddy’s rework has introduced some interesting ideas but fails to capitalize on his core identity as a killer who thrives on deception and psychological manipulation.

• Dream Snares need more impact, whether through a stronger slow, longer duration, or additional effects.
• Dream Pallets must regain their deceptive nature by becoming invisible to Awake Survivors and indistinguishable from real pallets for Sleeping Survivors.
• Dream Projection requires quality-of-life improvements, including customizable keybinds and the return of the cancel mechanic to restore depth and mindgame potential.

By addressing these issues, Freddy could become a more balanced and satisfying killer to play without sacrificing his unique thematic identity.