Invocation Perks Rework
Invocation Perks have been around for a while now, but they've been almost forgotten and barely have any usage for obvious reasons.
I don't think the concept is bad, but it could be reworked to make it more relevant in the current state of the game.
I've thought of some potential changes and would like to discuss how they can be balanced within the game.
- The player will receive 1 Hook State instead of becoming Broken upon activating an invocation.
- The Invocation Perk cannot be performed while on Death Hook.
- All Invocations require 60 seconds to be completed.
- Only one Invocation Perk can be active in the trial.
- The killer does not receive a sound cue when an invocation is set. Instead, they'll be notified via the HUD (similar to Ruin or NOED) when interacting with whatever the invocation perk is affecting (Gens/Crows currently).
- New Killer Interaction:
- The Killer can deactivate an Invocation by interacting with it for 15 seconds.
- Upon a successful deactivation, the following effects occur:
- Gain 15% Haste for 15 seconds.
- All Generators are blocked for 10 seconds OR all Survivors' auras are revealed for 10 seconds.
- Gain bloodpoints equal to chasing a survivor for 15 seconds and hooking them.
With these changes in mind, current and future Invocation Perks can be balanced around them for both Survivor and Killer side.
Here are a few perk ideas I thought of that could spice up the game a little bit.
- Invocation: Totemic Purge
- All Dull/Hex Totems around the map are cleansed and cannot be rekindled.
- Invocation: Clear Destination
- All windows and pallets within 24 meters of a Dull/Boon Totem are revealed for all survivors.
- Invocation: One More Time
- All windows around the map gain 1 more usage in the chase. (Applied only once per window.)
- Invocation: Blinding Cloak
- The Killer suffers from the Blindness status effect for the rest of the trial and is Deafened for 5 seconds after being stunned.
- Invocation: Stealthy Footing
- All Survivors' footsteps and breathing sounds are silenced and their Scratch Marks disappear 3 seconds faster.
- Invocation: Final Burst
- Once the exit gates are powered, all Survivors gain 5% Haste Status Effect.
- Invocation: Major Disturbance
- Random Loud Noise Notifications and fake Scratch Marks are created around the map (similar to Diversion) every 40 seconds.
While I'm no expert in game balance, I've tried to account for the risk-reward factor from the Survivors' side, and the fact that it can be deactivated if the Killer ends up not liking it.
What do you think? Should Invocation Perks be reworked similarly or left in their current state?
Comments
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I think the best rework to invocations would be to tremendously nerf the effects and the penalties / price they require.
This game cannot function with high risk high reward perks, especially on the survivor side, because that always requires killer to go out of their way to deal with somehow which is simply miserable.
Invocations should apply minor penalties / temporary negative status effect, take about 15 seconds to do and the effects should either be temporary or not much more significant than the effects of similar perks.
I/E treacherous crows should only work for you and only in a limited range (like 32-40 meters). Weaving spiders would probably need brand new effect because generator progress perks are a whole other level of flawed.
If invocations would be global and impactful as they are, they cannot possibly have a strong or fair effect for the survivor because then it would mean the killers will have to play around invocations. Having the game revolve around constantly checking basement is the same kind of miserable gameplay as chasing boons when they were overpowered except it's even worse.
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I completely agree with you on the part that it shouldn't involve objectives, which is why my suggestions revolved around having some niche effects which may or may not provide value in the match but put Invocations in a usable spot.
However, having them work only for the perk user and temporary wouldn't make it unique and worth the hassle, take Hardened for example.
While Invocation Perks share similarity with Boon Perks, they require more time investment (90 seconds let's say) AND a penalty which is being broken (or gain 1 hook state as suggested) and cannot be reapplied.
I don't think the killer should check the basement constantly as they will be notified of the effect through the HUD and deactivate the Invocation ONLY if they were bothered heavily by it's effects.
From the Killer's POV, having a Survivor waste 90 seconds and lose 1 chase for a certain effect instead of completing a gen and possibly having a good chase is a fair trade.
From the Survivors' POV, it unlocks new Perk combinations and team play that could spice up the game a little bit and make Invocations somewhat usable.
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as I said, the problem with such perks is that if theyre impactful enough to be a problem, you get a problem of having to play around them as a killer and when it's like boons or invocations it becomes utterly miserable cuz thats one more objective to manage that only makes killer gameplay even more stressful than it already is.
I never said they should inherently be temporary, but the general point is that they shouldnt be much stronger than regular perks. The invocation part isnt something you play around, its just a short quick quest you can consistently do and guarantee almost risk free activation.
A good example of an invocation perk design would be if strength in shadows was an invocation.
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They have the same problem that Boons do. You either have to make them so weak that nobody will use them. Or you need a downside so bad that nobody runs them. I'm honestly not sure what can be done to balance them.
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