Oni's Flicks Are Worse in PTB 9.1.0 — Here's Why

In this post, I want to talk about why Oni’s new flicks on the PTB 9.1.0 are worse than in the current live version of the game. A small introduction…

I started playing DBD in September 2016, and to this day I’ve played over 12,000 hours. Five years ago, one of the best chapters in DBD’s history was released - "Cursed Legacy", and my favorite character - Oni.

From the moment of his release and up to today, I’ve played over 6,000 hours on him, and I’ve fully mastered this killer’s power. I’m saying this because I understand what this character is capable of and what he’s supposed to be. Now, to the point...

For five years, Oni was able to instantly turn 180 degrees by directing his long strike backwards.
To do this, you had to use dpi, which technically was a bug - but that doesn't change the essence.
Over time, many survivors got used to Oni having this capability.

In patch 8.6.0, the developers removed the ability to use dpi and added 180 flicks to his base power.
However, those flicks were extremely slow and much weaker than what the community had used for five years - which is why many players didn’t like the change.
Especially those who spent a lot of time mastering him.

In patch 8.7.0, BHVR partially brought back the old one-frame flicks, like before.
But the issue was that these flicks became extremely uncomfortable to use due to the overly high sensitivity.
You could slightly move your mouse - and the character would instantly spin 180 degrees.
As a result, most players found Oni very hard to control.

All the developers needed to do was slightly lower the turning sensitivity, so the flicks would feel smoother and more manageable. But then PTB 9.1.0 came out...

BHVR finally implemented proper flick sensitivity for Oni - but at the same time made them significantly worse.
Now I’ll try to explain why...

As I said earlier, since patch 8.7.0, Oni can instantly turn 180 degrees by quickly moving the mouse and directing his massive strike backwards.
Since this flick happens instantly, the player can turn even when close to a wall or in tight spaces.

So, what’s different about the flicks on PTB 9.1.0?

Instead of turning instantly in one frame, Oni now rotates in an arc around himself.
He winds up and swings behind him, doing a smooth turn.
The biggest difference is that this turn now requires open space.
That means if you’re close to a wall or any object, you won’t be able to flick 180 — and your hit will just go into the wall.

This greatly interferes with many situations where you previously could land a hit.
And because of that, this change is 100% a serious nerf.

On top of that, if you’ve spent thousands of hours playing Oni - this change completely devalues the time you’ve invested.
Everything you learned with this killer no longer matters (at least when we’re talking about flicks and the possibilities they give).

What can be done to keep Oni’s flicks just as effective and comfortable?

The developers should keep the ability to instantly flick 180 in one frame if the player quickly moves their mouse - just like it’s worked since patch 8.7.0.
However, if the player moves the mouse smoothly, Oni should turn smoothly too. Simply put, the flick sensitivity should be slightly reduced so the flicks feel more controlled and natural.

If done this way, Oni will retain all his potential, and flicks will feel much more comfortable in all situations.
If the player wants to turn 90 degrees, it will look smooth.
If they want to snap 180 degrees quickly — they’ll still be able to.

BHVR, just give this character a bit more attention, and he’ll be in a perfect state.
Players like me, who’ve spent thousands of hours on Oni, will be truly thankful that you didn’t limit his capabilities and potential.

If you agree with what I said - feel free to share your thoughts.
Maybe this post will get noticed…

I’d like to add one more thing...
Throughout the entire lifespan of DbD, the game has had plenty of issues. And right now, it’s far from being in its best shape. On top of that, DbD has never truly aimed to be a competitive title where every character and every mechanic works flawlessly (except for that one time :DDDDDD). So why am I bringing this up?

As of now, there are very few killers left in DbD whose abilities have real depth and contain a lot of hidden mechanics. Simply put, these are killers that take a lot of time and effort to truly master. But if a player fully masters someone like Wesker or Oni, they’ll have the opportunity to showcase their skill and everything they’ve learned. I personally find it incredibly rewarding to invest time in such characters and work toward real improvement.

In almost any competitive game - like The Finals, DbD, Apex, and others - if you play one character long enough, you’ll eventually get good with them. And naturally, there will be moments where you outplay your opponent just because you’ve mastered your character and know exactly how they work. That’s completely normal.

In our case, it’s exactly the same. The only difference is that for 5 years since Oni was added to DbD, 180 flicks only worked due to high DPI settings - which was essentially a bug. The problem was that console players couldn’t take advantage of this. But since patch 8.6.0, that bug is gone, and now players across all platforms are on equal footing. And I’m definitely glad about that.

I wrote my post because I want Oni to keep the potential for skill expression - so that players who’ve been playing him for years can still use what they’ve learned.
For example, going for stylish plays or doing one-frame 180 turns. Things like that make Oni a very fun and interesting killer - and honestly, there are barely any killers like him left in the game.

I really hope that when this update goes live on July 29, the developers will make a final decision and keep the flicks as they are in the current version (9.0.0). All they really need to do is slightly reduce the sensitivity, so we don’t end up in situations where a player moves their mouse a few centimeters and Oni does a full 180.

Thanks for reading…