http://dbd.game/killswitch
The Unknown Rework Concept – “Unravel” Crawl Ability
I've been brainstorming a rework concept for the Unknown. This rework makes his chase potential his defining trait while keeping his psychological horror theme intact. Tell me what you think!
Primary Power – Unravel (Crawl Ability similar to mori)
The Unknown drops to all fours, moving with unnatural, predatory fluidity.
- Activation: Enter Unravel mode to crawl on all fours.
- Effects while Unraveling:
- Gains 20% Haste.
- Can vault over pallets and windows.
- Cannot break pallets or damage generators while crawling.
- Terror Radius reduced by 8 meters.
- Normal attacks allowed, but lunges are slightly shorter.
- Duration: 8 seconds
- Cooldown: 24 seconds
- Interruptions: Hitting a survivor or manually canceling ends Unravel early.
Unravel is designed to give The Unknown strong, reliable chase potential, letting him close distance effectively while remaining unsettling and fluid.
Passive – Hallucinations
- Ability: The Unknown naturally generates Hallucinations as he moves.
- Effect: Survivors within 16–20m of a Hallucination have their aura revealed for 3 seconds.
- Interaction: Survivors can destroy Hallucinations after 2.5 seconds, triggering a Loud Noise Notification.
- Destroying hallucinations shortens Unravel cooldown by 1 second.
- Psychological Horror: Survivors lingering near Hallucinations may experience minor hallucination effects (screen distortion, eerie sound cues).
Hallucinations now function as passive map-control tools, reinforcing tension and creating mind-game opportunities without requiring active teleporting.
Balance Rationale
- Unravel Vaulting: Prevents endless looping while maintaining counterplay.
- Longer Duration: Ensures chase potential is meaningful.
- Passive Hallucinations: Provide information and pressure without being overbearing.
- Counterplay: Survivors can hear Unravel, pre-drop pallets, or destroy hallucinations for warning cues.
Design Goals
- Make The Unknown chase-focused and engaging.
- Keep his psychological horror identity intact.
- Reward strategic movement and placement.
- Provide clear counterplay to avoid frustration for survivors.
Comments
-
He doesn't need a rework in any way.
Just because he doesn't dash doesn't mean his kit isn't chase focused.
The counterplay is already quite clear and requires some skill with both camera manipulation and realizing when he's trying to zone you into a hallucination.
The killer requires both micro and macro skill: hit shots (micro) and hallucination management (macro and micro).
Personally, I'm sick of movement speed abilities and I'm sick of pallet/window vaulting abilities.
Sorry, but this is neither the right character for this nor what many in the community would want in a killer rework or even a new killer.
EDIT: To clarify, the only killers that I believe need straight up reworks right now are Skull Merchant and Nurse. The other killers that are too weak or strong can probably be fine with some number tweaks. (Except for Trapper, no clue what to do with that poor guy.)
7 -
Unknown may be underwhelming but he doesnt need a scamper, he just needs some good quality of life changes and buffs, he is already fun.
2 -
Sheesh, people are really aggressive with this. I was just brainstorming lol
-1 -
I personally like the idea of him crawling around. I really hoped they would incorporate that aspect of him in game when he was first released.
0 -
I was wishing the same thing! I think he's a great killer but man, he cannot close any distances. Granted, he has his UVX and hallucinations, but the UVX requires two hits, and his hallucinations are dispelled the second they go up which leaves him as primarily a chase killer. That's why I thought a rework to where his abilities give haste and aura readings would be ideal for him. I understand where AGM is coming from, about being tired of killers with vaulting abilities, but compared to the ridiculousness of other killers, it isn't a bad trade off. Not to mention the recent pallet density update which gives the Unknown less of a chance to succeed at chases. Aside from all that, I honestly think it would be more fun(and scary) which is what it should be about anyways.
-2 -
I like this idea as an addon that would change his power rather than a rework that replaces it. As others have said, Unknown has found his niche in the roster and Dash powers + Pallet scampers have become extremely frowned upon as of late
Still, there were a lot of people expecting a more scare focused take on Unknown moreso resembling the marketing, and I think this concept encapsulates that quite well. This idea sounds fun with a stealth build too
0 -
I think that the crawling idea is cool and I'm surprised it wasn't incorporated in his power on release but I don't think we need anymore dash + scamper killers.
0 -
The crawling is why I don't play Xenomorph, having my POV a mere two feet off the ground is miserable, especially on maps with tall grass like the Swamp.
2 -
That's fair! If I'm not playing Hillbilly, Xeno is actually the other killer I play, so don't have the same opinion on this. I think that's another positive to op's thoughts on this though because it's a controlled ability vs Xeno which forces the crawl after a bit.
1
