A fond farewell Ladies and Gentlemen

Hi all!

It seems my ban was for a month, and just like my last one I was considering appealing, but over this past month I've found the time to really stop and think about my experience in DBD and here the forums, and I've decided to move on.

I first want to say thank you all. The responses I saw in what I will colloquially refer to "the thread"... It was very humbling reading everyone's posts and support, and it was very touching to see how so many people thought so highly of me. I didn't at all expect the community to respond how it did, nor to see so many people be so kind and respectful, and I am not ashamed to admit it genuinely nearly made me cry.

With that said, I am deeply saddened to see that as a direct result of that thread, that other members of the community have been hit as well… to think others got banned as a result of defending me, it leaves me with a heavy heart. With that in mind, and with careful consideration I have decided to leave the forums and quit DBD, at least for the the foreseeable future.

I don't want to make this thread to stir things up, or to leave things on a bitter note by ragging on everything, but the primary reasons are that I do not feel I am aligned with the game or these forums anymore.

DBD itself has changed a lot, even within the relatively short time I've been playing the game, and I always was fascinated with DBDs history and evolution. Talking to the people here and learning off the numerous veterans we are lucky to have here has been a genuine joy, and certainly was a highlight of the experience. With that said though, I have been disappointed with the direction of the game.

While majority of my time in DBD is Survivor, I am also a regular Pig, Trapper, Pre-rework Myers, Hag and Skull Merchant player. I fell in love the raw m1 mind games and gameplay of DBD, and the setup/payoff style of these characters struck a particular chord with me. I play off meta Survivor perks because I enjoy playing m1 mind games without the crutches of exhaustion and second chance perks (and yes, in SoloQ).

Needless to say we don't get killers like this anymore, the game is getting too fast and optimised for killers like these. Instead every killer is cut from the same cookie cutter high mobility/high loop lethality cloth, and the power creep of the game is just getting worse and worse. It feels like the killers I do enjoy are systematically being cut out of the game.

• Pig is power crept and always under threat of having her RBTs gutted.
• Trapper is power crept to oblivion and still steps in his own traps.
• Myers gameplay and the character himself is gone, the fragrent tuft doesn't give the old satisfying stalk gameplay he had.
• Hag is power crept and gets utterly demolished by S-tech to the point she's a meme without rusty shackles.
• Skull Merchant literally got taken behind the shed and was shot in the knees before being left to rot.

This is disheartening to say the least, however I felt like I was making whatever small difference I could by talking about and advocating for m1 killers here in the forums...

However with my recent ban, I don't feel like I have a place here. The ban escalation system we have here in the forums is completely unforgiving. I have never been malicious or intentionally offensive, in fact most of my infractions were me trying to be friendly and breaking tension... or rightly calling someone out for a blatantly obtuse and highly hostile stance against opposing arguments. I have strived to make these forums a better place by citing evidence, engaging in fair and honest discussion and encouraging others to do the same. Despite that, I have now served 2 separate 1 month bans, and am now on my final warning before being permanently banned.

While I won't discuss my infractions as that is against the rules, I personally feel that each escalation on my account could have just as easily been solved with a quiet warning, and am of the opinion this unmoving ban escalation system is fundamentally broken whilstsoever it is so casually applied on the whims and subjective opinions of the moderation team. The fact these strikes cannot ever be removed from your account implies that they should be applied VERY sparingly, and yet they seem anything but.

Suffice to say this leaves me in the scenario where I now have to pussyfoot around and tread on eggshells to ensure I don't say anything that can be twisted and distorted into something negative, and if I'm not free to discuss this game honestly, earnestly and impassioned, then there is no point discussing it at all. I will not have my voice be held at ransom and second guess everything I say for fear of another unreasonable ban hammer landing on me for keeps.

I want to close by saying, I am very thankful to everyone here in the forums. I have genuinely loved my time with DBD and don't regret any of the time I've poured both into it, and discussing and learning it here in the forums. I have made many very good friends as a result, and despite how things have ended, I look back on DBD fondly.

Have a good one all!

Signed a humble Pig/Kate main,

UndeddJester