http://dbd.game/killswitch
The Wraith Effect - How I learned that I am nothing without the bingbong.
I'd consider myself 'bad' by community standards but average by actual wider playerbase standards. I understand loops, I can pull off a mindgame, I can zone and have some level of macro sense. I approach discussion on this forum with the perspective of the average player instead of comp/high-level, because it's the only perspective I have.
I'm good at Wraith, which isn't saying much because apparently everyone is good at Wraith. I've gotten to a point where I can commit chases and see very fast downs/hooks with him, no hit and run/sloppy butcher required to win. I get my pressure almost exclusively through downs/hooks. This tells me I have a solid grasp on the most basic way to play killer, as I'm not just w-ing down baby survivors on repeat. I am seeing p100 survivors with legitimate skill in my lobbies now, and they don't thrash me like they used to. Not even doing anything cheesy with silent clapper/map offerings.
Most other killers, bar a couple left to unlock, I've given a fair amount of time to. I resonate with their kit more in terms of playstyle (see: Spirit), but for some reason, I'm just not really getting anywhere. I've hit a plateau where using their power almost feels like a detriment to my performance, but remain quite able to close out a M1 chase.
It keeps steering me back to Wraith as he embodies what I succeed with best, but I worry. I know Wraith isn't considered S-tier, but is there a crutch-element to using him? Am I stilting myself?
Or am I truly a Wraith main, trapped in the closet?
Comments
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This was interesting reading but you do you man. We play this game to have fun if you have fun with playing Wraith don't let things make it complicated.
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Of course! I play Wraith because I do well, and part of having fun for me is doing well.
I think I'm just interested in other people's development, and if anyone else had an experience like this. I try not to sweat it but given I'm playing catch up to people that have literal years invested into this game, I wanna be cognisant of any ways I might be settling into bad habits.1 -
Wraith is overated in my opinion, he is good but with good addons without them only thing that keeps him above water is high speed mobility that player can frealy control and some stealth that can give him hit if survivors dont see him coming because of objects bloking their los.
Wraith is pretty m1 killer for me only thing that keeps his ability good are faster breaking and vaulting addons, faster uncloak addons and faster speed addons they make his ability more versitile and actual threat especialy in chase where without them he is forced to be m1 killer.
He is simple but not easy against people that know how to loop him and he is lot about mindgames so at best like mid b-tier killer maybe high b-tier if that player that plays him is good at mind games and reading survivors moves (this is about wraith running good addons and perks without them he is c-tier that needs perfect execution to get value). Wraith is good pick and great to learn m1 chase personaly I dont play him that much because I dislike killers that need good addons to be mediocre or even viable which wraith to me is so I rather stick to killer like billy, springtrap that have more skilled power harder to use but more rewarding in terms of good use.
Key thing is to play what you like.
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Interesting. I think I regard Wraith similarly. Addon-less, he can feel quite sluggish and weak. I tend to like the vault/break speed addon and the other is a free spot that I adjust depending on what I'm feeling. Uncloak speed is the usual, but I switch it up.
What's interesting is I actually played a loooot of Springtrap early on and picked up his power exceedingly quickly. I discovered the holy truth of Guitar Strings, which allowed me to keep pressure on consistently. His traversal mechanics actually taught me a fair bit about gen spawns to boot. I'm a former FPS player, predominantly projectile FPS games including TF2 and Overwatch, the latter of which I peaked GM until I gave up on comp, so projectile killers click well for me in terms of aim. Yet, I just do better with Wraith. It's baffling.
Out of curiosity, is there anything outside of basic M1 chase that you'd consider a transferrable skill from Wraith?1 -
Transferrable skill, hard to tell his cloak is quite unique in its effect that other killers dont have very simular power to it.
I would say bodyblocking can be used on others like on ghoul when you leal to some pallet window to block it for survivor but this is mostly wraiths main thing other killers dont use that often. I find his main skill in knowing hos power like from which direction to aproach so you block the way to pallet or window and push them to unsafe position, than his mind games with 99 uncloak shen survivor os camping pallet.
Only simular thing is like when he has speed from uncloak which is like 6,6 m/speed and 6,9 when you attack and this can be kinda used to learn mind game weaker loops and bait with it to get hits which can be simular to other killers with dash power like mayers or pig or chucky but wraiths uncloak speed buff is just haste not fash compare to killers I mentioned and is shorter in time but this is like only thing that comes to my mind, he is more about teaching you how to play m1 and mind game plus his power is specific like survivors can vault over and over some window/pallet and you as wraith must consider if that location can be bodyblocked or you must uncloak and break or push them or if its unsafe loop where you can position yourself so you can bait them there and get hit with uncloak speed.
I dont think there is simular power to wraiths cloak like other killers have powers or forms in which they cant hurt survivor but they arent simular to wraiths like sadako before manifesting pr draculas bat form thats more close to spirit in gameplay or vecnas underground form but that has its own hitbox so on this I think wraiths power is unique and its main skills are around mind gaming and 50/50 situations ( like when 99 uncloak against survivor camping pallet either hd greeds or drops and theres on you to guess it right and get something at best hit and pallet in one move) and positioning so I dont think theres killer whose power is very simular to wraiths. Still he is good pick because many killers play as m1 or they can even the best ones and getting better in understanding survivors in chase and pulling mind games is very good on other killers too.
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A lot of people hard main a killer. I started the game playing only one and stayed that way for awhile. Then I shifted to playing more and became anti-main for awhile. Out of my top 10 most used killers, I have about the same stats (aside from a couple of drastically lower or higher outliers) with everyone, but I don't think it's bad to have one killer you're great at, or just really love playing. Quite out of nowhere I fell in love with Henry and now I don't want to play anyone else, and I haven't since his release. If you like the gameplay and the results, then you're good. If you get bored or want to expand, change.
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Seems to me like you might just enjoy the M1 killers who rely more on mindgames and macro knowledge rather than sheer mechanical skill.
That's how I've always been. Throughout my years playing DbD I just gravitated more towards that kind of playstyle - I found the "challenge" (since many M1 killers are seen as weak by the community) enjoyable and I liked excelling in the 1v4 instead of brute forcing chases in the 1v1.
Ultimately what matters is if you're having fun! If playing Wraith makes you happy then bing-bong to your heart's content 😊
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Thank you. I won't comment on everything you said else we'd be co-writing a novel, but I did read all of it and take out some key points. The approach angle is one I am subconsciously doing already, but I think I forget to do that with other killers because I associate it so strongly with Wraith. I'll keep that in mind. Appreciate the in-depth resonse.
I think I want to avoid hard maining anyone and at least be competent with each killer eventually. Just so, if the mood strikes me, I can randomly pick up Singularity or Billy without having to fret. I enjoy Wraith plenty! He's basically what I'd call the standard DBD experience without bells & whistles. I mostly wanted to touch base both about people's own experiences, like yours with Henry (who I suck at, so power to you for gitting gud) and to see if there's a consensus on whether or not defaulting to wraith is costing me development.
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Goddamn you might just be right. DBD was very stressful when I first started. Now, I switch off the stress parts of my brain as much as I can and keep a good mental.
Wraith is the killer I never get shaken on, even if I'm being ground into paste by every pallet on the map, bagged, flashed, DS'd, head-on'd and every other thing a survivor can do. I got my bell. It bongs. It drowns out the mental warfare.
Maybe that lack of stress is the draw.1 -
That's pretty much exactly how I feel as well! There's just something about Wraith and the other killers similar to him that makes it so much easier to focus while playing as them. I get this sense of confidence that I otherwise don't have.
When play Oni, Deathslinger, or Vecna for instance, sometimes I get frustrated because I'm misplaying their powers - which loses me the match. But with Wraith, or Legion, or Trapper, they don't really have powers to misplay in that sense. Obviously you can make mistakes, but for the most part whenever I lose as them it's because either I made a wrong prediction about how the survivors were going to play, or I just get an incredibly well prepared team that you simply need an A or S tier killer to beat. (But that honestly doesn't happen very often)
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Honestly I haven't met many people who are casually comfortable with any killer. I don't even have a big chunk unlocked and I never will because some are of zero interest to me, or I just downright hate them.
I can't say I'm actively striving towards development, even at thousands of hours. It kind of happens naturally with both roles if you play them and watch how other people play them. I learn more from observing opponents than anything else. I'm also just trying to have a good time, and have other people have a good time. If you're not gearing towards playing comp or streaming or going for a winstreak or something, what's left is enjoyability, and you should do what's fun. I'm on console and so always avoided ranged killers, as the learning curve is much higher, but I found Henry so initially fun that I didn't care I was underpeforming. Now, 400 matches in with him, I'm no longer underperforming, but I'm still having fun. If the fun stops maybe I'll go back to Clown or Vecna or whoever, but for now, I'm having the best time I've had as a killer in a while. And hey, commit to Wrairh enough and you could become a top Wraith player.
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Yup. I do want to learn more just for variety, and I think if I can get to the level of chill with more killers it'd add a lot of variety to the way I play. Right now, I don't get frustrated per se, but I get a fair bit of anxiety when stuff starts going wrong, because I'm thinking "Oh god I gotta go pressure htem off that gen and also close distance on the guy I just saw but also make sure I make optimal use of my power to accomplish x" and I start to lose focus. With Wraith, stuff goes wrong and I think "bingbong M1" and continue vibing. I'm almost at the same level with Pig, another M1 killer, so you are fully right with your assessment of my preferences.
I think I'm not aiming for comp or the very tip-top. I made that mistake with Overwatch, focusing so hard on hitting and maintaining T500 that I started realising I was dreading finishing work because I'd have to go play Overwatch again.
However, I think there's a minimum level of competence for DBD that you hit in order to maximise how fun it is, and improving is a good way to get there. Maybe not be good at every killer as a baseline, but be comfortable enough to switch it up between a set of favourites without getting in my own head about how well it's going to go. You do have a great attitude, though. I'm with you. I'll play killer with a hint of memery, especially if some shenanigans happen, because if I know both sides had fun, it kinda makes the whole thing more worth it, even if I'm cleaning house.
Then again, maybe I do become a top Wraith player, be a 2k streaker standing shoulder to shoulder with Blight lmao.1
