Houndmaster Suggestions
I enjoy Houndmaster a lot, she's one of my most played killers and I want to go through things I would change about her to make her feel better both from a semi-bug fix standpoint and some relatively simple QOL features/functionality changes because I would love to see her shine. With the slow bug being fixed in the PTB she is very close. She is not in need of a rework or anything, she's well designed and just needs to feel a bit better, and while there is a lot of yap below, the majority of things I am changing are relatively minor. TLDR AT THE BOTTOM.
- Add a recall option while Snug is traversing the search path
Since you have no power binds during this time there is space to add a recall feature where Snug starts running back to you in case the search path is misplaced or you find a survivor along the way. This would make her feel much more responsive so you aren't out of power for such a long time.
- The Search path begins/path-finds from the Houndmaster's location rather than Snug's and Snug paths to her location first.
This would prevent Snug from starting the path from the opposite side of a wall/resource or taking unintended paths, which can be frustrating. This is somewhat of a solution to a bug, but I think for consistent functionality it would just be better overall.
- Refine her chase command indicator to better match Snug’s path-finding
This is most inconsistent with the vault functionality where the indicator will say Snug will vault, but Snug will instead get stuck at the window. This is more in the bug fix realm of changes.
- Reduce the threshold for Snug to teleport back when stuck by a few seconds
This doesn't need to be immediate, but the code for detecting Snug is stuck clearly exists, it's just a few seconds too long and could be shortened to make the overall feel better.
- Fix the dog phasing through the pallet and disappearing when sending the chase command too close to a pallet.
- Fix Snug attempting to bite downed survivors after vaulting a pallet.
These are really the last prevalent bugs I can think of that needs to be addressed. There might be one I am not thinking of but the ones I am mentioning are the most intrusive.
- Add input buffering to many of her interactions
Some of the inputs can be a bit strict and input buffering would help.
- Add-on Pass
She has a lot of underwhelming add-ons. To keep it easy I will just mention add-ons that would benefit from simple number changes to increase variety a bit.
- Knotted Rope: 8-10% (was 2%)
- Sticky Pitch: 5% (was 2%)
- Unfinished Map: 30s (was 15s)
- Spiked Collar: 80s (was 60s)
- Gunpowder Tin: 30s (was 20s)
- Belaying Pins: 60s (was 20s)
She has other add-ons that could be buffed or reworked like the aura ones and Smoked Snapper, but in the interest of keeping it simple, number changes would go a long way. When her only dominant add-on (Barely Meal) is just a minor stat increase there really needs to be something done to give her more variety.
Summary/TLDR:
- Add a recall to the search command while Snug is traveling to the location
- Start the search path from Houndmaster's location rather than Snug's
- Refine the chase command indicator, especially regarding vaults
- Reduce Snug's teleport back when stuck threshold by a few seconds
- Fix Snug disappearing when chase is sent too close to a pallet
- Fix Snug attempting to bite downed survivors after a vault
- Add Input Buffering
- Add-on Pass that gives simple number buffs to Knotted Rope, Sticky Pitch, Unfinished Map, Spiked Collar, Gunpowder Tin, and Belaying Pins.
Comments
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Yes yes yes.
I also think her Search Command "reticle" or "pointer" should work by charging it, just like nurse's blinks. The longer you hold it, the farther it goes. And the Search Pointer should automatically lock onto whatever interactable object is within its circle:
For instance, as you can see here, right now, the generator is within the pointer's circle, but it is not being explicitly targeted. Which is very misleading, one expects the circle to be an "area of effect", but that is not the case at the moment. It should latch onto the object that is within the circle.
If the target object is behind another interactable object and the pointer latches onto the first object, the pointer should continue its path after 1 or 1.5 seconds of holding down the power button.
Another thing that bothers me about the Search Command, is that it slows down the Killer while she's holding it down. Which makes no sense since she typically uses it out of chase, and even when she does use it in chase, she still has to wait for snug to travel to the pointer and then its just a small amount of haste she gets out of it, so slowing her down is not really necessary.
For Chase Commands, sure, it makes sense, but not for Searching. She also gets significantly hindered after cancelling the Search Command, this should also not happen. It is an unnecessary penalty. It can happen when cancelling a Chase, to prevent fake-outs or lose-lose scenarios, but not for Searches, which again, are mostly used out of chase.
To decrease Searches being abused in chases you can increase the minimum distance that the Search path needs to be before sending Snug out.
Another thing they could do (optional) is to make Snug latch onto a Survivor who enters his AOE but ONLY when Snug reaches the Search Pointer's location. NOT while he's traveling.
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These are great suggestions! I wanted to comment to bump this because you put a lot of detail into this post. Very well said!
The only thing I would add is have snug pull survivors back to her, instead of where he got the grab. The coordinates on release used to be back to where she sent him out for a chase (command)But it needs to be her coordinates, not the grab spot and not where she sent him out for a grab but her.
This ^
it feels so clunky to use.. they could make it smoother for sure. I’m not sure why she gets so slowed down either. Adds to the clunkiness of the power.1
