Are Nurse and Spirit REALLY the only viable killers at red ranks?
After the new Nurse changes I’ve been seeing ALL over the place that players have stated the following...
“Nurse is dead.”
“RIP Nurse”.
”Spirit is the only viable red rank killer against a good SWF group now.”
”Red ranks have no diversity.”
I personally do not believe Nurse is terrible and I STILL believe she is the best killer in the game because she ignores all survivor defenses and if you’re good with Nurse, you rarely miss your blinks anyways.
But are Nurse and Spirit REALLY the only killers you can play at red ranks and win? The answer is no.
Ever since Plague was released I have made her one of my main killers and I typically 3-4K with her. Of course I have my dud matches but 90% of the time my matches end in a 4K. I am Rank 1 by the way.
Not to mention Hag and Billy are very good as well. Huntress is an awesome killer too. I know players who main Leatherface and Doctor in higher ranks and they do very well.
You’re not gonna win all your matches, just let that sink in. So many people focus on their negative matches and ignore the five previous matches they had that ended in a merciless victory and a 4K.
I’m just so tired of people claiming that the game is a Nurse/Spirit meta when it is clear that other killers can do well in red ranks. It’s just not gonna come as easily.
Who do you main at your rank and how do your matches typically go?
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People think that being viable is getting 4k's every match at this point.
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I main Freddy and ALWAYS did well at Rank 1. 2 viable killers my ass.
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Nope! I've played Red Ranks as Legion and done well!
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rank 2 as Freddy. People who say only Spirit and Nurse is viable clearly are delusional.
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I would kinda agree that Nurse and Spirit are the only viable killers IF you face 4 really really good survivors. Lets be honest here. How often do you get these ridiculous good teams? Maybe 1/10 chance? I do well with Demo, Freddy and all the other killers like clown or piggy on red ranks.
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If you are facing off against four survivors who are SWF and who have perks like DS, Adrenaline, Balanced Landing, OoO, and Borrowed Time with four insta-heals on a map like Haddonfield then I’d agree that Spirit and Nurse are really the only option to go with. Simply because they ignore survivor defenses and quickly end chases.
As you said though...how often do killers really face these kind of groups? It is a rarity. Usually there is ALWAYS a weak link to the group.
A basic match at red ranks even a killer like Doctor can do well.
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That's the main problem. You mentioned it yourself. Every killer CAN do well in red ranks. But some killers are very likely to get stomped, because they got a low skill cap. Nurse and Spirit got a very high skill cap. Huntress and Billy got a high skill cap too, but not as high as the survivor skill cap.
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Yes. Being viable means that you can win the match because you’re actually strong and not the survivor team just don’t playing well enough.
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I love Ghostface and play him at my current rank (Rank 7). People who say the big 3 are only viable at red ranks are wrong. You can play any killer you'd like if you get good enough and find a set up that suits your playstyle. I used to main the Pig. I played her recently (2 matches) and got 4k's both times (still at rank 7). I think it's more those 3 put the best pressure and make the game easier in the killers direction. They have high mobility and good mechanics. They're also anti-loop. It's just a matter of how well you can get at certain killers.
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I think people confuses red ranks with very optimal survivors, that's why Nurse and Spirit are considered "the only 2 viable red rank killers". But in my experience, low or mid tier killers still get rekt pretty easily in red ranks.
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Only boosted ass monkeys think that they're the only viable ones
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I believe you would have no kills if you faced really good SWF team.
There are hard limitation on the walking killer like doc and gorgan. So if survivor didn't make stupid mistake then you barely have no chance to snowball. I literally played with the SWF team everyday before the patch, and so many times the game ended in 5min or so. What you got was just 4 ######### spamming their flashlight and T bag.
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Leatherface is more likely to get stomped than Nurse...yes.
Is it an unwinnable situation because you played a killer with a low skill cap? Absolutely not. All it takes is one survivor mistake. One potato on the team to win the match for the killer.
The reason Spirit and Nurse are so highly regarded is that they don’t rely on survivors mistakes. Still doesn’t mean that they are the ONLY killers you can win as against optimal survivors.
Every killer is viable in the right hands. If they can gets downs, they can win.
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so the pig should be nerfed then...
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When people say viable, what i think they mean is able to contend with the best Survivors. If you had a perfect game, and the Survivors had a perfect game, then you should kill two of them at least. Except, that isn't the case with most of the roster.
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I'm starting to thinking that Plague is. I know I know, she is loopable and bla bla bla but she has potential with Thanatophobia + Dyinglight to slow the game!
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How often do you face a god-like SWF team though? That’s the point. You RARELY face actual good survivors. Red ranks does not mean they are good.
And yes...I HAVE beaten good SWF teams with Plague. They all tend to start cleansing after their second hook because they are an insta-down.
Just because I’ve beaten teams with Plague doesn’t mean that they were a bad group of players
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Plague is really a dark horse. She can immensely slow down the game with Thantaophobia and Dying Light and start trying to force survivors to cleanse and then when they do you have an even stronger power.
I’m telling you...she’s easily high mid-tier. I’m starting to think she’s just as good as Huntress/Demogorgon.
Freddy is also pretty strong with Dying Light/Swing Chains/Paint Brush.
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For red ranks play in general and getting to rank 1, you realistically can do it with any killer, with enough effort. In terms of consistently being able to compete without add-ons, about half of the killer roster can do it.
That's just something people like saying because they want to blame their losses on anything but themselves.
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I got to rank 1 with freddy and wraith too
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People love to act like they go against 4 man swf with god tier survivors every single match. The game will never be balanced to a small part of the playerbase
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being VIABLE means that with some skill, thinking, and good prediction that you can win even against SWF squads, even if you make a few small mistakes. 4k =/= viability. it is the way to combat loops and how their power can be used to end chases quicker and secure downs without having to just keep looping until the person finds themselves in either a deadzone or a unsafe pallet
that is why M2 killers are viable at high ranks
and M1 killers ARE NOT
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Not really. Depip squad highlights that 1 potato only causes a loss if the rest refuse to let that person die.
They do not save unless it is absolutely confirmed safe.
Assuming that occurs in a good group there is not enough time for most killers to win the match.
A killer is not "viable" if its only agency in a match is dependant on whether the opposing team lets them have a chance.
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Most SWF groups are overly altruistic. A majority don’t play like a de-pip squad. Honestly a majority a casual friends playing together, most don’t play sweaty tournament style because that’s very boring for both sides.
That’s why most of my matches I focus on that one potato Jake so I can save the Kate who knows how to loop for last so I have all the time in the world to chase her around the map. If you get one survivor out of the match and there is 4-5 gens left I pretty much win.
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I think of it similar to a fighting game, where ya have to get hits in on an opponent that's really good at blocking. Then you have those 2, which are the guys who pick the boss characters of the fighting game that spam unblockable attacks and insist you get good at dodging, lol. If your not use to having to get past someone's defenses NORMALLY, you'll likely think it's "not viable".
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And if there's no potato survivor?
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Exactly! You can see how scary she is after the 5 or 6 stack of dying light. They can't handle the pressure and starts to cleanse. Also, she counter so many things: Med kits, instaheals, inner strenght, self care, iron will, adrenaline... Also, you can't hide against her when you're infected
I wonder why people think that she is bad 🤔
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Yes Freddy is strong with that build. I was doing a solo survivor run the other day and my 3 team mates all DC. Shortly after I was outplayed by Freddy and died, when we returned to the lobby. It turns out my 3 team mates were SWF and they said "never bring that again". Safe to say its a frustrating combo and works well, still no excuse to DC and then talk crap at the end.
As for the OP, I agree I have seen many good killers in red ranks who are not playing Nurse/Spirit however it is usually one of them when the team gets stomped. Last match I played vs Spirit I beat her to the hatch by 1 second.
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Honestly I'm a Legion main, rank 1. I'll usually always get a 3k with hatch escape but when it's a hardcore Swf group it's literal hell, games like that I'll just leave, not worth the time or patience. Nurse and Spirit are the only viable killers because they can deal with the sweat squads better than any other.
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You on PC? If so...what's your steam name?
This you?
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Nope, for console it's huntress, freddy, spirit and myers, that's all I see on red ranks.
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Anyone who claims only Billy and Spirit are red rank viable is fairly boosted. The gap between Billy/Spirit tier and the rest continues to shrink with each balance pass. Map reworks will really close the gap. Certain killers like Doctor or Clown will always have issues with lethality. I'm not saying all killers are equal by any means. But people overlook lower tier killer strengths and tend to use a homogenous playstyle when they should be mixing it up from killer to killer.
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No, people just want 4ks without sweating.
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I feel very powerful with the Huntress at red ranks since 2017
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No. Assuming Nurse is still viable (and I expect her to be) there are 7:
- Nurse
- Spirit
- Billy
- Hag
- Demogorgon
- Freddy
- Huntress
As well as that there are also 3 borderline cases which aren't viable but are pretty damn close so you should still get results:
- Ghostface
- Plague
- Myers
Considering that this is 10 Killers total that are at least usable at all ranks out of a total of 17 Killers I'd say the game has massively improved since I started keeping track.
For the record when I started keeping track it was:
- Nurse
- Billy
- Huntress
With Myers as Borderline. Nowadays Hag has been buffed to viability, Spirit, Demo, GF and Plague have been added and Freddy has been reworked and is now good.
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I play Legion at red ranks with no issues against SWF.
Just have to think outside the box to what people are used to. Legion is dangerous when on a 2k. Lotta information can be gathered just from an m2 stab.
I think the strongest team I've faced I was playing nurse against a 4 stack. Got only one kill but I pipped from putting enough pressure on the game.
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Nah that wasn't me mate but I have played you before :)
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Ok to be honest i think people have the wrong definition of viable. Viable means the killer can do well against the best swf teams in the game. That doesn't mean rank 1 survivors because not all rank ones are insanely good. Also to answer your question yeah pretty much but freddy is almost viable imo.
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Hopefully It was GOOD reasons ya remembered me, lol.
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It is easier to remember killers who play anything other than Nurse and Spirit. Can't remember the exact game or what went down but the name is familiar.
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Played pig today in red ranks against what I suspect was a 3 or 4 man SWF. 4k, all gens done. They weren't easy, especially since they found ruin about 30 seconds in
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I mostly play Ghostface at rank 1 with a variety of other killers mixed in and I do fairly well, Nurse is the most viable against the strongest 4man swf sweat team but since the matchmaking changes for swf I rarely see those. It's mostly just new players trying to learn. Sometimes it's obvious so I give them loads of chances but other times I don't notice and kill them :(
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That moment you THINK someone is new, so you go really easy on em... Then find out they're rank 2.
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nurse is literally the same, the people who are crying are literally braindead.
Theyre just upset they cant use more than 2 blinks EVEN THOUGH SHES STILL A FREAKING THREAT WITH 2.
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It depends on which teams you are facing. If it's the SWAT SWFs, then yes, only Nurse and Spirit will do. But there are a lot of other players at high ranks as well, so you can also win some games with other killers.
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It depends how you define "Viable."
- Viable - Able to be played and experience moderate levels of success (2k+) on a regular basis. By this definition, no, obviously not,
- Viable - Able to be played and experience high levels of success based on the player's skill, almost regardless of opponents. By this definition, no, most players can show they perform in red ranks with a killer they practice enough.
- Viable - Able to go into every match expecting to win, completely disregarding the opponents entirely. Yeah probably.
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Honestly, I've liked freddy ever since I bought him around 2018, got to rank 1 with him before rework more than a few times, Sure the new freddy is cool but I miss the old freakster :(
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If ya look, I've had my Freddy pfp since I joined the forums last year. It's definitely a different feeling. Old Freddy was more big picture planning, with you seeing and juggling everyone. Getting downs with him felt sly. New Freddy is pretty brute force. I haven't really seen a "bad" map for him yet. You wanna toss up a haddonfield offering? I'll STILL take ya on.
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Yea, sucks that not a lot of people will know how he use to play, weirdest play style of any killer intill the rework
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I think when people say "a killer is viable" I think they really mean "I don't have to pour hours and hours into a specific killer and hope that the survivors make mistakes". To explain while plauge does have two strong tools (being infilicitng broken and corrupt purge) both kinda really on : the survivor not being a strong looper, they don't have to loop you for thr whole game but just enough for a gen to get done ; the survivors cleansing off that broken affect because that side of the power is kinda completely in their control.
Another example : wraith - you can do well with him but you kinda have to play like ghostface because you don't want survivors to see your skyrim like shimmer. Like. Dev's I don't have the best of eyesight but even I can track an invisible wraith. I've played skyrim before and spammed the Heck out of the invisibility spell in 3rd person ik what the shimmer looked like.
Bubba : man's got an insta down and if you time it well enough /have the speedy add ons survivors aren't going to make that vault. But then there's the severely harsh penalty for missing. And the fact that revving it kinda slows you down. And maybe in that situation you might've been better with Billy, but then again it's up to preference on how you like to control your chainsaw.
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