Unique changes to increase FUN [constructive criticism please]

I was once lucky enough to get to talk about game balance with a developer for one of my favorite games, Team Fortress 2. While the game would eventually fail due to a cosmetic/loot box spiral and ultimately wound up a shell of its former self, the original design concepts were brilliant and very inspirational for me. One of the major lessons that I learned from my developer friend was something that has shaped my opinions on game design/balance ever since, and it has helped me develop most of my ideas outlined below. The lesson is as follows:

“There is no ability or power in a game that cannot be balanced through tweaking the numbers behind it. The key is making the abilities FUN to play with and against”

If you think about it, and are creative enough, this turns out to always be true. Imagine killers were to have an ability that just instantly wins the game once activated. Depending on the numbers behind the ability of the ability it could be totally overpowered (one key press, bam! game over) to totally useless (start on cooldown, 60 minutes until active), somewhere in-between there is an area that is technically balanced and it’s just a matter of finding that number. Is it a FUN mechanic? Probably not, but figuring out what is FUN is what separates good from great game design. It is the core defining principal that should define what gets into the game, the rest is just numbers to tweak. With this mindset, here is a patch list I have come up with. I tried to specify numbers where possible but if I write ## that signifies that i'm not sure where this number should be, and will need some research to find the right one, but the mechanic is sound.

I want to inject more FUN into the game by addressing the following issues:

1. Rework perks that feel compulsory
2. Lower player frustration/stress levels
3. Increase player rewards & positive feedback

With all that being said, here we go, my dream patch list.

Map/Game changes

• Based on the highest ranked survivor, the survivors will get the following effects(low rank survivors are often just torn apart by equally low rank killers, i think a small boost to help a struggling newbie survivor team is needed)

1. Rank 20-15: easier good and great skill check success zones, left behind perk effects added to base kit, camaraderie perk effects added to base kit. (to stop low tier camping, and to incentivise staying till the end of a match)
2. Rank 14-10: easier good skill check success zones.
3. Rank 9-5: no buff
4. Rank 4-1: moris and keys are disabled (these overpowered tools are fun to joke around with, but they do not belong in serious matches

• Before a match starts a survivor will be locked out of switching their loadout 10 seconds before a match starts. The killer has this additional time to change their gear. The tools the survivor is bringing will be shown in plain text to the killer. (the stupid strategy of swapping your gear immediately before the game starts defeats the purpose of letting the killer see you in the first place, and it wastes everyone's time as you are waiting to swap and everyone else is readied up)
• Before match starts the killer can veto 2 maps. His veto is shown at the same time as the offerings. (Survivors can choose a map offering and only give up 25% of their total offerings. The killer can give up 100% of his offerings to choose the map, but even this is wasted if any of the 4 survivors brought their own map offering. Give the killer some choice where he wants to hunt)
• Exit Gates should slowly lose progression to prevent 99%ing them. (This strategy is just silly and shouldn’t work this way. The collapse is meant to “pressure all lingering Survivors to escape during a specific time frame” but in practice the survivors have too much control over when the collapse starts. So now instead of survivors safely lingering near the exit doorway, you have survivors safely lingering near the door switch until they are ready to leave)
• Add more open space/dead zones around the edges of the map. Perhaps this could offer some strategy for survivors. The dead zones won’t have jungle gyms and pallets to block a killer, just trees and grass and places to hide. So it’s a risky move to hang out there, but there is less chance of the killer seeing you, and odds are they won’t have time to do a detailed search of the entire open area. This will provide stealth as a more reasonable option to some survivors.

Totem rework

• Hex and Dull totems now have a check to ensure there is no line of sight between them and any generator.
• Hex and Dull totems now have a check that places them far enough away from any generator that the hex totem ambient sounds are not audible from the location of any generator.
• Totems are only revealed upon first generator completion and hex totems are revealed upon second generator completion (all totems are revealed after the first generator, but the correct hex-linked totem is only lit and revealed upon second generator’s completion. The hex totem can be cleansed after the first generator but the survivor wont know if its a dull or hex totem until the second generator)
• Killer can only bring one totem perk per game(I think it might be too strong to have multiple hex totems hidden until the first generator is active)

General Killer Changes  

• All Killers now receive inherit the bonus blood points of BBQ & chili automatically as an incentive to share the love around.
• Hemorrhage and deep wound de-buffs are merged. Everything that gave either of these effects now gives both.
• Blind effects (meaning the status effect on a survivor, not referring to the flashlight blind) last for a minimum of the stated amount of time on the perk/ability, and then need to be cleansed in a “snap out of it” style action.
• Pre-game hints will not reveal which killer is being played
• All blood point gains through perks/add-ons are now added post trial. (This current system doesn’t work for anyone. imagine a killer who has an easy time maxing out hunter points, he gains no extra blood points from running thrill of the hunt, as the 10% bonus bloodpoints aren’t awarded post-trial. He will get the same 8000BPs as usual. But a killer that has a hard time earning hunter bloodpoints barely benefits from the thrill of the hunt’s 10% bonus points because the base amount earned is too small)
• Killers now have a weight stat, this controls how loud their footsteps are and how effective body blocking is. (nurse or legion is very light and can easily be body blocked, while demogorgon should weigh a ton and simply push aside any survivor) (this is probably going to be a controversial change, as body blocking does take skill, but it is a massive source of frustration to a killer and there really isn’t a reasonable option to counter the survivors doing it. It also doesn’t work with the tone of the game as the survivors should not be able to bully a killer in this way)

Specific Killer Changes   

Trapper

• Trapper’s base kit now starts with 2 traps and can hold 2 traps.
• If a survivor frees themselves (no help from another survivor) from a trap they will be put into the dying state with an effect similar to inner strength where after 8 seconds they are raised a health state.
• Trapper mori now involves slamming the survivor’s head into a bear trap if one is available in inventory

Wraith

• Move green windstorm add-on into the wraith’s basic kit and remove/rework existing addon to fit.
• Full invisibility from standing still lingers for # seconds
• New mori, maybe wraith goes invisible and eviscerates the survivor holding them above himself. Their blood washes over the wraith and reveals his blood soaked silhouette

Hillbilly

• Remove the wild sensitivity spike to his chainsaw on sprint activation
• Additional ##% fov on sprint to avoid perspective confusion that would not happen in reality

Nurse

• Nurse rework is too recent, can’t comment yet

Cannibal

• Berserker flail should be more erratic, wild, and difficult to control.(this is the one time the game should make visually tracking the survivor when close to them nearly impossible)
• Gets a ##% bonus to speed for each time you miss a chainsaw during a chase. Speed boost resets on successful chainsaw/mallet hit (this should incentivize more risky chainsaw plays with more chances to bump into objects, thematically fitting the cannibal)
• New Mori – Decapitation?

The Nightmare

• Rework is too recent, can’t comment yet

The Shape

• Survivors will very slowly regain evil (ideally so that totally draining a survivor of evil will not prevent you from getting the last 1% of evil needed to trigger evil within 3. Not intended to have a massive effect on total evil attainable in a single game)

The Hag

• Remove limit on teleport distance
• Traps are disabled while the hag is carrying a survivor. (this will stop a survivor from just triggering every trap on the map when the hag is moving to a hook)

The Doctor

***total rework*** (the doctor is not in a good place right now. He is not great at killing survivors, he is not fun to play as or against, and while threatening to new players; his madness system can be easily countered by good survivors who know his abilities. This rework aims to make tier 3 madness instill a panic in the survivor, and while the survivor gains a massive speed boost, they are also haunted by stronger versions of the doctor’s madness de-buffs and cannot effectively make use of obstacles. Making distance between you and him while not falling for any hallucinations will be key to survival. Knowing when to pursue a survivor inflicted with madness is the key to victory as the doctor)

• The nearest generator inside the doctor’s terror radius is electrified. Touching an electrified generator causes an explosion.
• Using carter’s spark on an object (pallet, exit gate switch, trap door) will cause the survivor to scream and recoil away from it (like a generator explosion) before being able to use an action.
• The doctor’s madness effects are now only witnessed by the effected survivor and the doctor and cannot be seen by other survivors.
• Being struck by the doctor increases madness by one level.

Madness changes

• Madness system keeps the scream on entry to each madness tier. Later madness tiers include debuffs from all previous madness tiers
• Madness now constantly ticks down to zero after being out of the doctor’s terror radius
• Madness tier 1: survivors scream when looking directly at the doctor. Doctor illusions are seen in the distant fog(fog offerings change this range)
• Madness tier 2: now invokes random screaming when moving. Doctor randomly becomes invisible and undetectable for 2 seconds while an illusion is left where he was standing. This illusion has his aura and terror radius. (the doctor cannot know when this effect is occurring to the victim)
• Madness 3 makes the survivor run 15% faster, but constantly scream and suffer from 3 of the effects randomly selected from the list below(the doctor does not know which effects are being granted, except when an equipped add-on guarantees one of the three debuffs)

Madness 3 effects

• Doctor hallucinations now appear closer and can be seen standing, walking toward and following affected survivor.
• Pallet hallucinations now include broken boards on the ground where unused pallets are.
• Pursuing red stain effect now bathes the entire area in red light. Doctor loses his red stain when chasing affected survivor.
• Exhaustion effect triggers for 10 seconds after every scream
• Doctor terror radius is inaudible for affected survivor.
• Music plays for the duration of madness 3, all other sounds are deafened(lets get something utterly bizarre for music here)
• Trees and small objects are hallucinations(effect persists until hallucination approached or madness tier 3 lost)
• Buildings and large objects are rotated(effect persists until hallucination approached or madness tier 3 lost)
• Hallucinated windows/vault points (effect persists until hallucination approached or madness tier 3 lost)
• Skillchecks are placed randomly on screen, time between the skillcheck warning sound and the actual skillcheck becomes randomized

The Legion

• Widen FOV for legion when in Feral Frenzy and vaulting pallets and windows. (Hiding directly below the legion as he vault a pallet should not be a viable strategy as it looks and feels dumb)
• Missing with feral frenzy now doesn’t end feral frenzy. Instead, stabbing takes up 25% of remaining power and lunging to stab takes up an additional 25% of power. If the stab is successful power is fully restocked as usual.
• Rework killer instinct to show directional markers to blips not on screen(similar to the damage markers from an FPS) and make killer instinct heartbeat speed proportional to distance to the survivor.

The Plaque

• A survivor's vomit now leaves a bright green/yellow trail similar to blood but a continuous line following the survivor’s path
• A fully charged spit is much wider and meant for spraying down an area.
• Corrupted spit now causes infection on survivors and objects
• Corrupted spit will not cause an injury but instead will slow down the survivor and cause them to continuously vomit for ## seconds
• Each survivor will puke ## times and then be put into the dying state if they do not drink from a fountain.
• Each corrupted fountain on the map slows down the charge time for vile plague. At 4 corrupted fountains the charge time slows to zero

The Spirit

• When coming out of spirit form, if you swing and miss during the speed boost you will get an exhaustion phase(similar to nurse)
• The spirit can no longer hear the survivor’s grunts of pain or breathing when using her ability, only footsteps, grass, and rushed actions.
• The survivor’s no longer get warning sound when the spirit uses her power outside of her terror radius(this was a buff that only helped SWF groups, and it made those in comms able to say exactly when the spirit used her ability, ruining any chance of tricking the survivor)

The Demogorgon

• Killer is too recent, can’t comment yet

The Clown

• A direct hit with the bottle cases slow pallet and window vaults for the intoxication duration
• Bottle count with the addon that give survivor’s the exposed effect are forced to be 3

The Pig

*partial rework* (the survivors having to work together to stop this deadly machine works so much better with the saw aesthetic. Plus, a countdown to death instead of a count up to freedom just feels right here)

• All survivors start with a trap on their head, exit gates start open. When entering an exit gate zone the helmet begins to violently beep and shake(to show new players that this is not something they should be doing)
• Generators are replaced with jigsaw boxes(aesthetic change only, all rules regarding generators apply to jigsaw boxes. Maybe we can add a cool animation of the pig screwing with the inner workings of the jigsaw box instead of the standard “break object” animation)
• The traps are active from the moment the game starts, they are not disabled when dying, hooked or during a chase. The killer cannot see the exact trap timer, but can get a general estimate based on the beeping of everyone’s trap
• Each generator completed adds ## minutes to every survivor’s trap timer. The final generator allows all survivors to fling off their traps.
• New mori: if the traps have not been removed yet then she tinker’s with the survivor’s trap and sets it off prematurely

The Huntress

• Insta-down red hatchet add-on forces hatchet count to be one
• When out of hatchets move speed becomes 115%

The Ghostface

• If a survivor is looking at the ghostface or in a chase stalking progress is slowed by 100%
• Stalking progress is no longer lost on hit

Killer Perk Changes (all at tier 3)   

• BBQ and Chili – bloodpoint component removed, aura now lasts for 8 seconds. Otherwise unchanged.
• Beast of Prey – You lose your red stain when in a chase.
• Bloodhound – blood trails glow red and last for 5 seconds longer, when the survivor is running the spatter is more of a streak, showing direction.
• Blood warden – the entity’s barbs that materialize to block the killer from exiting through the gate also block survivors. Auras of survivors within the gate are revealed to killer and vise versa.
• Coulrophobia - survivors in your terror radius cannot heal or use medkits.
• Cruel limits – pallets and windows within 24 meters of a finished generator are blocked for survivors permanently.
• Dark Devotion – Obsession now emits terror radius for 60 seconds. The Obsession hears no terror radius. Otherwise unchanged.
• Furtive Chase – Each token now decreases your terror radius by 3 meters regardless of chase status. Otherwise unchanged.
• Hangman’s Trick – Hooks are replaced by nooses, which don’t break after use and take longer to unhook a survivor.
• NOED – speed boost removed. Otherwise unchanged.
• Thrill of the hunt – No longer a totem. Otherwise unchanged.
• Insidious – having no survivor in your terror radius(or lullaby radius) makes you undetectable. This effect lingers for 5 seconds. Killer is not told when this effect is active.
• Iron grasp – Struggle movement effects nullified, struggle timer increased by 20%
• Iron Maiden – Exposed effect lasts for 30 seconds. Otherwise unchanged.
• Knock Out - Hides hook location bubble from survivors. Otherwise unchanged.
• Light born – looking into the killers red stain from close range as a survivor blinds you.(like a flashlight)
• Mad Grit – 10% movement speed when carrying survivor, wiggle timer pause for 4 seconds on hit
• Mind breaker – All survivors are exhausted until 2 generators are complete
• Monstrous Shrine – Applies to all hooks. Faster entity progression only when out of killer terror radius. Otherwise unchanged.
• Overcharge – Final level of overcharge now has an impossible skill check. Otherwise unchanged.
• Overwhelming Presence – Items slowly degrade by themselves when in terror radius.
• Predator – Scratch marks appear as normal but now tighten together as they fade, at 90% transparency they are almost completely a line showing the exact path.
• Remember Me - exit gates now must be opened in one action or progress falls to zero instantly once the handle is let go. A third false exit gate is spawned, only once open can the survivor's see that this exit is blocked by debris/rubble. Killer is not told which exit is the false one.
• Shadowborn – FOV is increased to 20%, slightly easier to see in dark places
• Sloppy Butcher – No longer causes hemorrhage, instead causes mangled and an increase to the survivor’s grunts of pain.
• Surge – Closest 2 generators explode regardless of distance. (completed generators are counted but do nothing)
• Territorial imperative – Auras are revealed to you whenever the survivor is in the basement. Aura effect lingers for 10 seconds after leaving.
• Thanatophobia – now counts injured, dying, or dead survivors. Otherwise unchanged.
• Unnerving presence – skill checks when in terror radius do not have “great” zones anymore and their success zones are 60% smaller. 20% chance of triggering additional skill checks. Debuff icon hidden when no skill check is active.
• Unrelenting – Auto-aim disabled. 20% faster swing speed(regardless of hit or miss)

General Survivor Changes 

• Survivor’s now each get a small built-in perk unique to them that complements their character and allows them to stand out. A couple of examples could be:

1. Ace: better luck
2. Claudette: in addition to being hard to see already, slightly quieter breathing when crouching and not moving after ## seconds
3. Dwight: small bonus to other survivor’s repair speed
4. Tapp: Knows the which killer he is up against and that killers starting position

• Each survivor also has a weight stat that controls their footsteps and bodyblock strength, as well as a general “noise” stat that should list generally how loud this survivor is.
• Each player on the survivor team must choose a unique survivor. (No more 4 man Claudette teams, this looked silly and is a dumb way to confuse the killer. Tracking the obsession and how many hooks each survivor has left is enough mental work without having to deal with the doppleganger squad)
• All blood point gains through perks and offerings/add-ons are now applied post game.
• All survivors get the “we’re going to make it” perk inherently to incentivize altruism.
• A regressing generator will have skill check trigger immediately. This skill check must be completed to stop regression. Missing this skill check or walking away from the generator will cause a loud noise but not cause any additional progress to be lost. (this is to stop a survivor from tapping a generator mid-chase)

Survivor Perk Changes  

• Adrenaline – if being carried by the killer or on a hook when adrenaline triggers, the free health state is lost. Otherwise unchanged.
• Boil over – the killer’s ability to see hook auras reduced to 0 while carrying survivor.
• Borrowed time – Now activates when the killer is within 32 meters. Otherwise unchanged.
• Breakdown – also increases hook sabotage speed by 20%. Otherwise unchanged.
• Buckle Up – Picking up a downed survivor now grants you 5 seconds the killer’s aura and gives both you and them 5% increased move speed.
• Camaraderie – When on a hook for the first time, being in the killer’s terror radius stops hook progression.
• Decisive Strike – is disabled once the survivor becomes fully healthy. Otherwise unchanged.
• Distortion – tokens increased to six, killer is made aware of this perk when it triggers. Otherwise unchanged.
• Head on – If killer is swinging at locker while head on is activated, killer gets stunned and survivor is hit. Otherwise unchanged.
• No Mither – Start the trail healthy and no mither activates once you become injured. Survivor is broken but this is not revealed to killer. Otherwise unchanged.
• Open handed – charges left on your item are now linked to the survivor(a half used toolbox for you could be a new toolbox for a friend)
• Pharmacy – Emergency med kit now comes with 2 brown addons. Otherwise unchanged.
• Resilience – when you are injured but not broken, you receive a 15% bonus to action speeds.(vaulting included)
• Saboteur – increases hook sabotage speed by 30%
• Slippery Meat – if you have been hooked in the last 60 seconds, increase wiggle speed by 50% and increases time it takes for killer to place you on the hook. (flashlight saves are possible)
• Solidarity – When you are healed by another survivor, the next time you heal that survivor you get a 50% boost to your healing speed. This also works vise versa(you heal them, they are faster healing you)
• Stake Out – You now gain tokens 2 at a time. Max tokens increased to 8. Otherwise unchanged.
• Streetwise – Now grants 15% reduced consumption rates for all survivors as long as bearer is unhooked and alive.
• Up the Ante – gain 3% luck for each survivor alive
• Vigil – effect is now active for all survivors as long as bearer is unhooked and alive. Otherwise unchanged.
• Wake Up – exit gates open 25% faster. Exit gates have an aura that becomes brighter the closer it is to being completed.
• Were gonna live forever – increased survivor weight stat by 50%

Final comments, questions, cosmetics and oddities that didn’t fit anywhere else

• I didn’t go too in depth regarding the add-ons and the implications of every one of my changes on each add-on and item. That is a rabbit hole that I don’t have the time to venture down at this point. Hire me BHVR, and we’ll talk about that one ;)
• Do more things like the cannibal’s unlockable masks, that’s an amazing thing to find out about and little flavor additions make all the difference to players.

1. Maybe masks or little details for the huntress based on the map being played?
2. Make the clown’s finger key chain have the fingers of the last few survivors you mori’d
3. The doctor could(should) get more and more manic as the overall madness of the survivors rises.
4. Killers with a temper get more and more angry as generator’s complete.

• The blood stained cosmetics are cool, but wouldn’t it be much cooler to see the killer get more and more covered in blood as their victims mount? If you are the last survivor the killer should be drenched in blood! They were standing in front of the survivor as they were impaled on a hook after all. Maybe consider making blood spray/spatter an in-game effect instead of a cosmetic?
• Personally, I don’t care for the cosmetics hanging off the hooks and whatnot, but as long as it’s not obtrusive and fits the theme of the game I’m ok with it. If you want to sell me something that I’d actually look forward to, how about a personalized end game screen? (something like the victory screens in Injustice(2?))

1. Maybe if I get a 4k as the clown we get to see one of the survivors tied up in his stagecoach as the clown tinkers with some new drug to feed them. Stick my cosmetics from the hook somewhere in the stagecoach too for extra customization.
2. The plague could have a scene where we see the survivor coming down with the infection and becoming covered in the plague’s boils.
3. Let’s see bubba’s kitchen here, the ghostface’s hideout, the doctor’s lab, the possibilities are endless.
4. If the survivors win maybe add a little celebratory cut scene of them weary but happy to have escaped into the fog. Maybe players can have custom emotes that would trigger here. (a high five, an exasperated laugh, nothing garish and out of place please!)

• I’m probably the minority here, but I prefer original non-licensed killers.
• I’m probably the minority here, but I would like to see some more non-humanoid killers(fingers crossed for massive spider boss that can stick to ceilings and catch survivors in webs, dragging them up like a half-life barnacle)(let a man dream)

Well, I think that’s about it. If you have any constructive criticism I would love to hear it. Thanks for reading this far and if you liked any/all of my ideas, please, share it around. I don’t want any credit or recognition; I just want my favorite game to be the best it can be and if any of my ideas would help inspire a change in the right direction then I would be ecstatic.

Thank you friends, and see you in the fog.