The status of the Demogorgon

I've had a lot of arguments with people on the forums and in game about a lot of things. However, I don't think there's anything I've been more astoundingly confused about than how people thought the Demogorgon was a strong killer after he came out.

Don't get me wrong about anything. I'm a huge fan of stranger things, so he is probably one of my favorite killers, and in one of my overall favorite chapters. Everything design wise about his power seems amazingly true to the lore, and the feel of playing as a monster, except for one thing, the being scary part.

Since his release Demo has pretty much gotten the same treatment as the clown by people playing as killer. Even though he's a new killer, and should be very popular for a few weeks after release, the use rate died down after just a couple of DAYS, to the point where people could play all evening and not play against a single killer play as Demo, which of course is the opposite problem that most people have when a new killer is released, which is playing only against them.

Despite this, people had very positive feedback for the Demogorgon, and enjoyed playing against him. That's right. Against him. Let me explain why that doesn't make sense. For every killer released that has been powerful, people have complained about having to verus them to frequently, ESPECIALLY right after they are released. With the sole exception of the perhaps the nurse due to being the first new DLC killer, people have complained about having to go against The Hag, Leatherface, The Doctor, Freddy, Ghostface ETC. And while everyone is right to their own opinion about whether or not they find a killer enjoyable to go against, the fact that people LIKE playing against the demogorgon is a little bit worrying.

This statement isn't to say that playing against killers should feel tedious or uninteresting, but as a general rule of thumb, powerful or effective killers aren't fun for survivors to go against because fun usually does not equal dying. Dying is the opposite of fun. Fun is staying in the game long enough to make a daring escape and laugh about the match with your friends. Everyone has their own fun, so I'm obviously generalizing. But the point is that if it has a stamp of approval from the opposite side, it probably isn't where it needs to be. As the saying goes, a good compromise leaves no one happy.

I only thought I'd address this now that I finally have the PROOF that Demo is not a powerful killer. As per the stats released, at red ranks, Demo fairs very poorly, having the SECOND LOWEST kill rate in the game, just barely above The Clown. And on top of that, his use rate is on par with the more unpopular killers, such as The Plague, Doctor, The Clown, and The Pig. You can see the stats here.

Now I understand he can be fun to play as and against. But the mathematical proof is here that he's NOT a good killer. I don't really care what you have to say about his kit otherwise. The strength of a killer is tied to their ability to make killers, and Demo's kit does almost nothing to help him in this regard. Unless you'd like to explain why a killer with such an amazingly designed power has the second lowest kill rate in the game. These are the surface issues I've personally noticed.

Issue #1 Survivor Counterplay

In every game survivors should have a way to help circumvent the killers power. Its no fun being in a game where you don't have any control over the outcome. However, there is a fine line between circumvention and control of a killers power. The best example of this would be The Trapper pre- sabotage nerf. It used to be that the survivors could completely and permanently destroy the trappers traps, literally leaving him with no power. Obviously it was unbalanced, for the person playing killer it was very frustrating, and it wasn't healthy for the killer's design. This is what happens when survivors CONTROL a killers power instead of CIRCUMVENTING it. The Demogorgon has a similar issue with his portals being destroyed by the survivors. Now granted, the issue isn't as bad as it was with The Trapper, as when a portal is destroyed it is instantly sent back into the Demogorgon's inventory to be replaced, BUT this is still way too punishing. When playing as the killer, you are constantly assessing where the most effective use of your time will be. I don't think there's a single high rank killer out there who will tell you that time management isn't important in red ranks. The Demogorgon is supposed to be able to use his portals to circumvent this, and is supposed to be an asset to his power. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. There are two disadvantages these portals have. Firstly, the Demogorgon has to travel to that part of the map to place the portal, which can waste the killers time, and secondly, IF the survivors can destroy the portal while the Demogorgon is away, that part of the map effectively becomes a safe haven for the survivors, as the killer must walk there, giving them plenty of time to finish up, and allowing survivors in other areas of the map to cleanse there own respective portals. When a portal is destroyed, it doesn't simply hinder or provide countermeasure for the survivors, It removes the killers ability to use their power of traversal. If that is where they needed to teleport to, and that portal was destroyed before they could, it really doesn't matter how many portals they have on the map or available to them (unless two of the portals happen to be in the same location) his power to teleport is now worthless to him, and a hindrance given the time it takes to place one. I propose two solutions.

Solution Part 1

The rat tail addon portal placement speed should be base kit for the Demogorgon, and the rat tail should be reworked (which I'll talk about later).

Solution Part 2

The base time of destroying portals should be longer, and additionally, survivors should be forced to stop working on a portal as soon as the demogorgon begins the animation for entering his portal. OR the time to enter a portal should be significantly decreased.

But why?

Portal defense is a big part of the killer in high ranks. Portals however spread apart are limited, and on larger or maps with spread out gens, even the destruction of one portal results in a large loss of map pressure for people playing as the Demogorgon. Making it easy to teleport to portals makes them easier to keep up in crucial locations, and making them more quick to set means that you won't waste as much time in early game setup, which can be the downfall of every killer at red ranks.

Issue # 2 Lack of Effective Addons

I think something many Demo players will agree with me on is that his addons are focused far too much on his portals. The portals can be useful, and will be more useful with addons, but the fact of the matter is that the portals aren't interactive enough to justify occupying 83% of his addons. (Not even including the one addon that has a shred and a portal buff) It's logical to at least say that his addons should at least be split 50/50, each affecting a different aspect of the demogorgons power. However the general consensus is that his addons aren't very helpful, and with the exception of one or two of his addons, make no noticeable game play difference.

Solution:

Rework his addons to have both effects for his portals and effects for his power. Lets assume that we wanted to have half of his addons effect portals and half effect shred for each rarity tier. It would be simple and effective to combine his addon effects currently and then substitute better effects in that help his shred. In this regard, only the common rarity addons are split 50/50. Here's how I would divvy up each of the remaining rarities.

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Uncommon Rarity

Combine the effects of the Sticky Lining and Viscous Webbing addons. New addon "Viscous Webbing. Effect ---> Slightly increases the radius in which Survivors can be detected by Of the Abyss. Slightly increases the time taken by Survivors to seal a Portal.

Rework Sticky Lining to have the effects of Mew's guts additional portal, and Rotten Green Tripe's teleport speed. New Effect ----> Slightly increases the Demogorgon's Movement Speed while traversing the Upside Down. Increases the total number of available Portals by 1.

Rotten Green Tripe Rework. New Effect ----> Successfully hitting a survivor with a Shred attack will now inflict them with the Mangled and Hemorrhage status effects.

Mew's Guts rework. New Effect -----> Slightly increases the Recovery speed of missed Shred attacks. Slightly increases the Demogorgon's Movement speed while charging Of the Abyss.

Barb's glasses ---> (either slight buff or unchanged.) Slightly increases the Power Recovery speed of traversing the Upside Down.

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Rare Rarity

Elevens Soda ---> (either slight buff or unchanged.) Moderately increases the Power Recovery speed of traversing the Upside Down.

Thorny Vines buff. Now has the moderate value for range. ---> Slightly increases the time taken by Survivors to seal a Portal. Moderately increases the radius in which Survivors can be detected by Of the Abyss.

Brass Case Lighter buff. ---> Simply make the blindness effect last 60 seconds instead of 45.

Combine the Violet Waxcap and Deer Lung effects. Also, large buff to slight undetectable status effect ---> Slightly increases the duration of the Undetectable Status Effect applied to The Demogorgon when emerging from a Portal. (Now a buff of +1 seconds to 3 seconds total instead of 2.5) Moderately increases the Demogorgon's Movement speed while traversing the Upside Down.

Rework Deer Lung ---> Moderately increases the Recovery speed of missed Shred attacks. Successful Shred attacks now apply the Blindness, Mangled, and Hemorrhage status effects for 60 seconds.

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Very Rare Rarity

Vermilion Webcap Buff ---> Moderately increases the duration of the Undetectable Status Effect applied to The Demogorgon when emerging from a Portal. (Now a buff of +3 seconds to 5 seconds total instead of 3).

Lifeguard Whistle ---> Simply buff the effect to 15 seconds instead of 5.

Upside Down Resin ---> Buff. Moderately increases the time taken by Survivors to seal a Portal. Moderately increases the radius in which Survivors can be detected by Of the Abyss.

Unknown Egg rework ---> Survivor's hit with a successful shred attack will have their aura's to you revealed for 6 seconds, and will be put into the Oblivious state for 15 seconds.

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Ultra Rare Rarity

Red Moss ----> No Change

Leprose Lichen ----> Hitting a survivor with the shred attack will inflict them with the Broken status effect for 60 seconds, and will grant the Demogorgon the Undetectable status for 15 seconds. The auras of injured survivors are seen while traveling through the Upside Down.

Issue # 3 High risk, low reward.

The fact of the matter is that hitting shred attacks can be difficult against well versed survivors. In the PTB, shred felt very fluid and quick, and was very rewarding to use. However, since it was adjusted from coming out of the PTB, it feels much more sluggish and restrictive. Even a survivor clipping outside your screen to either side is an effective way to dodge it, meaning that in open areas this attack is practically useless. Closed off corners and area's are hard to encounter as killer, and even if you can force them into one, the extremely small hit box at the front of the lunge means that even running to the side will allow you to slip around the attack and avoid injury.

Solution:

Revert the change to the missed shred recovery speed to make missing attacks less punishing. Additionally, consider slightly widening the area detection for the attack, OR if it is felt that this makes it too difficult to use around walls, make it possible to slightly turn the attack so that more skill is put into both aiming and dodging.

These are honestly all my thoughts on the issue. Many of the improvements are QOL and will help him iron out some kills against good survivors. I hope that my thoughts are well received and the Demo can turn into a killer that is truly effective.

TL;DR

Demo sucks and has the second lowest kills in the game at red ranks. Make his portals harder to destroy, rework his addons so they're worth taking, and give him a little bit of steering on the lunge so that its more skill based.

@Peanits @not_Queen

I would love to hear both of your thoughts on the issue. And I'm hoping if possible some of these ideas could be passed on because Demo could really use some love.