Keys are Busted, FIX THIS NEXT

You're right. We should nerf keys to be as bad as moris. Let's remove keys from the game and give survivors an ultra rare offering that cuts the time required for gens to be completed to 40 seconds each and a very rare that cuts them to 60. Then it'll be just as trash as a mori. /s

And here we go again.

Another DbD crybaby thread.

There are conditions for the hatch to spawn.

I usually find one key every few bloodweb pages. Usually around 3. And then often I have to choose between a key and a perk...

I found working keys during the last months in chests very rarely. Maybe 5 times. Most of the time it is a broken key.

In matches with random players keys are not that powerful. Without communication it is not easy to do anything good with them. Also these matches I tend to lose more and also lose the key.

In premade teams they can be rough though if one takes a key and one other a map. They then have the location and can focus on repairing x+1 generators.

I mean i get what you are saying, but I think it is not as bad as you make it seem. I rarely witnessed key escapes.

The entire forums of this game are just filled with back and forth crying from both sides.

But of course it is not easy to balance the game, true.

There seem to be 3 different skill groups.

Within the beginner ranks I have the feeling mostly killers are winning.

Experienced player ranks it is roughly 50/50.

And the high ranks keep saying that it is mostly survivors who win.

Another balance factor is premade teams and solo survivors due to solo survivors having no means of communication.

The game has different levels of perks but due to only tiny differences, for example 1 second longer effect per level it does not do much for inexperienced players.

So there is one possibility for balancing gone, because again it is tough to balance it for all people.

But maybe they could give ranks different extra powers? It kind of breaks a bit with basic rules of ranks only showing skill without considering extra perks or anything, but it would at least be a possibility to address skill group balancing more separately.

Now this would most likely deal with balancing ranks.

Now let's get back to the keys because these are balancing issues between premade and solo.

In that regard it is very difficult to balance it for both. But I agree that an extra interaction time (people called it "Animation" which is technically not correct) could be useful for balance. And maybe force around 3 seconds time that is needed to open the hatch before endgame and during endgame, after the killer closed the hatch they should maybe still open instantly.

But yea it is tough to balance. Everything in the game is tough to balance.

Different ranks, solo or random, and then the asynchronous nature of the game itself.

The devs aren't stupid. I really dislike how people are constantly piss on them on these threads like "Oh it's so easy to balance the entire game just nerf/buff feature X"... Like "its so easy to balance games, here hold my beer".

Let me tell you guys, even balancing simple games like counter strike or MOBAs is not easy. It is difficult. And then imagine a game like DbD. I can assure you the devs are having sleepless nights over this.

What makes it worse is that simultaneously people are saying for example: "BUFF HEX RUIN!". While others at the same time say "NERF HEX RUIN!".

Again problems with different ranks.

Beginner ranks play the game completely different than experienced players...

Like in every game of course but in DbD the difference is tremendous.

So yea. I don't have a perfect solution myself.

But one last thing for your understanding about why sometimes with new killers/survivors the balance is off.

These days in Game Design we introduce new characters a bit stronger because it is easier to nerf than to buff.

It saves time and reduces many risks.

For example if a character is too strong but the mechanics are good all it needs is to adjust the numbers a bit.

But if it is too weak maybe the mechanics and many things around the character are just dysfunctional. Then tweaking numbers is not enough. Worst case an entire remake needs to be done.

So yea... Balancing DbD is a heavier task than it seems.

Keys, in my opinion, are the closest equivalent to a Ebony or Ivory Mori (not Cypress cuz that only becomes available for the last living Survivor who was dead if they got downed regardless). Mori's let the Killer remove a Survivor from the game extremely early, and Keys let the Survivor escape from the trial early.

And both are actually equal if you consider this: Both sides must work and do their primary objective (chase/slow/injure/kill Survivors or complete Gens) in order to get the Mori/Key to work. A Killer can't just Mori someone if said Survivor hasn't been hooked yet, and Survivors cant use their Key if X number of gens haven't been done. Additionally, an Ebony (correct me if I have Ebony and Ivory mixed up) can only Mori 1 Survivor, while any Purple/Iri Key can let the ENTIRE team of Survivors escape. If the Killer wishes to Mori all 4, then they must run an Ivory (again, correct me if I got them mixed up) and get lucky to find the last Survivor before that Survivor finds the hatch.

Edit: My suggestion is make it so that Purple Keys only allow for 1 Survivor to escape, instead of all 4. Make it so that Skeleton (Iri) Key is required for all 4 Survivors to escape.

I don't know how hard it is to see a key due to the fact i don't run plunderer instinct. Besides i don't care if they bring a key.

I mean, people squealed about not being able to close the hatch. It happened. Now keys are a bigger issue because of this. Finding a key in a box is kind of rare.

Killers can see a key if it's being brought in and drag Franklin's along to counter if they think it's so terrible. A survivor cant do ######### within the game mechanics to know if a killer is bringing a mori and offset perks to extend survivability. In the name of balance this cannot be!

Leave keys and leave mori's in the game. That can be the consistent hero that we all deserve. Just to champion the urge that a lot of people have, and that's to get mad or frustrated at something that's supposed to be fun. You get hatched? Oh well, next game. You get mori'd? Oh well, next game.

Literally just prevent gens from being done. If you’re hellbent on killing all four survivors every single game then you have problems 😂 one survivor escaping with a key isn’t the end of the world. Killer mains love to scream “just do totems” when it comes to NOED, but want to argue when survivors say “prevent gens from being done”

Keys are balanced. Not like all four survivors can leave with 5 gens left. Pressure is all you need

Keys are certainly not balanced, but we ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT have them removed without moris removed first

Yes, because without any perks killers don't have any unique powers right? Explain how a Billy w/ just endurance and no addons gets a 4k. You're not gonna convince me a perkeless survivor is just as good as perkless killer because they're not the same.

keys are not op.

as it has been stated, you can see them in the survivors hand in the lobby - bring franklins, tunnel the guy or dodge if you are a coward. check under the hook when you've killed them to see if the key disappeared or not and act accordingly.

for more than 1 survivor to escape with a key, they would have to have almost completed their objective (4 gens). they also need luck in finding the hatch (for most maps). many times the killer will stop them in time. the killer can also close the hatch - i've managed to do it many times so i will at least get one of them. EBONY MORI on the other hand, removes the all challenge from the killer's objective - he only needs to hook once and tunnel and it's gg ez. stop comparing the two!

i never dodge keys. they bring an additional tactical element to the game and give the survivors a chance if the killer is snowballing. as i said in another thread, removing things from a game can make the game dull in the long run. it needs to be considered in detail before it happens.

like i understand, why a killer would be salty about a key. you thought you were gonna win for sure but the survivors manage to escape. but the thing is, the other side are players too. just because a thing annoys you doens't make it op in itself.

How about we eliminate flashlights, keys, and the ability for survivors to move so that they just stand there and do nothing? See how stupid that sounds? The community is what's ruining this game because they cry and can't learn to play the game and deal with a loss. Just because you can't always get 4 kills a match doesn't mean your life is over. Deal with it.

I think keys and at the least ebony moris have no place to exist. Both end the game for both sides prematurely without any skill involved. It's "lols I win now because I equipped a certain item -- deal with it". This is just wrong.

Also: survivors can find keys in chests even without plunderers which is just mind boggling. Imagine killers being able to find moris during the game, the outcry would be massive, rightfully so, because it's stupidly unbalanced.

While finding keys in chests is arguably unfair, the key is almost always a broken key.