Alternative to Hatch---how to get rid of it while still being fun
So I came up with this idea in another discussion a little it ago but wanted to make my own official discussion for it by itself.
Before I present the alternative I will say why the Hatch is a bad feature for this game. The Hatch in the beginning when this game came out was necessary, it exists so players who are all by themselves are given hope they can escape, otherwise they will become hopeless and DC because they know they can't win. When the game came out the Hatch was necessary and ok, now the game has grown and it needs to go. The Hatch is the equivalent to a Mori, they both require work to use but ultimately rob the other player of their hard work with an instant escape/kill. The Key can rob a Killer of the entire team, 3 people can jump in just when he was about to kill everyone. The Survivor can just say ''game over'' and that's that. When I play Survivor I don't use keys because I don't want the game to end prematurely but I understand why they exist. During the final 1v1 the Hatch is the only escape but it doesn't have to be, there is a better way to escape that doesn't change the game and makes it fair.
THE FIX
Placed around the map are 4 Lanterns(from the Lunar Event), these Lanterns are locked away and cannot be accessed until there is 1 Survivor remaining. They have no Auras, neither the Killer nor Survivor can see them in this way, players will see them during the match and have to memorize where they were. When 1 Survivor is remaining these Lanterns will unlock, the Survivor must collect 3 out of 4 Lanterns, each Lantern applies progress to the Exit switch up to 9 seconds of progression leaving 7 seconds for the Survivor to do manually. Additionally, during the 1v1 the Survivor is given the Endurance status giving them 3 hits before they go into the Dying State, that is if they are in the Healthy state, if they are Injured it will still be 2 hits.
Basically this makes the 1v1 just like normal gameplay except for Gens, each player is searching for a Lantern. Survivors will have to find the Lantern and the Killer will have to get there first and find the path the Survivor is taking to cut them off, or not. The Survivor will still have to hide and the Killer will still have to hunt and because the Survivor needs 3 out of 4 the Killer can't just camp one because they can get the other. Also, the Survivor can't open the Exit unless they collect 3 Lanterns, they have no power since the Gens weren't completed. The Survivor has the advantage of taking 3 hits, this is because it is a 1v1 and the Survivor is inherently at a disadvantage with no real way to get out so they need a boost in this scenario.
The Hatch does not exist, once there is 1 Survivor left the Gens are closed off by The Entity, once this happens a 2 minute timer will start before a new 1 minute timer of the End Game Collapse. This gives players a final 3 minute match so players can't hold the game hostage. Killers can still slug the 3rd for the 4th to avoid this scenario but it won't be necessary since there is no free escape. A Killer would only slug for the 4 if they think they can end the match right away or if they're just weird. The Perk Left Behind will be changed to reveal Auras of the Lanterns, Remember Me will be very powerful once again and Wake Up is still the counter.
Keys will still have a use as add-ons give them Auras of different types and maybe the Key can unlock 1 Lantern early so they don't have to go looking for it later. Or maybe the Devs can add in a secret Black Chest with an ultra rare item in it so Keys have more use.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Hatch needs to go, too many players, Survivors and Killers alike and sick and tired of the slugging so the last person doesn't get the Hatch. The EGC and closing the Hatch was an amazing and refreshing idea that this game desperately needed and now we need to accept that the Hatch needs to go.
What do you guys think? The 3 hits was not my idea but I can't credit who it was as it was a while ago and I forget lol
Comments
the Survivor must collect 3 out of 4 Lanterns, each Lantern applies progress to the Exit switch up to 9 seconds of progression leaving 7 seconds for the Survivor to do manually
Why 9 seconds, how 7 seconds (the gate is 20)
Additionally, during the 1v1 the Survivor is given the Endurance status giving them 3 hits before they go into the Dying State, that is if they are in the Healthy state, if they are Injured it will still be 2 hits.
The Survivor has the advantage of taking 3 hits, this is because it is a 1v1 and the Survivor is inherently at a disadvantage with no real way to get out so they need a boost in this scenario.
What does this accomplish really? Im really curious, except the "force" openning the gates by taking hits. Also you can still be instadowned.
They have no Auras
The Perk Left Behind will be changed to reveal Auras of the Lanterns
^
Also how far away would those be? How long would be the animation (the unhooking one?)
Ins't the Exit 16 seconds to open? Or am I getting 16 from Remember Me? If the Exit is actually 20 seconds then the Lanterns should take away 13 seconds so they'll still have 7 seconds to open it. I don't want the manual part to take too long because the current EGC we have now is if you get found at 1 of 2 Exits that are pretty close you're dead. They gotta have a chance and now I'm seeing why they shouldn't be getting an extra hit lol
The idea of an extra hit is more of a boost for Survivors if they get found. In lower Ranks if you get found you're dead but more skilled Survivors will be able to hide and escape chases so they won't need that extra hit. I mostly put it in there because depending on how the match went you could have no pallets, it could be really small, it's basically just a boost to make them feel better. It isn't 100% necessary and if it's too powerful it can be removed.
The Animation for taking a Lantern was originally going to be the same exact animation you have for taking a Lantern, from the Lunar Event. But now that you mention unhooking, that seems the way to go. As for the Aura for the Lantern it really all comes down to where the Lanterns can spawn, I think the max distance can be 24-32 but I'm leaning more towards 24. That would have to be a thing they would have to test, if the range is too big then it would be too easy but if it's too small then it's not happening.
It's 20
But still, survs complain about current EGC because if you get find you're dead. That extra hit wouldn't make a diffrence either way
And the animation from Lunar Event is literally unhooking animation. I was just asking.
So what do you think of the idea? I was trying to find something that wouldn't change what players already do, opening Exits, patrolling certain areas, hiding, hunting etc. Peanits said they are working on changing Exit locations so they're farther apart, if they do that then this idea would benefit from it. I've come up with other ideas but this one is more in-depth.
Not really a fan of it.
Balancing 6 points of patrol would be way harder than 2/3.
Well Killers with high mobility will still have no problem with it. Hag and Demo will be able to get there instantly.
But I can see what you're saying, 4 Lanterns and 2 Exits with no way of knowing the Survivor progress until they see they've already been there. If the Killer is two steps behind then that's two steps the Survivor is out the door.
What if, nothing is set in stone and anything can be made to work, after a Lantern is picked up a noise notification notifies the Killer a Lantern has been picked up and shows them where it happened?
This way the Killer can predict which Lantern they will go to next or at least know where not to go and this tells the Killer they don't have to guard the Exit until they hear 3 Lanterns being taken. Now that I think about it, the Killer should see the Auras of the Lanterns to minimize how much they need to do, they shouldn't be spending time searching for something to guard, pretty hard to guard something you can't find.
Also since I am not a Dev I don't know where these Lanterns would be placed, that's a difficulty I cannot change in my concept unless I they have a minimum to maximum distance from each other which might not be a bad idea.