Categorizing Killer Pressure
This is just a fun guide/categorization of what I consider to be various amounts of killer pressure and what their use is.
I'm not exactly a pro at this game, but I do consider myself a veteran, as I've played this game since the Beta release and off and on since then.
I will categorize the various activities that apply pressure in Low Pressure, Moderate Pressure, and High Pressure.
Its important to know that things that are Low Pressure doesn't necessarily mean its bad, but it just means that, on its own, it doesn't help out much, and is more useful when stacked up with other forms of pressure.
LOW PRESSURE
- Generator Regression (Standard, no perks)
Gen regression at its standard rate is low pressure. It can help out to stall gens a bit, especially if left unattended for a long period of time. But its an activity that soaks up time, and if you kick a gen while chasing someone, it can often lead to a chase that's longer than it needs to be. Knowing when to kick and when not to can help increase its pressure potential, but its standard regression without perks isn't too much of a concern for Survivors if they can get on the gen in a reasonable amount of time. Perks like Pop Goes The Weasel increase this pressure immensely.
- Chases
Chases are low pressure. Being in a chase with someone means that you're keeping someone from doing an activity that accomplishes their objective. But with four Survivors left, chases don't cause too much pressure, only multiplying with other kinds of pressure. A chase that goes on for too long can work against the killer, and sometimes it can lose you matches.
- Breaking Pallets (Unsafe)
Breaking unsafe pallets is low pressure. Yes, it subtracts a pallet from the map, but its time that can be used chasing, mind gaming, or getting a hit in. Sometimes, unsafe pallets can help you, especially ones that seem safe but are actually unsafe. Be sure to know which pallets are like that. But also know which ones you have to break as they could be a pest down the line, even as an unsafe pallet, as leaving one for a survivor to run into during a later chase will let them gain more distance on you than they would have otherwise.
MODERATE PRESSURE
- Injuring
Injuring survivors is moderate pressure. When a killer injures a survivor, they have the upper hand in most situations; if they heal, that's time they wasted not doing their main objective. If they don't, that means you can get them down in one shot with a basic attack. This doesn't mean they aren't still a problem, as when they do not heal, they may favor doing their main objective, or favor being injured for access to certain perks like Dead Hard to prolong chases. But in general, its never a bad thing to injure a survivor.
- Hooking
Hooking a survivor is moderate pressure. I was debating on whether to put this on low or moderate, but settled on this. A survivor that's hooked means there's one who cannot participate in any objectives and requires at least one other person to rescue. And if you start a chase with a third person, that's pressure that adds up throughout the match. They're sacrificing a lot of time to get their hooked person back. Though hooking can lead to its own problems as it isn't always viable to hook someone. Sometimes its just better pressure to slug.
- Slugging
Slugging is moderate pressure. Its a risky move with meta perks like Unbreakable around, but often times its a good way to ramp up immediate pressure and increase your snowball potential. It also undeniably slows down the game, as you avoid the trek it takes to hook a survivor, then search to find another survivor. Slugging allows more smoother transitions from no pressure to large amounts of pressure in moments, if played right. I myself tend to slug if I know another survivor is nearby and I can start another chase immediately, meaning one survivor has to pick up the Slugged person, and I'm also starting a chase with someone else. The same pressure with a hook, but more immediate.
- Breaking Pallets (Safe/God)
Breaking safe or god pallets is moderate pressure. Some may argue that breaking safe pallets is high pressure, but the action itself takes a bit to do, and while that's one safe pallet out of the way, some maps have a good amount of safe pallets. Most of the time, these need to be broken out of necessity, not because they grant genuine pressure. Still, it subtracts one safe area the Survivors can loop you at, which puts it at moderate.
HIGH PRESSURE
- Mobility
Standard movement speed, powers, perks, anything dealing with movement speed is instantly considered high pressure in my book. It does a good number of things; it helps with map traversal, searching, shortening chases, easier injuring, faster hooking... Its an all-around good thing to have for any killer. This is why the Billy is so infamous for his insane mobility, and the Nurse as well. Mobility covers all the bases and then some.
- Killing Survivors
Killing just one survivor gives the Killer extremely high pressure. Its one of the few actions the Killer can take against survivors that is permanent for the entire match. Killing one survivor early on can often times guarantee a safe win against most solo queues. This is why tunneling is still a tactic; you, as a killer, would be a fool NOT to eliminate one survivor from the match. There's no incentive not to except for Decisive Strike (another bandaid fix from the Devs). While this tactic is not fun, the pressure it grants the Killer is undeniable, and grants a certain amount of relief and breathing space that few other actions in this game can do.
Anyway, this was a quick run-down for those who are newer, or for those who are just interested in my take on pressure in the game. I hope you enjoy this post, if there's anything I missed do let me know.
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