Let's talk controversial killers: Spirit, Freddy, Deathslinger
Recently, I've noticed the forums focusing on which other killers to change since the Billy rework on the PTB. While I do agree that only his add-ons should've changed, I would really like to here what people have to say about other killers. Specifically, ones that have plagued the forums in the last few weeks: Spirit, Freddy, and Deathslinger.
I of course have my own opinions about these killers, but I know a lot of people don't find an issue with them.
I think Spirit needs some sort of indication that she is phasing during a chase. But even so, I think I would still find her unfun to verse. I don't mind her identity as a Killer but her power is just so boring to try and play against I almost never find it fulfilling to verse Spirits. It's just guess which side of the pallet to be on or hope you have Iron Will (but to be fair most Spirits use Stridor). However I have heard plenty of people here say that they have no issue with Spirit and that she does have "counterplay", so I would like to ask them: What is it? Not talking about perks or anything; how do you ACTUALLY counterplay a Killer you cannot see or hear other than just 50/50 guessing on either side of the pallet?
The Killer I have the most issue with is Freddy though. Yeah sure, Spirit sucks to play against but has lack of map pressure. Freddy on the other hand, I feel as if he can do literally everything. Map pressure? Check. Anti-looping tools? Check. Counters common and strong perks like BT that let him tunnel off hook? Check. No pun-intended, but I quite literally feel like falling asleep going against a Freddy. He can end chases quickly, or force a pallet out early, can teleport across the map and PGTW a gen that against ANY other killer would've been completed, says a huge ######### you to BT, and the alarm clocks are honestly a joke (they're always in the corner of the map and you don't really stay awake for that long). Plus, he can put snares during chases without any penalty (unlike Hag or Trapper). I also feel like there's a reason Fungoose (a DBD streamer) chose Freddy to do his 4k streak with ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfZhz81J1hc if you're interested). Honestly all I want out of Freddy is SOME form of weakness. Movement penalty when placing snares? Teleport range reduced a little bit? Being asleep doesn't counter BT? Something.
Lastly, for Deathslinger, I honestly don't have too much issue with him. I understand he is very strong in the 1v1 chase and can end them quickly. But much like Huntress, he moves at 110% and suffers from a lack of map pressure. While I am a Huntress main, I am playing more Deathslinger because I find he removes a lot of weaknesses that Huntress has. There's no hum to warn survivors from 54 miles away, can insta-ADS and shoot, and has a 24m (base) Terror Radius. Yeah sure, he's weak if you drop pallets early, but that can be wasteful and actually good for the killer. He can also ignore a lot of loops anyway if they don't have the tall walls to block LOS. I honestly don't know why you would play Huntress over Deathslinger. All I would want for him is a 32m TR honestly, so he isn't an assassin with Monitor & Abuse. He still gets owned with split pressure from Survivors, and missing a shot on him is EXTREMELY punishing.
I would really like to hear from everyone what they think about these 3 killers. The forums have been flooded with Spirit and Deathslinger posts since the Billy rework announcement, and I think we can all agree Freddy has been a topic of discussion since his rework.
Comments
If deathslingers ADS gets looked at, he'll be the next worst killer, worse than clown.
Sure, when playing solo you lack much information. Thats why I like to take kindred with me, it allows me to make better decisions when to unhook and when not. I can agree that a Freddy with BT Counter makes it a little bit more difficult, but I think the underlying issue there is the lack of information which prevents you from making the right decisions. The situation you describe (one hanging and one down, with you far away and no clue where to forth is) would be bad against any killer, the countered BT just comes on top for Freddy, imo.
I agree that a real Forever Freddy is annoying, but I'm not buying the claim that 90% play this way. I rarely face a Freddy to begin with (red-purple rank), and when I do, it's usually quite a normal build. Sure there's Pop, but since it's the best perk for Freddy that one should always be expected. But I cannot even remember the last time I faced a Freddy playing with two slowdown addons. Thana and Sloppy was used, but since I like to heal with Inner Strength, that wasn't an issue.
I'm under the impression the whole "Boring Forever Freddy Build" thing is just massively overblown. Players confirming themselves due to sef-fullfilling prophecies and their mindset when facing him. They see its a Freddy who uses Thana, maybe one slow down addon, so it must be Forever Freddy. Since they are totally convinced this is boring, they are not trying properly, making the game as boring as expected.
I'm not denying that Forever Freddy Build exist, nor that it can be frustrating to go against it. But I can see the possibility that players jumping on conclusions when facing Freddy, convincing themselve they faced yet another Forever Freddy, when in reality it was just a pretty normal build with a notorius gen regression perk in it. I would argue that at least 50% of the Forever Freddy complaints were skewed that way. But we will never know for sure, thats just my impression.
Spirit: Just stand perfectly still in chases. That's not braindead at all is it? Fr, give an indicator she's phasing.
Deathslinger: Incredibly oppressive to go against purely due to his insta-ADS with almost non-existent reaction time.
Freddy: I think is pretty balanced where he's at now. Just wake up and you pretty much delete most of his chase power.
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But let's take a look at other unmentioned killers too?
Hag: Add a very small delay between hitting after immediately teleporting for each survivor that's currently slugged.
Doctor: Spamming a "scream" power around every single loop and fully deleting the ability to drop pallets/vault is very fun. /s
Ghostface: Fix his reveal mechanic, that is all.
Now that I've calmed down since I quoted your comment, I am in a more appropriate position to reply with more rationality instead of emotion so perfect.
Off the top of my head, the reason some survivors may find certain killers boring, including from personal experience of mine, is because they just don't like that character overall. I find Freddy boring to play as and against, even if he requires little to no skill. At least with my opinion I can justify why I feel that way towards certain killers so it doesn't come across as entitled.
If they really wanted to make Freddy fun to play as and against, they could find areas to nerf him so there is somewhat of a counter-play, that way it feels balanced between survivor and killer. For example they could add in a mechanic where you can disable dream snares or make the clocks more RNG and not spawn from the opposite side of the map, but those are my changes and people are allowed to come up with different suggestions.