How would you balance keys?
Having survivors escape through the hatch is very frustrating as killer, and does not feel earned at all when you pull it off as survivor. It is also pretty annoying for the survivor who brings the key because the killer is probably going to tunnel the hell out of them. I heard some rumours about keys getting a rework, how would you guys balance them?
Comments
Maximum of 1 in each trial. Easy fix to Plunderer's & chests key problem (if there's more brought from the lobby just only allow one to open hatch)
Hatch closes behind the survivor 5 seconds after its use. (Doesn't trigger EGC unless the killer kicks the hatch closed)
Remove Vigo's Blueprint & Annotated Blueprint offerings.
I think keys are pretty balanced provided they're not a SWF and there's only 1 of them in a match. (those recent hatch offerings are making me change my view though)
Make it takes one more gen then dead survivors then the current calculation to spawn hatch. Or just something I was pondering.
The logic behind "Maximum 1 Per Trial" is baffling, this would cause people to leave and re-queue and will only hurt solo survivors.
In my opinion, keys are fine. Just kill them, get them out of the game, most key users bring Weaved Ring anyways.
I don't understand the phobia behind keys, or bring Franklin's if you're so phobic. Problem solved.
God....
Dull key - Only one person can escape
Skeleton - allows multiple survivors to escape
Both - opening the hatch now has an animation that must be completed that also gives a loud noise notification to the killer
only the survivor who brought the key may escape, after the survivor uses the key the hatch close behind them, unless there is only one other survivor left. If not all the gens have been completed after someone uses a key, the doors power up.
Remove them from chests, and only survivors with the key can escape via the hatch.
Add a progress bar. A green key takes say 10 secs. A purple one, like 8. And a red one like 5. Then it's still short enough that keys are useful but not so short that killer is 10 feet behind them and watches the whole team open it and bail out right in front of them.
But if we're changing keys then moris should be looked at too.
I had an idea for doors as passable/lockable walls, and someone suggested that doors be brought into the game and keys used to lock/unlock them
Give them a cast bar, like repairing or totems and such, make said bar reset if you don't fully open it, also give the killer a sound notification when someone starts opening the hatch and also remove the ability to find keys in a chest.
Skeleton key allows you to open the hatch after it's been closed and shows hatch aura within 30m. Dull key alows to open the hatch after it's been closed. Both consumed when used
I have mentioned this elsewhere but, I'd change the Keys into Key Rings. Useless on their own and require add-ons to be functional. would have a single ultra rare add-on, the iridescent key, which is the only way to open the hatch (without being the last survivor and it opening automatically.)
I'd also pair that change up with an alteration to unlocking the hatch. Using the Key ring and key add-on would require you to actually unlock it by using charges on the key ring. If you let go or get interrupted before you open the hatch, the progress gets reset back to zero. What add-on you use with the key add-on would also need to be considered. Don't know what would be the most fair amount of time required to open it though.
Another thought might be to add in some other things that can only be unlocked with a key to force you to decide what you want to use it on more. Like, maybe a unique chest that can only be used with the key but always gives a rare or higher item. Or, open a safe that has a bag within it that, when you escape with it would give extra bloodpoints or shards or a unique cosmetic or...I dunno. Just a totally random thought.
Removing them, of course.
They should buff keys and nerf pig.
Best way to balance the keys is to simply leave them alone as it is.
Only the person carrying the key can escape through the hatch.
No keys from chests, only one person out
Add a 10 second animation to open hatch and warn the killer when someone is trying to open it.
make it only work after the hatch has been closed
First of all completely rework all the add ons and remove all keys except the pink key.
Iridescent Key: Allows charged key to open the hatch. Consumes key on use. *Key is charged by completing Survivor objectives*
Description: In this strange game of cat and mouse, the void does not take sides
Personally to me the key is broken because it can allow a Survivor to escape with no effort put in. Any Survivor can bring a key, go to the basement, and hide until hatch spawns. Worst case scenario, you bring Left Behind to find hatch when Killer closes it, but thats it.
Now I'm not saying every Survivor with a key does this, but the point is they can, which is pretty trashy. I'm not saying Survivors should repair three gens, heal five health states, 360 the Killer 12 times around a pallet, but do something to progress the trial.
As for keys, I don't see people running broken keys. Everyone wants the keys that open things so they should just consolidate to that to better clear Bloodweb clutter. Add ons can help better charge the key, but thats what I'd do.
Of course, if keys are reworked Moris need to as well. Keys are only balanced because of Moris and vice versa. For Moris, I'd do same thing. Remove all Moris except Ebony, and make it so that you can only Mori on death hook. Simple as that.
like this
To me it's pretty simple, even with the Achievement to get all 4 survivors out through the hatch.
The broken keys can stay the same since they can't open hatch and are pretty useless.
The Purple and Irridescent should only let one or two people leave, and they could add a Irridescent key add-on to let the rest of the party go through. Kind of like how you have to have certain add-ons to get the Nurse's blink and grab achievement.
Keys are always dropped upon hit (no need FD) and can be taken back afterwards without any countdown timer (unlike FD)
Only ONE person can escape through open hatch, then the hatch close and EGC starts.
or
Requires 15sec to open hatch, stop in the progress will be reseted like Totems
or
Purple & Red Keys can not open hatch, but they can open chest 75%/100% faster. Keys requires a Red add-on to open hatch.
First one wont work in solo Q, also if two survivors are left in the map. Killer will have to waste 2 minutes for the last survivor to die by ECG.
Second one only if killer has to spend 15 secs to close the hatch because otherwise killer would hold the game hostage ...
Third one is useless perks already exist that do the same, also why would i bring an item to look for other items faster ...
His second idea isn't bad and the killer couldn't hold the game hostage then. The hatch already opens when there is one survivor left, and when closed the survivor can leave through the exit gates. This just makes it harder to open the hatch with a key and dip, and doesn't let you just escape a chase and leave teammates behind if you find the closed hatch, or let you escape hatch easily right after killer closes it. The killer can't hold the game hostage by not letting you escape the hatch cause that means you can be doing gens or finding the exit gate. And if you're honestly found after the killer closes the hatch and you haven't powered the gate and left, then the killer deserves that kill. When I play survivor and get hatch it never feels like an earned escape and that's cause it's just another second chance for survivors.
Keys cannot be brought into a match and therefor cannot spawn in a bloodweb either
(players who have keys are compensated in equivalent value bp + a slight bonus and can keep 1 of each for "grandfather" rule" but cant use them)
Keys can only be found in chests if you are lucky in a trial, escaping with the key out the door gives you some bonus bloodpoints.
Broken Keys can be repaired (mending type action of X seconds) if you find the other piece, the other piece randomly spawns in the map when you find a broken key and the broken key part can help you vaguely to locate the other part.
Are keys really an issue for a lot of players?
if you see Key and a map in the lobby, dodge the game, take franklins, kill the key bearer early on or just crush the whole team.
ive not been on the receiving end of an early key escape that many times, when it’s happened I’ve just laughed.
usually it’s someone wanting a plan b if the game goes south, or they are just doing a tome challenge.
Well key balance should depend what kind of mori nerf there is. If mories would get completely gutted, then keys should be obviously gutted as well. Maybe simple change could be that just one survivor can escape with purple key and 2 survivors with skeleton key. Broken key should be buffed somehow because it's useless item
I'd make the key a fully aura based item. Mainly used to track survivors and killer positions.
If they can't change the escaping hatch trophy (all 4 survivors must escape) they need to create a new add-on. This add-on will allow the survivor to open the hatch after a short interaction.
Aura reading only.
I'd then remove the hatch and find a better mechanic to resolve stalemates. I'd also just remove Ebony morii and make Cypress Morii default.
I've seen some really unique and interesting ideas, so I'll mention some of my favorites:
An animation that is either really long or notifies the killer.
Only one person can escape through hatch at all times (meaning if a survivor escaped with a key the hatch immediately closes and endgame collapse begins).
Can only be activated during endgame collapse.
Make so the key can only aura read for more seconds and delete the escaping through hatch feature.
The killer has the ability to catch a survivor that escapes through hatch, and the survivor has to perform a channel with difficult skillchecks so the hatch opens
Limit the amount of keys in a lobby to one.
Maybe give killer aura of hatch (maybe at beginning or in end game)
Also, maybe add a short (like 5-10 second) skilled action with one hard skill check.
Give keys charges and you have to use it multiple times to get the hatch to open and if it doesn't work you loose charges.
I'm a killer main and have reached rank 1 from rank 20 multiple times and honestly I've never had a problem with keys. Like if we're allowed to have ebony and ivory moris (Which I honestly think should just be usable on death hook instead of after 1 so it really doesn't give the killer an advantage) and add-ons like irredecent heads survivors should be allowed to have their own op items like keys. In all my games I've seen like 10 key escapes (which could be because I run franklin's demise) I think theirs bigger issues to focus on. If I had to suggest a fix I'd just make it take a little while to open the hatch and also remove the hatch location offerings for survivors because that leaves alot of room for groups exploiting it.
5 second unlocking animation and a notification that the hatch has opened and where it is. That way swfs can't just stack in it and insta escape. And the notif forces people to wait for others before opening.
Do we even need keys anymore?
People that have a problem with keys are way too worried about 4K's.. like, yall must be stressing so hard over each game. Relax. Have fun.
Furthermore, when I go against a super sweaty killer, its nice to be able to at least have a fighting chance at escaping. if killer is able to play 100% sweaty, then survs should have the ability to escape thru hatch without complaints.
Personally, when a surv escapes that way on me, i don't have any problem. That's part of the game to me. Its annoying at times, but you also gotta think how short match making times are for killer. Just take the "loss" (if you want to call it that) and swiftly move on.
*side note*
If you really hate keys that bad, just bring Franklin's.
Broken Key is not usless.
That is why there are add ons for aura reading abilities. That way you don't have to waste a skeleton key on that stuff.
I always use the green keys with the wedding ring, super helpful.
Keys are fine. Leave them alone. You actually have to do some work for them to be used and even then there's no guarantee that you'll stay alive to use it.
You can use the key by doing no work at all. You can sit around and do nothing while your team does the work or dies. It is a terrible way to play but it happens way more than it should.
That Is true. I prefer to work for my reward personally. It's more satisfying.
Post edited by MandyTalk... I'm so curious as to what could have possibly been bad enough to warrant an edit. I guess I'll never know. Whatever it was, I honestly doubt it actually needed changed.
Keys are far more OP than Moris are. Bring keys more in line with Moris.
Make keys give you 1 free gen per dead survivor.
One escape per key maybe. They seem difficult to balance to me. Or maybe make it so green key is a solo escape with hatch closing after. Purple key be a two man escape and hatch closes after and Pink key is four man escape with hatch staying open for 5-10 seconds. Or make them all solo escape keys with hatch closing after but give them more aura reading stuff
I like this, a big issue with keys is that a SWF will just genrush, and when one of them dies, the rest of them can leave through the hatch. This suggestion would both fix that, but also keep hatch gameplay similar enough so that challenges and achievements that require the hatch are still completable