Shape Power Revamp (Not overhaul) Idea
Intro
So a little back-story, I’ve been playing this game since Freddy was released back in 2017 and, at the same time, purchased the Halloween Chapter because I ‘m a big fan of the Halloween franchise (granted it has its… problems).
Now I’m not a killer main, far from it, I enjoy playing The Shape because his playstyle is a combination of stealth and lethality; quietly stalking survivors up close until they get that “Oh Sh*!!” reaction when they realise you are right behind and staring at them up to when you can down them with a single strike.
His add-ons are among the most unique in the game which allow you to commit to his strengths of covertness and savagery allowing him to outright murder his victims without the need for a Mori, or knowing where survivors are within a certain radius while keeping his location hidden…
However, over the last few years, power-creep has made our favourite Shatner mask-wearing murderer slowly fade into mediocrity where he doesn’t belong. So in this discussion I want to propose my idea for, not exactly an overhaul, but a minor rework of his power set while keeping to his core playstyle.
Power Problems
Currently, as all players who have gone against the boogeyman will know, once he leaves Tier 1, he cannot return to it. This is a shame as it means you lose access to your stealthiest stance which, although not idle for chasing or traversing the map, still has advantages to close range approach and it’s always nice to have options during a match.
What I want to propose for this would also help fix another minor inconvenience Shape players have which is controlling when they want to Tier up. Since his release, his power automatically tiers up when enough stalk is acquired to do so, which is not always the most ideal time to activate his Tier 3, requiring the killer to 99% the meter and then stalking that last bit in a chase to quickly down a survivor. This is simply to manage his limited Tier 3 time and acquired “Stalk” as efficiently as possible. This also has a secondary effect of survivors playing VERY cautiously; hiding and evading the killer (and rightly so) until he reverts back to Tier 2, potentially wasting the limited supply of stalk available during the match.
Power Solution
The solution would be to give an “Activate Ability” button similar to that of the Oni, whereby pressing the Space (or desired button) would Tier UP when the meter is filled and Tier DOWN when there is not enough available.
So let’s break it down a bit; When Tier 1 or 2 is filled and the “Activate Ability” button is pressed he levels up to Tier 2 or 3 respectively, simple enough it’s pretty similar. But let’s say we are Tier 2, have 50% stalk and want go down. You will be able to press the activate ability button and re-enter Tier 1 but keep the amount of Stalk you previously had. By pressing the ability button again you can immediately re-enter Tier 2 as you had already acquired enough stalk to initially leave Tier 1 at the start of the game.
Ok so we’ve discussed Tier 1 & 2 but 3 is a little bit more complex. It will retain the same duration as old Evil Within 3 but instead of a single bar, it will be divided up into equal sections (for my example I will say 4 as default).
Yes I know the image sucks but dammit man I'm a 3D Animator not a UI artist!
When the ability button is pressed in Tier 3 your meter will drop to the nearest pip (so if there are 4 pips and you are at 80% meter, you will drop to 75%, 74% will drop you to 50% etc..) conserving your power and making it easier to level up again if you don’t believe you can down another survivor. Of course this means if you call it wrong, tier back down (at any point to conserve power) then the opportunity appears to hit someone, you will need to stalk again to get back up to Tier 3. So there is counter-play to be had with it…
My additional idea for the notches was to serve as a way to deal with pallets. By using a full m1 lunge, the Shape would be able to destroy a pallet or breakable wall for the cost of one notch’s worth of power, somewhat similar to how the Oni is able to do so in his Blood Fury mode or Hillbilly & Leatherface with their chainsaws. This would give a much needed buff to his chase potential which remains relatively the same aside from the +0.1 second lunge range (from 0.5 to 0.6) and -0.2 second vault time (from 1.48 to 1.275 seconds).
The best part about this change to his power, is that doesn’t affect the functionality of ANY of his add-ons in any way shape or form.
So what do you guys think? Is it overkill? Underwhelming? Not the right sort of thing he needs?
Comments
it sounds like you misunderstand his playstyle on a fundamental level. The purpose of his tier one is to take advantage of early game, but really loses all value once you are performing your job as a patrolling killer. In a rank 1 myers game, I should be able to 99 tier one or action interrupt off the first gen I find. Instant value and board pressure. In the cases two or more people are on the first gen, I usually am able to hit each, and potentially mind game one with my lack of terror radius, equally an early down either way. Once my early game pressure is in play, he does become a bit of an M1 killer, but thats the beauty of myers. He is the only killer in the game whose power rewards you for optimal movement.
When you are chasing a survivor, there is a point where you have caught them. They've used their dead hard, and the next pallet is another 15-20 meters away. You have won this chase. Now that you have won this chase, you can get a very efficient stalk freely, 99 your power, m1 for the down, and now you are ready to take your "winnings" from this chase, and apply it to the next. After the first or second hook you should no longer be trying to be stealthy, its a waste of your time and will result in no map pressure of any kind. You need to be active, stalk when you've earned it or when chasing would only pull you away from your patrol route. Myers isn't a ghostface who needs to out run survs, hes a force of nature who controls the board with a self contained power.