My "How to Fix Dead by Daylight" Plan (Revised)
Hello everyone! I have been playing Dead by Daylight for over one year now, (Since last August) and I have thought very long and hard about what makes Dead by Daylight so appealing, but also what makes people so emotionally charged over the problems in Dead by Daylight, and the problems themselves.
Now, I don’t admit to be a professional video games developer person, but these are my personal, long-thought out opinions on what changes need to come to DbD to keep its gameplay refreshing, and to keep people playing for years to come. For whatever reason, Dead by Daylight has made itself a very very competitive fanbase, yet the developers haven’t started looking at it from a level-headed competitive view point until very recently.
For a very long time now, the developers have been putting on band-aid patches, over and over again, which is very bad if anything is to actually ever be done, because if something BIG is to be changed, all of the band-aids will also need a re-looking over or revoking. The game will never come to a good standing until big changes are made, and band-aids are reverted.
Again, these are my personal opinions, and I would love for every player, developer, or streamer to take a look over what I have written here, and think. I want people to think, which is what I have seen a very big lack of in the majority of the vocal minority. In any regard, constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated!
Major Base Game Changes
Generators must be a meaningful interaction. It should require a balance of attention on the action and attention on the killer, constantly.
Generators should be a fun, strategic attack/defense game:
Survivors must work as a team to distract killer, save from hooks, and complete the generators & exit gates to escape.
Killer should have to strategize on who to chase and who not to chase, while stopping work on gens, and hooking (and eventually killing) the survivors.
Due to generator changes, many perks on killer and survivor sides should be changed to reflect these changes.
Minor Base Game Changes
Hooks should no longer be a place of defense/interest for killers; make generators a main focus, hooks should also be more punishing for survivor (This is to make it so being on the hook feels less bad, but also punishes survivors for being caught)
Hiding should be a bigger play in DbD, survivors should not want to be in a chase just to get points, they should fear the killer, and must have a plan if they begin a chase.
Moris should be changed in a way that introduces them into the main game, removing them as an offering, and making them feel fair.
The Plan -
Generators -
Generators should not be a one and done deal, but instead a constant “sustain them all” type game, so killers should be able to apply more map pressure, and survivors should have to work harder to keep generators going.
To start, the basic concept of how a generator stays, you still have to stand in one spot, working on the generator, but current skill checks are wiped. The way you interact with a generator would also be changed, where instead of holding a key to stay on the generator, it’s a toggle where you press it once to stay on, then press it again to get off. The amount of available gens and gens required would also decrease by 1. Four generators to power exit gates, and six generators on the map. Then, there should be three parts to the progression of a generator:
First Phase -
The first 10 seconds/charges of a generator will be a start-up phase, where nothing special happens, you just work on the generator with no mini-games happening. Generators that reach the second phase cannot be regressed past the first phase, so generators will always have a little progress. Any generator below the first 10 seconds of progress cannot be kicked. Only one survivor can work on a generator in the first phase.
Second phase -
The following 60 seconds/charges after the first phase will be the minigame part. The new skill checks would be two keys that pop up every 3 seconds, at fixed points over time. While you are “locked” onto a gen, the WASD/XYAB/square, triangle, x, and o buttons/keys are disabled for movement, and will instead be used for these “checks”. During the 3 second check, you must press 2 randomly generated buttons of the 4 in order from left to right, within the 3 second timeframe. If you hit the wrong buttons, or fail to complete the check in time, it is considered a “failed” check, the generator blows up, and loses 8 seconds/charges of progress. A generator kicked by the killer in phase 2 acts like it does now, just starting normal regression. Multiple survivors can work on the generator in phase two, each one contributing diminishing charges.
Survivor Charge Contribution for generators in phase 2 -
(c = charges)
1 survivor - 1c/s.
2 survivors - 0.7c/s individual contribution, 1.4c/s total.
3 survivors - 0.5c/s individual contribution, 1.5c/s total.
4 survivors - 0.4c/s individual contribution, 1.6c/s total.
Third phase -
After the 60 seconds of phase two, the last 10 seconds/charges of the generator will be a “fueling” phase. There will be randomly placed “gas” spots around the map that spawn a gas can for survivors to grab. Once a generator is at phase three, a survivor must spend 10 seconds fueling the generator. If a generator reaches phase 3, and a survivor does not have a gas can, they cannot finish the generator until they get one. Once a generator is at 100%, it does the “finished generator” notification, and lights up completely. Even if a generator is at 100%, a killer can come by and kick it, instantly removing the 10 seconds of the fueling phase, and then continuing regular regression. Generators that are 100% complete, and then kicked by the killer, make a special “unfinished generator” notification. Only one survivor can work on the generator in phase 3, and phase 3 is not affected by any slowing/speeding effects like Thanatophobia or Leader.
Gas Cans -
The gas can fills a separate slot from the item slot, but does disable the use of any item a survivor has. The fuel can has 20 charges, and once the charges are used, the gas can is destroyed. There will be 6 gas can spawn points across the map, with gas cans respawning every 45 seconds. Gas can spawn point rules would be 1 spawn point within 24 meters of each gen. Gas Cans are affected by Streetwise, Franklin’s Demise, and Overwhelming Presence.
Perk Changes -
Survivor Perks -
Dark Sense
Any time a generator is completed, see the killer’s aura for 5 seconds.
Once all generators are complete, see the killer’s aura for 8/10/12 seconds.
Detective’s Hunch
Any time you complete a generator, see all auras of totems, chests, and generators for 12/16/20 seconds.
Leader
Any survivor within 8 meters of you, and for 5/10/15 seconds after leaving your range, have a 15% increased progression speed on healing, sabotaging, opening chests, and opening exit gates.
Left Behind
If you are the last remaining survivor in the trail, when working on a generator:
-/-/instantly complete phase 1.
-/phase 3 does not require a gas can/phase 3 does not require a gas can.
You are not faced with any skill checks during phase 2.
Prove Thyself
If at least one survivor is within 12 meters of you, gain a 10/15/20% increased speed in healing, sabotaging, opening chests, and opening exit gates.
Resilience
While injured and not in a chase, gain a 5% haste effect, and gain a 6/8/10% increase to progression speed on repairing, healing, sabotaging, opening chests, and opening exit gates.
Spine Chill
While Spine Chill is active, the time available to complete a skill check is reduced by 20% and repair, healing, sabotaging, cleansing, chest opening, and gate opening progression speed is increased by 3/4/5%
Stake Out
While Stake Out has at least one token, skill checks are automatically completed for you.
This Is Not Happening
While injured, skill checks only require one input to be completed, instead of two.
**Technician **
The noises that you, and other survivors within 8 meters of you make while working on a generator are reduced by 50/75/100%. On a failed skill check, there is a 75% chance that the explosion will be prevented.
Killer Perks -
Hex: Huntress Lullaby
Missed skill check penalty is increased by 2/4/6%
Each time you hook a survivor, gain a token, up to 5. Each token reduces the time available to succeed a skill check by 20%.
Skill checks still occur every 3 seconds.
Hex: Ruin
Skill checks now require survivors to hit 3 different keys in the right order, instead of two.
Overcharge
Kicking a generator applies overcharge
The first survivor to start repairing an overcharged generator is faced with a skill check that they have 2/1.5/1 seconds to complete. If the skill check is missed, an additional 6% regression is applied.
Pop Goes The Weasel
When kicking a generator within 30 seconds after hooking someone, 5/10/15% of phase 2 is regressed. This takes effect even when kicking a generator in phase 3. Normal regression applies after the damage is done.
Surveillance
The last 1/2/3 regressing generator’s auras are shown to you in white. Once a survivor tries to repair one of these 3 generators, you are given a loud noise notification, and no progress can be made on that generator for 5 seconds.
Tinkerer
When a generator reaches phase 3, you are given a loud noise notification, and your terror radius is reduced to 0 for 8/10/12 seconds.
Thanatophobia
Gain a token for each survivor that is either injured, dying, hooked, or dead. If a survivor becomes healthy, lose their token.
1-2 tokens: -/-/10% decreased progression speed to repairing, healing, sabotaging, cleansing, chest opening, and gate opening.
3 tokens: -/all survivors suffer from exhaustion/all survivors suffer from exhaustion/all survivors suffer from exhaustion
4 tokens: all survivors suffer from a 5% hindered effect
Unnerving Presence
Survivors within your terror radius have 30/40/50% less available time to succeed a skill check.
Hooks -
If a killer has been within 16 meters of a hooked survivor for 30 seconds and they haven’t injured anyone within those 30 seconds, all survivors gain a 15% progression speed to repairs, until the killer has left the 16 meter range for more than 10 seconds.
Stealth -
While a survivor is within the killer’s terror radius and not in a chase, they gain constant bloodpoints every second based on how close they are to the killer. Personally, survivors’ models should be smaller (arms and legs closer to their body) while crouching, but this is up for debate, as I’m not 100% sure about it.
Moris -
Remove Moris as an offering. As of right now, they feel very unfair when you get hit with one right after being unhooked the first time. Instead, after a survivor is unhooked the second time, or dead on their next hook, killers may take them to the basement and mori them, for extra bloodpoints. Once in the basement, instead of an option to drop the survivor off of your shoulder, would be an option to kill the survivor. Even if the drop would free the survivor off of your shoulder, you would still drop and auto-mori the survivor.
Comments
Side Note: been wanting to make a forum account so I could post this for a while, and tried to the best of my ability to format it so it looks appealing for my first post.