Shaking up the Meta, a shadow nerf to Meta survivor perks
Adrenaline, Decisive Strike, Dead Hard, Unbreakable, Sprint Burst, Borrowed Time, Iron Will... meta perks you see in just about every game, how can be shake things up and get other perks in there?
[1] Hail Mary
First things first, two of those perks are exclusive already, Dead Hard and Sprint Burst. Why? They're 'Exhaustion Perks', perks that trigger a status that prevents the use of any like perks.
We already have a limiting factor built into the game. Which means that some of the strongest perks cannot be stacked. Dead Hard, Sprint Burst, Head On, Lithe, Balanced Landing... (Adrenaline is in there too but only as an honorary member seeing as it supersedes any existing Exhausted status)
Realistically speaking, a survivor can only use one of those perks at a time, which limits their use, even though survivors aren't outright prevented from running those perks together, and may even be able to pull them off in the right situations.
So... why not translate this system to other meta perks?
Which meta perks work similarly enough that they could share a resource?
I think; Decisive Strike and Unbreakable fit the bill pretty well because they can each only be used once per trial. You can even throw in Adrenaline and Deliverance to the mix too. These are all powerful, one-time use perks. So what if they were exclusive?
What if using a DS meant you also spent your UB at the same time? These two in particular would make the most sense, seeing as they essentially cover both bases, you either get picked up right away and use DS, or you get slugged and use UB.
So I'd suggest that these perks inflict a new status, that remains for the duration of the trial, and prevents the use of these self-same perks.
This way, in much the same way that survivors have to choose between all of the Exhaustion perks, they also have to choose between these 'single use' perks too. Pick one, DS or UB, and if you choose to take both, which you still can, then you only rely on one of them. You either get picked up and DS, get slugged and UB, or you get hooked and Deliverance yourself off it. Failing that, you get your Adrenaline at the end of the game and consume it that way.
"There comes a moment in everyone life, where it seems a higher power has blessed them with immense good fortune. This could be your single luckiest moment, do not squander it."
- Successful execution of Decisive Strike/Unbreakable/Deliverance/Adrenaline inflicts you with the 'Hail Mary' status.
- Being inflicted with the 'Hail Mary' status prevents the use of Decisive Strike/Unbreakable/Deliverance/Adrenaline.
- Adrenaline no longer uses the Exhaustion status.
[2] Focus Charges
Next is perks that can be used multiple times in a trial, and should be use multiple times, or for longer durations. Things such as Borrowed Time, Iron Will, etc.
Again this is a relatively simple suggestion; give them limited charges. But the idea is to also make the perks exclusive so that they're not always used together in every game... so, make them share charges. When one perk loses a charge, so do the rest. You can still stack multiples of these perks if you want but they share the same resource.
Should BT and IW have limited charges? Chances are you're only using these perks a handful of times anyway. For started there's a hard cap of 6 uses on BT anyway, that's IF you're the only survivor who does the unhooking, so fewer charges than that shouldn't be too much of a nerf. Iron Will probably should be limited in some way, but a generous limit, so that it can safely protect you, but not keep you hidden indefinitely.
Other token based perks could also be included in here, such as Distortion, or Appraisal. And then there's Lucky Break, an effect that triggers for an extended, yet finite duration, similar to Iron Will I guess.
"Staying focused takes it's toll on you, there's only so long you can hold out before your concentration slips, and you make the wrong play. What will that mistake cost you?"
- Borrowed Time starts the game with 3 'Focus Charges', When an unhooked survivor is hit while under the effect of Endurance, a 'Focus Charge' is consumed.
- Iron Will starts the game with 3 'Focus Charges'. If injured, when the killer comes within 28 meters Iron Will activates for 30 seconds, reducing sounds of pain by 50/75/100%, and a 'Focus Charge' is consumed. (maximum 90s)
- Lucky Break starts the game with 3 'Focus Charges'. When injured, Lucky Break activates for 12/16/20 seconds, eliminating pools of blood and scratch marks, and a 'Focus Charge' is consumed. (maximum 60s)
- Distortion and Appraisal also consume a 'Focus Charge' when used.
- When one perk consumes a 'Focus Charge', all self-same perks consume a 'Focus Charge'.
The result of these adjustments means that there are new categories of exclusive perks, most of which are meta, forcing survivors to choose their perks a little more wisely.
Three categories; Exhaustion perks, Hail Mary perks, and Focus perks.
Exhaustion: Dead Hard, Sprint Burst, Head On, Lithe, Balanced Landing.
Hail Mary: Decisive Strike, Unbreakable, Deliverance, Adrenaline.
Focus: Borrowed Time, Iron Will, Distortion, Lucky Break, Appraisal.
The new 'meta' would be to choose one perk from each of those categories, with the fourth slot a free choice.
It's not going to completely eliminate all of the meta perks from being used every single game, but it will reduce some combos and open up that fourth slot to a 'less meta' perk for some greater variety.
You might see some more Soul Guard as some survivors prefer to run DS but still want to get themselves up.
You might see some more Babysitter/Guardian as some survivors prefer to run Iron Will but still want to offer unhooked survivors some protection.
Maybe you want to run Appraisal for a neat item-based build with the new Built To Last? Well that's going to cost you Borrowed Time.
Comments
Dunno if it is a great idea but it is definitively a deep thought & I respect that.
Why nerf something that is not broken?
It would be better if most niche perks got buffed instead to naturally encourage people to use non-meta perks.
Now on the other hand the circle of healing might actually become a meta perk. Which I don't think think it will released in it's current state, which is a good thing since it's OP.
A perk can be a tad too strong without being "broken", doesn't mean it can't be better adjusted.
We all know BT and IW can feel a bit broken from time to time.
It being impossible to find the IW survivor. BT saves bodyblocking their rescuer.
I don't think giving those perks a generous limit is much of a nerf tbh, and making them exclusive means survivors have to consider their perk choices better.
I like that I have to make a choice as to which exhaustion perk I take. It feels like my perk choices matter a little more.
I'd even be for another Focus perk that allows you to regain charges in some way. This could allow for a combo with another Focus perk, allowing you to recharge Iron Will, Distortion, or Borrowed Time.
Honestly I could careless about survivor perks being nerfed, I want smaller map sizes and an actual reason to kick gens when I don't have pop.