Trial Rework Idea
One of the main problems with Dead By Daylight's balance is how easy it is for both sides to snowball. As a survivor, it only takes one person being killed for everything to fall apart while for a killer it only takes one long chase for three gens to pop. My idea with this rework is to make snowballing for both sides much harder and give both sides tools to come back for defeat.
Goals for Each Side
Survivors win when other survivors escape. The main goal of survivors is not to save themselves, but to save their peers. Survivors can also only lose two hook states per being hooked.
Killers win when survivors lose hope. In gameplay terms, survivors lose hope when they get hooked. However, there is a catch to it. Survivors only lose hope from the first hook. The only way to drain more hope is to hook two other survivors. After that, the first survivor hooked regains hope, which can then be drained again.
but Why?
The Survivor changes were done to incentivize altruism and to discourage any hatch camping. The killer changes are done to penalize camping and tunneling.
Trial Structure
Right now, trials have two phases.
Phase 1: Gens
Phase 2: Gates
However, in the rework, there are going to be three phases
Phase 1:Start Up
Phase 2:Gens
Phase 2:Ritual
Phase 4:Gates
Phase 1: Start-Up
This phase only lasts 30 seconds. Survivors spawn together on one side of the map. After 10 seconds, the killer spawns in. Killers can spawn in four distinct ways depending on which one you are facing.
Gates
The killer begins at an open gate that closes as soon as they leave. High Mobility Killers and Ranged Killers usually spawn from the gates.
Hatch
The killer climbs out of the hatch and begins the match with 5 seconds of undetectable. Stealth killers usually spawn this way
Summoning
The killer is summoned into a semi-random location of the trial. Killers that can teleport and Killers that use traps are usually summoned this way.
Jumpscare
This killer begins the match by jump scaring a random survivor, initiating a chase immediately. Any killed that can jumpscare can instead choose to spawn in another method. Jumpscaring is the slowest method of spawning, as there is an additional 5-second delay after the survivors spawn in.
But Why?
These changes are done to reduce the influence of rng at the beginning of the match.
Phase 2:Gens
Survivors
Gens spawn in as they normally do and have to be fixed by survivors for the game to progress. Instead of fixing 5 gens they only need to complete three gens. Each gen is also connected to a random device. These devices provide a series of benefits to the survivors.
First Aid Station
The First Aid Station when power can be used by survivors to stop any bleeding and to heal themselves to half a health state.
Workstation
Survivors can spend 24 seconds upgrading any flashlight, Toolbox, or Key to the next rarity. Does not restore any used charges, but can add more charges
Vault
Survivors can open a vault to get a higher rarity item
Door
Survivors can open a door using any key except for the broken key. Doors spawn in pairs. Once a door is open, survivors can use them to teleport to the other Door.
Altar
Survivors can sacrifice a health state and reveal their location for 20 seconds to reveal one of the killer's perks to everyone. The survivor is also broken for a minute.
Killer
Stop the survivors from getting the gens done and hook them. The killers also get access to a couple of new tools.
Tear
Tears spawn in pairs and let the killer teleport from one side of the map to another. Takes about 5 seconds, giving survivors time to run. Flashlights reveal the Tear.
Pathway
Pathways are walls the killer can walk through but survivors can't. Survivors can not be taken through Pathways. Keys can be used to open the pathway for Survivors, but be careful. If you get stuck in the pathway you will get automatically hooked by the entity. Survivors lose their collision when the time is running out to prevent sandbagging.
Ritual Site
Dropping a Survivor here will instantly put the survivor on a hook away from other survivors. However, this also reveals where a Ritual Site is for the next phase.
Killer Specific
Certain Killers main also bring their own structures in the trial, such as Pig's Traps or Freddy's Clocks
But Why?
These changes do two things for each side. For survivors, it nerfs their ability to snowball as even if everyone is working on separate gens, they can still only get three done. This slows them down. On other hand, they also get more things that let them get the tools to beat the killer. For Killer, they get more tools to help them apply pressure and be unpredictable. However, they also need to watch out for more things from the survivors as they can mess with them in new ways.
pHase 3:Ritual
Survivors
In order to open the gates, survivors need to complete two rituals at two different sites. Every map has four ritual sites, but they are hidden from the survivors until now. They are very similar to generators but are not gens for the sake of perks and powers. Gens can still be complete to power up its device and take less time to do. Be careful, because a killer still uses ritual sites to teleport survivors to hooks.
killers
Stop the Survivors from completing rituals. Nothing changes for killer here but I imagine that certain killer perks could be changed to apply some effects here, like Territorial Imperative activating when survivors start a ritual.
But Why?
These changes are done for two main reasons. First, to prevent either side from snowballing too quickly. The other reason why is to give more room for new perks and for balancing.
Phase 4:Gates
Survivors
Open the Gates and Escape!
Killers
Prevent the Survivors from opening the gates and hook them.
But WhY?
I think this part of the game does not really need any changes.
Closing Statements
Do I think this will fix every problem? No. Do I think it will help a lot? Yes. DBD trial structure creates many of its problems and I hope these changes help address them.
If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please comment them as I would like to hear them.
Comments
listen, you just came up with a whole mode
I like some of your ideas in all honesty, altought others are a bit convoluted.
The start of the game sounds dinamic and fun, having each killer have a diferent way to spawn sounds interesting as it would change the dinamic of the start of the game, i tink it needs some refinement but i like the concept.
The generators part i feel could be easily solved IF all generators where made so there cant be more than two people at each and some only one. This would achieve slowing down the game without overcomplicating it as survivors would have to spread and work as a team, the speed one survivor works on a gen its far more manageable than 3 workin in a single one.
The many things you want to add to the maps i tink are good and bad, for one part having much more interaction within the map sounds actually really great. I could se some stage hazards being added for killers to spice things up, sort of like when jason kills/atacks people with random props, that would be honestly super fun. In the other hand thoug, the healing station and upgread areas sound weird, i do get where you are coming from to upgread items you bring to the trial, but i dunno if people would be up to do that, the healing station on the other hand would had to replace boon totems and the like, and quite honestly i dont se BHVR taking away their precious boon meta.
The ritual thing actually i like, sounds like a second phase concept to do something else, this could be instead a bit of a prop hunt. The moment the ritual has to be done, survivors have to bring a few items that are scatered around the map, like say candles a goblet yada yada yada, the ritual its active and then goes to the door phase.
I tink you have some good ideas, but as i mentioned some feel a bit to comboluted, but definitly some could easily be added to the trials to spice things up without going in a complete new mode. That said at the same time, i feel some of your ideas could become NEW gameplay modes wich BY THE GODS this game needs some variety of modes to play with