Shroompy's Attempt at a Trial Rework (and more)
INTRODUCTION
This is something I've been working on for MONTHS and have been brainstorming constantly (started writing in August 2021).
This post is gonna be similar to my Killer Reworks I've done in the past, where I aim to completely overhaul something with the goal of fixing the main frustrations that both sides and making sure that each Trial feels fresh and new. This will all be done by also keeping the core gameplay.
With that out of the way, lets get started
TRIAL Stages
Trials will now be separated into 3 main parts
- Early Dawn
- The Exchange
- Endgame Collapse
Each stage will play a major role in each trial, they aim to bring consistency but also a bit of randomness to keep things interesting and keep the player engaged. The consistency portion comes in the form of Early Dawn and Endgame Collapse, they will stay the same every trial and players can expect the same outcome every time from them. How ever The Exchange will aim to spice things up by introducing Events.
A random Event will be played out in the middle of a trial. During this time normal objectives will be paused and both Killers and Survivors must complete a task, and who ever pleased the Entity the most during The Exchange will be rewarded. This aims to be able to turn the tables of a Trial and give a secondary objective to both sides. While it may seem one side has the upper hand during the early game, The Exchange could completely switch things around.
In between each major Stage, The Trial will be in a state called "Limbo". This is to simply represent that The Entity wont have much influence on the Trial it self and is very much like the Trials we have currently. (Meaning a Trial will always follow:
Early Dawn
Limbo
Exchange
Limbo
Endgame Collapse
THE ENTITY'S SATISFACTION
The Trials are a feeding ground but also a game to The Entity. And she wants a good show. The Killer has to try to keep her satisfied by downing Survivors quickly, hooking them, interrupting them, stopping generator progress.
This mechanic will determine a multitude of things
- Firstly, the flow of a Trial. A bar will appear on the HUD similar to the current Endgame Collapse, this bar will represent the current Stage the Trial is in and will deplete at different speeds depending on how satisfied The Entity is at that time. There will also be a unique visual for each "tier" of satisfaction on the bar. There are 4 tiers of Satisfaction.
- Secondly, it will affect the difficulty of the objective during The Exchange. The more satisfied The Entity is, the easier it is for the Killer.
- And Lastly, depending on the performance of The Killer during The Trial, The Entity might show her gratitude in the form of letting them Mori a survivor(s) during The Endgame Collapse.
Survivors will want to try to displease The Entity as much as possible, as this will give them more time to complete their objective, possibly prevent them from getting moried in the late game, and weaken certain killer perks
Survivors will have a multitude of ways to displease The Entity, chases that last too long, completing Generators, etc. but the fastest method: Glyphs.
Glyphs will spawn when The Trial is in Limbo, if Survivors succesfully closes them it will displease The Entity.
STAGE 1: EARLY DAWN
The beginning stage of a trial. For the first 60 seconds of a trial, it is treated as a warm up/set up phase.
- All perks are disabled
- Totems are invisible to every one
- Killer belongings cannot be interacted with by Survivors
- Generators are blocked by The Entity
- The Killer is granted the Undetectable Status Effect
This phase can be cut short how ever. If a Survivors Health State changes by any means, the hunt begins.
After those 60 seconds, The Trial will be put in Limbo.
STAGE 2: THE EXCHANGE
During The Exchange a random Event will be selected. Survivors and Killers will have to fight and win over The Entity, the one who pleases The Entity the most will be rewarded. Each Event will play out differently, and these events are:
- Early Infestation
- Blood Harvest
- Skull Hunters
No matter the Event that is in play, all generators will be blocked, and survivors who are hooked will not progress to the next stage, meaning no survivor can be sacrificed.
No matter the Event that is in play, the reward will always be the same
If The Killer is victorious during The Exchange, the last generator to be completed will have its progress completely reset, if no generators are completed, all generators will immediately begin regressing. In addition, The Entity will be at the highest tier of satisfaction.
If The Survivors are victorious during The Exchange, all survivors will have 1 hook state removed, if a survivor has already been sacrificed, they will become resurrected with 1 remaining hook state. In addition, The Entity will be at the lowest tier of satisfaction
EVENT 1: EARLY INFESTATION
The Entity just couldnt wait for that special time in the year...
Once The Exchange Hits, Visceral Cankers and Pustula Flowers will start blooming around the map.
The Killer must go around and harvest Nectar from these Cankers and Flowers, in order to fill up their Nectar Vial.
Survivors must stop the Killer from harvesting Nectar, they can either Harvest the Nectar themselves and dry out the Cankers and Flowers, or Stun the Killer to make them drop a bit of their Serum
Every one will receive a Vial at the top of their screen, The Killer will have a special Vial that has 3 sections
Section 1 (33%): The Killer receives 5% increase in movement speed, breaking pallets and vaulting.
Section 2 (66%): The Killer receives 5% increase in movement speed, and a 10% increase at breaking pallets and vaulting
Section 3 (100%): The Killer receives a 5% movement speed increase and a 15% increase at breaking pallets and vaulting
When Survivors collect Nectar, they can consume the Serum and give themselves a small but temporary haste effect. Doing so will create a trail behind the Survivor. If the Killer hits the Survivor they will consume all their remaining Serum (A full Survivor Vial is a full section for the Killer)
Survivors who are in the Dying State and recovered at least 25% can crawl over to a Pustula Flower and pick themselves up, tearing the Pustula Flower in the process and ridding it of its serum.
Once The Killer reaches Section 3, they must down a survivor in order to win The Exchange.
If the Killer doesnt reach a new Section, or doesnt complete the final goal in X amount of time, they lose the Exchange.
EVENT 2: BLOOD HARVEST
The Entity had an eye out of a particular realm, while she didnt grab hold of their champions she adopted their traditions.
Once The Exchange Hits, all Generators will transform into Blood Altars and X Blood Banks will spawn on the map.
Survivors will all receive a bottle, in which they can collect Blood from a Blood Altar, and then deposit it at a Blood Bank. Blood Banks are highlighted with a white aura to Survivors and will turn red when it c
Survivors who are hit will spill 25% of their blood, Survivors who are downed will spill all of their Blood.
If a Survivor is in the Dying State for at least 30 seconds. They will be given the option to be absorbed into the ground and appear some where random on the map injured.
Survivors must fill 1 less Blood Bank then there are total (If there are 4, they have to fill 3) before The Exchange ends, failing to do so will result in the Killer winning the Exchange.
EVENT 3: Skull Hunters
The Black Vale has been worshipping the Entity in various ways for centuries, she honors them by introducing one of their rituals into the Trials.
Once the Exchange hits, X amount of Pedestals will spawn on the map along side 2 Sacrificial Tables.
Each Sacrificial Table will spawn with a Decapitated Corpse and each Pedestal will spawn with a Skull on top.
Survivors must walk over to Pedestals and Smash the Skulls on top of them, doing so will give them a Skull Fragment. Survivors have to bring these Fragments to a Sacrificial Table and rebuild a full Skull to complete the Ritual. Only 1 Skull needs to be rebuilt, and there will always be a few extra Fragments. The quantity of extra Fragments depends on how satisfied The Entity is.
If a Survivor has a Fragment they can also run over to a Table to do a Prayer, a Prayer takes 20 seconds to do. Doing so will give the Survivor the Exposed status effect and notify the Killer.
If a Survivor completes a Prayer they will transfer all Fragments from the other Sacrificial Table to one they completed the Prayer, and receive the Broken status effect for the remainder of the Trial.
If a Survivor is in the Dying State with a Fragment, they can use it to get back up. Doing so will consume the Fragment.
If the Killer successfully stops Survivors from completing the Ritual before the timer ends, they win the Exchange.
Stage 3: THE ENDGAME COLLAPSE
Once the final stage hits, The Entity will remain at what ever tier of Satisfaction shes at, and depending on what tier shes at will influence how long the timer lasts
Tier 1: 4.5 minutes
Tier 2: 4 minutes
Tier 3: 3.5 minutes
Tier 4: 3 minutes
You may have noticed that the timer is actually longer than the one we have currently, and this is to compensate for 2 changes
- The timer will not slow down even if a survivor is hooked or in the dying state
- The Endgame Collapse is no longer tied to Survivors opening the Exit Gates or closing the Hatch, but instead will be a normal part of The Trial. Meaning its possible for the Endgame Collapse to start even if there are still Generators to complete.
These changes are to prevent game hostage situations and make the Killer feel like they have more of an influence over the flow in the Trial, Survivors cant take advantage of this either. Since its possible they could still be at 5 gens when the Collapse begins.
MORI CHANGES
As mentioned earlier, the Entity may show her gratitude by rewarding the Killer with a Mori during the Endgame Collapse
Depending on how satisfied the Entity is, the Killer will be able to mori 1 or multiple survivors
- Tier 1: Nothing
- Tier 2: 1 Survivor if theyre on their final hook state.
- Tier 3: 2 Survivors if theyre on their final hook state.
- Tier 4: All Survivors if theyre on their final hook state.
This isnt meant to be game changing but the killer should be rewarded properly, its also a nice little way of introducing Mori's into the base game.
HATCH CHanges
The Hatch will no longer appear if theres more than one Survivor left in The Trial
(damn they beat me to it lol)
Hook Changes
This is a core mechanic of the game, thus I only aim to change one thing and thats the frustrations surrounding them, which is Camping and Tunneling.
- If a Killer is within 16 meters of a Hooked Survivor for 25 seconds and no other Survivor is in a 24m radius, the hooked Survivor will be transported to the furthest Hook and The Entity will be dissatisfied.
- When a Survivor is unhooked they will receive a brand new Status Effect, Mystical.
When a Survivor has this Status Effect, entering a Locker will transport them to the furthest possible locker. Doing so will make them suffer from the Incapacitated, Broken and Blindness Status Effects for 45 seconds.
This Status Effect is meant to be a way to counter Tunneling, the penalties are there to prevent Survivors from abusing it when the killer isnt Tunneling.
BLOODLUST REWORK
Bloodlust can be pretty annoying when on the receiving end, and at a higher level of play Bloodlust doesnt come in handy all too much. So Im reworking it to address the issue of "Holding W". Bloodlust receives the following changes:
- After hitting a Survivor with a Basic Attack, gain a 10% Haste effect for 10 seconds.
- Removed Tier 2 and 3
conclusion
Well, I wasn't able to put all of my ideas in here but since I started writing this in August 2021, I just want to get this out of the way.
Lots of these are rough ideas and have numbers just for the sake of needing to numbers to make it easier to image them, obviously with some of these changes a multitude of changes would have to be done
But with that being said, thank you for taking your time to read this.
Comments
This is quite a lot, but I'll say reviving a survivor or resetting every survivor's hooks by one is exponentially more powerful than resetting a single gen. Also the last thing I want to do as a killer is to ignore survivors to go off massage pustules or whatever.
It may seem a lot but thats because you have to remember, the Survivors are on a timer now
If they ignore the Entity's Satisfaction, the trial will progress much faster meaning they have less time to complete gens. In this version, the Endgame Collapse can start even if there are still gens remaining
I don't even know what this game be like with those changes, looks fun cuz I have no idea at all.
Yeah with these type of posts I just change things drastically
Its just a way to pass the time when Im bored lmao