Bloodlust Changes: What Should Really Happen
Background: "In most chases, Bloodlust does not activate, though there are rare cases where it can be necessary." - BHVR Developer Update
Opinion: At this point just remove Bloodlust. Killers that could benefit from it are few in number, namely Wraith, Oni, or The Shape. There are other ideas to pursue that can benefit killers.
I recommend removing Bloodlust from all killers and giving it to Oni as a passive. Where it will only have one tier that activates after 20 seconds in chase, giving the Oni a +0.4 speed boost. Which ends after hitting a survivor or breaking a palette. (Oni needs blood to feed his power, Bloodlust as a mechanic makes sense for this killer. Which is an exception from every other killer.) It'll probably be more 'flavor' for Oni than something substantial though.
For Wraith and The Shape BHVR you could give them unique basic attack cooldowns that are shorter than other killers. (And this is another lever to balance all killers as needed).
Problems with Bloodlust:
1) It doesn't do what it is intended to do. It is intended to help killers in chase, but it never does. It seems like it may be rewarding to tunnel one survivor, but usually they break line of sight or drop a palette. So it incentivizes killers to play poorly.
2) It is easily countered. Survivors in DbD are rather smart, and it is easy to find out that protection hits and palettes counter bloodlust. Two resources the survivors start the match with plenty of.
3) It rarely occurs. The killer has to make several bad decisions in a row to be rewarded with more speed. The killer could have chased someone else, checked on gens, etc.
I don't see the adjustments fixing the problem Changing the tiers to activate at 15/25/35 doesn't stop survivors from dropping palettes. Bloodlust by design will never help killers. (Effectively 98%+ of match time) There has to be massive dead zones with no palettes or other survivors for Bloodlust to have an impact.
I'll be honest, the changes to palette breaking speed, M1 cooldowns, and the survivor speed boost after being hit will make a difference. But the bloodlust changes won't.
Each killer having unique basic attack cooldowns or tiers like movement speed will address the issue much better. Save The Best For Last is a very impactful killer perk and actually helps in chases. Giving killers some of the benefit of STBFL built in, will benefit the game. Just as giving survivors built in Borrowed Time will.
Killers having unique basic attack cooldowns is an idea to explore.
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