So did dead hard actually get nerfed?
Out of all the survivor perks I've seen calling to get nerfed, I think I've seen dead hard the most. And BHVR basically just solidified how it acts as a third state of health for a survivor in a chase if used at the correct time.
Does anyone else feel like it's still too strong to be used as one of four survivor perks? If a killer preforms a lunge attack on a survivor wearing the most popular survivor perk, it is easily reacted to and the survivor now requires an extra hit to end the chase. Of course we haven't seen gameplay yet, but my first thoughts are that this is definitely not the way to nerf dead hard to no longer be the best and most used survivor perk if BHVR is intending for the nerf to have that effect.
Can anyone out there help me understand the decision behind the way that this perk was changed? I understand that it can't be used to gain a little distance anymore, but using it as a third health state was obviously the most popular way of using it.
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Well, using it as a third health state wasn't the most popular way of using it. If people used it to dodge a hit more consistently, it wouldn't be anywhere near as obnoxious, because that use can be countered and is inherently a little weaker.
Using it to lunge to a pallet or window is the far more popular use of Dead Hard, and that use is both uncounterable and no longer possible with the upcoming change. Dead Hard is still going to be good, if you can pull it off it'll give you extra distance after getting hit at the cost of putting you in Deep Wound, but it can now only be used that way and cannot be used without that risk or cost.
It also cannot be used to dodge bear traps anymore, which is fantastic.
I think one aspect was nerfed but a potentially more annoying aspect was buffed
1. It cannot be used purely for distance any more, you have to use it at precisely the right time.
2. It cannot be used to avoid powers. E.g. bear traps, trail of torment, shock therapy, etc.
3. Using it successfully requires you to mend, so there's a time cost.
4. You cannot use it if you're already under the effect of Deepwound. E g. BT or Off The Record.
The duration increased from 0.5 seconds to 1 second, so you actually have to be LESS precise. And the reward of getting a full speed boost AND the killer being locked into the 'hit stun' versus the 'miss stun' means you get way MORE distance than before. Also, you can now use it to vault or unhook with complete safety from attacks (other than grabs, but you can still just instantly release the rescue to fake out the grab and then you're still uninjured, since Grab Validation got thrown out for 'just attack instead').
This rework will, in no way, discourage a majority of survivors from running Dead Hard every game.
Was I wrong to assume that an injured survivor using it to get to a extra pallet or window when they otherwise wouldn't be able to without the perk essentially acts as a third health state already?
We'll really just have to see it in action to get a full understanding of what sorts of gameplay it enables - I think if the animation can be cancelled by actions (like vaulting or throwing a palette) then it is probably going to hold onto its power to prolong chases in ways that don't offer counterplay to the killer. If it cannot, it'll be a huge relief to the sorts of behavioral tedium that killers currently have to tolerate to bait it out.
The i-frames might have been 0.5s, but the dash that put you 5m away from a killer that travels 4.6m/s effectively makes that at least a seconds worth of invulnerability.
If they're literally one second away from the pallet or window, that isn't what Dead Hard used to do. It's a massive reduction in how safe a survivor is during a chase with the killer, because they have to be very, very close to a loop before the new Dead Hard will allow them to get to it.
Anything that prevents a down is "a third health state". Looking at the new Dead Hard through that lens is going to be misleading, because it's about what the perk actually does for the survivor-- and in this instance, it will do dramatically less even for survivors who can use it well. Exactly how strong it is will depend on some specifics that we don't know yet, but it's absolutely a nerf and it's absolutely a healthier design.
It sure seems like it has, but I think by how much is going to be unclear until the PTB, when people can playtest it, and do some comparisons. I think at absolute worst it might be a very slight nerf as described in the update.
I think they'll end up reducing the endurance to .5 or .75 seconds, which would make it a pretty heavy nerf, which it should be.
Regarding mending, there’s nothing in the announcement about it inflicting Deep Wounds. Note that Endurance doesn’t automatically inflict Deep Wounds, it’s a separate Condition. For example, Mettle of Man grants Endurance with no Deep Wounds required.
We haven’t seen the actual new perk description yet so who knows, maybe they’ll set Dead Hard up like Borrowed Time to inflict Deep Wounds if the survivor would die, but unless it’s in the perk description it won’t.